Nutrition Facts And Benefits Of Green Tea To Know

People usually use tea due to a number of reasons. Some drink it as a refreshment beverage and others use it as it is some kind of routine in their lives. In both cases, though, the majority of people usually prefer black tea to green tea. 

The green tea, nonetheless, has stunning nutrition facts and numerous health benefits than its counterpart. Hence, our reason for having it as our main point of discussion today. 

Green Tea Nutrition Facts 

A significant portion of Asia, particularly China, India and Japan, have it as a common beverage in their everyday lives. The Chinese, nonetheless, were the earliest users before spreading it to the rest of the world. 

While not a lot of people realize it, both black and green coffee comes from the same plant, Camellia Sinensis. The difference between them comes during the preparation process, in which the leaves are steamed to prevent fermentation. 

Following are some of the key nutrition facts of green tea that you should know: 

1. How Many Calories Are In Green Tea 

Well, when we speak of the calories in green tea, there’s no fixed content level. The beverage is either low-calorie or calorie-free as it depends with the other ingredients added to improve the essence and taste. 

With the usual “bagged Green tea” that has a net weight of around 2 g, for instance, there are 0 calories since it contains only the tea leaves. Nonetheless, a bottled Snapple Green Tea (let’s say 17.5-0z) can have up to 130.75 calories due to the contained sweeteners. 

2. Is Green Tea Acidic? 

The acidic nature of green tea usually depends on the kind you are using and how you are using it. For a freshly brewed green tea that has no additional ingredients, for example, the PH value is 7 (neutral). Hence, very useful when you are in an alkaline diet as it will help in neutralizing the acidic levels in your body. 

Also, the alkalinity of green tea can help improve your digestion by making it smoother and healthier. Thus, very helpful after meals. 

3. Is Green Tea Caffeinated? 

Well, in most cases people consider green tea as naturally caffeine-free. In the real sense, though, the tea does have caffeine but in a relatively low amount (25-50 milligrams per 8-ounce cup). It’s hard to state the exact amount contained as it predominantly depends on factors, including the variety of tree plants and the growing condition. The caffeine in the best green tea is about ¼ the amount contained in coffee and ½ the amount in black tea. On top of the low caffeine levels, green tea has amino acid L-theanine that assist in counteracting the side effects of caffeine. 

4. Should I Have Green Tea Before Bed? 

This fact is a bit complicated to say yes or no due to the presence of caffeine and amino acid theanine. With the latter, the compound helps boost relaxation and restful sleep. The caffeine, on the other hand, is great in increasing alertness and keeping someone awake. 

To minimize the contradiction and ensure an optimal balance of the two, it is great you use your green tea about 2 hours before bed. After all, at this time your metabolism is at the lowest.

How To Get Energized: This Is What You Need To Do

You are running a little late for work. You knew you shouldn’t have hit that snooze button a fourth time. Now you only have enough time to down a coffee and drive to work. 

This coffee keeps you awake for a few hours but you are slugging along by the time lunchtime hits. You don’t have a single bit of energy to focus and you are not sure how to get energized and fix your situation. 

The answer is to first, eat something. Next, don’t down coffee in the morning. The caffeine will keep you awake for a while but you will reach an inevitable crash at some point in your day. 

These aren’t the only things to keep in mind if you want to stay awake. Check out this guide for more energizing tips. 

Stay Hydrated 

As you sit at your desk and read this article, you're probably dehydrated. Many people go about their daily lives without enough water in their bodies and that makes you tired. 

If you're not the biggest fan of water, we do have good news for you. Most anything you drink has some kind of water in it. 

Guzzle down tea or juice to get a little hit of water. You can also infuse your favorite fruit in a bottle of water to give it more taste. 

Watch What You Eat 

The things that you eat have different effects on your energy levels. If all you eat is junk, it's no wonder that you're so tired. 

Your body needs a good balance of protein and carbs to energize you and help you get through your day. 

You should also try foods that have alkalizing properties. These foods will balance out your PH and give you a lot of energy. To tell if a food has alkalizing properties, check the negative pral scale. 

