Photo: Leigh Loftus
Everyone says that when you’re in college, you pile on your “Freshman 15” because you’re drinking beer and fruity spiked punch (we can hardly call Jungle Juice a “cocktail” now, can we?) plus eating indulgent late night munchies, like pizza, chips and microwavable macaroni and cheese. I won’t sit here and say that I didn’t hoard my share of Easy Mac in my dorm or pretend I never participated in the illicit off campus party, but I will also credit some of the weight I gained in college, and would subsequently lose every summer, to a daily chai latte from the on-campus coffee shop.
Chai lattes are one of those things that you don’t realize is adding up, both in calories and cost, if you indulge in them regularly. Though it’s easy enough to make a latte at home, we’re going to do you one better and turn the delicious chai latte into a delicious vanilla chai smoothie.
With no bias against full-fat dairy, blending chai-infused almond milk with Greek yogurt will create a thick, rich-tasting consistency without hidden sugar or calories. If you make this once and decide you can never again go a day without it, you can double, triple or even quadruple the recipe so that at any given time, you can whip up a quick smoothie to start your day. One batch will make one large or two small servings.
Photo: Leigh Loftus
- 2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 2 chai tea bags
- ½ cup vanilla Greek yogurt
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ tablespoon agave nectar
- 1 or 2 ice cubes
- Bring two cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk to a simmer in a small pot. As soon as it begins to bubble, add the two chai tea bags and let it continue to simmer for 10 minutes. Keep an eye on it to make sure that it doesn't overheat, if it reaches a rolling boil it will impact the flavor.
- Place two chai tea bags in the pot and continue simmering for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and chill the chai-infused almond milk in the fridge for about 20 minutes.
- Once your chai-infused almond milk is cold, pour it into a blender, and add the Greek yogurt, cinnamon and agave nectar. Blend until smooth and serve immediately.
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