"t" is for tea, tomatoes

Tea

I drink a LOT of iced tea. I mean a LOT. Pitcher after pitcher, day in and day out, at home or in restaurants, I drink iced tea. When I decided that I wanted to consume things that nourish my body (rather than tear it down), I was pleased to find out that iced tea is good for you! Since green tea is even better for nutrition and detoxifying, I have switched to green tea (decaf) most of the time. I still occasionally brew up a pitcher of black (decaf) tea, or sometimes I mix the two - just for a change of pace.

What's not great for my body is the Splenda that I use to sweeten my iced tea... I know, I know, I've even written about the problems with artificial sweeteners. And the good news is that I've been able to cut my quantity of sweeteners in half over the last year. Yay! But, still... with the sheer quantity of tea that I drink, the amount of artificial gunk that I put in it is embarrassing (and it feels hypocritical). However, it is a good reminder that I am still a work in progress - not finished yet! (And I don't think we ever really "finish" or "get it perfect" do we? Do we want to?)

Here's my latest experiment with my tea: when I go to restaurants, I order unsweetened iced tea and I USE NO SWEETENER! I just started last week, and so far, it's not too hard. I'm always eating with someone, and usually chatting up a storm, so I don't pay as much attention to my tea as I normally would. I hope that this will help reset my taste buds so that I can eventually be sweetener-free at home, as well. Wish me luck!

Tomatoes

I adore tomatoes. I like them cooked, roasted, grilled, in sauce, in salad, mixed with basil, mozzarella, and balsamic, on a sandwich with white bread and mayo. Tomatoes are the first vegetable that I attempted to grow on my patio. Although I've had success growing the plant, I haven't yet grown my fill of tomatoes. Since I'm growing from seeds this year, I expect to have 6-8 plants... Whew! Maybe I'll have all I can eat!