Matcha green tea has been around for about a thousand years. And if you haven’t tried it yet, it’s time. That might have you wondering: what is matcha, anyway? Is it different from plain old green tea? If so, is it better?

If you’ve ever wondered about any of those things, you’ve come to the right place. Since matcha is a key ingredient in Pep Rally, our new energy boost, I wanted to do a deep dive. Ready? Let’s go!

Matcha 101

First, let’s talk about the common confusion between green tea and matcha. To clear it up, let’s start with the basics. Matcha is a specific type of green tea. That means that all matcha is green tea, but not all green tea is matcha.

Because matcha is specially grown and processed, the nutrients in the tea leaves are more potent and you get more of that leaf in your drink. Basically, matcha’s a more effective vehicle for getting the goodness of green tea (think: caffeine and antioxidants) into your system.

What makes matcha so great

Let’s be clear here: all green tea is great for you. Matcha just gives you some of the benefits in a higher concentration. Here are a few of my favorite things about matcha:

It’s loaded with antioxidants

Matcha has more antioxidants than other forms of green tea. This basically means it gives your cells more resources to fight damage, helping your body stay healthy and prevent chronic conditions, cancer, and more. 

It gives you a natural energy boost

Because matcha is more concentrated than green tea, it delivers more caffeine. For reference, an eight-ounce cup of normal green tea has about 28 mg of caffeine. That’s basically half of what black tea has and about a quarter of the caffeine content you’d find in an eight-ounce cup of coffee. Truthfully, I can drink a cup of green tea and not feel the energy boost at all unless I really pay attention.

Matcha is different, though. It can pack in twice as much caffeine as green tea or, depending on the preparation, even more. In Pep Rally, you’re getting 80 mg of caffeine per serving. But because you’re getting it from a natural source, you don’t have to worry about jitters or any of the other junk that can come with a lot of the caffeinated products on the market today. 

In fact, matcha also contains an ingredient that can directly combat that edge that comes with other forms of caffeine: L-theanine.

It delivers L-theanine

Remember how I said that shading the green tea leaves during the end of the growing process made them create more amino acids? This is the amino acid we’re talking about. L-theanine is a pretty powerful tool that can help improve focus and productivity. Specifically, this amino acid can:

• Help you fight stress and keep your blood pressure stable even when you’re in stressful situations
• Improve your focus
• Support immune health

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When we are in pain, our first port of call is usually to reach for over-the-counter pain relief. Some pain requires medicine to effectively manage it, but there are other holistic ways to relieve pain for those that want to try a more natural approach

A holistic approach to pain management is one that considers our emotional, mental and spiritual wellness, as well as our physical. Sometimes, holistic methods can be enough to relieve pain on their own, but they can also be used alongside traditional medicine.  

1. Acupuncture: Headaches and migraines

Headaches are common for a lot of us, but frequent headaches are usually associated with stress and anxiety. Acupuncture can be an effective way to relieve the symptoms of stress and anxiety, and therefore the pain you experience in your head. But, it’s important to pay attention to where exactly your pain is, as different types of headaches can determine where your acupuncturist will target. For example, if a headache gets better when you lie down, this might indicate a deficiency headache, so the acupuncturist would look to improve the flow of Qi and blood around your body.

2. Massage: Neck, back, and shoulder pain

Massages are typically thought of as being for relaxation purposes, but they can also be effective at targeting pain and sports injuries. For chronic aches and pains in your back, neck, and shoulders, a deep tissue massage is an intensive treatment designed to relieve tension in your muscles. It’s most commonly used in sports and for other medical reasons by physiotherapists and chiropractors.

3. Physiotherapy: Sports injuries

Exercise is a great way to keep active and healthy, but we can be prone to injuries, particularly if out on the football pitch or going for a run. This might be a result of insufficient warm-ups or cool-downs, or simply having an accident.

Physiotherapy is often confused with sports therapy - the difference being that sports therapists work to prevent and treat injuries using a variety of techniques, including physio. Normally, patients will be referred to have physio through a GP. Physiotherapy can help relieve both acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term) pain. It’s designed to rehabilitate and re-educate the patient on the movement of the body.

4. Osteopathy: Joint pain

Osteopathy is the process of diagnosing, treating, and managing musculoskeletal conditions (skeleton, muscles, ligaments, and tissue).

Osteopaths use manipulation techniques around the spine and joints to try to harmonise the synchronisation of the connective elements of the body. There are a variety of techniques that can be used depending on the area causing pain and will differ from patient to patient. Some methods include: soft tissue massage, cranial osteopathy and myofascial release.

