CAFFEINE

This is a fun fact about me...I only recently (during the last 2 years) began drinking wine, coffee and tea. Wine is a post for another time. But coffee and tea have changed my life and I am positive they have also played a part in getting me into my best physical shape.

Christmas just ended and I was lucky enough to have an absolutely fabulous date! Oh my goodness! Well, we went dutch at Legal Sea Foods. We shared the Ahi tuna appetizer with extra wassabi and I had the salmon (shocker!) with steamed broccoli. My date had the halibut with steamed broccoli (cheese on the side which was not even touched). Then when the server came by with the dessert menu we perused it but decided to walk around the mall instead. If our desire to have something sweet was still there we would enjoy at a later time. It was during our after dinner mall stroll that I talked my gorgeous date into entering the Teavana store with me. Tea is one of my favorite things but my date had never had Teavana tea and thought that all tea was "gross". But one sip of the wonderfully warm samples changed her mind instantly. My date was my beautiful, sweet, smart older sister, Melissa and she was a changed woman! We proceeded to have an hour long conversation about tea with the workers in Teavana. I love tea because it warms me on cold nights, cools me on hot afternoons, peps me up and satisfies my sweet tooth. I was so excited to be able to share this new found healthy addiction of mine with my sister who now has the addiction in full swing. She bought the tea maker and a plethora of new morning and evening teas and agreed that strategically drinking tea could help curb her sweet tooth. We got the sweet Teavana tea makers to make us a cup of Caramel SeaSalt and Melissa immediately exclaimed that it could work for her instead of dessert. Well there you go. Tea can save you 300-500 or more calories! That was an herbal tea. I like to drink Mate or black teas in the morning to give me some caffeine. But as the ever informative Teavana workers stated, our bodies treat the caffeine in tea differently than the caffeine found in coffee. My wonderful Mom is allergic to caffeine in coffee...makes her stay up like FOREVER but she can drink tea so that is definite proof that (at least some) bodies use the caffeine differently.  

So at 2:15 when my kids come home from school and now during the same time during Christmas break I have my tea break while they have a humongous, healthy snack. I often have my mid afternoon snack with them usually consisting of an apple and almond butter or blueberries and Greek yogurt. My sister could not believe the tea she tasted was absolutely calorie free. Tea: a wonderful way to add spice to your life, decrease your sweet tooth, curb your hunger, give your body antioxidants it needs and relax! Enjoy a morning, afternoon and evening cup....its on sale right NOW at Teavana and online at 

Teavana.com (some of my very favorite flavors are 75% off!!!!! Message me if you need help or advice about ordering. It is pricey but worth it and most can be re-brewed!).

I realize this picture has nothing to do with tea to the average onlooker. But I had just finished a fabulous cup of tea when I found these fabulous red shoes while out with my sweet Annika! For some crazy reason my sister and I didnt take any pictures during our date. Probably because it felt good not to worry about anything and probably also because between the 2 of us we have 6 kids and are always taking pictures of them.

Order your super flavorful tea at Teavana.com 

Yummy, Fast and Healthy Turkey Burgers

Ahhhh, lunch! While breakfast is my very favorite meal of the day lunch comes in a close second. On the menu today is 99% lean scallion turkey burgers. Again I have turned to my local Trader Joes for my lean ground turkey. It takes me about 22 minutes to get to the closest Traders but once I'm there it's worth every minute in the car! As you know by now I like to prepare my own foods and create my own recipes of my favorite restaurant and store bought foods. I challenge any restaurant with this recipe! Yes, it's THAT good! But it is spicy so my 3 sweet kiddo testers are out of a job with this one.
Healthy, Spicy Turkey Burger Recipe:
1 lb extra lean ground turkey (99% lean!)
2 eggs
5 scallions finely chopped (use the whole thing except the roots part)
2 T ground flaxseed
2 T wheat germ
2 T Parmesan cheese grated
1 T Italian seasoning
1 T Fresh Horseradish (Trader Joe's is VERY potent!)
1 t Mexican style chili powder

Freshly ground pepper (to taste)
Directions:
Mix everything well. Form into patties any size you want. I make mine the size of a piece of bread so it fits nicely on toast. Cook on a pan that has been sprayed with non stick spray. Cook about 3-5 min on each side (depends on size and thickness of your meat of course). Place on top of a piece of toast and some spinach or lettuce. I used some fresh horseradish to add another zing. Yummy! Enjoy and tell me what you think! I could just eat these all day!