Breaking Rituals: Iced Honey Vanilla Chamomile Almond Milk Tea

Delicious. Double Delicious.

Going with the lack of restraint theme, let’s talk about food rituals. I was reading the other day about Diet Coke addiction. I do love soda, but I find that what I love most is the bubbles. A healthy alternative for that is easy to come by – just drink sparkling water. La Croix makes a great sparkling water in several different flavors. No sugar, no sodium, no bad stuff at all. My favorites are the coconut and the grapefruit. The article said the way to break an addiction is to fill the two needs that an addiction creates: comfort and ritual. Ritual is where things get complicatedfor me . Reading this, I realized that a lot of my problem with overeating is that I’ve got a lot of rituals tied up with food. Any trip in the car has turned into an excuse to buy something pre-packaged. This is the worst when I am on road trips. For some reason, my monkey brain tells me that it’s anything goes. In everyday life, any trip in the car is a reason for at least a drink. I'm thirsty. the drinks, it’s mostly Starbucks, and of Starbucks, it’s mostly Green Tea Frappucinos. In each and every situation where I have a ritual justifying my consumption of garbage, I could just as easily plan ahead.

I’m not going to try tackling the fast food thing just yet. Right now, I am looking for something to fill the void in my life that will be left when I finally give up Starbucks Green Tea Frappucinos. It will be a sad day. I am thinking of hanging a wreath on the door. I am now in the beginning stages of experimenting with things that may take that delectable green drink’s place. Tonight I made and Iced Honey Vanilla Chamomile Almond Milk Latte. It was pretty good, no Green Tea Frap, but definitely worth an encore. It was made all the more tasty by virtue of my brown reusable Copco Stir & Sip Cup. I love these cups. They are nice looking, the perfect size, and their straws are the sturdiest I’ve encountered. Their design also allows me to pretend that I am drinking from a Starbucks cup. Now, if only they could get those great straws in green . . .

Iced Honey Vanilla Chamomile Tea Latte

• 8 Celestial Seasonings Honey Vanilla Chamomile Tea Bags
• 2 cups of water
• Almond Milk

Bring water to a boil. Place tea bags in boiling water. Turn off heat and allow tea to steep for 5 minutes. Squeeze water from each tea bag. Place in a container with a lid and allow to cool. Once cool, fill a large cup or glass 1/3 of the way with tea concentrate. Fill the rest of the way with ice. Top with Almond Milk and mix well. Enjoy!

* Amount of tea concentrate and Almond milk may be adjusted for taste.