Warm Up With a Delicious, Healthier (And Less Expensive!) Version of Your Favorite Hot Drink

When winter hits, I don’t just swap out my summer clothes for my winter threads. I also swap out iced drinks for hot ones. Below are my go-tos on cold days and nights. They are easy to make at home and healthier and much less expensive than the cafe-bought versions. They are also gluten free. Enjoy!

Hot Chai-Tea Latte

I am a reformed coffee drinker. I gave up caffeine when I became pregnant for the first time and realized that I felt better than I had in a long time. Coffee can cause an upset stomach and irritate the urethra and caffeine can become addictive. So, I decided not to return to coffee after I had my children and tried caffeine free herbal teas instead. It was slow going for a while. My taste buds certainly had to adjust. While I still long for a great cup of coffee now and then and the smell of it brewing in my house (my husband is a coffee drinker) is one of my favorite scents, I am now a devoted tea fan and drink a cup almost every day. I love all sorts of tea, but my hands down favorite is a chai tea latte. The spicier, the better! If you’re up for a cup, the following recipe is a simple to make and contains less sweetener than store bought concentrations (which are also what most cafes serve!):

Ingredients:

• 15-20 cardamom pods (3 or so per cup)
• 20-25 cloves (4 or so per cup)
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon or 1 cinnamon stick, ground using a pestle and mortar 
• 8-10 black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger or ½ teaspoon of ground ginger
• 5 teabags of black tea (I prefer decaffeinated) or lose tea (enough for 5 cups)
• 3 teaspoons of honey or maple syrup
• Milk of your choice (I like unsweetened macadamia nut milk)

Directions:

• Using a pestle and mortar, ground your cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon stick and black peppercorns. Set aside.
• In a medium sized pot, boil 5 ½ cups of water. Take it off of the heat and add in your tea bags, spices and honey. Cover and steep for 3-5 minutes. Remove tea bags, but let the spices steep longer (up to 10 minutes). 
• While the spices, steep, you can steam your milk. 
• You can steam milk at home using a French press, a microwave and jar, or a saucepan and whisk. For the French press method, heat milk, pour it in, and pump the plunger until frothy. To use a microwave and jar, shake the milk vigorously in a lidded jar and then microwave it. Alternatively, gently heat milk in a saucepan while whisking it with a balloon whisk until it froths. Once the milk is ready, strain spices out of tea into a glass container. Heat a cup’s worth in a new pot. Pour tea into a mug and add the milk.

Healthier Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon of organic cacao powder
• ¾  cup of water (boiled)
• ¼ cup of milk
• 1 teaspoon of turbinado sugar or maple syrup
• Marshmallows or whipped cream (optional)

Directions:

• Add the cacao powder and sugar (or maple syrup) to a mug. 
• Pour in water and milk and stir thoroughly.
• Top with marshmallows and/or whipped cream, if desired.

Variations:

• Want to give your hot chocolate some “kick”? Add a dash of cinnamon and chilli powder to your cup.
• If you like peppermint, use a crushed candy cane to sweeten the hot chocolate in place of the sugar or maple syrup or to steer clear of sugar, use ⅛ a teaspoon of peppermint oil.

Caffeine-Free Java

Want the coffee flavor without the negative side effects? Try herbal coffee. One brand I highly recommend is Teeccino (the Dandelion Dark Roast tastes most like a regular cup of coffee). Add any type of milk and you’re all set! Because it’s made with carob it has a naturally “sweet”, chocolatey flavor so  you can skip adding sugar (or not!).

I hope you enjoy making these toasty drinks as much as I do. There’s nothing like a hot drink, a book and a blanket to end a long day, especially if it’s a snowy one!