Drink Tea Instead Of Coffee 

Starting out your day with a cup of coffee will give you a temporary surge of energy that will only last for a few hours. When you start to get tired again what do you do? Most likely reach for another cup of coffee. 

Eventually, you have consumed so much caffeine that sleeping at night will be a struggle. So, you should start your day off with a nice, hot cup of tea instead. 

Tea contains compounds that improve a person's mood and makes them feel more awake. Make sure that you don't pour a ton of sugar into your cup though. It will defeat the purpose and result in a sugar crash instead of a long-lasting energy buff. 

Get Up And Move Around 

Not sure how to have more energy after work? The answer is to not sit in one place all day. Get up and move around even if you only walk down the hall to the water fountain and fill up your to-go bottle. 

Exercise releases energizing, feel-good endorphins so consider getting up a few hours early each morning to go on a run before work. Trust us, you won't miss the lost shut-eye. 

Listen To A Catchy Tune 

If you start to feel sluggish during your day, turn on a bit of music. Listening to upbeat tunes will sort of wake your mind up. If you are working it's a good idea to choose music without words though. 

You may get so caught up in your vocal solo that you forget about the mountains of paperwork in front of you. If you're at the gym though, feel free to listen to whatever you want. 

Have The Right Mindset 

Speaking of tricking your brain, psych yourself up. If you dwell on everything you have to do during the day, you'll begin to feel overwhelmed. All you'll want to do is lay back on your bed and pull your blankets over your head. 

Instead, come up with a game plan to tackle your schedule. Once you have a good idea about how to manage your hefty plate, it won't feel so hefty. 

Try Essential Oils 

If you spend a good deal of time in your office, it will begin to smell a little stale eventually. That smell will do the exact opposite of making you feel more awake. You'll feel tired and gross. 

If this sounds like you, pop open a bottle of essential oil and put it in your diffuser. Be sure that whatever essential oil you're using to brighten up your office isn't lavender or chamomile. 

Those will make you feel sleepier. Citrusy smells like lemon will do the trick though. 

Give In To The Allure Of A Power Nap 

If you have a lot on your plate, a long afternoon catnap isn't going to be in the cards. Truth be told, even if you do have time on your hands, you still want to stay away from the catnap. 

If you sleep for more than 20 minutes it will affect how you sleep that night. A 20-minute power nap will make you feel energized enough to make it through the rest of your day without keeping you up at night. 

How To Get Energized And Crush Your Day 

Are you tired of slugging through your day like a zombie? Once you know how to get energized, you won't have to deal with it anymore. So, drink a bottle of water or two, put on an upbeat song, and if all else fails, give in and take a power nap. 

Do anything you need to do to focus on your work and crush any big task that may come your way. 

Eating better and exercising so you can have more energy doesn't have to break your bank. Check out our blog daily for frugal fitness tips.

What To Know Before Taking Caffeine Pills

Have you ever woken up just not feeling it? Like you are low on energy, have zero motivation to do any of the tasks at hand and simply want to be lethargic all day long? Or, perhaps you even wake up with a headache? 

All these are signs that you likely need to get caffeine into your system as soon as possible! 

Caffeine is a reliable way to feel energized and enhance your functionality both mentally and physically. Many people get their caffeine through a daily cup of coffee. For them, they find it to be an enjoyable, meditative and relaxing time that leaves them feeling their absolute best. Plus, who does not love the aromas of a good cup of coffee for caffeination? 

But for a range of reasons, getting your caffeine through a cup of coffee may just simply not be possible. Whether your hotel room does not have a coffee machine or you simply do not like the taste of coffee, you could be faced with a dilemma of how to get your energy levels up quickly and efficiently while not jeopardizing your health. 

This is where caffeine pills come into play. Not only do these supplements give your body the instant dose of caffeine it is craving, but caffeine capsules can provide you with a ton of various benefits for the rest of the day too. 

