Archive for the 'food' Category

Peach and Apple tea with Cane Sugar (Ito En)

Published November 23rd, 2007 in food and tea. 2 Comments

Yeah, I’ve been trying a lot of new teas lately, but these have topped the others. At around $1 a bottle (on sale), it’s a little more pricey than most, but you get what you pay for. No high-fructose corn syrup, just good old fashioned cane sugar. The tea tastes great, but since the sweetness is not overwhelming (like a lot of bottled teas), you can drink a lot of it and not feel sick to your stomach.

Ito En Apple and Peach Tea

On the website of Ito En, they have several other flavors like Apricot, Cranberry, Lemon, Mango, Raspberry, Orange, Pear, and Grape. Ito En is a Japanese Tea company that specializes in Green Tea products. Read more on wikipedia.

Ito En Apple and Peach Tea

On the Apple Tea label (website):

An all natural, sweetened black tea brewed with the finest Sri Lankan tea leaves, blended perfectly with apple, delivers a purely enchanting taste like no other. Caffeine Content: Approximately 45 mgs per 16.9 fl oz bottle.

Ingredients:
Purified Water, Natural Cane Sugar, Black Tea, Natural Flavoring, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Apple Juice Concentrate.

Nutrition Facts:
Serving Size: 8 fl oz (240 mL)
Servings per container about 2
Amount per Serving
Calories 70

% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0.0g0%
    Saturated Fat 0g0%
Cholesterol 0mg0%
Sodium 15mg1%
Potassium 0mg0%
Total Carbohydrate 17g6%
    Dietary Fiber 0g0%
    Sugar 17g 
Protein 0g

Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 40%
Calcium 0%Iron 0%

Not a significant source of calories from fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, dietary fiber, vitamin A, calcium, and iron.
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

On the Peach Tea label (website):

Tea Peach is an all natural, sweetened black tea blended with the perfect touch of peach to create a luscious, full-bodied taste. Caffeine Content: Approximately 45 mgs per 16.9 fl oz bottle.

Ingredients:
Purified Water, Natural Cane Sugar, Black Tea, Malic Acid, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Natural Flavoring, Peach Juice Concentrate.

Nutrition Facts:

Serving Size: 8 fl oz (240 mL)
Servings per container about 2
Amount per Serving
Calories 60

% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0.0g0%
    Saturated Fat 0g0%
Cholesterol 0mg0%
Sodium 20mg1%
Potassium 0mg0%
Total Carbohydrate 15g5%
    Dietary Fiber 0g0%
    Sugar 15g 
Protein 0g

Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 40%
Calcium 0%Iron 0%

Not a significant source of calories from fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, dietary fiber, vitamin A, calcium, and iron.
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

yadumo black tea with a triad of fruity flavor

Published November 22nd, 2007 in food and tea. 0 Comments

Yadumo Black Tea

Found this tea at a discount grocer and was pleasantly surprised by the taste. if you close your eyes, and try really hard, you can taste the apricot. you can taste the peach. and ultimately, you can taste the honeydew melon. because the Orient Emporium Tea Company would even think to use honeydew to flavor this tea, this is probably my favorite bottled tea right now. by adding peach and apricot they gave this tea a fruity-flavor explosion!

Orient Emporium Tea Company is a brand of Cott Beverages, the company that makes RC Cola and Vess sodas (St. Louis Area). This was the first time I had ever heard of this tea, but it was a very positive experience. There is one weird thing about it — the unique aftertaste. More of the feeling — a tingling, acidic feeling — like I just had a vitamin C tablet. Also a hint of black pepper. Probably just the Citric Acid, but it is rather strong.

yadumo black tea with a triad of fruity flavor

From the ingredient label:

Filtered Water, High Fructose Cord Syrup, Natural Flavor, Citric Acid, Black Tea, Sodium Hexametaphosphate,
Potassium Citrate, Potassium Benzoate and Potassium Sorbate (preservatives), Calcium Disodium EDTA (To Protect Flavor)

I’d buy it again. Still have no idea what yadumo means.

xylitol - the magical sugar

Published November 1st, 2007 in food. 6 Comments

during a dentist visit, I was chatting with an assistant about chewing gum. she explained how gums like trident and spry not only loosen food stuck to your teeth and cause you to salivate more (saliva = good, it neutralizes acids), but since they contain xylitol, they can prevent cavities if you chew them after every meal.

The icing on this cavity-reducing cake? Xylitol is a sugar alcohol, so it tastes sweet and makes your mouth feel cool and fresh. So finally, a dentist-approved reason for chewing gum all the time. So I checked the candy isle to see if I could find some trident with this magical sugar in it, and there it was, in plain sight:

Trident, With Xylitol

Xylitol’s awesomeness does not stop there. I’m presenting the reasons I think xylitol is so awesome. xylitol is pronounced like Xylophone. you’ll need to know this when you tell your friends and family how awesome it is.

xylitol is a warrior against bacteria.

so you have probably have bacteria feasting on your teeth right now. bacteria loves sugar, and xylitol is no exception. except when they feast on xylitol they get an unpleasant surprise because xylitol does not contain the nutrition that a growing bacteria needs to become big and strong. in fact it starves the bacteria.

