Light and Chai

A Chai Latte might be the most delicious non-alcoholic hot beverage. Chai is so tasty, and oh so high in sugar/calories. A Starbucks Chai latte with skim milk has 266cal; with soy 203; and with whole milk 315. For a treat that's pretty high.

I've been playing around with making my own less sweet, decaffeinated chai concentrate and am happy to share my "oh so easy to copy cat," recipe.

In a slow cooker combine:

7 cups water

2 cinnamon sticks plus about a one inch piece of fresh ginger

1 tbsp allspice

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp ground cloves

2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cardamon

1/2 tsp peppercorn

1 tsp ginger 

Once all the spices are in stir it up, and cook on low for 4 hours. 

Add

6 teabags of your choice ( I like Earl Grey)

Let the tea steep, to your preferred strength. Then remove the tea bags, and cinnamon sticks.

Add

1 tbsp stevia powder

1 tbsp vanilla

1/4 cup maple syrup.

Mix the concentrate together well. Pour the concentrate into a pitcher and strain out the spice. 

The Chai Concentrate will store well in the fridge for 2 weeks. 

Happy Sipp'n!

cure for stress-Tortilla soup

Ookay, hypothetical here; You wake up semi early on a Sunday morning. You look around and feel kinda displaced. It looks like an atomic bomb exploded in your room, house, whatever. You feel your frustration growing and a huge sense of overwhelmed-ness takes control of your psyche. You want to scream, just a little. You've had a busy weekend, and still have a million and one things to do today. The way I see it, you have two choices:

a.) you can allow the stress to take over and become an insane stress-case

or

b.) you can acknowledge the stress and dive in. Start making things easier. 

If your sane, which i presume you are you will choose option b. Good choice! My family, has a tradition of Sunday dinners, a nice meal on a Sunday is really relaxing and provides you with lots of yummy leftovers. Of course time is an issues. Eating well means slaving in the kitchen. Unless of course you have a crock pot. 

This Sunday I want Tortilla Soup, It's so easy to make. So dust up your slow cooker and follow along.

Ingredients: 

Step One ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil

I large onion- finally chopped

3 cloves of garlic minced

1 can of crushed tomatoes

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 can black beans drained

4 cups vegetable broth

1/2 cup lime juice

1fist size of chopped cilantro

1 Tbsp chili peeper

1 Tbsp cumin

1 tsp cayenne

1/3 cup tequila (if you wish)

1 tbsp maple syrup (or any sweetener of your choice)

1 tsp thyme or rosemary

and a dash of salt and pepper

Step 3 ingredients:

Seitan, or protein of your choice.

1 can of corn

Step 4:

Tortilla Chips

2-3 roma tomatoes

1 avocado

MMmmm....

This soup takes only 20 minutes to prep, and serves 6. 

Step one:

Combine all of the above ingredients in the slow cooker and cook for 6-8 hours. 

Step two:

 With either a hand blender (they are only $20 at target) or by carefully transferring the contents of a slow cooker to a blender puree the mix. 

( you can always leave the soup chunky if you prefer.)

Step three:

Add the seitan or whatever protein substance you want, and the corn. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Cook again for about an hour.

To serve, cut up an avocado, dice a tomato, and crush up some tortilla chips. Pour the soup into bowls and garnish with the avocado, tomato, chips, and whatever else you wish. 

ENJOY!