Warm Winter Drink Trifecta

In honor of the frigid temperatures creeping in and settling upon us, I've compiled 3 of my most favorite and easiest recipes for drinks that will warm you deep down to your soul. They are super easy and really fun to make! I hope you enjoy! 

1. Golden Milk Latte

1 cup raw milk (my preference but any sort of milk or nut milk will also work) 

4 slices raw turmeric 

2 slices raw ginger

4-5 peppercorns 

1 cinnamon stick 

1 big scoop of coconut butter 

* This little cup of happiness is super easy to make! Simply put all ingredients in a saucepan and heat up gradually, stirring occasionally while it is warming. 

Why it’s good for you? 

For a more detailed description of the herbs, you can refer to this previous post where I wrote a breakdown of their actions in both eastern and western medical thought. If you just want the short of it, this delightful golden milk latte is extremely warming and nourishing. It contains herbs that are anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting. It will warm you right down to your toes during the cold winter months! 

Who is it good for? 
Those who have a lot of chronic pain in the body or who struggle with frequent colds or upset stomachs. It is also amazing for those of you with poor circulation resulting in frigid extremities, especially in the winter. This is good for anybody looking to improve their energy and nourish their soul!

Pumpkin coffee

1 cup regular or decaf organic coffee

½ tsp. cinnamon 

½ tsp. nutmeg 

½ cup raw milk (my preference but any sort of milk or raw milk will work) 

1 hefty spoonful of pumpkin puree 

1 Tbs maple syrup 

1 tsp butter (my preference is Kerrygold unsalted) 

1. Brew up your coffee any way you like - french press or traditional drip, adding the cinnamon and nutmeg to the coffee grounds 
2. While that’s percolating, combine the rest of the ingredients, the milk, pumpkin, maple syrup, and butter in a saucepan and gently warm on low heat 
3. When coffee is brewed and the pumpkin mixture is warmed, pour both into your blender and blend for a few seconds. (This creates a latte consistency. If you don’t have a blender or are short on time, this step could easily be omitted. Simply stir the pumpkin mixture into your coffee mug and you're good to go!)

Why it’s good for you? 

When you add fats to coffee, your system absorbs the coffee more slowly, so you do not have as intense highs and lows when drinking it. The butter in this recipe helps with slow absorption. Pumpkin is loaded with antioxidants and fiber, and can greatly help improve immunity. Raw milk is fabulous in that you get so any nutrients from it that are harshly stripped away when it is pasteurized. Cinnamon and nutmeg taste great and help warm the extremities, and maple syrup is a nice natural sweetener. Plus? It makes you smile, because you’re drinking a pumpkin latte that has actual, real ingredients, instead of the sugary, chemically mixes you usually get when you order out. 

Who it’s good for? 

You can refer to my previous post for more detail about if coffee is something that would harm or help your health. The biggest takeaway is that nothing is either completely good or bad, what’s really important is how it makes you feel!

Chase that cold out elixir 

1 cup water 

4 thick slices of ginger

4 thick slices of turmeric 

2 cinnamon sticks 

5 black peppercorns 

1 lemon 

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (ACV) 

1 tbsp honey 

* This is very quick and easy... exactly what you need when you’re sick!

1. Boil water in your tea kettle or on the stove
2. Slice up your ginger and turmeric, and gather the rest of the ingredients 
3. Throw everything in a cup and juice 1 whole lemon into it 
4. Add the hot water 
5. Allow to cool slightly. Then sip just like a tea and REST. (I keep all ingredients in, they sink to the bottom so it’s not a huge deal- if you prefer, you could let it steep and then strain out the ingredients but it will not be as potent this way) 

Why it’s good for you? 

You’ve got a smorgasbord of some really heavy hitters when it comes to colds: lemon, ACV, and honey are all fabulous. Then, of course, you’ve got my favorite and extremely versatile herbs in there: ginger and cinnamon that function to powerfully help your body fight the virus if you're under the weather. 

Who it’s good for? 

