Green Tea, Berry & Yogurt Smoothie Recipe, & Hydration Tips

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Green-Tea-Berry-&-Yogurt-Smoothie-Recipe-&-Hydration-Tips-Giveaway-Cookin-Canuck

Drinking enough water has always been a challenge for me. Of course, hydration doesn’t have to be just about water. It can include juice, fruits, vegetables, smoothies, milk and even tea. However, there are times when I talk myself out of drinking anything at all because I know I’ll be leaving the house for errands or to head to my son’s soccer game. Going to the bathroom in the bushes at the edge of the soccer field (why, oh why aren’t there bathrooms at fields?) sounds as appealing as eating a picnic beside a garbage dump. So, I cut myself off from water a couple of hours before leaving the house. By the end of the day, I’m so thirsty that I’m ready to drain the entire water pitcher in five minutes flat.

Now that I’ve increased my running mileage and the half-marathon is less than four weeks away, hydrating my body has become more and more important. Bring on the water, bring on the smoothies, bring on the herbal tea…you name it, I’m drinking it.

There are so many options for hydration. Let’s go through a few of them:

Water:
Nothing beats good old tap water for hydration. There are no sugars, artificial sweeteners, flavorings or calories. Plan to drink water during your meals. Remember, taking sips of water while eating helps with portion control. There’s nothing better than hydrating with water during exercise. However, if that exercise is intense and lasts more than an hour, you might want to consider re-fueling with energy drinks as well.

Waterbottle3
My son is drinking out of the new OXO water bottle (see giveaway below).

Fruits, vegetables and juices:
According to the Mayo Clinic, about 20% of our daily hydration needs can be met with food. Pick fruits and vegetables such as watermelon, tomatoes and citrus fruits. For juices, lean towards the pure stuff, which is not chock-a-block full of added sugar.

Milk:
Cow’s milk, almond milk and soy milk can all count towards your daily hydration points. Consider choosing low- or non-fat varieties. Surprisingly, several studies over the past several years showed that milk can speed up recovery after intense exercise, thanks to its hydrating properties and levels of protein.

Coffee and tea:
The caffeinated versions of these drinks aren’t your best options for hydration, but they can certainly count. Fully caffeinated beverages can act as diuretics, which is counterintuitive to hydrating. Herbal teas are your best choices in this category.

How much water?
We’ve all heard the the recommendation of “drink eight glasses of water per day”. How accurate is this? According to the Mayo Clinic, the Institute of Medicine recommends that men should drink about 13 cups (3 liters) and women should drink about 9 cups (2.2 liters) of beverages (primarily water) each day. If you work exercise into your day, plan to increase your intake.

I’d love to hear about your favorite ways to hydrate. Please feel free to share your ideas in the comment section.

The winner of last week’s OXO giveaway, on the post Portion Control for Weight Loss and Healthy Living is:

Comment #313 Julia who said: “I absolutely love this post! I’ve been trying to lose a couple pounds and have been really struggling! Being able to weigh my portions would be awesome.”

Congratulations, Julia! I will be sending you an email.

Let’s move onto the recipe. Making this smoothie becomes even easier when you make extra green tea ice cubes. Whip out your OXO kettle (see the giveaway below) and brew up your favorite green or herbal tea. Pour the tea into ice cube trays so that you have extra tea cubes for future use.

The recipe:

The ice cubes:
Using your favorite green (or herbal) tea, brew 1 1/2 cups of tea.

MarionberrySmoothieOXO1

Let the tea steep for extra time, 8 to 10 minutes, so that the tea is very strong.

Pour the tea into an ice cube tray and place in the freezer until frozen solid.

Marionberry Smoothie Collage 1

In a blender, combine, 4 green tea ice cubes, berries, banana, Greek yogurt, skim milk, flax meal and agave nectar.

MarionberrySmoothieOXO4

Blend until smooth. Serve.

MarionberrySmoothieOXO5

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Green Tea, Berry & Yogurt Smoothie

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From the kitchen of Cookin Canuck. www.cookincanuck.com

Yields Makes one 12-ounce smoothie.

