Iced Tea

I’ve sworn off diet pop, so I’ve been looking for substitutes. A favorite of ours is southern sweet tea. Well, that didn’t correlate to a sensible switch, so I’ve modified it by using stevia, agave nectar or local organic honey. I make a pitcher of tea and leave it to the drinker to sweeten accordingly. Nicholas’ glass looks like runny honey, but he’s weaning off the sweet tea sweetness!

Do you know how to brew tea? Here’s how I do it:

Ingredients

• 6 regular-size tea bags – any type, I use an organic, caffeine free green or white Republic tea

• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda (this reduces bitterness)
• 2 cups boiling water (I use filtered water)
• 6 cups cold water
• Whatever you sweeten with – I leave this out, but my mom would put 1 cup of sugar in hers

Directions
1. In a glass measuring cup or ceramic teapot large enough to accommodate the boiling water, place the tea bags and baking soda. Pour the boiling water over the tea bags.
Cover and let steep for 1 hour.

2. Remove the tea bags, being careful not to squeeze them (squeezing the bags will add bitterness).

3. Pour the concentrate into a two-quart pitcher and add the cold water. Sweeten, if desired.

4. Let cool, then chill and serve over ice. If you put in refrigerator before it cools, the tea becomes cloudy. If you add a little boiling water to cloudy tea it usually clears back up.

Makes two quarts.

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SkinnyBitch – Week 2 I’m switching from Coffee-Mate SugarFree French Vanilla coffee creamer to Silk Soy Creamer. My creamer was non-dairy, but I’m eliminating cow’s milk from our diets as well.