5. Wim Hof Method: Undiagnosed or chronic pain

This method, made famous

Tender, caramelized meat that clings to the bone and requires just a gentle tug to pull it off makes for the perfect grilled spare rib. Mixing up an easy and flavorful dry rub for ribs makes them even more delicious.

Dry Ribs

Would you believe that a week ago I had never cooked bone-in ribs?

I assumed that they would be more difficult and complicated than the country style boneless ribs I’ve always purchased. I was wrong. These were so easy; I made them twice just to make sure it would work the same.

Technically, I made three batches, because I mistakenly thought that I could get away with using the crockpot. Let’s just say they were not the same.

In all fairness, the ribs that started in the crockpot were edible and the flavor was great, but the texture was off and there was just no comparison to the grill or oven versions.

Memphis Style Dry Ribs

When I decided to tackle cooking ribs for the first time, I went straight to my personal grilling expert. Chris from Nibble Me This has been an expert in the grilling arena for a very long time now. He first tempted me with the Grilled Smokey Chicken and Bacon Cheeseburger.

Next, he convinced me to grill our steaks using the reverse sear method. I’ve used that method repeatedly and never looked back. (There is nothing else like it, I promise, even if the photos do desperately need to be updated.)

And for further proof that Chris’ recipes have never let us down, his Po’dunk Sauce is the ultimate dipping sauce for any potatoes in your life!

The grilling method here creates perfectly cooked ribs each and every time. I was also thrilled to find out that I

Marks & Spencer is the latest supermarket ditching ‘best before’ labels in a bid to reduce food waste

The ‘best before’ labels on supermarket foods were designed to help customers but their impact on food waste means they’re causing more problems than they’re solving. This week Marks & Spencer announced their plan to remove ‘best before’ labels from 300 varieties of fruit and veg to help reduce food waste.

They’re not alone either. Tesco ditched ‘best before’ labels on their own-brand produce back in 2018, Lidl doesn't include ‘best before’ information at all and Morrisons said goodbye to the labels in January this year.

Note: ‘best before’ dates differ from ‘use by’ dates, which are included if there could be a risk to safety if ignored.

This change means customers will need to use their own judgement more, but it could make a big difference in the battle to reduce food waste. These moves by supermarkets will help the UK’s commitment to meet the United Nations goal of halving food waste by 2030 compared with 2007.

Food waste charity Wrap estimates that 45% of global greenhouse gas emissions can only be reduced by making changes in the way we consume products and food. By saying goodbye to ‘best before’ labels on produce, Wrap says we can save the equivalent of 7 million shopping baskets of food a year.

Catherine David, a director at Wrap, said: “We’re thrilled to see this move from M&S, which will reduce food waste and help tackle the climate crisis.

“We urge more supermarkets to get ahead on food waste by axing date labels from fresh produce, allowing people to use their own judgement.”

Not sure how to tell when your food is potentially unsafe to eat? Here are some signs to look out for:

• a slimy film
• visible mould
• a rancid smell
• discolouration
• unusual texture

Further reading

• Here are some steps you can take to reduce food waste.
• Want to be more eco-friendly? There’s an app for that.
• Here are 10 eco-friendly life hacks to try.
• Learn more about Greenwashing and how to spot it.
• Get creative with your ingredients with these recipes.

Chewy, thick, Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies with chocolate chips are a treat that we’ve enjoyed for a lot of years now.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

It is no secret that I keep a full cookie jar. I have a house full of boys constantly on the prowl for a snack. I also stash lots of cookies and cookie dough ready to be baked in the freezer to avoid running out.

Oatmeal cookies are such a versatile classic. The nuttiness of the oatmeal and sweet chocolate hit the spot when the mid-afternoon munchies come on. These cookies help fill the gap when dinnertime gets stretched later during the summer.

If you find yourself out of quick oats when making these cookies you can use regular rolled oats. They are fairly interchangeable when baking. The rolled oats will result in a slightly heartier cookie and may take longer to bake.

I like to consider oatmeal cookies breakfast. I mean it is basically a bowl of oatmeal and when peanut butter is added there is your protein. Breakfast, who would argue with that logic?

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe multiplies beautifully. I frequently triple it in order to have plenty of cookies to stash in the freezer or to make more Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches.

When multiplying the recipe, take care not to allow the dough to warm too much. I find it’s helpful to tuck the cookie dough in the fridge between batches. This results in thicker, prettier cookies every time. 

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