This can be used in the winter to warm up the body and help boost the immune system, or it can be used when you have a full on energy-sucking, head-pounding, nose-blowing cold. The ingredients are great to help you heal, they are also all quite warming which can help knock the cold out of you quicker. My “go-to” when I’m sick is to make this decoction and then cover up under a pile of blankets with a scarf and hat on my head. I even add garlic on my feet and in my ears if they are also sore (I know, seriously attractive). Then I let myself quite literally “sweat it out." If you can catch it at the first sign of the cold, this method can be extremely effective and you might avoid getting sick all together! 

I hope you enjoy these drinks as much as I do!!  XO,

A Happy Spleen Could Help You Lose Weight

Although most of my patients come to me initially for another ailment, I am surprised how often I get the secondary question, “Can acupuncture help me lose weight?” 

This is a great question, actually. 

Acupuncture can, in fact, help correct the underlying imbalances that show up in weight gain, and usually the underlying imbalance is something called Spleen Qi deficiency. Think of it in three parts:

• Deficiency means, in simple terms, that there is not enough of something; 
• Qi is the energy or life force that can’t be seen or touched; and the 
• Spleen, commonly thought of as an organ that has some role in blood and some role in immunity (and if you get mono you have to watch out not to rupture it), in Chinese medicine is a much bigger player. It is the underlying force behind obtaining actual nourishment for your body from the food you eat. 

When it is not healthy, the spleen does not have enough Qi (or energy) to do its job. This is when food intolerances begin to show up, as well as these other symptoms: 

• heaviness/tiredness in the limbs, 
• fatigue
• weight gain
• abdominal bloating/distention
• diarrhea/loose stools
• lack of appetite

Most people have at least some form of spleen Qi deficiency--not surprising, since some of the primary causes are overwork (mental and physical), worry, and diet. 

How do we keep the spleen happy? Well, the spleen likes warm and sweet foods, and being fed with regularity. Who doesn’t like all those things? Let’s take a closer look at these things, one by one. 

Warm

This brings me to the biggest misconception with weight loss that I see in my clinic. When someone is trying to lose weight, what do they start eating? It is almost always raw foods, particularly salads. 

As mentioned above, the spleen likes WARM. Warm foods, such as cooked vegetables and soups, will help the spleen do its job best. Have you ever noticed severe bloating, gas, and in some cases diarrhea after you eat ice cream, smoothies, raw fruits/vegetables, or even ice-cold beverages? Most people attribute uncomfortable digestive symptoms to the TYPE of food they are eating. But the discomfort could be from spleen Qi deficiency, caused by introducing cold foods into a warm digestive system. 

This misconception can reach as far as mistaken food intolerances. For instance, I commonly hear people say that lactose bothers them. Fair enough--lactose bothers many people. But as one of my favorite and most knowledgeable teachers says: “If you have a healthy spleen, you can eat anything and not have digestive problems.” A spleen that is injured by cold has to work twice as hard to digest and therefore may develop things such as food intolerances and allergies. With this in mind, it may actually be the temperature of the food that is giving you the problem rather than the food itself. If you have any sort of digestive symptom or a weak digestive system in general, this should be your first and most important change you make in your diet. 

Simple ways to give your spleen warm foods: 

• Sautee your vegetables instead of putting them into salads. 
• Incorporate mildly warming spices in your cooking. I emphasize mildly here because you don’t want to go too far in the other direction and, say, add hot sauce to everything because this will damage the stomach. Some good spices to add are: ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, and small amounts of black pepper. 
• If you MUST eat cold foods (smoothies, salads, etc.), follow them up directly with hot tea or lemon water. 
• Drink lots of warm-to-hot liquids throughout the day. Your best options are herbal teas (caution with peppermint--it’s cooling) and lemon water. Drink all your beverages room temperature or warmer. 

Sweet 

You may have been reading this thinking, “Yes! I can have my sweets!” Unfortunately, you can but you can’t. You can have whole foods that are sweet in nature. Actually, a common sign that your spleen is suffering is that you are craving sweets; lots of women experience this around their menstrual cycles. 

