Cold weather has me missing coffee

[Karene]

Any suggestions what to drink as the temperature drops?? I need something warming.

thanks
Karen

[EZ rider]

Its cold here too and so I answered your question with "how about a cup of hot water ?". I tried it and it warmed me right up. Thanks - that works, go figure :)

[EZ rider]

I'm on my second cup of hot water and it satisfies my desire for something warm and tastes very simple and clean. It just continues to surprise me how this lifestyle provides everything I need including a cup of warm beverage.

[Karene]

Thanks, I have been drinking that for years now. Was wondering if any other alternatives were available

[lore-ah]

I'm on my second cup of hot water and it satisfies my desire for something warm and tastes very simple and clean. It just continues to surprise me how this lifestyle provides everything I need including a cup of warm beverage.

With honey and lemon sounds good, too. A cup of hot water can never be coffee. Come on :( Some things I'll just have to miss

[EZ rider]

I guess you are after the flavors and I am after something warm. Actually I am very pleasantly surprised that the hot water does it for me and in fact it tastes better to me. I am finding that the longer I am all raw the more I like things simple and plain. Its a side of me that has surfaced since all raw. The more I simplify my diet the better it tastes to me and the better the whole raw lifestyle works for me. Like I said in my post above I just keep getting surprised by raw.

[Frugal Raw]

I love hot water with lemon and juice squeezed from freshly grated ginger.

[EZ rider]

The key to this working for me is to get the water hot just as if it is tea or coffee. I have a small electric cup warmer and a lid for the cup that I used when I drank hot tea and I set that up for my second cup this morning and then I heated the water just as if I were making tea but I left the bag out. Then I put the cup on my cup warmer with the stay hot lid on it and - surprise - I like it. It satisfies my desire for something warm to drink on a cold morning :)

[Veganforlife]

Also, check this thread out. These foods WILL warm your body...
http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=35262&highlight=warming

[Eva]

Here's an idea of something that is like a chai latte... I think it helps... So do a few different teas... I still do herbal tea, and I don't think I've had any problems at all with that... Without further ado, the chai latte:

Get some rooibos chai tea (a caffeine-free herbal alternative to the traditional black tea), steep it so that it's warm. In a cheap blender (not a Vitamix, that would make it way too hot!), put about one part almond butter to three parts water, some honey or agave, a touch of vanilla, and let it blend for a couple minutes. It will get really frothy during that time. Put the hot tea halfway up the cup, put the frothy mix on the top, then sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg.

It's not coffee, but it helps when you want something other than hot water or tea. :)

[Karene]

Eva,
THANKS that sound yummy!!!

[tvillemom]

I still drink hot tea. Right now, it's TONS better than coffee, and I can live with 1 cup of tea a day vs. 2 cups of coffee, but that's just me.
Anyway, when I was fasting, I had HOT water, a large squeeze of lemon, a slice of ginger and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper.....kinda like the recipe in Alissa's book, but in HOT, cup of coffee style! This will def. warm you up!!


Good luck....by the way, I love the chai latte drink.....sounds YUMMY!!!

[Eva]

Wendi... that sounds good too... like a really nice lemon ginger tea, wouldn't have thought to add the sprinkle of cayenne though! :eek: :D

I didn't think to mention this before Karene... but if you really do want to try the chai and can't find rooibos chai in your area, there is a great site (teavana.com) where they have it. I actually have one of their stores near me, which is quite an experience. You can smell all of the loose leaf tea before picking one, and they are so vibrant. Mmmmm...

They also have a "haute chocolate" which can make a lovely cocoa drink if you mix it the same way as with the chai, just without the nutmeg at the end (for me anyways). It just needs a touch more honey or agave, and I sprinkle cacao (ground or the nibs) on top so it's extra pretty. You can add mint to the tea too. I do a peppermint hot chocolate here and there.

:) I worked at Starbucks for 5 years before I went raw and kicked coffee... There is so much ritual and relaxation that goes into sitting with a cup of something warming... I don't know what I would do if I hadn't figured out ways to get the same effect without coffee!

Anyways, now I'm just blabbing on and on. Hope that's useful info for ya! :)

[Karene]

Eva,
you are awesome and have saved me, thank you!!!

I have just recently experienced that tea shop. I am going to go there to get some tea and try my new morning ritual.

thanks again.
Karen

[JEN]

I make almond mylk fresh in the morning with warm water and add a couple of dates, vanilla bean or vanilla/almond extract, cinnamon, nutmeg and run the vitamix until it warms up. It even has a nice foam on top. You could add some teccino herbal coffee for a coffee flavor.