How about a Thanksgiving afternoon Chai Latte to keep you warm or aide in recovery after a cold ride?

If you’ve been to your favorite coffee house lately, perhaps Mocha Spoke, you may have been tempted by the wonderful smell of a Chai Latte.  It just smells like Winter and The Holidays to me.  Turns out, its black tea leaves are full of wonderful nutrients and powerful antioxidants, just like green tea.  These nutrients are incredibly beneficial to a cyclists’ health.

This week’s Loving the Bite Recipe will kick off the Holidays and Winter with a nice warm cup of Chai Latte.  Perfect for a warm recovery drink after a cold ride, a Thankgiving afternoon tea, or a Holiday party.

Recipe of the week: Homemade Super-Antioxidant Chai Latte

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp fennel or anise seed
• 6 green cardamom pods
• 12 cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/4″ ginger root, sliced thin
• 1/4 tsp black pepper corns
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 Cups water
• 2 Tbsp Darjeeling or other loose black tea leaves (can be decaffeinated if using before sleep for muscle-sparing option)
• 4 Tbsp organic honey
• 2 Cups organic dairy or non-dairy milk (such as coconut milk, almond milk, or non-GMO soy milk)

Instructions:

1. Place first 8 ingredients in a pot (through water).  Boil 5 minutes, then steep 10 minutes.
2. Add tea leaves, bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes.
3. Strain tea and spices.
4. If you’d like to store it, place in the refrigerator and then mix individual servings of ¾ cup tea with ¼ cup milk and ½ Tbsp honey (you can adjust ratio of tea to milk as desired).
5. To mix and serve, mix in full amount of honey and milk.  Enjoy. (Serves 8 1-cup servings)

To use for recovery: Mix tea and milk 1:1 with 8 oz. tea and 8 oz. organic milk.  Add 1 Tbsp organic honey.  This will provide 220 calories, 27 gm carbs, 8 gm protein.  You can increase the protein further, if desired with ½ scoop vanilla protein powder.

For “Skinny” Latte (non-recovery): Replace honey with Stevia.

Comments:

Since it’s a Holiday for many readers, and a good time to be with family and friends, I’ll keep it short this week.  While you know of the benefits of green tea (if you don’t, you can read all about it here), you might think less of black tea.  Turns out, black tea offers a lot of nutrition, too.  Both green and black tea come from the same plant, the Camelia tea plant.   The difference is in the methods used for drying the leaves.  Green tea leaves are not fermented; they are withered and steamed. Black tea and oolong tea leaves undergo a crushing and fermenting process.  Nevertheless, black tea is still loaded with antioxidants that can have a big impact on our recovery from training, health, and longevity.

Drink 2 or more cups of black tea per day and you’ll:

• Get big-time cellular detoxifying benefits that protect cells from free radicals, the damage that can lead to blood clot formation, atherosclerosis, and cancer.  Both green and black tea block DNA damage associated with tobacco and other toxic chemicals in studies.
• Consume 10 times the polyphenols (antioxidants) found in most fruits or vegetables.  You’re not off the hook for eating fruits & vegetables, though, so don’t chuck your salad just yet.  While tea is a very concentrated source of antioxidants, it contains different ones than fruits and vegetables.  And just like a Thanksgiving Dinner, the more the merrier, so drink tea AND eat your fruits and vegetables.
• Lower your risk of heart disease, certain cancers, high blood pressure, and obesity.  This is confirmed in both human population studies and lab studies with rats.  People groups that drink the most tea certainly have lesser amounts of these diseases, and tea-drinking rats have less as well.
• Potentially lower your risk for allergic reactions, bone loss, diabetes, and Parkinson’s disease.
• Recover better.  Although carbs, proteins, and fluids are the primary recovery nutrients, don’t discount the importance of antioxidants.  They fight the free radicals that build up during training and damage your cells, and improve health from the cell on up. A 16 oz. recovery serving of our Chai Latte will give you fluid, protein, carbs, and these powerful antioxidants.

All this, plus the incredible benefits of organic honey and a plethora of antioxidants from spices dissolved right into every cup. And just in case you’re wondering, caffeinated drinks do, in fact, contribute to the hydration of your body when the caffeine level is less than 500 mg or so (4-5 cups strong coffee).  The caffeine dehydration myth has been debunked.  So, have some tea, and count it.

If it’s cold outside where you live, or even if you live on a tropical island, warm up with a delicious Chai Latte this week.  We cyclists need our free-radical-fighting-antioxidants anywhere we can get them.  Go ahead and ride in the cold.  A nice warm recovery latte will be waiting.

Fuel Your Ride.  Nourish Your Body.

Black tea image c/o www.tiestatea.com.

Question: I’ve been training hard and have lost a few pounds since the summer season.  I don’t want to slow down my momentum.  Do you have any tips to avoid piling on “Holiday Pounds?”