GOOD sweet foods to incorporate into your diet:

• Root vegetables. I cannot say this enough. Please see this post for a really simple recipe idea to make my favorite dish, roasted rooties. 
• Bake up a couple of sweet potatoes at the beginning of the week and top them with coconut oil, cinnamon, and nutmeg and you have an extremely spleen healthy meal that only takes a couple of minutes to heat up after a long work day. 

Regularity 

Eating at regular mealtimes will help your spleen get on the right track and heal as well. I know everyone has busy schedules, but try to come up with a system that works and stick to it. My optimal meal schedule is below. It is brief and I promise to detail some healthy options for meals in a later post, but for now, this is just what I have found to be best for me. You may have to experiment a little and see how you feel best.

• Warm protein- and veggie-rich meal for breakfast, around 7 AM - my “go-to” is sauteed vegetables in bone broth, with eggs 
• Some sort of snack - vegetables, yogurt, or fruit (if raw, I always eat alongside some ginger tea). Good ideas for cooked fruits are poached pears/apples or homemade apple sauce. Side note: it will help a little to eat these things at room temperature, but whenever I eat something not cooked I ALWAYS also drink tea (luckily, I love tea) 
• Big lunch around 1pm, once again protein and veggie rich- usually some sort of meal I’ve prepared in my crock pot, such as chicken with veggies 
• Another snack/light meal around 4, and one at 7pm

I tend to eat my heartiest meals in the morning/afternoon and have things like soup or nuts in the afternoon. Whatever you decide, try not to skip meals, and try to space out your food throughout the day. 

These are 3 extremely simple ways to start building your spleen health right away. With a healthy spleen you will see many great benefits such as improved energy, better muscle tone, less spider veins, less bloating, less gas and diarrhea, more calm and focus, better appetite, appropriate weight loss, and fewer cravings--to name just a few! Try it for yourself. This may be a huge change for some and more subtle for others, but I guarantee that if you stick to it, you’ll start feeling better soon and you’ll jumpstart your natural ability to get at your optimal weight. 

Here’s to happy spleens and happy lives, 

PS: With weight loss, as with ANYTHING you might seek treatment for, it is necessary to put in a little bit of your own work at home in order to see the changes you’re hoping for. Think of it this way: You have one treatment maybe once a week, and some of you only once a month. The rest of the days are up to you. What sort of foods do you put into your body? How do you choose to spend your time--exercising, or sitting on the couch watching the entire new season of House of Cards? Health requires commitment and discipline. A healthy spleen will give you a leg up, but then you gotta move the rest of your body, too!

Is Acupuncture Right for You?

One of the most common questions I get after I tell someone I am an acupuncturist is, “Can it help with (insert any condition or ailment here)?.This is because the majority of us suffer from something we wish we didn’t have to. The reason most of us suffer is that we have been taught only to receive medicine and health care as a means of fixing something which is already broken; we do not think about creating and maintaining a healthy body before malfunctions start to occur. But what if we could change our way of thinking?
As a society in general, we tend to be hyper-focused on fixing problems. When we shift our focus back a bit, we can usually see how problems come from preventable causes, and that it is the causes, not the problem, that need to be addressed. When it comes to the human body, we all ought to be able to recognize ourselves in the following scenario:

Imagine a time where you had an injury or felt pain somewhere in the body. You may have noticed that you quickly developed a very intuitive way to relieve the pain; perhaps you shifted your bodyweight to avoid an achy foot, or used your non-dominant hand to pick up something heavy, or placed a pillow below a sore hip in the car. Whatever the situation, I’m sure you instinctively and creatively found a way around worsening your pain. 

At first, these adjustments may have been just what you needed to allow some part of your body to rest and heal. Sometimes, however, circumventing pain can cause prolonged unnatural use of your body in other areas; and when you strain one part of your body in order to avoid strain on another part of your body every day for a week or a month, or in many cases even years, you will without a doubt begin to feel pain somewhere else. The body has a way it is supposed to move, and when you move in a way that is contradictory to it, you incite a domino effect.

