March is the Month for Matcha
By Carly Hagemann, Recruitment Coordinator
In light of last week’s green St. Patrick’s Day celebrations and National Nutrition Month, let’s talk about matcha. What is matcha, anyway? Matcha is a finely ground powdered form of green tea that has approximately 10x the nutritional value of a cup of steeped green tea. Matcha has half of the caffeine found in a cup of coffee and contains the amino acid L-Theanine to help balance out the jitteriness caffeine typically causes. L-Theanine is naturally derived from tea leaves and is shown to improve energy and concentration. Matcha, along with all green teas, contains the phytochemical EGCG that may increase the rate of burning stored fat as energy with its strong thermogenic properties.
Do you want to try matcha for yourself? There are many creative ways to incorporate matcha into your diet including homemade lattes, pastries, teas, smoothies, and ice cream. Here are a few of my favorite simple matcha recipes to try yourself:
Matcha Mint Iced Tea from the blog Love & Lemons
Matcha Green Tea Latte from Dawn Jackson Blatner, RDN
Matcha Mint Smoothie from the blog Rawberry Fields
Do you have a favorite matcha recipe not shown here? Please share your favorite recipes with us on Facebook!
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Photo by cyclonebill via Flickr