Tag Archives: chai tea

  1. Chai Hot Chocolate {Paleo, Vegan}

    Chai Hot Chocolate

    Wait, someone help me! How is it that Christmas is 4 days away? I feel like since Thanksgiving, life has been on 11 and the last few weeks just flew right on by. This is my absolute favorite time of the year and in a blink of an eye it’s nearly over.

    Since wrapping up all of the end of the year client work and the last few holiday craft shows, getting every last web order shipped out all over the world, wrapping and shipping all of the presents to send back home to our families, finishing my advanced yoga teacher training and all of the various social engagements typical of this time of year, the time to just sit back and relax this season has felt super few and far between this holiday season. We have been taking the fleeting moments where we can get them. Every meal has felt rushed and I have been doing my best to squeeze in workouts and yoga time. Last weekend I finished my final hours of my 500-hour yoga teaching certification, yesterday the last of the packages shipped around 1pm and it finally felt like I could finally breath again.

    Chai Hot Chocolate

    In addition to the crazy schedules, this holiday season has actually brought some really wonderful cooler temps and grey skies here in Southern California, even a little rain. It has been so pleasant and such a welcomed change. With the crisp, cool weather we don’t get too much of here, I have found myself seeking out hot soups, stews and hot comforting drinks! I created this drink a few weeks back, literally in the middle of a thousand things going on. I wanted the rich creaminess of a good cup of hot cocoa but I also was in the mood for a good spicy chai. As a libra, decision making isn’t always my strong point, so I thought, let’s just throw the two together. How could two things that are so right, ever go wrong?

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  2. Iced Dirty Chai Almond Milk Latte {Gluten-free and Vegan}

    Iced Dirty Chai Almond Milk Lattte {Gluten-free and Vegan}

    Many of you already know that I generally try to avoid most ALL dairy in my diet, but what you may not know is that I made the switch a long time ago to nut-based milks, even before I stopped consuming dairy in other places. The difference in how I feel consuming a plant-based milk versus regular dairy milk – is incredible. I find myself less bloated, I feel lighter and I can tell that it requires much less on my digestive system to process than cow’s milk dairy.

    Most of you know, I generally prefer to make my own almond milk whenever I can, but there are times when our schedule is just so crazy – when we are traveling, we have house guests or I am just bogged down with work. When life gets busy like that, it usually means stopping to make my own almond milk, just isn’t in the schedule.

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  3. Featured in Where Women Cook Magazine

    Featured in Where Women Cook Magazine

    I am super excited to have my chai concentrate recipe featured in the Fall issue of Where Women Cook Magazine. WHERE WOMEN COOK, a quarterly magazine from the publishers of Where Women Create and Somerset Studio, takes you into the heart of the home — the kitchen.

    WHERE WOMEN COOK is all about the women… some famous, some not; some entrepreneurs, some not; some vegetarian, some not; some in beautiful kitchens, some not; and some who create their own recipes, and some who do not … but all who are passionate about all things food.

    Featured in Where Women Cook Magazine

    Featured in Where Women Cook Magazine

    I am so very honored that they selected my chai concentrate recipe and my photos to be featured as a 4-page spread in their Art Bar section, an ongoing section of the magazine that features fun drink recipes — everything from fancy hot chocolates to cocktails to milkshakes.

    Grab a copy of the fall issue of WHERE WOMEN COOK at your favorite newsstand or sign yourself up for a subscription here.

     

     

  4. Vanilla Banana Chai Smoothie – Gluten-free + Vegan

    Vanilla Banana Chai Smoothie - Gluten-free + Vegan

    So, this is a short but sweet post. I actually didn’t plan on creating this recipe, it just kinda happened. Hence the single haphazard looking photos! But this was too good not to share. Sunday night I made some homemade raw vanilla almond milk. It had actually been a while since I have made it. I forgot how easy it is and how amazing it tastes. I also made my chai concentrate late last week. When I got home from yoga Monday morning, I was in a bit of a rush to get something into my tummy and to get upstairs to get to work so I thought up the idea of a banana chai smoothie. Once again, like the socca I made last week, I am not sure why I haven’t done this sooner. What a lovely combination of flavors, the rich vanilla flavor, the creaminess from the almond milk and the banana, the subtle nutty flavor and all those delicious spices! YUM!