The entire body is interconnected. Every system, every organ, and every cell that is out of balance has to pull from reserves somewhere else. Simply put, the sick robs from the healthy. This is how imbalance forms in the body, and it is the reason unpleasant symptoms begin to manifest. Symptoms of imbalance can be subtle--they may show up in the form of dry mouth, a slightly aching head, or difficulty sleeping. Every person has a different chemical makeup, and therefore these imbalances will show up differently in everyone. It takes an in-tune and aware individual to begin noticing these changes in their body, and an even more proactive and intelligent person to decide to do something about them when the first signs arise.

 At last, we come to acupuncture and its role in all this. Acupuncture is part of a holistic medical system that originated in China and dates back thousands of years, and its entire motivation is to restore balance anywhere in the body. That means that in a roundabout way, acupuncture can really work with anything, although its strength is with preventative and early-onset illness. This is why acupuncture is fantastic for children and adolescents, because the majority of their imbalances are fresh and new, still close to their root cause, and relatively easy to reverse. It becomes more difficult when we keep ignoring the subtle changes that show up in our bodies, because they continue to get more numerous day after day. This then leads to a very deep, systemic malfunction in the body, which in turn takes longer to treat with any form of medicine.

When explaining this to those who are new to acupuncture, I often get follow-up questions about whether or not acupuncture can cure things such as cancer, diabetes, Alzheimers, and other extreme ailments. Without a doubt, there are some very debilitating diseases that are best managed with a combination of pharmacological treatments and acupuncture. Until you begin getting treated with acupuncture and seeing how your body responds, it is nearly impossible to determine the level of imbalance in the body. What I can say with clarity and assertion is that acupuncture will most definitely help in some area of a person’s life. When dealing with chronic illness, there is such a deep imbalance in the body that the person’s main concern may not be transformed in the way that they hope. In these individuals, although their illness may not be cured, their quality of life will almost certainly improve and many symptoms will be managed with acupuncture included in their care.

Because acupuncture works with such a variety of individuals with drastically differently manifesting symptoms, it is challenging to specifically say what changes you will see after beginning your course of treatments. Following are a list of benefits I have found to show up in almost everyone I treat, regardless of primary concern:

• Improved and more stable mood
• Stress reduction and the body’s ability to handle difficult situations 
• Better and more sustainable energy throughout the day  
• Deeper and more quality sleep 
• Appetite regulation- more or less depending on what the individual needs 
• Overall increased feeling of well being 
• Decrease in pain and inflammation in the body 

There are many lists out that there have been approved by the FDA detailing specific ailments that “acupuncture can treat” and they can be helpful, but just remember that looking at the benefits of acupuncture in that way minimizes the vast comprehensive approach that it actually has on the body. It is a much more holistic medicine that can positively affect many individuals. 

Here's to healthy and balanced bodies, 

3 Easy Steps to Prevent Burnout

Congratulations! You’ve found the section of my blog where we are going to get very real. I wholeheartedly promise to highlight my deepest regrets, failures, mistakes, and saddest of times. 

Why would I do this? Because it is in these times where transformation happens; it is here where our souls grow in ways we never thought possible. I’ll start small, of course; after all, I don’t want to scare you. I merely want to share with you some of the valuable lessons I’ve learned and some of my most treasured experiences, in the hopes that some of my stories may help you in the future. 

I also want to remind you that although we as individuals of a specific culture create images on the web of what our lives are like, often using only beautiful pictures, carefully edited words, and strategically chosen brands, there is a very real side to each and everyone one of us. Every single one of us will fail, lash out, cry heavily, say things we don’t mean, and feel defeat many times throughout our lives. The goal of this section in my blog is to help all of us accept that this is normal, and this is where the beauty lies, this is the truth, this is where real change and growth happens. 

BURNOUT is REAL! My 3 Very Simple Tips to Avoid (or correct) Burnout 

I have a tendency to overload myself in life. I work too hard and create so many unrealistic goals that would never, ever be possible in a million years. Since as far back as I can remember I’ve been working at least 2 jobs at a time, studying something or other, attempting to exercise, and trying desperately to take care of myself (and I wonder why I get headaches or feel exhausted!). Needless to say, I have burnt the candle at both ends and have nothing left to burn. I had an intense breakdown the other night where I cried my eyes out in front of my wonderful, loving, and ever-patient roommate. What about? I had no idea. I just knew that every other sentence ended in: “I’m just so exhausted.” 

