Can something so healthy actually taste so friggin’ good?

Usually if something tastes really good, it means it’s probably not that healthy for you. I’m thinking things like Nutella or fried chicken or ice cream. This is a weak generalization, but I think most of us grew up believing the point this graph conveys:

One day I’m exploring the world wide web for food related things, and I come upon NutrionFacts.org. The author of a blog claims that he has an antioxidant-packed tea recipe (very healthy) that tastes just like fruit punch (not healthy)!

This seems like a job for this blog to taste test this.

Does this video’s recipe actually taste like fruit punch?

Here is the video:

Let me briefly mention antioxidants. It’s the craze. Green tea has a lot of them. They help you stay healthy, fight heart disease, fight cancer, all of that. You should get them in your body, in moderation (I would be great at promoting proper nutrition to the masses).

Note: while antioxidants are generally considered a good thing, one needs to realize that a high intake of antioxidants is not a cure-all, and even taking supplements may be questionable. To read more about the hype of antioxidants, read here. But certainly we can agree that a drink like the one below is better than most fruity drinks out there.

As this video claims, there are many drinks that have antioxidants, and many more than the antioxidant poster child: green tea. Two of the popular ones are macha tea, which I never had, or green tea powder, which I also never had. But there is something healthier than these two healthy drinks, apparently.

What is better than macha, or green tea powder?

Answer: hibiscus tea.

And here’s the unbelievable part: NutrionFacts.org’s blog claims to have a hibiscus tea recipe that “tastes just like fruit punch” and “your kids will love it!”* I wouldn’t believe it until I tried it myself.

*I don’t have kids, and after I considered inviting random kids into my place and have them test out a mysterious red drink, I decided that would not be the greatest idea.

Here is the recipe:

1/2 gallon water or 8 cups

4 bags of any tea which Habiscus is first ingredient

Juice of one lemon

4 tablespoons of blended dates or erythritol (a healthy sweetener that is kind of hard to come by, so I used Truvia which I at got at Whole Foods)

Instructions: Cold brew in fridge overnight. Shake up, take out tea bags.

The next day, blend some fresh mint leaves in this brew (I tried both a food processor and blender, both yield the same results). Run this blend through a strainer and into cups you are serving to your guests.

Experiment

This was a simple one. I served this hibiscus “fruit punch” tea to 5 guests at my dinner party. I did not tell them what it was or what was in it. My instructions for them were to simply react to the drink. What does it taste like? What does it remind you of?

For this tea I used The Republic of Tea Hibiscus (which also had some blackberry taste).

Here are their reactions:

Caroline: Mint aftertaste. Crisp, faintly sweet, refreshing. Not too heavy and not too watery.

Meg: Happiness, tastes like Hi-C or Kool-Aid, and some mint. Smells fantastic, sweet.

Allison: reminds me of Squeeze-Its!

Adam: raspberry? tea, floral, great mint flavor, sweet

Erin: minty, fruity, refreshing, fruit punch-y

Me: minty, herby, sweet, not overpowering, full flavor…and yes, it tastes just like fruit punch.

Once everyone wrote their reactions down, I asked them the (leading) question: did this taste like fruit punch?

Everyone agreed in the affirmative immediately. Two of the taste testers already stated that it reminds them of drinks we used to drink in our childhood (those glorious, sugar-filled drinks of sweet “fruit”).

Now you know there is a drink out there that tastes like fruit punch yet has the highest antioxidant count out of every drink on this planet. Super healthy and tasty. And simple!

Thanks Dr. Gregor.

Be sure to check out Dr. Gregor’s blog at http://nutritionfacts.org/blog/