Blueberry Matcha Smoothie

Blueberry Banana Smoothie with Matcha Green Tea

Thanks to one of my health food subscription boxes I've recently discovered Matcha.
Matcha is a powdered Japanese green tea that is made by stone-grinding dried tea leaves. Since the entire tea leaf is being ingested with this tea, it has an amazing list of health benefits. I'm not usually a big fan of green teas, but if I know something is good for me, I usually suck it up and dive right in.

Now for a "short" story (none of my stories ever end up being short):

So lately I've noticed that I've been drinking a lot of coffee or Starbucks Skinny Caramel Macchiatos ($$$) to get me through the day and I've been looking for something different to help with my energy levels. 

Enter Matcha. 

I first tried it last week when I got a sample in my "Little Life Box" subscription box (Side not: I would not recommend this subscription box to anyone - but that's a story for a different day). I actually had to look up how to make it because unlike bag or loose leaf tea, this was a strange green powdered substance that I was unfamiliar with. I added the powder to the bottom of my cup, boiled the water and let it sit until it cooled just a bit (I learned that it's best not to mix it with boiling hot water), added the water to my cup and...wait for it...whisked my tea into submission.

Yes, this is a tea you have to whisk.

There is actually a wooden whisk made especially for making this tea - I don't own one so my trusty wire whisk had to do (Keep in mind that I had never heard of this tea before that day and I didn't really know all the benefits associated with it). 

So after drinking the tea I go about my normal day and at one point late afternoon I notice that I seem to have more energy than usual and I've been pretty calm and relaxed all day. At first I didn't connect the dots, I just thought I was having a pretty awesome day. We went out that night and when I got home I did a bit of research on this strange green powder I ingested earlier in the day. Turns out, it was probably responsible for my "better than usual" day. Here's what I learned:

• Matcha has 3x the antioxidants of regular green tea and about 17x more antioxidants than blueberries
• It contains Theanine which is known to reduce mental and physical stress
• Helps to suppress appetite
• Increases energy
• Detoxifies
• Provides vitamin c, chromium, magnesium, zinc and selenium 
• High in Fiber
• Lowers cholesterol and blood sugar

After learning more about it, I decided it's probably something I want in my life. I eat a relatively healthy, meat-free diet, but I'm always on the look out for anything I can add in that will help me on my journey to health and loving myself and my body. 

So, yesterday me and Chicken ventured out to DAVIDsTEA and dropped an entire $20 on 50g of their  Grand Cru Matcha. Yes, it is ridiculously expensive for tea - but it is so worth it for the health benefits its provides. 

This morning I decided I wanted to do something different (instead of drinking it as straight tea) and I whipped myself up a Blueberry-Banana Matcha Smoothie. Man was it good. 

And finally...the recipe 

What you'll need:

• 1/2 cup original unsweetened almond milk
• *3-4 ice cubes (optional - read note below)
• 1/2cup fresh blueberries
• 1 frozen banana
• 1/2tsp of Matcha Green Tea (I used a little over 1/2tsp, but if it's your first time go with 1/2 and work your way up)

Add all of your ingredients together in a blender and mix. 

*You can probably reduce the amount of ice cubes. Originally I hadn't planned on putting in the banana so I added the ice cubes to give it more of a smoothie texture. After I tasted it I found it really needed something a bit sweeter - so in went the banana. The ice cubes watered it down just a bit - not enough to ruin it, but I probably won't be adding as many next time. 

I had this for breakfast today and it is now 1pm and I'm just starting to get peckish.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did and if you're interested in learning more about Matcha, I did the majority of my research here and here. 

My blueberries kept disappearing during this photo shoot and I caught the little culprit blue handed! She loves her "Boo-Berries".