Every morning like clockwork for the past three years I wake up and prepare a green tea shake. The shake is nothing more than almond milk, Matcha powder and ice whipped up in a blender. I swear by this shake. Well really it’s the Matcha that I swear by.
Well one morning I woke up to a near empty carton of almond milk. OMG!! Not enough to make my shake and, like a junkie, I need my Matcha fix. I had to figure something out. That’s when I thought about the bag of frozen cut up bananas that I always keep stocked in the freezer and, low and behold, the evolution of Matcha Breakfast Ice Cream! I love how negative situations can lead to unexpected and delicious outcomes.
Ingredients
- 2 over ripe bananas
- 1 tsp. Matcha green tea powder (go slow due its strong flavor)
- 1 tbsp. almond milk
- Cocoa nibs (optional)
Directions
- Cut up and freeze a few ripe bananas
- Allow frozen bananas to thaw slightly
- Put bananas, almond milk and Matcha powder in a blender and whip until creamy
- Top with cocoa nibs
A Deep Dive at the Health Benefits
Green tea is know for its antioxidant powers. Green tea powder (Matcha) has 137 times more antioxidant power then regular green tea. That makes sense when you consider with green tea you steep then throw away the leaves. With green tea powder you are literally ingesting the young green Tencha leaves. Tencha leaves are grown in the shade and give the powder its rich deep jade green color.
So what is an antioxidant anyhow? Antioxidants are substances that slow down or prevent damage to cells caused by free radicals. Free radicals are unstable oxygen containing molecules that the body produces, often as a result of metabolic processes and environmental stressors. The more free radicals lurking in our body the greater the chance of mutations and erroneous cell growth. This means things like cancer, progression of aging, wrinkles and hardening of the arteries.
Antioxidants are free radical scavengers. The polyphenols in green tea have potent antioxidant powers. Other free radical scavengers include a-tocopherol (vitamin E), ascorbic acid (vitamin C), b-carotene (vitamin A) and selenium.
As though all this wasn’t enough, green tea is considered a superfood. That’s right! Green tea detoxifies the body, increases immunity and metabolism, boosts energy and promotes focus and calm. It is right up there with coffee in terms of caffeine content but the L-theanine in Matcha gives a nice energy boost without causing nervousness and jitters. All of this is why I swear by my Matcha every morning!