Helloooo yummy flat-belly number! Well, what were you waiting for? That’s exactly what we asked ourselves—what took us so long to create this powerful and delicious number?! After all, we’ve created so many bloat-fighting “detox” drinks (hiya Cucumber Blueberry Water Flush, Lemon Ginger Turmeric Tea “Detox”, Lemon Ginger Detox drink and Vitamin C Infused “Detox” Water) that help your body and your mind quickly get on the healthy track while neutralizing toxins, flushing damaging free radicals and puffiness, to boot! How could we have waited so long to include orange, mint and green tea in the same bevvie?
After all, citrus is known for being a potent immune-system booster and antioxidant, anti-inflammatory power-house to boost your body back to being its’ best– and we love it so much that we either use lemon or lime to flavor most of our dinners—and growing up we loved oranges and grapefruits so much that we couldn’t choose one over the other so we’d go half-sies –each twin having half an orange and half a grapefruit, score! 🙂
And the ultimate SCORE? This flat-belly sipster!
Here’s why this is a great way to start your day!
What makes this tea so good for getting a flat-belly?
It flushes bloat–puffiness (from salt) and gut bulges (from constipation)
Do you drink enough water? Most people don’t, but guess what? Get your hands on this, and it tastes so good, you’ll wanna keep sipping—and this is one key to your flat-belly! If you’re not drinking enough water to balance out the salt in your diet, especially if you eat salty snacks, restaurant meals, aren’t eating as well as you’d like, etc., then you feel especially puffy! Your body likes salt to be at a very particular concentration in the body. Eat too much salt and your body holds on to water to dilute the salt. And when you hold on to excess water, that’s when all holy heck 😉 breaks lose!– You feel BLOATED & puffy! ICK!
- Drinking plenty of water helps keep you hydrated so your body can flush excess sodium and waste, making you feel light and energized. Water also helps push waste out of your colon (i.e., helps prevent constipation, keeping you regular and flushing out any gut bulges that come with the waste!)- hello flat-tummy!
- Green tea also green tea has the ability to slightly boost your metabolism thanks to the tea’s caffeine content and from its’ potent catechin, a type of antioxidant called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). Click here for more tips on increasing fat burning?
The Green tea:
(Want more green tea, check out our Detoxifying Green Tea Smoothie and our Matcha Green Tea smoothie.)
The fluid in tea helps to flush excess water weight, minimizing your middle—offering all the flat-belly perks, including the gut-bulging constipation.
- More bloat gone? Yup! Green tea has a small amount of caffeine (35- 80 mg compared to coffee’s 100-400 mg in the same size cup). It’s just enough caffeine to increase the amount of urine your body releases as it also gives you a slight energy boost. This tender boost from green tea is invigorating.
The Orange:
it’s chock full of vitamin C, an antioxidant that helps boost your immune system and rid your body of toxins, keeping inflammation at bay.
When your body is bombarded with constant inflammation not only from things like alcohol, refined sugars, and chemicals in processed foods—also from stress, pollution, etc., your body’s inflammatory response works harder to keep you healthy. Keeping up with that constant inflammation takes a lot of work from your body and can wear down your immune system, leading to everything from the common cold to chronic health issues. Soo…
the moment you get run down, if you’re human 😉 your flat-belly intentions fall by the wayside—you likely don’t eat as well or focus on exercise, either. Plus, your body can’t operate in tip-top shape when its’ immune system is constantly being challenged. Eating and drinking foods with anti-inflammatory ingredients help fight that constant inflammation so your body can work efficiently to flush toxins and recharge your system.
Plus, oranges are a great source of potassium, which helps to prevent water retention by regulating sodium levels in your body (i.e.–minimize salt-induced bloating so that you can de-puff!).
The Mint:
(Fun fact: which twin is guilty of buying four mint plants in three weeks just to support her habit when the leaves couldn’t grow back fast enough to keep up with her use? Answer: Lyssie)
We like to think of mint as a peacemaker in the body. It soothes the stomach, easing indigestion possibly by improving the flow of bile through the stomach, which helps to speed and improve digestion. Thanks in part to its anti-inflammatory antioxidant rosmarinic acid, it “calms your insides” to pacifying the inside of your body! Buh bye indigestion and bloat!
Get ready to feel some flat-belly love in your tummy! 🙂
Orange Mint Iced Green “Flat- Belly” Tea
Makes 1 serving (8 ounces)
Ingredients
1 bag green tea
8 ounces of water
1/2 small orange or tangerine
2-3 mint leaves
Ice, to chill
Directions
- Prepare green tea according to package directions. (We heated water, just until it bubbled [not a rolling boil], then we poured it over the green tea bag, let it steep for 5 minutes and then removed the tea bag. For stronger tea you can steep longer).
- While tea is steeping, squeeze juice of the half of the small orange into a small dish. Add the mint leaves to orange juice and muddle (press the leaves into the dish to release their healthful oils).
- Once tea has cooled slightly, pour tea over ice, add in orange/mint juice. You can include the leaves or leave them out, either way you will get their minty effect.
If you make a large batch garnish with extra orange slices, fresh mint, and store in fridge- that way you can sip on this yumster all day long! Adding ice is perfectly OK, just know that it will dilute the flavor.
Nutrition Facts Per Serving: 19 Calories, 0 g Fat, 0 g Saturated Fat, 0 mg Cholesterol, 1 mg Sodium, 5 g Carbohydrate, 4 g Fiber, 1 g Sugar, 0 g Protein
- 1 bag green tea
- 8 ounces of water
- ½ small orange or tangerine
- 2-3 mint leaves
- Ice, to chill
- Prepare green tea according to package directions. (We heated water, just until it bubbled [not a rolling boil], then we poured it over the green tea bag, let it steep for 5 minutes and then removed the tea bag. For stronger tea you can steep longer).
- While tea is steeping, squeeze juice of the half of the small orange into a small dish. Add the mint leaves to orange juice and muddle (press the leaves into the dish to release their healthful oils).
- Once tea has cooled slightly, pour tea over ice, add in orange/mint juice. You can include the leaves or leave them out, either way you will get their minty effect.
- If you make a large batch garnish with extra orange slices, fresh mint, and store in fridge- that way you can sip on this yumster all day long! Adding ice is perfectly OK, just know that it will dilute the flavor.
- Nutrition Facts Per Serving: 19 Calories, 0 g Fat, 0 g Saturated Fat, 0 mg Cholesterol, 1 mg Sodium, 5 g Carbohydrate, 4 g Fiber, 1 g Sugar, 0 g Protein