Brewed Tea Smoothies: Guest Post

Usually when I'm contacted about opportunities to 'work' with Smoothie Girl Eats Too, I can tell that those people approaching me don't read my blog and think that it's something more than just a simple blog written by a girl who dabbles in the kitchen, travels and worships her cats.  I usually respond with something like:

"Dear Sir or Madame, 


Thank you for your interest in working with Smoothie Girl Eats Too.  At our Board of Directors meeting tomorrow, I'll present your submission for voting approval.  Then, my executive secretary will contact you as I'll be on my Learjet and we currently lack wi-fi on board if you can even believe that. The horror.

Best regards,

Deb, President, Managing Director, CFO, CEO and all-around badass
SmoothieGirlEatsToo, Inc" 


They don't contact me again. 


However, I recently got an email from a woman named Maria Rainier, who offered to write a guest post for me.  She seemed 'real' and approached gently rather than slamming me with a hard sell.  I responded that if she could come up with a topic that would speak to my readers, I'd be happy to explore publishing a guest post.  Also, the timing was great as I've been pretty much non-stop 'on the go'. I think she came back with a great topic:  Using brewed teas as the base for smoothies. Actually, it's genius.


Despite the fact that my good friend Allie at Pimp My Protein Shake has posted about this topic for ages, I had only ever tried powdered green tea...until today.  Let me just say "yum."  This is the perfect solution for all my friends out there who want to flavor their smoothies naturally and calorie-free (read:  no scary chemicals.)

Steep tea, then refrigerate overnight:  So simple! Why didn't I think of that?

Enjoy in a bowl with grated nutmeg and cinnamon on top.

 So here is the guest post from writer Maria Rainier...Enjoy!
-------------------------------------------------------

Adding Tea to Your Smoothies: Healthy & Delicious Tips

Green and black teas are rich in antioxidants and have the potential to provide you with a wide variety of health benefits. These teas may help you battle cancer, ease rheumatoid arthritis symptoms, lower cholesterol, decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease, fight and prevent infections, and even repair a damaged immune system. In short, green and black teas are good for you and can help you with a significant number of health problems. 

I’ve found that smoothies are a delicious way to enjoy tea and that fruits are the perfect complement to green and black teas. If you’re enjoying a hot smoothie like Deb’s Pumpkin Protein Mousse, you can even add spiced chai tea to the mix for a burst of flavor and an extra health boost. No matter what you like to put in your smoothies, there’s an antioxidant-rich tea that can add to the flavor and health benefits. Here are some of the best combinations I’ve tried.

Strawberry Green Tea Smoothie:

Here's what you'll need to make this delicious drink:

·         2 green teabags or the equivalent in loose leaf tea

·         2 cups of strawberry yogurt

·         1 cup of frozen strawberries

·         Honey to taste

Steep the tea in two cups of water, removing the teabags or leaves before the two-minute mark (when bitter flavors can start to seep in). Pour this into a blender along with the yogurt, frozen strawberries, and a little bit of honey. Once blended, this smoothie is a perfect treat that can even be enjoyed during the winter – most supermarkets sell bags of strawberries in the frozen section. 

Oolong Teas

This is my favorite nutty smoothie, and Toasted Nut Brulee oolong tea from Teavana is one of the main ingredients. Here are the ingredients I use to make it:

·         1 heaping tablespoon of loose leaf Toasted Nut Brulee

·         1 cup of almond milk

·         1 tablespoon of peanut butter

·         1-2 spoonfuls of plain yogurt, to taste

·         1 serving of vanilla protein powder

Steep the loose leaves in a cup of almond milk and use a blender to combine this with the peanut butter, yogurt, and vanilla protein powder. It’s delicious and certainly nutritious, so give it a try the next time you’re craving a peanut butter smoothie.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bio: Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education, where she's been performing a bit of research into the gender wage gap problem. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q:  What is the tastiest base for smoothies that you have tried?  If you blog, do you publish guest posts other than from 'friends' you already know?  Also, please fill me in on any blog world gossip as I'm in the midst of being mostly MIA.