DIY Milk

DIY Milk
Hey angel,
I?d like to start this post with a disclaimer, as today I?ll be talking about a ?Health&Diet related issue. As I?ve mentioned before a huge part of the ?Daily Dose of A? will be dedicated to promoting healthy lifestyle, eating, and generally living.

For this reason I?d like to underline that I?m neither a doctor nor a nutritionist. However, for the last 10 years I?ve tried way too many diets and types of sport, I?ve read a lot about eating and exercising to finally come to the realisation that the only thing that ?dieting? contributes to is body exhaustion, slowed down metabolism, and feelings of dissatisfaction and aloofness. Well, quite frankly, you don?t have to starve yourself to look good, you don?t have to exclude whole groups of foods to be healthy. As I?ve said before, healthy living is about achieving the perfect balance? it?s about living in harmony with your inner self.

Please, beware that what you?ll be reading in LTA surrounding the topic will be always based on both scientifically proven data and my personal experience in experimenting with disparate types of healthy regimes and foods. Also, I?ll be revealing tips and tricks regarding the healthy habits I?ve developed through time that have actually worked for me and are not intended to force you into doing anything that you don’t feel as being suitable enough for you.

Having said that, let’s start, shall we?

For over a year, I?ve been following the ?food combining principle? which rests on the idea that through properly combining the separate food groups, you can speed up your metabolism and transform your body for the better. Next week I?d be featuring a detailed article on the subject, as though quite effective, it seems to be quite confusing for those who haven?t tried it before.

But prior to doing this, there is one specific myth deeply intertwined in our eating habits, which I?d like to debunk. This will serve as the first step towards understanding ?food combining?, following it, and achieving the best results while nourishing and sculpting your body.

Last week I wanted to accentuate on the idea that healthy can be tasty. Today, I?d be exposing another myth regarding one of the most consumed liquids worldwide ? yes, you read it correctly ? WORLDWIDE.

Debunking the M(ilk)yth:

How do you prefer your morning coffee? Do you like it milky, more sugary, or simply drink it black?
Do you enjoy sipping your cinnamon latte while chatting with your friends?
Do you indulge yourself in your morning cereal soaked in milk?
Do you take your tea strong or milky?

I find it quite bizarre how since our infancy teachers, parents, and nannies have promoted milk as THE thing that has to be included in our diet.
Yes, they have somehow consciously endorsed the idea that milk has very high nutritional value, being rich in calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, and protein ? you know bringing together all ?essentials? required for your proper bone development and strength.
Well, while breastfeeding is vital for providing babies with nutrients and antibodies, the same cannot be said for cow milk consumed after the ?weaning stage? of our existence.

Milk contains around 300mg/cup calcium? Correct. And that fact is truly amazing!

But what if our bodies cannot absorb this amount of calcium? And what if milk is actually the main cause of calcium loss in the bones?

Unfortunately, ?if? is quite redundant. Various studies have actually concluded precisely that ? our bodies do not profit from the milk you and I are regularly supplying them with.

Great, eh?

Look around. Do you have a puppy? A rabbit, maybe? And how many times you?ve given it milk for dinner? How many times you?ve given it milk as a treat?
Never?
That?s what I thought.
Apart from us, the humans, which other mammalian species have kept on indulging in their mommies? milk after they?ve ceased weaning.
You guessed it right ? none.
Have you ever heard of an adult drinking breast milk for pleasure?
No? Well, I haven?t either. We?ve somehow developed this weird habit of drinking the ?designer? milk of other mammals and actually enjoying it. We?ve been consuming exceptionally high amounts of protein without even being able to digest it properly.

Well, I used to wake up craving my morning cereal ? enjoying both its artificial flavour and creamy taste of milk.

I was also kind of ?addicted? to tea, which of course, I preferred light and rather milky.

And the latte? Yes, it still is my ultimate favourite drink, with the only difference that today I’m sipping from a new much healthier version of it which I’ll be introducing you with today.

So, angel, probably you wonder? okay and what about the yoghurt? It?s from cow, in ?it?
Yes, however, in contrast to milk, yoghurt goes through a fermentation stage, induced by a special bacteria that pre-digests the milk protein… So if you are trying to make up your mind whether to get milk or yoghurt, well, now you know the answer.
And what about your morning coffee, or an afternoon chai latte?
Well, it?s really about thinking out of the box and coming up with original substitutes to the much loved cow milk?Think almond. Think soy.
Have I completely excluded cow milk from my diet then?
No.
However, I?ve minimised its consumption by swapping some of my ex-favourite options. No more cereal for breakfast, I go for yoghurt with honey and fresh fruits instead.

Also, I did go green (well, metaphorically) by swapping the overly milky black tea with mint tea.
Recently, I?ve been also experimenting with various types of quirky home-made morning energy drinks and have completely left behind the black coffee/milk option.
To help you out in making better choices, angel, I decided to show you two easy-to-follow recipes for preparing healthy drinks at home.

My first suggestion is:

Almond Delight Shake (especially if you’re a fan of the Iced Chai Tea Latte)

The ingredients that you will need:

200 ml almond milk

50 ml coffee (my version is non-caffeine one, however add some coffee to boost your energy even more)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cocoa beans
1-2 teaspoon honey

Mix everything together in a blender until perfectly smooth! So easy (and exceptionally delicious), right?

However, as almond milk (and any other vegan type of milk) can
be quite pricy, I?ve come up with another original suggestion, which while exceptionally tasty as a bonus it doesn’t require you to spend loads of money on milk.

Cashewcinno:

The ingredients that you will need:

1 cup of espresso
2 cups hot water
50 gr. ground cashew
1-2 teaspoon ginger
1-2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cocoa beans
5-6 dates without pit

Put the raw cashew in a blender until it’s ground. Then add the other ingredients and blend, blend, blend until the mixture is perfectly smooth.

Et Voilà!

Healthy, tasty, and highly energising (with no dairy in it).

(P.S. Sorry for the odd heart, haven’t really done one on my hot drink before!)

Just a quick tip!

The raw cashew can be exchanged with any other raw nut, depending on your personal preferences.

Actually, if you mix ground almond/cashew with some water in a blender the liquid you’ll get will be your DIY home-made nut milk – healthy, tasty, and meanwhile incredibly delicious.

Enjoy and stay healthy, angel

P.S. And make sure to enter my 100+ Followers Celebration Giveaway to win a Filofax in Purple and Rimmel Lipstick “Let’s Get Naked” here.

Lots of love,