Sooo - I have a major sweet tooth and LOVE my warm drink on these cold days in the morning. I try to be good and avoid too much caffeine as well as refined processed white sugars, corn syrup, and those incredibly bad for you liquid sweetners loaded with fructose and glucose and whatever other perservative this world has created - that they pump into our drinks. We talking 5 - 10 pumps later of straight sweet shit and you think you are just having a mini treat! Hmmmm... and honestly - they are simply not good for you.
My daughter eats amazingly and has taught me a few tricks along the way. I have a new go to each morning now that I simply LOVE.
SPICED CHAI with a little love
Most of us probably spend $10-$50 a week with mini visits to Starbucks, Tims, MacDonalds, or where ever you venture. I decided to stop those visits and invest in a frother - steamer. It was $100 at the Bay. It takes no space on my counter and we use it everyday now for all sorts of things. This is my mini receipe that I absolutely LOVE
-Spice Chai Decaf bag
-Boiling water
-half to one tsp of coconut oil.. why.... Coconut oil is high in natural saturated fats. Saturated fats not only increase the healthy cholesterol (known as HDL) in your body, but also help to convert the LDL “bad” cholesterol into good cholesterols. By Increasing the HDL's in the body, it helps promote heart health, and lower the risk of heart disease. AND its brain food. The brain is surrounded by fat so guess what... you actually do need healthy fats to feed it. Love that I can eat fat and its good for me!!!!!
Add all these together so the oils melts nicely. The spice in the chai and the coconut add an amazing flavor.
-half a cup organic unsweeted plain almond milk. (you can use more if you want!)
-one tsp of pure maple syrup
-half to one tsp of cinnamon.... why... it tastes amazing and.... Cinnamon has been shown to slow stomach emptying, which curbs the sharp rise in blood sugar following meals, and improves the effectiveness, or sensitivity of insulin. It reduces blood glucose concentration and enhances insulin sensitivity. It can lower blood sugar levels, reduce heart disease risk factors, and has a plethora of other impressive health benefits. And it simply tastes amazing sooo.... use as much as you want but add it!!!!
Add all of these together in the frother - yup - all of them! Let it heat up and steam and oh my... yay... so good.
Take both the water combo and the almond milk combo and put it all together and you have the most amazing hot drink that is healthy but still a treat!
If you have a sweet tooth! Lets say chocolate, seriously - it is my issue! You can remove the Chai and add Cacao. (not hot chocolate mix, or cocao) You only need 1-2 tsp. It is more bitter then regular chocolate because it has no refined white sugar. Cacao is the purest form of chocolate you can consume, which means it is raw and much less processed than cocoa powder or chocolate bars. ... Cacao butter is removed from the bean during production and the remaining part of the fruit is used to produce raw cacao powder. Cacao is a top source of antioxidants, and it contains an abundance of magnesium and iron. Perfect!!!! Coming up to 50 - I need the magnesium! If it is too bitter, add a touch of coconut sugar if you want to give a touch of sweetness. Sooo good. For an extra bang ... add in half to one tsp of turmeric. Yup - tumeric. You wont even notice it! Why ... HUGE anti inflammatory - natural ibuprofen for the body! Many things we come in contact with and eat cause natural inflammation in our bodies so this is natures natural combat.
Let me know if you have a chance to try either of these and how they taste for you!