10pm Date Night: Ice Hibiscus Green Tea with Chia Seeds

My husband is a Crossfit fitness fanatic.

The upside, undoubtedly, is that he is fit.  The downside, unfortunately, is that he pounds down food and beverages like a Kodiak Bear fresh out of hibernation.  So everything I make is double, triple, sometimes even quadruple the normal recipe amount.  But that also means I get to cook with him a lot.  And that’s a nice tradeoff.

Tonight, while trying to fend off the temptation from the Ben and Jerry in our freezer, we decided to make some tea.  Loaded with antioxidants, fiber, calcium, protein, and omega-3 (all from the marvelous chia seeds), here is our delicious and healthy Hibiscus Green Tea with Chia Seeds.

Makes 2 (20 oz) glasses

Prep:  5 Minutes

Make: 15 Minutes

Ready: 1-2 Hours

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon of loose Dragonwell/Longjing green tea (can substitute with green tea bags, but I just found the loose Dragonwell tea leaves are more fragrant and really adds to the overall flavor)
• 2 tablespoons of Hibiscus tea (loose petals)
• 2-4 tablespoons of chia seeds (to taste.  We like the taste and texture of chia seeds, so we usually add at least 4 tablespoons.  But anywhere from 2 to 4 tablespoons should work.  It’s recommended to incorporate 4 tablespoons of chia seeds into your diet everyday)
• 4 tablespoons of honey or agave nectar/Stevia for the vegan option (to taste.  Hibiscus has a distinct tartness.  Depending on how much you want to taste the tartness, you can scale up or down the amount of sweetener)
• 5 cups of drinking water

Directions:

1. Boil 2 cups of water
2. After water starts bubbling, shut off the stove and add green tea and Hibsicus tea leaves
3. Let the tea leaves steep for 5 minutes
4. Using a strainer to catch the leaves, pour the tea into a heat resistant jar or pitcher
5. Add honey into the jar or pitcher with tea and stir until honey melts
6. Add the remaining 3 cups of water and stir until evenly mixed
7. Add chia seeds and stir for 60-90 seconds (until gel forms around the chia seeds)
8. Refrigerate the tea for at least 1 hour (2 hours for optimal taste)
9. Enjoy!