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The Nutrition Source

Sparkling Iced Tea with Lemon, Cucumber and Mint

Recipe courtesy of Liesbeth Smit

Most drinks you find in the supermarket are sweetened with sugar, fructose or artificial sweeteners. Beverages that are less sweet can satisfy your thirst without adding a lot of calories. This iced tea can be made exactly how you like it and is a perfect sugar-free alternative to sugary drinks.

Iced tea lemon mint (iced_tea_lemon_mint_liesbeth.jpg)

The following recipe will make two liters of sparkling iced tea. 

  • 1 liter water
  • 2 tea bags (choose a green tea or an herbal tea that you like)
  • 2 lemons
  • 2 limes
  • 1/4 cucumber, sliced
  • 1 bunch fresh mint leaves
  • 1 liter unsweetened seltzer
  • Ice cubes
Boil water. Let it cool for 10 minutes. Add the tea bags and half of the mint leaves and let it steep for 5 to 10 minutes. This will make a less bitter tea infusion, which is perfect for iced tea.
 
Squeeze the lemons and limes, reserving a few slices for decoration. Add the lemon and lime juice to the tea infusion. When the mixture has cooled down, add the cucumber slices and the rest of the mint leaves.  
 
Mix 1 part of the tea infusion with 1 part of seltzer just before serving. Decorate with mint leaves, a lime or lemon slice and some cucumber slices.  

 

Experts from the Department of Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health have proposed a new category of low sugar soft drinks, as you can read in Time to Focus on Healthy Drinks. For more healthy drink ideas, read Six Ideas for Low-Sugar Drinks. 

 

Liesbeth Smit (liesbeth_smit_nutrition.jpg)

 

 

Liesbeth Smit has a MSc degree in Nutrition and Health and does research in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health. She also assists with The Nutrition Source Web site.   

 

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