After spending some time journaling to follow my massive waterworks, I realized that something had to change. I had started in a situation that I absolutely loved: I’m a practicing acupuncturist and, in my totally biased opinion, there is no better job out there. I have an extremely loving support network, I live in a beautiful area, and I have so many wonderful ideas for the future. The problem? I often had no energy to enjoy any of it. 

I realized I was beginning to feel burnout. If you’re not familiar with burnout, the term is used to describe fatigue, high stress, and impossible standards that are specifically related to your job. The major downside of this, in addition to the toll it plays on your overall health, is that many people begin to dislike their jobs. 

Burnout was originally referred to as an issue affecting medical health professionals, but today, with our high-stress, high-speed lifestyle in any first-world nation, it can be seen in almost every profession. Imagine my immense panic when I started to feel burnout in my acupuncture job? Literally, I love acupuncture. I think it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. Since my cognizant, rested mind knows this, I knew I NEEDED to do something to make sure my fire for the medicine kept alight. 

Following is my attempt to reverse the burnout I’ve been experiencing in myself, and hopefully help prevent it in some of you! 

1 - Have at least 2 days off a week. 

If you’re lucky enough and it’s financially accessible to you, I highly recommend taking 3 days off. Operating on 1 day off is literally impossible. That day ends up being everything but a day off. It is spent doing laundry, grocery shopping, meal prepping, exercising, doing bookwork, and trying to prepare for the week ahead. There is absolutely no way around it. You need (I need) one full day to do nothing. NOTHING! Or at least whatever comes up, be it hiking, Netflixing, reading, or sleeping. Trust me, adding extra jobs, working overtime, or offering to cover coworker’s shifts may seem like a wonderful idea at the time but this is not sustainable over time, and what good will the extra money be? You’ll be too tired to do anything with it! 

2 - Schedule in lunch breaks. 

Lunch breaks, doesn’t that sound so simple? Well, let me tell you when it’s NOT so simple…when you’re fresh out of graduate school and you feel like you need to cater to your every patient’s optimal schedule or they won’t see you, they’ll find someone else, and you’ll never make a dime. It would probably be better to just call your whole degree a wash, declare bankruptcy, and hide under a rock. If this sounds familiar to you, you are not alone. It is EXTREMELY difficult to advocate for yourself when you own your own business. More often than not, your needs get pushed behind those of your clients. Once again, this is a completely unsustainable lifestyle. You are NOT a better person if you put everyone else’s needs before yours, you are just a more tired person with a whole bunch of resentment. When you begin to skip things like lunch, I’ll tell you what happens. You send the message to your body that you are not important. So not only will you get moody, light headed, irritable, and over tired from lack of nutrition, you will also begin to lower your self worth and importance. This leads you to become short and frustrated with those around you, and you won’t be able to show up in a present way for your clients, patients, colleagues, and loved ones. Here’s hoping you have a job that schedules this time in for you, but if not and you are a small business owner- please, please, please make this a priority for yourself. Even if you work from home, make a healthy lunch every day, eat it without distractions and optimally take half an hour to get out of your place of work to change up the scenery a bit. Things that especially help me regroup are: short walks, deep breathing, yoga poses, meditation, and journaling. 

3 - Make “me time” a priority. 

