From the Kitchen Friday: Living Simply

Good morning everyone from my very own kitchen for this Friday post. I was reading a blog I was introduced to this week,fortheloveofahouse.blogspot.com, and the author was discussing a recent book she purchased, Ted Kennedy Watson’s, Style and Simplicity:  An A to Z Guide of Living a More Beautiful Life (for more information, please see his blog:tedkennedywatson.com). The author of the book says “Living in the moment, not in preparation of the moment, is my prevailing thought. Living creatively is not meant to be about money; rather it is about being creative with the choices that present themselves during the day.”  I couldn’t agree more.  Right now, the dawn is breaking and I decided to enjoy living in the moment with a few beautiful things in my life with a few of my favorite ways to start the day.

 

As I sit at my kitchen table, I am having my favorite tea out of my grandmother's china with a beautiful bouquet of flowers AND I am writing (insert purely blissful smile right here). This is what I call “living creatively with the choices that are presenting themselves to me.”  Today I am choosing to have this morning of quiet and peacefulness, while enjoying the beauty in my life, right here, right now. I can't remember the last time I drank my tea from her china. I feel lucky and humbled of all that is right in front of me.  Once in a while, it’s ok to blow your own mind.

 

Tea is the way I start out each day. Not only do I know it is healthy for me, but I do feel like it really is what gets all my neurons firing properly. There is a rise in tea popularity in the United States and I feel we are seeing a little shift from coffee to tea. Most Americans enjoy the beverage chilled versus warm and most like a flavored herbal versus a black tea. My favorite is Caribou Coffee’s Hot Cinnamon Tea, all year around. I do have green tea on occasion but this is my daily go-to. I wanted to share with you my wisdom of“why tea?”

 

Allergy Eraser

A substance in green tea stops the allergic response. Tea may be helpful against pet  dander, pollen and dust. If you suffer allergies, it is recommended you drink more tea.

 

Age Defier

Checking hair loss, age spots, the condition of skin around the eyes and other indicators of aging, scientists found that mice that were fed tea displayed fewer signs of aging than mice that were fed water, with oolong tea showing significantly better results than green tea.

 

Tummy Tamer

According to a new study, green tea appears to accelerate calorie burning -- including fat calories. Researchers suggest compounds in green tea called flavonoids may change how the body uses a hormone called norepinephrine, which then speeds the rate at which calories are burned.

 

Beauty Brew

Drinking two or three large cups a day of green tea helps bolster the body’s defenses, especially as you age. Tea has been named, China’s “Fountain of Youth”

 

Heart Disease Risk

Harvard researchers found that drinking at least one cup of black tea daily was associated with a 45% decrease in heart attacks.

 

Lower Cholesterol

Components of tea appear to reduce the amount of cholesterol in the blood by interfering with the absorption of fat and cholesterol.

 

Reduce Stroke

A study done in the Netherlands showed that men who drank five cups of black tea daily reduced their stroke risk by 70%. Can’t drink five cups a day? Even two cups

daily can reduce your risk by a whopping 46%.

 

Fights Cancer

Tea appears to be good at fighting cancer, especially gastrointestinal tract cancers. Tea is very high in antioxidants which protect our body from cell-damaging free

radicals.

 

Hunger Helper

A series of Swiss studies found that tea can give your metabolism a boost and help you lose weight. Not a lot of weight, but maybe one to two pounds. Scientists suspect that the polyphenols in tea join forces with caffeine and help to unlock the body’s fat-burning process.

 

Magic Medicinal Cure

People who drink five cups of black tea a day for two weeks transform their immune system T-cells into “Hulk cells” that pump out 10 times more cold and flu virus-fighting substances.

 

For my final “From the Kitchen Friday” thought, another quote by Ted Kennedy Watson:  “Seeing the small details requires slowing down a bit and being aware of your surroundings.” I am so glad I am seeing the small details for the first time in a long time, surrounded by beauty and a flavorful cup of tea.

 

~Crazy