Chai: Tea with Benefits

There is something special and rewarding about making things from scratch and chai is no exception. It may take some leg work at first, rounding up all the ingredients, but that just makes it taste all the better.

While chai is full of many herbs with health benefits, cardamom caught my eye.

Did you know that cardamom can:
-Relieve muscle pain
-Help with asthma and bronchial problems
-Be used as a medicated wash for skin problems
-Deal with halitosis
-Aid in digestion
-Combat anemia, weakness, and malaria
-Regulate blood pressure

Here is a wonderful Chai recipe from Oh, How Civilized.

HOMEMADE CHAI FROM SCRATCH
Makes 2 cups

3/4 cup water
1 1/4 cup milk (I use soy.)
2 teaspoons of black tea (Assam or Ceylon)
1/2 piece cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon honey
5 whole green cardamom pods
5 whole cloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 star anise
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
pinch of coarse ground pepper

1. Crush and roughly chop the star anise, cloves and cardamoms.
2. In a saucepan, add all the ingredients except for the vanilla extract.
3. Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Take off heat. Add vanilla extract.
4. Using a strainer, pour or ladle chai into mugs. Enjoy!

Check out more of Oh, How Civilized's beautiful photographs HERE.

And for more interesting information about the history, uses, and lore of cardamom click HERE.

Agave Nectar: Not As Healthy Or Natural As We Have Been Lead To Believe!

With rising awareness of diabetes and its root causes, the food industry, or sound I say the sugar-alternative industry, has been capitalizing on the supposed merits of agave nectar. Unfortunately, the majority of main stream agave products are not naturally derived, but go through an intensive chemical process similar to what high fructose corn syrup goes through.

What is even more shocking is that agave nectar is similar, if not worse than high fructose corn syrup!

Agave “nectar” is not made from the sap of the yucca or agave plant but from the starch of the giant pineapple-like, root bulb. The principal constituent of the agave root is starch, similar to the starch in corn or rice, and a complex carbohydrate called inulin, which is made up of chains of fructose molecules.Technically a highly indigestible fiber, inulin, which does not taste sweet, comprises about half of the carbohydrate content of agave.

The process by which agave glucose and inulin are converted into “nectar” is similar to the process by which corn starch is converted into HFCS. The agave starch is subject to an enzymatic and chemical process that converts the starch into a fructose-rich syrup—anywhere from 70 percent fructose and higher according to the agave nectar chemical profiles posted on agave nectar websites.
Read more of Kristen Michaelis of Food Renegade article here.

"...the industry wants you to believe that agave nectar runs straight from the plant and into your jar, nothing could not be farther from the truth.
Though processing methods can differ among manufacturers, most commercially available agave is converted into fructose-rich syrup using genetically modified enzymes and a chemically intensive process involving caustic acids, clarifiers, and filtration chemicals."
Read more of Dr. Mercola's article here.

I HIGHLY recommend reading both of these articles especially after reading many manufactures' websites, this brings their vague information into focus...and it's not pleasant.