xylitol, the silent killer. of bacteria that is.
Bacteria loves xylitol

you can shoot xylitol up your nose to prevent bacteria infections

perhaps this applies to other body parts too, but so far, I am only aware of nasal wash being readily available. google it. can’t say that about other sugars.

xylitol won’t cause brain damage or cancer

studies have been done to prove xylitol is harmless to humans, and for what its worth, the FDA has approved xylitol as a sweetener, even giving it the safest rating that a food additive can get.

the only known side-effect of xylitol is it acting as a laxative in large quantities.

warning: don’t feed to dogs. it can cause low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) and even liver failure. its bad news for dogs. even one pack of trident.

and this is not to say other sugar substitutes cause brain damage and cancer, but if you are interested, you can read more about aspartame (a.k.a. Nutrasweet or Equal) and saccharine (a.k.a. Sweet ‘N’ Low) on wikipedia:

Aspartame Controversy
Saccharin and Cancer

to prevent brain damage and cancer, i never had aspartame or saccharine as a kid. love ya mom!

xylitol can be used to combat constipation

if you can get your hands on enough of it, xylitol can act as a laxative. around 30-40 grams a day should do the trick.

xylitol has fewer calories than sugar

….about 40% fewer calories than sugar. that means you could eat 1 cup of sugar at about 770 calories OR 1 cup of xylitol at about 462 calories. after a year, that is 281,050 calories of sugar (80 pounds) versus 168,630 calories (48 pounds) of xylitol. by substituting xylitol for sugar, you could lose 32 pounds!

fight bacteria and weight gain at the same time. and constipation, if you are really eating 1 cup a day.

xylitol in your clothes makes you cool

yes, you can currently buy clothes that have xylitol in them. from a clothing website:

Xylitol, which is manufactured from natural white birch or corn, absorbs the heat of perspiration…Regardless of the ambient temperature, Xilitol-impregnated Very Cool clothing lowers body heat by 3 degrees for cooler play.

can other non-magical sugars do that?

xylitol on wikipedia
xylitol.org

tea with fructose crystals

Published May 17th, 2007 1 Comment

while i was waiting for an electronics shop to install something in my minivan, i walked to a nearby health food store for a drink. for a good price — relative to everything else in the store — i bought a bottle of blueberry tea for $1.39 (on sale, originally $1.89).

I’ve had “healthful” tea drinks before, and although some of them tasted like someone just strained some water through some ground up plant leaves picked at random, I was really thirsty, and this looked like a safe bet:

Health Tea

Now, I’m sure I could get used to this stuff, but it tasted like normal tea watered-down as though you had left a little bit in a glass full of ice, and waited for the ice to melt. Then it had a weird aftertaste (like random plant leaves). however, i believe this is the first time my tea has had fructose crystals in it.

all natural ingredients:
premium brewed white tea using filtered water, fructose crystals (not corn syrup), all-natural blueberry extract and citric acid.

obviously this is more healthful than the tea i normally drink — with all it’s high fructose corn syrup…

from the inkos tea website:

Blueberries ain’t just for baking pies folks. Who knew those plump little guys tasted so good when you combine them with rare white tea? Inko’s Blueberry gives you that beautiful berry taste mixed with just a tiny bit of tartness.and it won’t stain your fingers purple!

Heath Tea Nutritional Info

the nectar that sweetens my life

Published May 10th, 2007 in food and tea. 4 Comments

i drink lots of tea. and i’m a fool for fruity drinks, so i’ve been thrilled about the green (and white) tea revolution that seems to be going on in the US. Companies are mass-producing teas mixed with an assortment of fruity flavors, and marketing them as healthful because they contain antioxidants. From the lipton website:

Antioxidant
A compound that helps prevent or delay oxidative damage to the body, cells and tissues. Antioxidants are found naturally in the body and many foods and may inhibit the harmful effects of free radicals, which scientists believe may contribute to chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer.

i’ve had some flavored teas that taste like i’m drinking freezer pops. and they are great over ice, but i still get that sickening sweet feeling after a couple glasses. that’s why i’ve gone a little crazy over Lipton’s Green Tea with Citrus, and Raspberry White Tea.

behold, my favorite mass-produced beverage:

Lipton Tea 023

these have the perfect blend of tea, fruitiness, and sweetness. they make me feel like i’m enjoying a mixed drink, but able to drink enough to quench my thirst without making feel sick to my stomach from all the sugar.

Lipton Tea 003

lipton raspberry white tea:
“Water, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, white and green tea, natural flavors, sodium hexametaphosphate (to protect flavor), phosphoric acid, ascorbic acid (to protect flavor), potassium sorbate and potassium benzoate (preseve freshness), acesulfame potassium, calcium disodium edta (to protect flavor)”

Lipton Tea 008

lipton green tea with citrus ingredients:
“Water, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, green tea, sodium hexametaphosphate and ascorbic acid (to protect flavor), honey, natural flavors, phosphoric acid, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate (preseve freshness), calcium disodium edta, caramel color, yellow 5, blue1.”

tip: if you are concerned about how much healthier these are than coke or pepsi, do not compare the labels.

View more images from the Lipton Tea photo-shoot:

Lipton Tea Photo Shoot

by the way, the best beverage i’ve ever had was an iced honeydew green tea, mixed at Teaz Me in the Westfield Mall in San Francisco.

iced honeydew green tea

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