Get it in your head that your “me time” is just as important as a business meeting with the head of the company. Schedule in time for whatever makes you tick. For me, it is meditation, yoga, and/or getting outside. I find that my days are so much more pleasant (and I am more pleasant) when I do these things for myself. This all circles back to the idea that we have to show our “innerselves” that we are our number one priority in life. And, as an added bonus: when we take time away from work, it will be that much more enjoyable to come back to it later feeling refreshed. I have an abundant history of using so many excuses on the reg: “I’m too tired”, “there’s not enough time”, “if I cut out my yoga, I can schedule one more patient on that day.” No, no, no, honestly you can make an excuse every single day of your life to avoid “me time”, it gets pushed aside SO OFTEN. Just think, you wouldn’t miss a meeting with your boss would you? By missing out on your quality time with yourself,  you rob yourself of your importance and you will start to skimp in other areas of your life. This is simply crucial, you need to know that you are taking care of yourself, it gives you grounding, stability, and confidence. So, start blocking off time in your day to do something that brings you joy. If you don’t start looking out for yourself, who will? It is nobody’s job other than your own. 

Take it from me, burnout, even at the early stages is no fun. Please don’t let yourself get there, look out for yourself from day 1. Make yourself your biggest and best priority in life, and everyone else will respect and honor you. It is so easy to pick out the people who take care of themselves in a crowd, be one of those radiant, shining humans who everyone wants to be like. 


Mad love to all you hard working souls, 

Your Simplest Detox Trick for Warmer Weather

Spring is the time for detoxing, is it not? Whatever your motivation, be it to trim down for beach season or to purge that junky feeling inside leftover from winter, you’re not alone if you feel an innate desire to cleanse your system and get ready for summer. And whether you have an annual cleansing routine or you’ve never cleansed before, adding warm lemon water to your morning routine is easy, low risk, and can add substantial health benefits to your life. 

Let’s dig a little deeper and explore the motive behind detoxing, especially in the Spring. In general, most detoxification targets the liver, this is because one of the liver’s extremely important roles is that of… well, detoxification! The human body is introduced to new toxins daily. Even those of us who argue that we live healthy lifestyles are, unfortunately, exposed to fresh toxins all the time just from breathing, and sometimes from foreign elements we are unaware are in our environments or foods. The liver helps to sort out the “bad stuff” coming in, ensuring that’s what we excrete, sweat out, or release in other ways. The liver works really hard to make sure our bodies remain as clean as possible, while also playing a role in metabolism and blood filtration. So clearly, it is a very important organ that needs to be cared for. 

To take this one step further, and to look at things through a slightly different lens than you may be used to, let’s explore the liver’s function from the perspective of Chinese medicine. In regards to mental-emotional health, our liver is the organ/channel system that is “in charge” this time of year. The liver provides us with an exciting burst of energy in the spring, but this energy needs to be harnessed and directed appropriately. Signs of balanced liver energy include strength and stability, motivation, and a strong sense of direction in life. Signs of imbalanced liver energy might show up as excess emotion and energy with an inability to handle it--in other words, outbursts of anger, irritability, and frustration. Depending on your genetic makeup, character, and personality you may be extremely affected by this season change, or you may hardly feel it. Either way, the Liver is running the show this time of year, and giving it a little clearing out can only help improve mood and motivation. 

How does lemon water help detox the liver? It “jumpstarts” or promotes the detoxification action of the liver; most of the work of the liver is done at night when we sleep, and drinking a glass of warm lemon water in the morning has been shown to clear out any toxins that have built up overnight. Lemons are full of antioxidants, and despite their acidic nature, they actually have an alkalizing effect on the body once they are metabolized and enter the bloodstream. This promotes new, healthy cell regrowth and production.  See this short video for more.     

So let’s juice some lemons!

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• Boil water in your kettle/tea pot-- warm or room-temperature water in the morning is something that is talked about a lot in Chinese medicine and Ayurveda because of its ability to get the systems of the body flowing in a gentle way. Cold water is a major shock to the system, especially first thing in the morning. It damages the spleen and our ability to help digest the food properly (more on this in a post to come) 
• Juice ½ of a lemon--I quite simply use a fork and hold it over a strainer as pictured 
• Sip and enjoy. 
• Pro tip: This is best done on an empty stomach first thing in the morning. 