Like all supplements, you should only consider taking these after chatting to your doctor or nutritionist. Caffeine affects everyone differently, so do your due diligence first. 

To help you decide if caffeine pills are for you, we have rounded up everything you should know and consider beforehand. 

1. Get The Caffeine Benefits With No Coffee Breath 

While many of us enjoy our daily cup of coffee, one of the side effects of this is that many of us are often then left with coffee breath. But with caffeine pills, you get all the benefits a cup of coffee provides but without the actual taste of coffee or the lingering coffee breath that may ensue. This is a great solution for those that know they need caffeine but don’t want to bother with a cup of coffee. It is an efficient way to get your caffeine dosage with no bad breath to worry about. 

2. Have More Energy For Longer 

Caffeine helps boost our energy levels. While some people need anywhere from two to five cups of coffee to sustain their energy throughout the day, one caffeine pill can give you the perfect dosage to feel that energy all day long. Why waste time drinking multiple cups of coffee and risking feeling sick and bloated when instead you can take one caffeine pill for the day and feel sustained energy for longer? 

The caffeine that is found in coffee is the same caffeine that is found in pills. It is just a more isolated version of caffeine that lets your body absorb more of it faster. It is no wonder that so many different types of people find their energy is best sustained when taking a caffeine pill—including elite athletes, corporate professionals and stay at home moms. 

3. Enjoy The Benefit Of Losing Weight 

While caffeine pills are not designed to help you lose weight as a primary benefit, it is a secondary benefit for sure. First, caffeine will give you enough energy to live an active lifestyle and lose more weight. Moving more throughout the day and doing various activities will naturally help you shed pounds. Then, the caffeine pills also help get the isolated caffeine directly into your bloodstream so the excess body fat can literally be deleted from your body. Finally, caffeine pills eliminate the need to rely on energy drinks. These drinks, while full of caffeine, are equally full of calories and sugar. So not needing to rely on those will equally help you keep off the excess and unwanted weight. Caffeine tablets are a much lower calorie and less acidic option.

4. Feel Better And More Recovered 

Caffeine has several key nutrients our body needs to feel better throughout the day. This includes antioxidants, which play an essential role in helping our body recover better and faster. For those who are physically active, the antioxidants from caffeine pills will help expedite the recovery process and even lessen the impact of sore muscles. While there is more research being done currently on this, it is an exciting factor to consider when taking caffeine pills yourself. 

5. Moderation Only 

As stated earlier, make sure to discuss the pros and cons of caffeine pills for you specifically with a medical professional first. You do not want to overdo it on the caffeine pills as it can end up disrupting your sleep and even your heartbeat. So figure out the best plan for how to incorporate caffeine pills into your life first before making it a part of your routine.

9 Beverages To Keep You Healthy This Winter Season

For most people, the onset of the winter season signifies the beginning of a period characterized by regular consumption of hot healthy beverages. The season is dedicated to mugs of hot chocolate, eggnog, mules, cocktails, and many more. While some of these beverages are classified as healthy drinks, others aren’t too healthy! Remember that cold temperatures can impact your health in different ways. Rather than consume processed drinks, consider the following drinks during the looming season. 

The Best Winter Drinks 

1. Hot Water, Lemon, And Ginger 

This list wouldn’t be complete if it didn’t start by mentioning the most iconic winter beverage of all time. As you already know, hot lemon water is something you should consider taking each morning, regardless of whether it’s cold or warm outside. 

Lemon water contains essential immune-boosting qualities that help to enhance your well-being. Adding ginger to the water makes the water taste better while also making it healthier. Add a few drops of honey if you are suffering from a sore throat. 

2. Buttered Coffee 

Coffee doesn’t have to be a boring winter drink. Why not spice up your morning cup by adding a healthy twist to it? When buttered, the beverage helps you eliminate the caffeine jitters while providing you with an energy boost to last you the whole day. Furthermore, a single cup of this brew will also boost your daily intake of beneficial fats. Your blender will emulsify the coconut oil or MCT oil and the butter to provide the brew with an exciting creamy latte effect. 