    It has actually been a while since I made almond milk at home. Even though it is super simple, I somehow always talk myself out of it when I am at the store looking at the bulk raw almonds, contemplating it. Somehow it seems easier and quicker to just grab a carton of my favorite organic unsweetened almond milk. Then when I do find the time to make it and take one sip, I remember that it is totally worth it. This time, I also finally made an effort to do something with the leftover almond pulp from making the almond milk. I made some delicious vanilla “sugar” cookies drizzled with chocolate, with just a few additional ingredients besides the almond pulp. Look for that recipe later in the week.

    If you don’t have chai concentrate at home, see the note at the bottom of the recipe for a suggested alternative. I think it would work just great.

    Vanilla Banana Chai Smoothie - Gluten-free + Vegan

    [print_this]Vanilla Banana Chai Smoothie – Gluten-free + Vegan
    serves 1

    • 1/2 cup chai concentrate*
    • 1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
    • 1 organic banana
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1 handful of ice
    • Sweetener of your choice, to taste, if your chai and almond milk aren’t sweetened – a bit of maple syrup or a few drops of liquid stevia would be perfect, you could also add 1 or 2 pitted dates
    • 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

    Add everything but the cinnamon and nutmeg to the blender and process until smooth and creamy. Pour into your glass and shake a little cinnamon and nutmeg over top. Serve immediately.

    *Note – if you don’t have chai concentrate on hand, you could probably just brew a strong cup of chai using a tea bag. I would suggest just adding about 1/2 cup of boiling water to a mug with your favorite chai tea bag, removing the tea bag after it steeps long enough to be a strong dark cup of tea, then chill it and then add it to the smoothie. Or maybe you are inspired to just go with straight almond milk and add some classic ground chai spices themselves to the smoothie like cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, etc. Play around and let me know if you try any of those either variations.

     

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  5. I’m Back!! Overnight Chai Oatmeal – Gluten-free, Vegan + Sugar-free

    Feet on the dashboard, loving life.

    I am finally back guys and I have never been happier to be home and sitting at my desk! We actually got home on Friday but it has taken a few days for us to get through mountains of mail, email, orders, voicemails and well, just life! I hope you enjoyed all the lovely guest bloggers that were kind enough to post here on Tasty Yummies while I was away. It was so fun for me!

    Our Booth at Flatstock 33 at SXSW in Austin, Texas

    Our Booth at Flatstock 33 at SXSW in Austin, Texas

    Us at our Booth at Flatstock 33 at SXSW in Austin, Texas

    Our road trip to SXSW was so wonderful, overall one of the best we have ever taken. It had a few bumps along the way, but it is always so nice to be on the open road with the person I love more than anything, to see our friends from all over the world, meeting and chatting with customers and clients new and old! Plus the insanely warm weather, delicious food and rowdy nights don’t hurt either. This yearly trip is by far one of my favorites. This year’s 4-day Rock Poster Convention, Flatstock, was our most successful one yet. All of our hard work in preparing our booth and products felt like it really paid off. Oh and in addition to all the awesome work goodness, we even got to attend a private party at Willie Nelson’s ranch with a client.

    Hotel room yoga. Sirsha-asana.

    In between all of the work and hangouts I was able to sneak in some yoga where I could either in hotel rooms or at a great little studio I found around the corner from our hotel in Austin, and we were able to stay on track with our eating both by enjoying all of the foods I made for us and a couple of trips to the Whole Foods flagship store. All in all a really great trip!

