Thursday Review: Good Earth Sweet & Spicy Herbal Tea

Years ago, my pilates instructor recommended this tea to me and I fell in love with it instantly.  I recently rediscovered it and have been craving it daily.  I tend to stay away from caffeine after lunch during the week so I love that they also offer a caffeine free herbal blend.

Ingredients:  Red Rooibos, Chicory Root, Natural Flavors, Rosehips, Cinnamon, Lemongrass, Peppermint, Papaya, Chamomile, Panax Ginseng, Anise Seed, Dandelion Root, Ginger Root, Orange Oil, Orange Peel.

With quite a varied and interesting list of ingredients, this tea could certainly go either way.  Either blend spectacularly or taste like the equivalent of a train wreck in a mug.  Luckily for you and me, it works deliciously!

Aroma:  The tea steeps quickly and even though they advise 3-4 minutes, within a minute you can really smell the tea.  I usually brew it for 2-3 minutes and the flavors are all really present.  The longer you steep, the spicier and sweeter the tea becomes.

Before you even take a sip, the aromas draw you in.  Intensely cinnamon with a hint of mint underneath, I anticipate my first sip every time I brew this! 

Taste: As promised at first sniff, the scent of the cinnamon represents a huge flavor boost to the tea.  The spiciness of the cinnamon blends with a subtle peppermint and anise flavor, with the ginger and papaya peeking through.  The tea is fairly sweet, as the name implies.   You may wonder if there has been a sweetener added, but the tea is as is.  Delicious, sweet and spicy.

Recommendation: Perfect for cinnamon lovers!  Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

Product Review - Salter Kitchen Scale

After reading and hearing about the difference a food scale can make to weight loss efforts, I decided it was time to get one for myself. Not only does it allow me to be more accountable to just how big that steak I ate really was, but it allows me to quickly weigh and measure for recipes and tracking.



I did a bit of research online and after some struggles with in-stock availability in the stores, I decided on a fairly basic model, the Salter Stainless Steel Electronic Kitchen Scale (retails for $29.99).







After using this scale for a few months I wanted to share my thoughts on the product.


Pros:

This scale weighs foods in both ounces and in grams. This is a convenient feature when you're basing your calculations on nutritional information provided in grams (think chips and cereal here!!)

It has a tare or zero function. I am so dependent on this feature. It takes away having to do your own calculations and just subtracts out the weight of the bowl or other container for you.

Decent price point. Some other food scales have more bells and whistles and you pay for those. Since this was my first scale and I wasn't sure how often I was going to use it, I wanted to make sure it was affordable. You get what you pay for though, it's a basic scale. But for $29.99, I'm pleased overall with the affordability of something I'm using every day in my meal preparation.

Easy to use. Since the displayed information is just the weight (down to 1/8 oz.) there's not much to understand. Pop in the battery, and you're ready to use it.

Small and compact, this doesn't take up a lot of room on the countertop. I am seriously lacking in counter space in my kitchen, so that's a very important feature for me!

The weight capacity is just over 7 pounds. I haven't found a need to weigh anything heavier that that.

The scale can measure either in ounces or grams. If you choose to weigh in ounces, the scale measures in fractions instead of decimals. I feel like this is a bit of a pro and a con, depending on the user. The fraction functionality works for me as I can convert that to decimals easily enough in my head.

Cons:

Short battery life and type - this takes a 9V battery, which isn't something I have around my house. With such a short battery life, I don't like having to run out to replace the batteries so often.

Inconvenient LCD display location. If you're measuring your food in a bowl or larger plate, the display gets completely covered. I avoid this by measuring in small containers or by putting the food directly on the scale. Means more clean-up.

Not easy to store - though, that may be the case for most food scales. I put this away in my pantry for a short bit and even though the scale was off, something was inadvertently placed on top of it which I believe drained the battery.

Final thoughts:

Overall, I'm happy with my purchase. I may want to replace this within the year and get something with a little more functionaly and better design, but for now I will continue to use this almost daily. I would recommend this as a great starter kitchen scale, good for someone who doesn't use their kitchen scale for large cuts of meat or full meals, or great for someone with not a lot of space in their kitchen.