Ingredients

  • 1 green (or herbal) tea bag
  • 1 1/2 cups boiling water
  • 1 cup berries (I used marionberries)
  • 1/2 banana
  • 1/4 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
  • 1/4 cup skim milk
  • 1 tbsp flax meal
  • 1 tsp agave nectar or honey

Directions

  1. Using your favorite green (or herbal) tea, brew 1½ cups of tea.
  2. Let the tea steep for extra time, 8 to 10 minutes, so that the tea is very strong.
  3. Pour the tea into an ice cube tray and place in the freezer until frozen solid.
  4. In a blender, combine, 4 green tea ice cubes, berries, banana, Greek yogurt, skim milk, flax meal and agave nectar.
  5. Blend until smooth. Serve.

by

The giveaway:
Here are the items included in the giveaway (approximate value $65 USD):

OXO Collage
Note: Just one water bottle is included in the giveaway.

OXO’s Uplift Tea Kettle in Stainless Steel – I love everything about this kettle. When you lift the handle and pour, the spout automatically opens. The handle is heat-resistant, so you don’t scorch your hand. Very easy to use and it looks cool, too.

OXO Water Bottle – The design of this water bottle is brilliant. Twist open the bottle at the halfway mark for easy filling and cleaning, and open the top to drink. The winner will have their choice of the available colors.

This giveaway is open to residents of the United States 18 years of age or older (I apologize to my Canadian readers – I promise there will be giveaways for you in the future) and will be open until Tuesday, March 27, 2012 at 5pm PST.

The winner will be chosen using a random number generator and will be notified via email, so please make sure your email address is correct. You will have 48 hours to respond to me, or a new winner will be chosen.

To enter, just leave a comment on this post.

To earn additional entries, leave separate comments for each of the steps listed below. If you don’t leave separate comments for each step, the number generator will not count them as separate entries. If you already follow/”like” OXO or Cookin’ Canuck, just let me know that in your comments.

1. Follow OXO on Twitter.
2. Follow Cookin’ Canuck on Twitter.
3. Tweet about this giveaway, including my Twitter handle. Here’s an example: Head to @CookinCanuck for a Green Tea & Berry Smoothie, hydration tips, & a new @OXO giveaway. http://bit.ly/GIiLvh
4. “Like” OXO on Facebook.
5. “Like”Cookin’ Canuck on Facebook.
6. Share on your Facebook page and leave me the link (click on the time stamp of your “share” to access the link).
7. Follow Cookin’ Canuck on Pinterest.
8. Pin this post on Pinterest. You can tag me if you like – I’m listed as Cookin’ Canuck Dara Michalski.

Good luck!

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by OXO and they supplied me with some OXO products for my personal use and the giveaway. As usual, all opinions are my own. What can I say? I’m an OXO fan.

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Comments

  5. Great giveaway. I drink lots of water, try to avoid caffeine and use some electrolyte drinks, like Nuun, to stay hydrated when running!

    Reply

  7. This looks great! And CONGRATS on taking on your first half-marathon. I’m a runner and running coach and the half is my favorite event. I predict you will become addicted! With weather so warm so fast here in the midwest, I am keeping in mind that it takes, on average, 10 hours of running in the heat for your body to actually become heat adapted and start sweating more slowly (and for more of your sweat glands to open) so your post is very timely and informative. Keep more water with you on your run that you THINK you might need. Have a great day!

    Reply

  9. I love that spoon! The smoothie sounds good. I like the Oxo products I have bought but I only have a few of them.
    I really enjoy your blog and have tried some of the recipes, they’ve all been great!

    Reply

  20. I’ve never frozen tea but it’s a brilliant idea.

    I’m bad about not drinking enough and I know that’s not healthy. I mostly do water and I have a cooler next to my desk so I have no excuse at all. I must do better.

    This smoothie looks so good. If that’s what I could have instead of water, I’d drink all day. I’d weigh 1000 lbs too. 🙂 I’ll try one tomorrow morning.

    Reply

  22. I need a new tea kettle so badly. I carry my water bottle with me everywhere, which makes it easier to remember to drink lots of water.

    Reply

  25. What a great incentive to drink more fluids. I really love the tea kettle. Mine died last year and I have not taken the opportunity to replace it as yet. Tea ice cubes rock!

    Reply

  26. It’s true that tap water has no sugars, artifical colorings, etc. in it, but it does have things like chlorine and medications that people have flushed. I’d recommend some sort of filter to clean up the water…

    Reply

  39. Thanks for the Hydration Smoothie! Just finishing up chemotherapy and need to hydrate without always drinking water!!!

    Chris

    Reply

  57. Love your site and I plan on trying out your smoothie recipe as soon as I get all of the ingrediants

    Reply

  59. I follow Cookin’ Canuck on Facebook and Twitter. Follow OXO on Facebook and Twitter.

    I love the recipe and will definitely try this !