    Celebrating Life

    Unfortunately, on the way home from Austin, as we were making our way back to Louisville to spend time with my husband Mark’s family for a night before the last leg of the trip home to Buffalo, we got a phone call when we were just 5 hours away that his Grandmother, “Momo” had passed. We all knew this day was coming and although it was a sad one and she will be deeply missed, everyone was happy that she was no longer suffering. Mark and I were lucky enough to have stopped by the hospital on our way down to Austin, and we spent a few hours with her. She knew we were there and was able to speak with us, so we both feel insanely blessed for those precious moments. Thankfully we were able to extend our trip by a few days to attend the funeral, be with family and celebrate the life of one of the most amazing women I have ever met. It’s funny how life works.

    Reunited with my Seri!!

    So after two weeks on the road with many emotional ups and downs, when we pulled onto our street all I could think about was cuddling with my pets, who I missed dearly, getting back to my daily yoga practice, juicing, cooking in my kitchen, sleeping in my own bed and of course, all the amazing client projects we have lined up for the coming months. Even though I am doing a simple and quick cleanse this week to get my body back to feeling like itself after all of the traveling, I plan to finally have some recipes for you this week and next.

    What is your favorite part of coming home after a long trip?

    Overnight Chai Oatmeal - Gluten-free, Vegan + Sugar-free

    This first recipe is something I thought up on one of our long stretches of driving when I was thinking of all the mornings I get home from yoga and I want to get right to my desk and get to working. Many times I will just grab a homemade bar of some sort or make some juice or a quick smoothie. I wanted to come up with another simple breakfast like my overnight cinnamon raisin chia pudding or my banana cream chia pudding (which can also be made overnight). I have seen many versions of overnight oats made in a similar way so I thought up this fun version. Overnight Chai Oatmeal.

    This tasty breakfast treat can easily be put together the night before, popped into an airtight glass mason jar or a covered bowl and left to soak. By the time morning rolls around you will have a delicious breakfast that can be served chilled or warm. You can have fun with your toppings, adding dried fruit or nuts or maybe even some shredded coconut. I just added a small handful of raisins.

    Play around with this spices and get it to your liking. I like my chai spicy, as I am sure you recall from my chai concentrate recipe. I add in a pinch of black pepper, but you can leave that out. Have fun with it and make it your own.

    Much like the chia puddings I make, I cannot wait to make this again and play with different flavor combinations. Imagine sinful chocolate peanut butter overnight oats. Mmmm…

    Have you ever made overnight oatmeal or chia pudding? What is your favorite flavor combo?

    NuNaturals

    When I arrived home from our trip, I came in to a large box of goodies from NuNaturals. They asked me to give their products a try, see what I think of them, develop some recipes with them, etc. I haven’t really done much official research and reading on stevia products yet, but I have been meaning to try them for sometime, as many bloggers who I follow love to cook and bake with it, so I am excited to get to experimenting with all of this. Look for more recipes in the coming weeks using NuNaturals products. I decided to use the Pure Liquid Clear Stevia for this overnight oatmeal, feel free to use whatever your favorite sweetener is, just add it to taste when mixing or when serving.

    Overnight Chai Oatmeal - Gluten-free, Vegan + Sugar-free

     

    [print_this]Overnight Chai Oatmeal – Gluten-free, Vegan + Sugar-free
    serves 2

    • 1 cup gluten-free rolled oats (not quick cooking) – make sure they are certified gluten-free
    • 2 tablespoons chia seeds
    • 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (you can also use soy, hemp, flax-seed milk, oat milk, whatever your favorite is)
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 5-10 drops of liquid stevia (or to taste of whatever sweetener you wish, maple syrup or coconut sugar would be great)
    • 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
    • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
    • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
    • 1/4 teaspoon ground anise
    • a pinch of ground black pepper
    • a pinch of ground cloves

    Mix together all of the above ingredients in a glass jar or a bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve the oatmeal chilled or slightly warmed up. Top with a dash of cinnamon, some raisins or whatever other toppings you wish.

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