3. Herbal Tea 

Winter is the perfect time to switch out your everyday tea and replace it with loose leaf tea. As is the case with any other teas, you can easily prepare it at home and continue to keep warm for the rest of the winter season. 

The best thing about herbal teas is that they don’t lead to an increase in caffeine intake. Additionally, you have many options to consider, with some of the most common in the online tea and coffee shop being tulsi tea, green tea, and blue tea. 

4. Hot Almond Milk 

Drinking a cup of hot almond milk is another excellent way to keep the body warm during the cold season. Regularly sipping your almond milk will ensure you don’t freeze as you go about your daily activities. 

Almond milk is rich in essential nutrients such as essential fatty acids, calcium, and protein, all of which are needed by the body to remain healthy. The beverage will boost your strength during winter and improve your heart health and bone health. 

5. Chai Tea 

Although the variety of chai tea available in most shops isn’t healthy, this recipe, using chai tea bags is good for you. Many chai varieties tend to have loads of full- fat milk and way too much sugar in them. 

The ideal chai recipe has eight servings. This means that each cup will only have a single teaspoon of sugar. Moreover, it’s beneficial for your health as it’s brewed using a wide array of nutrient-packed spices and herbs. 

6. Fresh Mint Tea 

Fresh mint tea is considered a wonderful digestive that can do wonders when you are suffering from nausea or an upset stomach. Its health benefits aside, the tea has a delicious taste that will make you want to take more sips as the day progresses. 

It doesn’t take much for you to make a cup of your own. All you need is a few fresh mint leaves, a teapot, and a metal tea ball. Add freshly boiled water to the leaves and leave them to steep for a few minutes for them to taste. 

7. Golden Milk 

The golden-colored milk is both creamy and soothing to the body. Turmeric offers various health benefits such as liver detoxification, antimicrobial, potent anti- cancer, and anti-inflammatory properties. 

Apart from keeping you healthy and warm during the winter season, the golden milk is also great for promoting digestive health and boosting your brain function. It has also been seen to assist in strengthening the immune system and regulating your body’s metabolism. 

Ginger, which is contained in the milk, contains anti-inflammatory properties and also enhances the assimilation and absorption of essential nutrients in your body. It also plays a big role in fighting the growth of cancer cells. It’s what makes it the ideal winter drink. 

8. Hot Vegetable Broth 

When faced with unending cold weather, nothing is more comforting than indulging in a bowl of hot vegetable broth. Ensure the broth is prepared using nourishing vegetables to assist in boosting your health. 

Consuming a freshly prepared bowl of vegetable broth will give you the warmth you need to stay sane and provide the body with crucial dietary fibers. 

9. Cinnamon Drink 

Cinnamon is a popular spice mainly used to spice up different drinks and foods. The spice comes loaded with potent medicinal properties required to keep the body healthy. It also has important anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. A cinnamon drink will also be good for your body as it will lower your blood sugar levels and boost your heart health. You can use it during the winter season to prepare a broad range of beverages. 

You can choose to use milk with cinnamon or to prepare the drinks with the spice alone. Either way, you should end up with an outstanding drink for the winter season.

The Health Benefits Of Amino Acid L-Theanine In Tea

Tea: coffee’s coy competitor in the cutthroat—yet throat-soothing—world of hot beverages. Both provide daily stimulant boosts, both are great to share with a loved one, and both are steeped in rich and complex histories. But popular teas (like green tea, black tea, and even tea extract and tea constituents) have something coffee doesn’t—an amino acid celebrated for its cognitive performance and wider health benefits: L-theanine. If you have a cup of green tea or black tea in front of you, take a sip and settle in. 

