holiday tea

A mixture of two drinks both shown to help lower blood pressure. Great for the holidays or any time of the year. Only 25 calories per glass

The holidays are stressful.

We plan and we make and we shop and we go, go, go...

Talk about a blood pressure raiser

But after doing a lot of research on foods & drinks that help lower your blood pressure, I've come up with a delicious drink to help fight that stress-induced holiday high blood pressure.

Pomegranate White Tea

To say I'm a tea lover would be a huge understatement.

Every morning I fix a big cup of white & green tea. I can't start my day without my tea. Coffee makes me feel jittery and sick to my stomach.

But tea... tea I love and it loves me back. I swear by tea. I may be crazy, but I'm convinced that tea helps keep me cold-free. Cold-free since '93 {How I Met Your Mother, anyone?}

Tea can help lower blood pressure, reduce weight, fight inflammation, the list goes one...

And then there's the pomegranate.

A lot of research has been done on pomegranates, touting its health benefits from anti-aging & anti-inflammatory benefits to blood pressure & cholesterol lowering abilities.

In fact, healthy men & women that drank about 11 oz per day of 100% pomegranate juice significantly lowered both their systolic and diastolic blood pressure in 4 weeks.

While I don't suggest you chug gallons of pomegranate juice every day, it can't hurt to drink some every week. Case in point: one study of dialysis patients drinking about 10 ounces pomegranate juice per week also showed significant decreases in blood pressure.

So I thought I'd mix two healthy drinks that both have potential blood pressuring lowering effects plus lots of other health benefits and make it festive for the holidays.

You don't have to have star shaped ice cubes; they just look cuter than regular.

And you don't have to put the pomegranate seeds in the ice cubes either, which from the looks of my photos, you can't even tell that I did.

I like having them in there though because when the ice melts, you can eat your pomegranate seeds!

Either way, this tasty drink is a good alternative to the sugar-filled beverages typically offered at the holiday table. Make a big pitcher for your refrigerator and maybe you can help fight that holiday stress a wee bit.

Oh and make sure you buy the pure pomegranate juice. You want it to say 100% juice.

Pomegranate White Tea

A mixture of two drinks both shown to help lower blood pressure. Great for the holidays or any time of the year.

5 from 7 votes

Print Rate

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Cooling Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 8 cups

Author: Meme

Ingredients

For Pomegranate ice cubes

• ▢ 1.5 cups water
• ▢ 1 pomegranate
• ▢ ½ cup 100% pomegranate juice

For White Tea

• ▢ 8 bags white tea single serving
• ▢ 3 cups almost boiling water
• ▢ 5 cups cold water

Instructions

• Make the pomegranate ice cubes
• Pick the seeds out of the pomegranate. {I like to do it in the 1.5 cups water you need for the ice cubes because any of the juice that gets out of the pomegranate is already in that water}
• Add pomegranate juice to the water & pomegranate seeds. Stir then pour into ice cube trays {including the pomegranate seeds}. Freeze until solid.
• Prepare the tea
• Steep the tea bags in very hot {not boiling} water for 10-15 minutes. Discard tea bags, and add cold water. Put in the refrigerator until it is cold.
• Serve cold white tea with pomegranate ice cubes. Enjoy!

Did you try this recipe?Be sure to leave a comment & recipe rating below. Bonus points for tagging @memeinge & #livingwellkitchen on Instagram! THANK YOU! xo

This recipe is shared on Eat at Home Ingredient Spotlight: Tea

How to open a pomegranate video:

Disclaimer: In no way shape or form am I telling you that this is absolutely going to lower your blood pressure. Don't stop taking your blood pressure lowering medications. This drink isn't going to be the reason your blood pressure lowers and gets you off the meds. It's just a healthy drink that combines two healthy things that have been shown in some studies to lower blood pressure. Also, check with your doctor or pharmacist before drinking pomegranate juice because it can have adverse effects on your body when taken with certain medications.

Meme