I was recently reading an article in a nutrition magazine about Going Green, green tea that is, the information was compelling so I want to share my findings. Green tea offers a number of health benefits and works as a nice alternative to coffee. I am sure you all have heard that tea is good, but green tea is especially good because it contains two basic components: an antioxidant (EGCG) and amino acid (L-theanine). Antioxidants do just what the name says, protect against oxidation effects and as a result reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. The amino acid in green tea works on the brain and can actually improve mental focus and promote mental relaxation. Best of all green tea is one of the richest dietary sources of these two components. It also has been shown to boost metabolism, burn fat, and increase endurance, most likely a result of the caffeine content. So if you are a current coffee drinker try switching it up to green tea and reap the benefits of caffeine and superior health!
If you are not a tea drinker or don't like hot liquids, no worries , green tea can be consumed hot or cold and still provides you with the benefits mentioned above. I personally enjoy drinking tea and also like the flavor of coffee here and there but I'm going to experiment with eliminating the coffee for the rest of the paleo challenge and just stick with a couple of cups of green tea a day and see how it goes.
Here's what I cooked up yesterday:
Paleo Eggplant Parmesan
I found this recipe on The Paleo Kitchen website and attempted it yesterday. This recipe calls for cheese which may or may not be in your plan; I decided to go with it for my first attempt. Overall it turned out pretty yummy and reminded me lasagna. It was a little too cheesy for me so next time around little or no cheese. Try it out for yourself.
How is everyone doing on the Paleo Challenge? What have you cheated on so far? What have you experimented with? Post to comments…
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What I have tried is a couple of things. First, I tried a higher fat diet (good fats) cutting out more carbs to substitute for the carbs. I noticed I was slower with the met-cons. I went back to cutting the fats and added more carbs to my diet and found I wasn’t as slow with the met-cons. I however saw no change as far as weight with the higher fat foods. Haven’t met my goal of loosing 5lbs. I also tried eating less but found myself hungry and binging at night to make up for it. I also experimented with fasting and learned it doesnt work for me because I end up eating twice as much after ( and especially with my lack of sleep) and I’m better off consistently eating the way I do while still decreasing the amount slowly.
Cheats? Chocolate, frozen yogurt, chocolate and for you desi people that get me, PINNI’s (lots of them)!!
The worst thing about falling off is trying to get back again! This always sucks.
Ditto on the fasting, Smita! …and the cheats as well!