As I edited a snapshot of my current mid-afternoon snack, the realization hit me that my last three Instaflick images were of food.
I guess it’s safe to say I’ve had food on my mind lately. I’ve been working on getting back to a healthier, happier weight this month, and it’s been working, for the most part. (Don’t ask me about this week’s weigh-in today, though. The scale and the tape measure totally betrayed me. Evil things.) Anyway, I’ve been paying more attention to what passes my lips, and thinking about healthier ways to enjoy food.
Being on the cusp of summer helps. Yesterday I went to a farm and got five quarts of strawberries: two to freeze, one for the family to snack on, and two to make into Strawberry Butter.
I got the idea for making butter instead of my usual jam from Simple Bites, and then I pretty much just winged-it. A tablespoon of this stuff is only 6 calories and 1.3g of sugar, and it’s loaded with strawberry flavor. Yummy.
I put some on toast this morning, just to try it, but I am thinking that maybe it would make a good stir-in to plain yogurt. Or maybe I’ll even attempt oatmeal again.
You can get my recipe at Bigoven, if you can call a pile of strawberries and a handful of sugar in a crock pot a “recipe.”
But the thing that really prompted me to write this today? A little discovery I just made.
See, I’m not an iced tea drinker, at all, but I wasn’t feeling much in the mood for plain water this afternoon. So I threw a bag of Trader Joe’s Candy Cane Green Tea into a blue mason jar, added twelve heart-shaped ice cubes, and filled the jar to the top with water. I sloshed the tea bag around for a few minutes before taking it out.
Refreshing!
I don’t care for strong tea, but if you did, you could certainly let the tea bag steep longer.
Also, if you don’t happen to have some of that tea leftover from Christmas, I’m afraid you’re out of luck. Trader Joe’s only carries it for the Holidays. You could probably substitute some other pepperminty tea, but I don’t know that it would be the same. There’s something about the Trader Joe’s stuff that is really unique. It has a quality about it that I just can’t put my finger on. Maybe it’s eucalyptus? Or licorice? I threw away the box months ago, so I couldn’t tell you what’s in it. I do know they are all natural ingredients, since I’ve gotten picky about that in recent years, and the scent is intoxicating. Seriously, I’d wear this as perfume, if i could.
[Well, wouldn’t you know it? There are people selling the tea on eBay! Glad I checked. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about buying food on eBay, but I guess if it’s still sealed, it’s ok. (That’s an affiliate link, btw)]
Candy Cane water and a bitty bowl of Skinny Pop popcorn is making for a nice little snack this afternoon.
Oh, and I should say, it is perfectly acceptable to drink this tea in a boring old glass with normally-shaped ice cubes, but it would not be nearly as retro-chic.
That tea sounds amazing. I LOVE iced tea, especially green tea and the candy cane sounds like it would make it SO refreshing. Thanks for sharing!
My pleasure. It’s really quite good. It’s inspired me to try other, more traditional iced teas.
I love strawberries and tea, so this is awesome mix!