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Chai on my mind

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What’s not to love about a great chai tea?  Most coffee shops make chai tea with similar ingredients, one specifically-chai concentrate.  Chai concentrate makes for creating a delicious chai tea quickly.  It contains a blend of teas accented with sweet cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and vanilla.  After it is combined with steamed milk, it creates a hard to beat combination-or so I thought.

Here in Kenya, they make their chai just a little differently.  It seems to be a staple throughout the country.  Dormans Coffee for one, provides chai tea for a morning and afternoon teatime every day for all employees.  It is made in massive amounts and no one misses it when teatime rolls around.

Although chai concentrate makes a killer chai, I personally believe the fresher the better.  If you want to try the Kenyan way at home, check out this recipe (this is a large batch and from one of the amazing women who makes it at Dormans):

Ingredients:

  • 6 cups water
  • 7 teaspoons tea leaves (or five bags)  black tea
  • 6 cups milk
  • 10-15 teaspoons sugar (to taste)

Directions:

  1. Heat together water and tea leaves in a saucepan.
  2. Boil 10 minutes and add milk.  Heat to near boiling.
  3. Strain leaves.
  4. Add sugar to taste.

Teatime Chai at Dormans

Maybe you can drink  it with the  Chai Shortbread Cookies with Pink Salt recipe H recently posted.

xoxo

-s

Love, Love, Love…Yourself!

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Welcome to full-on summer time.  About this time of year is when I start to remember that I was going to do that “bikini bootcamp” starting in March, not starting 5 days ago.  What’s that? I was on a road trip and ate everything in sight plus enough cocktails to make the kids who lived in my college dorm blush.  Okay, so the whole “bikini bootcamp” thing didn’t work out.  It’s time to re-evaluate.  So here my friends, are my tips to feeling good even when it’s really, really, ridiculously hard.

1.  Drink water. Hmm, all of a sudden it’s 3pm and all you’ve had to drink is your morning coffee? Get on it, slurp down 8, 12, or even 16 ounces of cool, refreshing h20.  Awww, feel your cells appreciate.

photo: Newspick

2.  Get outside. It’s summer, I get it, you’ve been trying to soak up as much sun as possible. But I mean, really get your body moving while soaking up some of that Vitamin D.  Even if it’s only for 5 mins, it will feel good to walk to wherever you need to go instead of pumping that air conditioner from your car into your pores.  Trust me, sweating isn’t so bad if you’re prepared for it. P.S. swimming counts (do some laps, you can do one more, okay one more, okay one more….you get the point, yes I’m talking to you, the one doggie paddling, I’m right there with you on that one), even if it’s in a normal pool, not this gorgeous one at the Santorini Grace Hotel.  If you do get the chance to go there, OMG. I am JEALOUS!

3.  Circuit/Interval work-outs. Sweat, lift, cardio, repeat, QUICKLY.  I’m talking curls with jump lunges, shoulder press on a bosu, lunge kicks, chest presses with a band, all strength training circuits that  can be easily found on Women’s Health’s Burt-Fat Fast workouts. I’m telling you, they work-really, really, well.  Add in some interval cardio: Also from Women’s Health – my favorite so far (like I said, I’m only 5 days in, is the Calorie Crusher) and I’m telling you.  You’ll be feeling more fit in just a couple of days. And if you aren’t, then you’re not pushing it hard enough on those intervals. (It’s all for love, I promise, and I promise, I need the push just as much as you do.)

4.  Summer means fresh fruit and veggies. YAY!  My favorites from the farmers’ market right now? Uber, duber fresh tomatoes, paired with grilled chicken, cous cous, cucumber, olives and feta. Drizzle it with a bit of balsamic and olive oil and you’ve got a wonderfully delicious and healthy meal.

At any rate, do what makes you feel wonderful, happy, and confident.   And just remember, everyone has their doubts, it’s the people who can rise above those to let their confidence shine that will feel, act, and treat other the most wonderfully!

xx

-h

P.S. I’ll be the one with the purple face at the gym.