Savor those tocopherols and flavonoids lending the cup its signature color and flavor. The tea leaves’ distinct bitterness is supplied by natural antioxidants known as catechins. But there’s another flavor you should be experiencing. A pleasant mouth-filling sensation that creates a rounded and savory taste. Umami, often called the fifth taste after bitter, sour, sweet, and salty. Tea’s umami flavor is all thanks to the non-protein amino acid, L-theanine. Table of Contents Brain Boost Stress and Anxiety Sleep Focus and Attention Memory Body Builder Immune System Cardiovascular System Supplementing with L-theanine Last Drops In this article, we won’t just stick to why tea is so tasty. 

We’ll talk about the positive effects L-theanine can have on your stress levels, cognitive performance, and cardiovascular and immune health. Brain Boost A healthy body starts with a healthy brain. L-theanine has proven itself to be a powerful supplement for brain health by assisting with stress, sleep, attention, and memory. Stress and Anxiety If you’ve ever brewed a cup of tea to decompress from a stressful day or share with an anxious friend, congratulations—you have fabulous instincts. 

Researchers have found L-theanine can reduce our physiological stress responses by altering the behavior of neurotransmitters in the brain. But this isn’t a slow, thirty-days-to-better-behavior modification process. L-theanine is tough, immediately jumping on defense. Taking L-theanine is like hiring a bodyguard for your brain. Our brains balance activity through excitatory (upper) and inhibitory (downer) neurotransmitters. You’ve probably heard of some of the major excitatory neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin. 

But the balance can shift through an excess of these excitatory neurotransmitters and cause classic responses we’re familiar with: stress, anxiety, and activation of the sympathetic nervous system (also known as the fight-or-flight response). Taking L-theanine to mimic gamma-aminobutyric acid (a neurotransmitter that blocks impulses between nerve cells in the brain) can inhibit these excitatory responses and ease their physiological stress responses, allowing you to enjoy lower heart rate, lower blood pressure, attenuation of the fight-or-flight response, and reduced cortisol levels (major stress hormone). 

If the classic calming effect isn’t revealing enough, let’s pull back the covers on how deeply relaxing L-theanine can be. Sleep To catch some Zs, first we have to catch some waves. During sleep, it’s all about theta waves and delta waves. Theta waves occur in the first stages of sleep and generate two distinct rhythms of greater amplitude and lower frequency than our waking beta waves. Delta waves are the lowest frequency, highest amplitude waves generated during the deepest stages of sleep. But right before sleep, when you’re still in that day dreaming, more relaxed state, it’s all about the alpha waves. The brain generates alpha waves during deeply relaxing activities, such as meditation. 

If you struggle to feel peaceful during meditation or get your mind to achieve that quiet calm right before bed, L-theanine can help to take you there. Studies have shown that L-theanine can generate alpha brain waves in the parietal and occipital regions of the brain, leading to a prolonged calming effect. 

In a placebo-controlled study of young individuals with ADHD, L-theanine proved especially effective in helping them get to sleep and experience deep sleep. Sleep problems are often a concern for individuals with ADHD, and L-theanine proved to be a safe and effective therapy to improve sleep quality. Even if you don't have ADHD, you may benefit from taking L-theanine before bed. However, drinking the amino-acid rich green tea before bedtime may not be the best idea though. Caffeine is a sneaky stimulant. Luckily, you can get all the tranquility of L-theanine without the caffeine boost by taking Yawn, HVMN’s non-habit forming sleep aid. In addition to L-theanine, Yawn contains other REM cycle saviors like magnesium glycinate, amino acid L-glycine, and the classic melatonin for better sleep quality. 

Focus and Attention L-theanine has the power to both calm you down in the evenings and provide a boost in the morning. You know those days; poor sleep quality from the night before leaves you dull, each excruciating minute stretched out between sips of coffee. But all that coffee can have a negative build up, leading to a jittery, on edge feeling while desperately trying not to fidget during your conference room presentation. If you’re ready to sacrifice the coffee, but not the caffeine, HVMN has Sprint to get your day going. 

This nootropic stack features L-theanine, caffeine, and the added bonus of ginseng to reduce fatigue. Like the name, Sprint is made to get your mind moving quickly and keep it alert for up to six hours. It’ll provide you with that ideal mental flow to be focused, productive, and energetic without all the jitters. The same amino acid that ushers you into dreamland can also deliver an attentive state of mind. Multiple human studies show that consuming L-theanine can increase focus, reaction times, and visual processing while reducing mental fatigue. 

