Sanity Sundays: Ginger Green Tea

Okay, this one seems completely unoriginal. But I have been mixing my own morning tea that fights nausea, wakes me up and is full of antioxidants. And it is delicious!

I’m not normally a green tea fan. There’s a bitterness there that I just do not like. But lately, I take one green tea bag and one ginger tea bag, let it steep for five minutes, and that for some reason I love.

Why did I start drinking the green tea in the first place? Well, my nutritionist made a brilliantly simple observation: antioxidants fight free radicals, which damage cells. During the embryonic phase/first trimester, the embryo/fetus is very vulnerable to anything that damages cells. So, flooding my body with antioxidants can only help, especially because antioxidant-rich foods are healthy in other ways. From Jan the Amazing Nutritionist:

At Tufts University scientists from the USDA have developed a rating scale that measures the antioxidant content of various natural plant foods. The scale is called ORAC, which stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity.

 

Foods highest on the ORAC scale:

 

Condiments: clove, cinnamon, cumin, curry, cardamom, garlic, onion, turmeric, oregano, thyme, basil, dill, rosemary, rosehip, sage, sumac and sorghum bran, vanilla bean, unsweetened cocoa, black and green tea.

 

Dried and deeply pigmented fruits: apples with skin, avocado, olives, blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, goji berries, plums, black currants, raspberries, strawberries, figs, cherries, oranges, papaya, pears, grape and pomegranate juice.

 

Vegetables: artichokes, asparagus,  broccoli, brussel sprouts, red leaf cabbage, asparagus, beetroot, eggplant, yellow squash, kale, spinach, sweet and russet potatoes.

 

Legumes: red, kidney, pinto beans, and lentils.

 

Nuts: peanuts, almonds, pecans, pistachios, walnuts.