Hi sygyzy! And welcome! There are no real rules, but we do try to drink at least 3 cups of green tea daily. Some of us add SF Davinci's syrup to ours, some drink it plain. It tastes great hot or cold - just need to find your preference.

I've had my 2 doubles today - this morning was CC blueberry, this evening was plain with Amaretto davinci's added. I may have to look into this red tea thing - saw some at the grocery the other day, but didn't really know anything about it...

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Angie



at least for now...

Thanks for the welcome. I would like to drink 3 cups of green tea , but I think I might get wired. Maybe I'd have to start with 2 cups (breakfast/mid-a.m.), and work my way up from there. Do you drink it near bedtime? I'm such a lightweight. I don't even drink coffee or anything. I'm wholistic. The CC blueberry sounds delicious. Maybe I'll try it as well. I don't know anything about "red" tea. I heard that "white" tea is good for us, but I don't know much about it yet either.
I don't know what Amaretto davinci's are, so I see I have a lot to learn. Sounds like a cross between coffee flavor and opera...LOL:jump:
Colette

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1/25/05::Atkins Plan
Starting Weight: 184.0
Current Weight: 174.0 (5/6/05)
Goal Weight: 160.0
10/8/05: Back to 184.0
On the Road Again: 10/17/05
I will not give up! I will not give up!

DaVinci makes a line of delicious, sugar-free & sweetened with splenda, syrups.

If you don't find them in stores, visit www.davincigourmet.com to see the line and order if you like.

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ON my giant mug today...blueberry today again...will have another tonight...missed last night's but was helping a neighbor with her fish tank.

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Lori

232/190/130
My other journal http://www.lowcarbeating.com/bb/showthread.php?t=1130

Colette, You know I'm not much for caffeine either - makes my heart race, but the amount in tea is much less as in coffee or pop. My DH and I drink it in the mornings with reg caf. tea bags, but when we drink it in the evenings we have de-caf tea.

As for Davinci - they are awesome! They have so many sf flavors, and can be used in a variety of things - from tea, water, to pies. I think there was a thread about all its uses in the cooking forum awhile back...

Had my double this morning - lemon gensing and honey.

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Angie



at least for now...

Colette, glad you found us here!!!!

White tea is just the same plant that green and black are made from, but has gone through less fermentation processes, with black having the most. It comes from the spring harvest of the Camelia Sinensis plant from which all basic teas come. It is probably the BEST type of tea to drink since it has been processed the least. But it is very expensive.

The red tea mentioned above is from the Rooibos plant in Africa. It has many healthful benefits also and can be combined with green tea for a delightful flavor. It's also good for colicky babies. It is sooooooothing for a good bedtime nightcap. You can drink DECAF green tea also, with the same health and weight loss benefits. I like to get mine at my local Asian market, it's soooooooooo much cheaper than buying it at mainstream stores.

I like to flavor my teas with all sorts of different syrup flavors. OR I will find various flavored green teas and combine for interesting and delightful twists on a theme. For instance, I found Bigelow Lemon green tea and the Celestial Seasonings Blueberry. Those two flavors combine very well. I use a 16 oz mug and brew a bag of each, sweeten with stevia and splenda and am in HEAVEN!!!!!

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Barb, lemon and blueberry? Together? Not me! I don't even want my veggies and meat on the same plate! I'm weird that way!

Some restaurant has a blueberry lemonade.....TGIFridays or Chili's, I think. (Although I'm sure it is pre-sweetened.

**************ANNOUNCEMENT***************

While out our usual meeting (at Starbucks) Monday night, I was raving about how good Tazo Zen tea is. (Zen is green tea with "herbal infusions".) Anyway, the guy that works there was telling me that Starbucks is intoducing a new drink for summer: a frozen green tea slush thing. I'm wondering if it will be presweetened?

Anybody got any hotlines to Starbucks? It sure gets hot here in Texas during the summer! And my Starbucks giftcard still has alot of bucks on it!

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I finally got some of the red tea (rooibus) by Celestial Seasonings. It's great! I especially like the fact that it is decaf . . . so I can have it in the evening.

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Alida
5'1" ~ 59 years old
Highest weight: 165
Atkins 7/10/2004
160/126/125
RE-DO, January 2008:
167/162/135

Double blueberry again this morning...didn't drink any again last night...gotta get better about that.

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Lori

232/190/130
My other journal http://www.lowcarbeating.com/bb/showthread.php?t=1130

Thanks Barb,
You are so knowledgeable. Thank you for explaining the difference between the teas. I have a local Asian store we frequent and I will look for the various teas there. The natural tea selection is much more varied there. I will also have decaf green tea as you mentioned, that way I can get a good nights sleep.
Celestial Seasonings Blueberry is my favorite next to the Lemon Honey Ginsing.
I think I tried the Rooibos iced tea, but wasn't crazy about that one. Maybe the quality wasn't there. I will probably give it another try.

__________________
1/25/05::Atkins Plan
Starting Weight: 184.0
Current Weight: 174.0 (5/6/05)
Goal Weight: 160.0
10/8/05: Back to 184.0
On the Road Again: 10/17/05
I will not give up! I will not give up!

Colette, if you mix your rooibos with some other flavor, like CS Gingerbread Spice, it's really good!!! (but of course, it won't have any green in it.) (if you like pumpkin pie spices). Good luck finding tea at the Asian market. It's soooo cheap at mine. (100 bags for $2.29 or less, such a deal!!!)

Glad I could be of help to you!!!

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Though I've not officially been part of the green tea challenge, I have switched to drinking a couple of cups of green tea in the afternoons. I'm not too fond of the taste, so I usually combine it with lemon, ginger or camomile.

Green tea in the news:

Scientists find how green tea fights cancer
Compound can prevent diseased cells from growing
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7187847/

The article explains the green tea enzyme interactions that suppress cancer cells. Doctors are encouraged that this will lead to new treatments for cancer patients with fewer side effects. The news isn't all good, though. There seems to be a potential link between high levels of green tea consumption around the time of conception and early pregnancy and the birth defect, spina bifida. As I've not heard of spina bifida being very common in Asian communities, I'm thinking they must mean very high levels, indeed.

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~~~Teelbee
Back to GOAL!!!
start weight: 176/goal range: 137-134/now: 138
Reached goal in Aug. 2003 - 4rd year of maintenance.

On my morning double...lemon and ginseng this morning...I have a sore throat and a cough so will be doing a LOT of tea today as well as soup for lunch.

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Lori

232/190/130
My other journal http://www.lowcarbeating.com/bb/showthread.php?t=1130

Teel, interesting article. But after they do more research on this, they'll probably try to isolate EGCG, which IMHO, might make it work differently in the body. I am an herbalist, through and through. And one of the things I have learned through the years is that most herbs work because they are in their whole form and have other compounds in them that work synergistically together. So what they will try to do is to create a drug based chemically on EGCG, tout it as a miracle cure for cancer, but it will have side-effect also. I just wish research would look at things like this in their whole form, determine how much is needed and leave it at that. Call me a "purist" of sorts. BUT, I will keep drinking my green tea, in its whole form and be a happy camper.

It's interesting to note that it has that effect on folic acid. That is important information!!!! It would be interesting to find out what the incidence of spina bifida is in Asian countries. I know they have pretty low cancer rates in spite of high populations of smokers.

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just peeking in here to see what kind of GREEN tea one drinks on their TWO YEAR ATKINS ANNIVERSARY!!
;-)

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