Try it – Banish cravings, one sip at a time

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Try It

For those of you who are hoping to nip those cravings in the bud this year, I have a trick for you. I’ve found that it normally has a 95% success rate (yes, there are times when chocolate cookies are 100% called for and that’s where the other 5% comes into play
!). What is it you ask? Tea.

But are all teas created equal? Studies have shown that green tea, specifically may have an upper hand on the other varieties. Easy to find in your local grocery store, green tea is considered a metabolic stimulator and a diuretic.

A study conducted in 2000 found that rats given an extract of green tea had a significant decrease in food intake and body weight.

In addition, green tea contains beneficial substances called polyphenols, which promote the burning of fat. Green tea also contains caffeine, a stimulant and diuretic. Like any beverage that contains caffeine, just be aware of your intake so you don’t get the mid-morning jitters!

No, not the crazy green tea powder concoction that annoying people push at your local mall kiosks, but just plain, simple…green tea bags.

For me personally, I find that my sweet tooth is calmed by ANY tea — green, black, white, chai, – perhaps my sweet tooth is color blind? But seriously, I find that sipping any tea helps put cravings at bay and also serves as a great pick-me-up.

Some of my favorites:

Yogi – Vanilla Tahitian Hazelnut

Harney and Sons – Tropical Green (frequently enjoyed at TAZA)

Zhena’s Gypsy Tea – Chocolate Chai (The Coconut Chai is another fave!)

Any fresh concoction from Teavana.

To kick things up a notch, add a splash of milk, a bit of agave nectar or honey! Well, I’m off to fill my cup – cheers!

hot tea

hot tea

What do you do to keep cravings away? And what is your favorite flavor of tea?

23 Responses to “Try it – Banish cravings, one sip at a time”

  1. stina said:

    My green tea of choice is Tazo’s Zen which is a minty green tea. I have a cup every morning. I’ve also found love with Celestial Seasoning’s Candy Cane Lane – too bad that one is seasonal. :(

    I’ve been meaning to try the Yogi Tahitian Vanilla. I think I read your review of it here and that piqued my interest.

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  2. Heather @ The Joyful Kitchen said:

    tea is SUCH a great thing to stave off hunger! that little bit of flavor always helps me, AND it feels great to do something good for myself! great post girl ;)

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  3. Erin said:

    This is a great tip — I often have a cup of tea after dinner to ward off wanting dessert. My favorites are chai and simple English black tea.

    If the chocolate craving is really strong, I have a cup of cocoa for 100 calories. Not bad. :D

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  4. Estela @ Weekly Bite said:

    LOVE the sweater on your coffee :)

    Tea does help me stave off hunger for a little while ;)

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  5. Shelley said:

    this is soo true- tea really does help!!

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  6. Good Taste. Healthy Me said:

    OH I totally do this also! When I get hungry for a snack, I whip out the tea. I’m really open to any type of tea and it’s always yummy!

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  7. Chelsea said:

    I love peppermint green tea-YOM. Are you a knitter? If not, who made the cup cozie for you? I gave them out as gifts a few years back-SO fun!

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  8. Casey @SpicyandSweet said:

    Thanks for the tea tips! My fave is peach tea from Target…cool and refreshing, and so sweet with no sugar…it’s delicious and easy to make! I want some right now :)

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  9. sunniva said:

    Tea actually does help! I love any kind of tea, drinks it all the time :-)

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  10. Beth @ DiningAndDish said:

    I totally agree!! Tea is the best way to stop me from snacking at night. Looove the tea cozy – adorable!

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  11. Sarah said:

    Where did you get that sweater for your coffee. It is so cute and I want one!

    I love STASH Chocolate Caramel Decaf tea. It is so tasty and does curb my sweet tooth.

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  12. Lauren said:

    My favorite tea is green tea for sure, and I love to drink it in the morning at work. My only problem is that I also drink bottle after bottle of water, and I have a feeling my coworkers think I’m a freak for going to the bathroom at least 50 times a day. Ah!

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  13. thedailybalance said:

    Sarah — It’s from Caribou — as is the coffee cup! – it is actually ceramic ;)

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  14. Gracie @ Girl Meets Health said:

    I’m a huge tea drinker. I have at least 4 cups a day! And I have certainly found it helps me to eat less. I go to tea when I feel “boredom hunger” come along…sipping on a nice warm mug of tea does the trick instead of raiding the pantry ;) I just read your tweet about teavana dark chocolate green tea…uh, YUM?! That’s a flavor of tea?? If so I must have some ASAP!

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  15. Karmen @ Fit Twentysix said:

    I used to work at Caribou! Anyway, you hit the nail on the head! I just realized that sipping tea helps with my redonkulous sweet tooth. By the time I’m finished, my belly is full, my taste for something sweet, and i forget I wanted that king size Snickers =) Definitely gonna have to try the Vanilla Tahitian Hazelnut!

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  16. Jenny said:

    just recently I’ve discovered bigelow blueberry green tea.. oh, it is such a dream!

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  17. Daily Delish - It’s all about the antioxidants | The Daily Balance said:

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  18. Nicole said:

    Interesting thought! I’ll give it a shot! Can’t hurt…love tea and it’s great for you!

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  19. Stella @ EcoStella said:

    I’ve never heard of Yogi Tahitian Vanilla, I’ll have to hunt that one down. My favorite right now is Chai Tea. To satisfy a sweet tooth I mix the Chai Tea with some vanilla soy milk, spoonful of hot chocolate powder and a some fat free whip cream…It’s like low cal spicy hot chocolate. Simply Delicious!

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  20. Jess said:

    I love, love, LOVE, Zhenya’s jasmine dragon. I have a box at work that helps keep me calm(er).

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  21. Jenny said:

    Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride is my current favorite, but I also love Lipton Green and Black tea bags, the Honey Lemon black tea is awesome :)

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  22. Nancy said:

    Hey! Wow I was just looking up on google about cravings and green tea, I bought a thing of green tea 2 days ago, and I’ve been drinking 4-5 cups a day! I LOVE it. Green tea with berry… It totally takes away those freeking sweet tooth cravings. I made cookies for my niece and toddler today and I only had half of a cookie, usually it would be like 4. U have no idea how happy I am to find this magic tea!!!! Lol. And weirdly enough, I am a lot more regular than usual :-) . I just feel so happy right now! Days before I was upset because I felt like I couldn’t control my cravings, which is why I’m soo happpy noww.

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  23. Heather (Where's the Beach) said:

    Interesting. May need to give this a try. However, my cravings for something sweet end up being after dinner. Tea will keep me up all night!!!

    Posted on | Reply

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