Optional Add-In’s: 

• Apple Cider Vinegar - works in a similar way to the lemons, adds more detoxification to the drink, and can help lower blood pressure, sugar, and eliminate excess yeast (candida) overgrowth.  
• Honey - makes the drink sweeter, but also the sweet/sour nature that the lemon and honey give to the drink help to nourish Yin. Yin represents the fluids in the body, and the honey and lemon together can help you absorb more fluid and feel more hydrated. 
• Cinnamon - I’ve talked so much about cinnamon in previous posts, I’m clearly a fan. I like cinnamon in this case because of the flavor it adds and it’s ability to warm the hands and feet. It can jump-start the circulation of blood/fluids in the body.

Things to consider:
 

• Lemons can be harsh on the enamel of teeth, so sipping through a straw may be a beneficial thing to consider especially if you have weak enamel or sensitive teeth. 

• People with severe digestive impairments, stomach ulcers, reflux, etc. should be careful when trying this. If you have any of these issues or an easily angered stomach in general, start small and see how you respond. Even though I have seen this work wonders for most of my patients, everyone’s physiology is different, pay attention to your own body and what it needs.  

Cheers to happy livers everyone! 

How to Make Easy and Really, Really Yummy Chai Tea

Why am I blogging about chai in the springtime when everybody knows chai is a fall drink, you might ask? Well, for 4 simple reasons: 

1. I love chai year round! Yup, can’t get enough. 
2. Many of the herbs in chai tea are great immune system boosters. Spring comes with rapidly changing temperatures, inspiring people to dress unseasonably, which can lead to colds and flus. If you want to enjoy both health and your spring wardrobe--even a little early--chai is a great recipe to have at the ready. 
3. You might be in the midst of a spring cleanse right now (it’s quite common; we all want to clean out the gunk we’ve been eating all winter during our mini hibernation), and this cleanse might include food and drink wouldn’t eat normally, such as cold or raw produce. Chai provides a healthy balance for these foods, with warming herbs that will soothe your tummy after the cold foods found in most cleanses. Chai is perfectly acceptable in most cleanses, considering it is just a hodgepodge of herbs! 
4. Truth be told--I can be a slight perfectionist (Type  B ½ as one patient so eloquently put it) and I began working on chai recipes in late February but I just wasn’t happy with how they turned out. Now that I’ve nailed it, I couldn’t resist sharing with you, even though it’s a little out of season. 

So, let’s get started. The recipe is simple, and oh-so healthy. AND, in order for it to make an appearance on this blog, you know there has to be some connection to Chinese medicine! (I can’t help it.) Below my recipe is the list of ingredients with their uses in both Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and in Western medicine, as well as some notes on my measuring system.

Ready? The process has been boiled down (pun intended) and made super simple because let’s face it, we all have busy lives.

Ingredients:

•  5 Cinnamon sticks

•  A sprinkle of cardamom

•  A generous sprinkle of nutmeg

•  A sprinkle of allspice

• 10 slices fresh ginger

•  2 star-anise, broken into pods

•  6 whole cloves

•  4 slices fresh turmeric

•  6 peppercorns 
•  5 tea bags ( I used black tea- PG tips) 

Preparation: 

• Bring 5 cups of water to boil in a large saucepan. 

• Once boiling, add 6 cloves and allow to cook for 2 minutes 

• Add the rest of the ingredients except the tea; reduce heat and allow to simmer for 15 minutes. 

• Turn off the heat, add in the tea and let steep for 2 minutes. 

• Strain ingredients

Optional serving suggestion: 

My favorite way to have this Chai is to take 3 parts tea, 1 part milk. Coconut milk, almond milk, or cow’s milk all taste great in my book. 

I also like adding a tsp of maple syrup and a dash of vanilla extract.*

* If you are cleansing you may want to omit these suggestions, I tried my batch just for you and still liked it plain!   

There you have it, my version of a perfect chai. I love sitting with my journal in the morning and sipping my chai. It tastes just like a chai latte you’d purchase without all the added sugars and preservatives (and for far less money).  I have found that while making many different versions of chai this winter, my preference is for a more subtle flavor. If you want it to be stronger, you can reduce the amount of water used from 5 to 4 cups and measure the herbs generously. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do. Happy springtime, everyone!