    Reply

  63. I loved the spoon! I really, really want that gorgeous OXO tea kettle. I have never seen the drink bottle, I like that it is so easily washable.

    Reply

  65. thanks so much for the recipe … i am always looking for new smoothies to try, and this will be on the top of the list tomorrow!!! Great giveaway too!!

    Reply

  74. I recently broke my favorite water bottle and have had to carry a smaller one around with me until I find a replacement – I’ve definitely found myself drinking less! It can be tough to stay hydrated sometimes.

    Reply

  79. I don’t currently have a tea pot (have to get rid of my last one) and I love how that water bottle looks. Would be groovy to win =D

    Reply

  85. Sounds delicious!

    What is the difference in flax seed and flax meal?

    Flax seed messes up my stomach.

    Reply

    • Hi Diana, flax seed meal is simply ground flax seeds. You can either buy whole flax seeds and grind them yourself, or your can buy the flax seed meal already ground. My understanding is that you can get the full nutritional benefit of the flax seeds by grinding them. I would imagine that the flax seeds are easier to digest when ground, but I don’t know that for certain.

      Reply

  94. Love the colorful water bottle–it would remind me to drink more water (9 cups!) if it were sitting next to my computer.

    Reply

  108. I would just telling my daughter I wanted a tea kettle, imagine my surprise when I saw this giveaway!

    Reply

  122. I’m currently trying to drink more water at work (instead of coffee/tea). i like my sleepy time tea in the evenings, no caffeine and another good way to stay hydrated and warm 🙂

    Reply

  126. great giveaway! I do ok drinking enough water during the week, but weekends is another story. gotta work on that.

    Reply

  138. so many people are actually dehydrated and do not know it because they are so used to so thanks for bringing it. you mentioned other ways to stay hydrated besides drinking and i wonder if you found any information regarding other forms of hydration vs drinking water. ie. if you eat lots of fruits and veggies do you then need to drink less water? or would the recommendation for the amount still be the same? thanks.

    Reply

  139. i don’t do twitter, facebook or pininterest (what is that?) can i get another entry due to being an email subscriber??? please i really need a decent water bottle…..

    Reply

  143. I have the same issue staying hydrated…it’s easy to forget and before you know it, you’re all shriveled up. I’ve never tried freezing tea for a smoothie and I absolutely love this idea! It’s an excellent change up from my normal smoothie routine and full of anti-oxidants! Great thinking and great recipe!

    Reply

  144. i drink green tea but have never frozen them before …… thanks for sharing this healthy recipe 🙂 …….. i try to drink water often to stay hydrated especially when outdoors

    Reply

  170. Awesome giveaway! Since I’m pregnant I should be drinking lots of water, but I usually have to add some sort of flavoring to it such as lemon, or a tad bit of crystal light.

    Reply

  178. I love the idea of making green tea and putting in ice cube trays to freeze.
    A must-do for the summer!
    Thanks.

    Reply

  179. Green tea ice cubes! What a great idea for summer. Last summer I would add lots of ice to a pitcher of green tea and end up waiting a while for it to cool. Ice cubes MADE of green tea is a much better idea.

    Reply

  205. Great hydration recipe I’d love to win. I follpw oxo on fb and tsitter and cookin canuck on fb.

    Reply

  213. Water is such an important facotr in healthful living. Great giveaway and love following you!

    Reply

  220. love smoothies and love green tea. just never thought to combine the 2! What a great way to start off the day in a healthy way!!!

    Reply

  225. Whole flax seeds can’t be digested and will pass right through your system, but are great if you suffer from constipation.

    One could prepare the tea the evening before by putting a couple of teabags in a pitcher of water and leave it in the fridge over the night.

    Reply

  228. love all your items expecialy the knives
    they let me cut my food without fighting with it I didn’t realize how much trouble I was having untill I got the new ones and everything was so easy to cut .

    Thanks
    Lisa

    Reply

  230. I have been looking for a good water bottle to keep at my desk. I find that if I have it in front of me I drink it. If I don’t I am incredibly thirsty by the end of the day. I have also been on a major tea kick so the kettle would be perfect!

    Reply

  231. Great post Dara!! I love the idea of using frozen green tea in the smoothie and will definitely have to give that a try!!! Excellent tips on hydration too – I pretty much always have water or sparkling water with me all the time and sip pretty frequently through the day – and I agree with you about the restrooms!!!

    Reply

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