Essentially, subjects in these human studies performed attention tasks better after taking L-theanine. Their overall mental performance improved. Even when the mind is in a relaxed state and creating those alpha waves, it’s focused. Consider meditation: its goal is mindfulness, focusing on an inner calm. Meditating is a form of dialed-in concentration that also happens to be calming. Memory Maybe you’re a morning master, but you can’t remember the names of half your closest coworkers. Enter L-theanine, which can assist with memory. To be clear: drinking a single cup of green tea will not suddenly remind you of where you left your keys. However, consuming L-theanine over time could help protect the neurons in your brain from injury or death to mitigate cognitive impairment and contribute to the development of the hippocampus (which, sadly, is not the future academic grounds of the large semi-aquatic African mammal). But it is the part of your brain responsible for storing memories. 

Start young, and you could even stand a better chance against the oxidative damage and memory impairment of Alzheimer’s. Oh, and remember how we talked about L-theanine reducing cortisol levels? Cortisol can negatively impact memory retrieval. Reduce cortisol levels, and you may be able to retrieve those memories a little more easily. We’ve touched upon what L-theanine can do for the brain, but let’s not forget about its benefits for the body. Body Builder L-theanine couldn’t let your brain have all the fun. So freshen up your tea, and let’s talk about what your new amino acid can do for your body. 

Unfortunately, L-theanine is not the cure for the common cold or other pesky immune system ailments. But it has been linked to increased protection against the flu and a boost in immune function when combined with another amino acid, L-cystine. This combination improves the production of Immunoglobin G (IgG), an antibody with a vendetta against infection, and glutathione (GSH), an antioxidant. Antioxidants are valuable because they help our bodies remove free radicals. Free radicals are these unpaired, unstable, thieving little molecules that steal electrons from our lipid cell membranes (also called lipid peroxidation). The theft causes tissue and muscle damage and contributes to some of the big name diseases out there: diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. L-theanine has demonstrated powerful antioxidative properties. 

Because antioxidants help us to remove many free radicals that can lead to cardiovascular problems like heart disease, L-theanine can do some pretty amazing things for heart health. Tea leaves from green tea and black tea on their own have been shown to improve cardiovascular health. And L-theanine sweetens the deal through its ability to mitigate blood pressure increases when the user undergoes acute stress. Translation? Less strain on the heart. Supplementing with L-theanine Not a fan of green tea or black tea? Healthy adults can safely and easily supplement L-theanine at a dosage of 100-200 mg per day, a staggering five to ten times higher concentration than what you’ll find in a cup of green tea. 

So even if you’re already pounding cup after cup of the umami taste bomb, you may not be enjoying all of its benefits...or at least not as efficiently. Consider supplementing with L-theanine to warm up for your day or to cool down at the end of it. L-theanine hasn't been linked to any adverse side effects or symptoms in the neuropharmacology sphere, but bear in mind that it should not be mixed with medications taken for high blood pressure because L-theanine reduces blood pressure. As with all new supplements and medications, consult with your healthcare provider before taking. Whether you’re a coffee connoisseur or a tenacious tea drinker, your mind and body will enjoy the benefits of adding L-theanine to the mix. 

To recap, the health benefits of this tea include: Reduced levels of stress and anxiety Increased sleep quality Increased focus, attention, and memory Increased immune function Increased cardiovascular health Antioxidative properties No matter what’s in your cup, we can all raise a glass to those health benefits!

How Water, Tea, And Coffee Can Reduce Body Weight

The irony is that despite knowing that most weight loss programs do not work people still get attracted to it. Believing in the tall claims of various health clubs and nutrition companies they try out various kinds of exercise and pills to shed weight but desert the program after some time as it does not yield the desired results. Yet there is a compelling attraction of the phrase best weight loss tips that sway people's hearts and drives them towards it without ever trying to find the rationale behind it. And this is why most of the weight loss programs turn out to be sham. 

