Hello everyone, it’s approaching the end of August and the end of summer is quickly upon us – with children going back to school and workloads returning to normal. And if you’re like me you may have just taken one of your children back to college.
This past weekend we just took our youngest son Noah to Penn State University for his first year. (If you are one of our weight loss patients, you probably have seen Noah working with us in the office this summer) And yes we are now empty-nesters, except for our 3 dogs who hopefully will never go off to college. So today my wife and I are feeling kind of blah and missing Noah quite a bit and because of this I have decided to make this post about some of my son’s favorite smoothie recipes but of course I will make them weight loss and fat burning friendly.
And yes you can still lose 2 – 5 pounds a week on our medical weight loss program while enjoying these delicious recipes. I am going to give you some of Noah’s favorite summertime fusion tea recipes because tea is especially good for speeding up your fat burning metabolism, detoxing your body and improving your overall health and wellness.
Summer Blast Iced Tea*:
- 4 teabags – green tea or black tea
- 1 cup of boiling water
- 1/2 cup of agave
- 1/4 cup of crushed fresh mint leaves
- 1 cup of unsweetened orange juice
- 3/4 cup of unsweetened pineapple juice
- 1/4 cup of fresh lime juice
- ice cubes
- 1 1/2 quarts of carbonated water
Directions: For the concentrate, place the tea bags in a medium bowl and add boiling water and steep for approximately 10 minutes. Then remove the tea bags and add the agave and mint and makes this very well. Mix the fruit juices and 1 quart container. Then add to tea mixture and refrigerate until you are ready to use it. For the tea, fill a 12 ounce glass with ice cubes and then add a half cup of the tea concentrate and fill the glass with carbonated water. This makes about 6 servings.
Tapioca Nut Tea*:
Ingredients:
- 3 1/2 cups of water
- 2 black tea bags
- 4 teaspoons of Stevia or any other sugar substitute
- 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract
- 1 tablespoon of instant tapioca
- 4 tablespoons of unsweetened almond milk
- ice cubes
Bring the water to a boil in a medium sauce pan over high heat. Pour 2 cups of boiling water over the tea bags in a teapot or in 2 cup heat proof measuring cup. Steep the tea for 4 minutes or until it’s a very dark and then remove the teabags. Stir in the sugar substitute and almond extract and let this cool to room temperature. Then add the tapioca to the remaining 1 and half cups of boiling water and let this boil for 3 to 4 minutes over medium – high heat until the tapioca is translucent and cooked through. Next drain the tapioca and rinse under cold water until it’s cool. And divide the tapioca between 2 tall glasses, poor 2 tablespoons of the unsweetened almond milk and to each glass. Fill each glass three fourths full with ice. Divide T between the glasses and stir to combine and serve this immediately. This makes about 2 servings that are 10 ounces each. If you’d like you can even substitute the black tea with any other type of tea either one of your favorite herbal teas or even a fruit flavored tea. And instead of using the almond extract you can even use vanilla, I have done this and it’s very tasty.
Lime & Ginger Iced Tea*:
- 1 quart of water
- 2 thin slices of fresh ginger – approximately 1 inch in diameter
- 4 green tea bags
- 1/2 cup of Stevia or any other sugar substitute
- 1/4 cup of freshly squeezed lime juice – this should be about 2 – 3 whole limes
- ice cubes
Instructions: Bring the water and ginger to a boil in a large saucepan. Pour the water over the tea bags in a teapot or a 4 cup heatproof measuring cup and let the tea steep for approximately 3 minutes. Next we removed teabags and the ginger. Stir n 1/4 cup of unsweetened sugar substitute and let this cool to room temperature. and now mix the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar substitute with the lime juice and add this to the tea, finally pour the tea into 4 ice filled glasses and enjoy. This makes approximately force servings.
Lemon-Berry Ice Tea*:
- 3 cups of boiling water
- 16 bags of your favorite tea
- 1/2 cup of Stevia or any other sugar substitute
- 3 cups of unsweetened cranberry juice
- 3/4 cups of freshly squeezed lemon juice – approximately 5 lemons
- ice cubes
Directions: in a very large pitcher, pour the boiling water over the tea bags. Cover and let this steep for about 5 minutes. Then remove the tea bags and stir in the sugar. Next we add to cranberry and lemon juices and chill in the refrigerator for a bit. Serve this over ice and you can always garnish it with a nice slice of lemon or lime. This makes approximately 7 servings that are 8 ounces each.
I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as Noah does. And I do thank you for reading this article. Typing this article has actually been therapeutic for me and I am not quite as blah as I was before writing this.
If you are one of our weight loss patients I invite you to come back to this blog next week because I try to post at least 3 – 5 great tasting recipes a week that help you burn fat and lose weight.
If you are not one of our weight loss patients and you need help with losing weight I invite you to call us and schedule a free medical weight loss consultation. It doesn’t matter how much weight you are looking to lose, whether it’s just 15 pounds or 200 pounds we have programs that can assist you in achieving your weight loss goals. Call us at 215-821-7336
* The recipes in this post were taken from the book by pil sensational smoothies and drinks
