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Hi everyone, hope your enjoying yourself this Wednesday!

As always I’m joining in the WIAW party! These are my eats from Monday, I like to try and do different days for WIAW as I tend to eat different things / amounts depending on the day. I thought that since the theme is green this month I’d look at one of my green loves – green tea!

I got up and had my usual mug of warm water with lemon juice then tried to get as organised as possible before going to the gym. Every other week we have a team meeting first thing on a Monday morning so I need to get into work a.s.a.p. I made sure I had my lunch and snacks ready in the fridge and laid out my outfit for the day:

T shirt: Primark (only £3!), black skinny trousers: Gap, white vest: H&M, heart patterned socks: Accessorize, black exposed zip boots: New Look (not pictured)

That’s my current favourite tee, I love the summery print!

Then I headed to the gym. I started a new phase of Female Body Breakthrough starting with 5 minutes warm up on the cross trainer followed by strength training (including planks again!) and finishing with 20 minutes of HIIT on the step machine and bike. As I didn’t have time for a proper breakfast I made a very quick but extremely delicious vanilla protein frappe:

This was just ice, instant coffee, a scoop of vanilla sun warrior protein powder, a pinch of xanthan gum and water blended up. It was lush, cheaper and more convenient than Starbucks and was enough to satisfy my hunger and get me out the door. Once I was at work I made a big mug of green tea before the team meeting. After the meeting I had breakfast no 2:

A pink lady apple and a Gourmet Raw cacao cocobanana chocolate brownie plus you guessed it, another mug of green tea! I love that I can eat a brownie for breakfast as these are just so healthy. Lunch was a great salad based on my Confetti Quinoa Salad:

I mixed some leftover quinoa with hemp oil, apple cider vinegar, parsley and dried blueberries and added to a salad of cos lettuce, carrot and red cabbage. After lunch I had a green tea with chai.

For my afternoon snack I had brought some carrots and raw almond butter but I was feeling pretty hungry so when I saw a banana going spare in the kitchen I nabbed that too:

I also had yet another green tea!

Dinner was a big stir fry. I had picked up veggies from the green grocer at the weekend including choi sum and diakon. I also added some broccoli, carrot and mange tout to the mix along with a generous amount of the peanut lime sauce I’d made at the weekend and some leftover baked tempeh:

For a delicious dessert I had two plums topped with Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut butter plus a liquorice and cinnamon tea:

They were amazing! That Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut butter should come with a warning label its so addictive! The one time I don’t drink my green tea is in the evening as it does have a little bit of caffeine in it so I tend to go for my fave herbal blends.

I realised when I looked in my drawer at work that I may have a minor green tea problem:

I have a lot more at home too, at least I won’t be running out of that any time soon!

I started drinking green tea about 4 years ago and as of about 3 years ago I completely swapped my regular milky black tea for green tea. I love my spiced and herbal blends but some times I just want something that tastes neutral and fresh. The benefits of drinking green tea are numerous and include:

• High in catechins which have been shown to halt oxidative damage to cells
• Reduced risk for several cancers, including, skin, breast, lung, colon, esophageal, and bladder
• Can improve insulin sensitivity
• Can provide bone density benefits similar to exercise
• Promotes fat loss
• Increases exercise endurance

source

I always feel healthier for drinking green tea! As well as drinking as a tea, brewed and cooled tea makes a great liquid base for smoothies and even as the cooking water for grains like rice and oats to impart a delicate green tea flavour.

My favourite brands are:

• Clipper - my everyday green tea
• Clearspring’s Kuricha – has a lovely roasted taste and is very low in caffeine
• Pukka Green tea with chai
• Twinnings
• We Are Tea
• Cosy Tea jasmine and lemon green teas
• Teavivre loose leaf greens that I’m currently sampling
• Tea Pigs amazing matcha!

Are you a fan of green tea? Do you have a favourite type or brand?

Don’t forget to check out my Chocolate Hemp shake GIVEAWAY!