Look For Reasons 

What you eat and drink and the extent and kind of exercise you do does influence your efforts in losing weight, but you must know that no magic pill can make you lose weight in a whiff. You must try to understand the science behind the claims to evaluate if the weight loss program could work. The biggest failure of weight loss programs happens because people go by hearsay instead of trying to verify the truth behind it by using their knowledge. 

You must gather evidence to know what kind of food and drink has a proven record of reducing body weight. From water to coffee and tea, everything can contribute to weight loss and how it happens will become clear on going through this article that also throws light on harmful food that you must keep away from. 

Drink Enough Water 

Water is a powerful weight inhibitor because the water content in your body increases metabolism by almost 30% in just 30 minutes. This is particularly evident in older adults as studies have shown that drinking water just before meals can reduce weight by 4.4 pounds in 3 months. Water alone does the work without any physical activity. Drinking 64 ounces of water in a day should help in weight reduction for normal persons, and if you do the more physical activity, then the amount of water should also be more. 

Trust The Green Tea 

Green tea tops the list of natural items that can reduce weight because there is tons of evidence to support it. The biggest attraction of green tea as a weight loss agent is that unlike the weight loss pills and supplements, it does not have any side effects. Green tea is an energizing drink as it contains a small amount of caffeine, and the presence of catechins ensure weight loss. To make the best use of the fat melting properties of green tea, make it a habit to drink a cup of green tea during breakfast or meals or even just before exercising. 

Be Energized With Coffee 

The presence of caffeine in coffee boots your energy level and can make you do some extra work when you are exercising that turns very useful for weight reduction. Moreover, caffeine has excellent fat melting abilities as it breaks the body fat and flushes it through the bloodstream. 

Keep away from processed sugar that aids obesity and can jeopardize your weight reduction goals. Stick with plain water, tea, and coffee without the additives and extras to help you lose weight and get healthier.

Sugar-Free Vegan Decaf Chocolate Chai Tea Latte Recipe

Chai tea and chai tea latte's have always been a favorite of mine, but I haven't had one in about a year and a half since I quit caffeine. And while you can buy chai tea bags for a low price, they don't have caffeine free options in many places. Chai lattes at supermarkets or coffee shops can be $2-5 which is a total rip off, full of sugar (20-50+ grams), fat (5-15+ grams) and chemicals. 

After finding a $1 container of Pumpkin Spice at a local discount store and trying it out in some protein smoothies, I was reminded of my old favorite chai tea. Pumpkin spice has cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves so it really covers all your bases for pennies. I decided I would try making my own with cheap and healthy ingredients with decaf black tea.

I made this beverage sugar-free (or very close to it, about 1 gram of sugar) and vegan by switching out milk or cream for my favorite new staple: unsweetened soy milk. Nothing bad in this chai tea, and with some protein and antioxidants to boot! Enjoy!

Makes: One 10-12 oz Cup

Time: 3 Minutes

Ingredients:

- 8-10 oz filtered water
- 1 Decaf Black Tea Bag
- 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- 1/4 teaspoon cocoa powder (100% cacao)
- 2 oz unsweetened Silk soy milk
- 1/2 packet of stevia (optional)
- 1-2 drops vanilla extract (optional)
- 1 cinnamon stick for stirring (optional)

Instructions:

Boil 8-10 oz filtered water and add the decaf black tea bag. Steep tea for around 30 seconds then add the cocoa powder, pumpkin spice, and stevia granules / vanilla extract drop if desired. Steep and stir for another 30-60 seconds then add the unsweetened soy milk. Stir with a spoon or cinnamon stick! Drink now or you could throw in the fridge to pair with ice cubes the next day for iced chai tea latte. Drink up with delight!

I hope you enjoyed this free healthy homemade sugar-free vegan decaffeinated chocolate chai recipe on a frugal budget.

Interested in more free healthy frugal recipes? 

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