If you don't know what to have for dinner tonight ...

Use canned garbanzo beans to make this an easy-to-prepare tasty Meditlerranean-style salad in a matter of minutes.

Prep and Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 15 oz can garbanzo beans, preferably organic
• 2 cloves garlic
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• 2/3 cup minced green onion
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 3 TBS parsley, minced
• 2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
• 1 TBS fresh lemon juice
• Optional: 1/4 cup feta cheese
• 1 head romaine lettuce

Directions:

1. Press or mince garlic and let sit for at least 5 minutes to bring out its hidden health benefits.
2. Drain liquid from garbanzo beans and rinse under cold running water; this helps prevent intestinal gas.
3. Mince green onions.
4. Dice tomatoes.
5. Mince parsley
6. Combine all ingredients and serve over a bed of romaine lettuce.
7. Top with feta cheese, if desired.

Serves 2

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Daily Food Tip

Is there any benefit to consuming green tea straight from the bag and adding it to my food? Am I having too much tea if I use two to three bags per day?

I haven't seen any research involving consumption of tea leaves directly. I'd expect the tea leaves to be nutrient-rich, however, and definitely higher in most nutrients than the tea water we drink after brewing them. Yet, I would expect the daily consumption of the amount of dried tea leaves in two to three tea bags to pose digestion problems for some persons because of the possible astringency of the tannins and potential irritability related to the caffeine content of the leaves.

There are about two grams of dried green tea leaves in a standard bag of tea. That amount is about four times higher than a standard capsule of green tea powder (about one-half gram). The two substances cannot be strictly compared, because green tea powders are a far more processed product than dried green tea leaves. However, on a gram-for-gram basis, if you are consuming the tea leaves from 2-3 bags of green tea per day, you are consuming approximately 4-6 grams of leaves, and a gram equivalent of 16-24 capsules of green tea powder. Whether this practice is appropriate in your circumstances is a question that your healthcare provider will need to address.

I realize that capsules containing a powdered form of lyophylized (freeze-dried) tea leaves are widely available in natural food stores and have an impressive tract record in animal research with respect to health benefits. Blood sugar and insulin regulation, immune system function, and regulation of body weight are all positively impacted by addition of green tea powders to animal diets. From my perspective, however, this information from the dietary supplement world involving highly processed tea leaf powders and animal studies does not provide reliable information as to the benefits of whole, dried tea leaves in an individual's Healthiest Way of Eating.

As a proponent of the sheer pleasure and delicious tastes of food, I would also want to consider the pure enjoyment of brewed tea. The flavors, aromas, and process of sitting down to a warm cup of tea is not only a much-coveted tradition in many world cuisines, but a welcomed moment of relaxation and enjoyment related to one of the World's Healthiest Foods.

It's certainly possible to get creative with your brewed tea, like I did the other day when I was making brown rice. Instead of cooking my rice in plain water, I brewed several cups' worth of green tea and then used that tea as the cooking liquid for my rice. This green tea water added a nice flavor to the rice and I suspect it added some nutritional benefits as well.