F-Monday, here are a few distractions

I know there are a lot of blogs that do Friday roundups or “best of the week” lists. I don’t know about you but by Friday, I’m weekend-focused. I need inspiration on Monday. If you’re a “grab the bull by its horns” type of Monday person, that’s terrific. I’m not, it takes me most of Monday to wake up and accept that the weekend is over.

And so, I’m going to try to give you a few useful tidbits on Mondays. Instead of TGIF, maybe ISIM “I’m sorry it’s Monday” …no that isn’t a good acronym for reasons I’m sure you gathered.

Anyway…

1. I spent most of my weekend watching this on Netflix. There were a bunch of things I found unrealistic, even irresponsible but I couldn’t stop watching. Our school sent an email about this series. After watching it, I feel it’s a useful basis for discussing a hard topic with my kids. The series also confirmed how difficult it is for parents to connect with teens, even if you feel you’re a good parent.
2. And this is my current favorite podcast. The episodes with Sheryl Sandberg and Ina Garten were fantastic. I ran extra errands yesterday listening to Sheryl talk about her latest book.
3. I’m a Part’s Unknown fan, I already knew Anthony Bourdain avoids airplane food (and that’s impressive because he’s away 200+ days a year). The Times revealed some of his packing habits- he always brings a real book and its often a novel that takes place in his destination.
4. Saturday night we had drinks and dinner with my high school friends. Food and drink highlights were the kale margarita here and Brussels sprouts with blue cheese at dinner afterward. That's a happy marriage (Brussels and blue).
5. And finally, on Friday I received a delivery from Not MilkNYC. Their non-dairy milks are a blend of nuts and seeds and even the flavors are lightly sweetened (we’re talking 1 date per bottle). I found Colombe’s cold brew coffee, Not Milk’s chocolate milk and a touch of NuNaturals to be an enjoyable pick-me-up.

Any favorite finds you’d like to share? Are you pro-Monday or more of a F-Monday person?

Easy, Cold-brewed Iced Tea, No Boiling Required

 In a session last week, a client mentioned it was too hot to drink warm tea. Even though I like hot coffee hot, regardless of weather, I agreed regarding tea. I suggested she make iced tea and she looked at me confused “do you just chill hot tea, how do you make iced tea?” As I explained to her what I outlined below I realized iced tea probably baffles a lot of people. We have to fix that.

To answer her question, I don’t like making iced tea from hot tea. It tends to have a burnt or harsh taste. Instead, I make it cold-brewed in the fridge.

All you need:

Large Mason jar (or as large as you have) or any container with a lid

Tea- loose or in bags, in the photo I used Bellocq's Green Mint tea

Water

Strainer

Optional: stevia

Add tea to the jar (I use 2 tablespoons of loose tea in a 32 ounce jar) but 1 teaspoon loose tea or 1 bag per six ounces of water is a good ratio. I gravitate toward loose tea as I generally have a lot to use up. And I find the flavor is better with loose tea but use what you have.

Add water, filtered water if you have a water filter (or a top-notch bottled water like Core).

Cover the jar. This is why I use a jar, many people use a pitcher but I’m weird about fridge scents and prefer a closed container. Also, I can take the Mason jar to work. Again…use what you have.

I steep the tea overnight, it needs at least 4 hours of brewing time.

When it’s done, strain it. I put a strainer over a bowl and pour the tea in. Discard the used tea that’s in the strainer, rinse Mason jar if any tea is stuck to it and pour iced tea back into the jar.

If I’m making a green tea, I’ll add stevia. Otherwise add sliced lime or lemons, fresh mint or just drink as is. Easy tea-sy.