Kelli’s Answer: Yes, here are my Top 6 Tips for Avoiding Holiday Pounds:

1. The “Holidays” are really only a few days.  Enjoy food, friends, and family on these days, but do not allow it as an excuse to overeat for the entire 2-Month-Season.  It’s usually not the actual Holiday feasts that do the most damage.  It’s 2 months-worth of parties and cookies at the office.  Treat the non-Holiday days the way you would any other day…make good choices and only allow 1 small “treat” per day.
2. During an actual Holiday meal, load on the vegetables.  Go out of your way to bring a vegetable dish.  Then, only take your favorites of the non-vegetable items.  If you think mashed potatoes are okay, but not something you really love, skip it.  Stick to what you really want.  If you feel like you have to take a specific item in order to be nice to the person who made it, keep the portion small.  And, to get more vegetables, use vegetables in place of traditional “starchy” dishes such as Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes or Roasted Butternut Squash in place of grains.
3. Eat S-L-O-W.  Put your fork down in between bites. Enjoy the company.  Polish off a full glass of water before digging in for seconds.  Allow your body time to determine if you are still actually hungry.  You’ll feel awesome leaving the table comfortable, and not stuffed.
4. Don’t waste a bunch of calories on sugary drinks like punch or cider.  Stick to water and unsweetened tea for the most part.  If you drink alcohol, drink a glass of water between beverages to cut down on your total.  Alcohol can actually be a “triple-threat!”  First, the drink itself contains calories – a lot of calories in the case of sugary alcoholic drinks.  Second, it usually makes people more relaxed about food choices, which leads to overeating calories.  Third, in the case of binge drinking, your body may not be able to metabolize fat for up to 72 hours while your liver is dealing with the alcohol…this means that all the work you do to “burn off” the calories from the Holidays during the days that follow has a reduced impact!  So, instead of drinking too much, enjoy just a glass or two of a non-sugary drink such as beer or wine.
5. If you do over eat or indulge in too much sugar, try drinking cleansing smoothies for a day to get back on track (whole food and adequate nutrition – I recommend 3-4 servings per day).  Try The Original Green Detox Smoothie, Green Detox Smoothie #2, or the Junk Food Anti-Venom Smoothie.
6. Lastly, be as active as possible!  Even in cold-weather states, it feels great to get outside and burn off some calories.  Get the whole family involved with some football, ultimate Frisbee, bike ride…do whatever…just get up and move!

If you’d like specific recipe ideas, see our Healthy Holiday Menu collection from last year.  I’ll also post a second annual Healthy Holiday Menu before Christmas 2012.  Enjoy!

Please send us your questions for our Expert Sports Nutritionist, Kelli Jennings to “Ask the Sports Nutritionist“. Kelli Jennings is a Registered Dietitian with a passion for healthy eating, wellness, & sports nutrition. For more information go to www.apexnutritionllc.com.

As America anticipates the arrival of Thanksgiving tomorrow, there will likely be a few of you who choose to stay in, eat, and watch football instead of getting out on the bike.  Our teammate, Kelli, offers up some great dietary advice for anyone in this situation (whether you’re in the US celebrating the holiday, or live elsewhere…it’s good advice no matter the country or the holiday).

When it comes to meeting nutrition, health, and any fat loss goals, it takes a lot of willpower at Holidays.  This can be true of any Holiday or “Special Day,” (birthdays, Super Bowl, etc), but seems most difficult from the last week of November through the beginning of January.  You don’t have to be a victim to weight yo-yoing during Holidays.  You can maintain your weight or even continue to lose weight if you’re dedicated to it…here’s a few suggestions to help you not just survive the Holiday calorie, but thrive and even enjoy them!

1. For the Thanksgiving/Christmas Season, don’t count on “blowing it” through these months just to start all over in January.  Instead, have a game plan.  Take the days of Thanksgiving and Christmas Day to enjoy celebrating without worrying too much about calorie intake.  Then, practice self-control during all the days in between.  It’s not really the 2 days that will get you…it’s all the overeating at parties, lunches, with family, etc. for 2 months!  Feel good about your choices and stay strong during this Season.  Then, you can feel great about enjoying the actual Holidays without anxiety or guilt.  You can do it!
2. If you’re having a family get together or party, try to bring/provide a healthy dish so that you do have some good options.  A vegetable salad that you really like is a great choice.  Then, after practicing portion control with all the other foods, you can still cover ½ your plate with veggies.
3. Feel free to enjoy most any food, but keep the portions small (only a few Tbsp of really high-fat/high-calorie choices).  Enjoy each bite and take your time!
4. Remember, no seconds!  Eat slowly and then be done with it.  Enjoy sipping some water, tea, coffee, or other low-cal drink while the others are finishing.  Then, clean up and move onto other activities…you’ll feel great physically and mentally while everyone else is moaning and groaning about being stuffed!
5. Don’t allow yourself to become too hungry before the “big meal.” Instead, eat a normal high-fiber, high-protein breakfast as usual.  Eat your Holiday meal, and then (especially if you did overeat), stick to just veggies in the evening (if you’ve already made a large vegetable salad for the gathering, have it for dinner).
6. If your gathering includes alcohol consumption, go easy – alcohol is a “triple-edged” sword!  First, the drink itself contains calories – a lot of calories in the case of sugary alcoholic drinks.  Second, it usually makes people more relaxed about food choices, which leads to overeating calories.  Third, in the case of binge drinking, your body may not be able to metabolize fat for up to 72 hours while your liver is dealing with the alcohol…this means that all the work you do to “burn off” the calories from the Holiday during the days that follow are worthless!  So, instead of drinking too much, enjoy just a glass or two of a non-sugary drink (such as beer, wine, or a small amount of hard alcohol).  Drink water between drinks and take it slow!
7. Be as active as possible!  Go for a walk after your meal, play football, do whatever…just get up and move!

Kelli Jennings, RD, runs a company called Apex Nutrition, LLC (www.apexnutritionllc.com/sportsnutrition.html).  Kelli is a Registered Dietitian with a passion for healthy eating, wellness, & sports nutrition. She is a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado and did her residency at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, DC.

You can contact Kelli at kelli@apexnutritionllc.com for more information or to have her work with your nutrition needs.