Chocolate Chaga Tea Latte + Top Nutrients to Relieve Stress

Feeling stressed? Cozy up to this warm and comforting Chocolate Chaga tea latte to relieve stress.

As I sat at my desk, shoulders tight, pangs in my chest and knots in my stomach I felt anxious, willing these feelings to dissipate. I wondered to myself…

What can I do to get this under control?

How can I relieve stress?

Can you relate to that?

Have you ever experienced the same feelings I have when you’re stressed?

In addition to the above, additional physical symptoms of stress include:

• • Headaches
  • Frequent colds and infections
  • Tense muscles, aches and pains
  • Low energy
  • Upset stomach, including diarrhoea, constipation and nausea
  • Insomnia
  • Chest pain and rapid heartbeat
  • Lowered sex drive

In times of stress many of us turn to food, so I thought it was important to educate others on the foods like chaga that we can eat to help relieve stress.

Stress has dangerous and detrimental effects on our heath. Research is now starting to show that stress can damage our bodies in irreversible ways. It shows up in our bodies in ways such as heart disease, high blood pressure, depression, early aging, obesity, cancer and heart problems which is why it is SO important to find ways to relieve stress.

When stress is present in our bodies your brain triggers your adrenal glands to release the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. Cortisol is the primary stress hormone that suppresses our digestive and immune systems and places our body in fight or flight mode. This makes us more susceptible to colds and flu and sends our blood sugar levels (glucose) soaring and places our body in a dangerous alarmed state.

What you eat can definitely make or break how your body responds to stress. Although they may initially make you feel good, foods to avoid during stressful times are carbs, sugar, fat, caffeine and alcohol. Believe it or not these foods can actually cause stress. Sugar and caffeine leaves us feeling more agitated since they both stimulate our nervous system.

During stressful times it’s important to load up on nutrients and vitamins that help our bodies to manage and relieve stress. One of those things are adaptogens. Adaptogens are a natural substance, typically found in herbs that help the body adapt and resist stress. An emerging example is chaga.

Chaga is part of the mushroom family and grows on birch trees. Research is showing that it is a food with the highest level of antioxidants. It has been called “King of the Plants” in Chinese medicine and has been used for healing for thousands of years. In addition to alleviating stress it also boosts your immune system and has anti-inflammatory and cancer fighting properties.

It boasts a very long list of vitamins and nutrients and is touted the ‘mushroom of immortality’. In addition, chaga is a mighty adaptogen. Few foods can beat this mushroom for fighting stress, which is the root cause for most diseases.

Now I must admit I love a nice latte every now and again but there’s something to be said for healing elixirs like this Chocolate Chaga Tea Latte that make you feel warm and mellow inside.

In addition to chaga there’s a supporting cast of nutrients in this elixir:

• Brazil nuts are optional in this recipe however 1-2 nuts provides your daily dose of selenium which helps to neutralize free radicals and aids against heart disease and cancer. A recent study found that Brazil nuts may help to prevent breast cancer. They’re also loaded with copper, magnesium, protein, potassium and calcium just to name a few.
• I talked about the benefits of maca a few months back but it provides so many benefits to your immune system.
• Raw cacoa is one of the world’s foods that highest in antioxidants. More on this in a future post. I got something yummy planned for ya 😉
• Hemp seeds will give you Omega 3 healthy fats and is great for your brain, immune system and metabolism.

Do you see all of the goodness you’re about to get in your cup??

I get SO excited by foods that pump up your immune system especially during the dreary winter months.

I will preface this by saying that this is not a sponsored post but my favourite chaga tea is this one from Giddy Yo Yo.

Their chaga is handpicked in Ontario and Quebec in the wild forest. You can brew chaga tea and drink on it’s own or you can brew it and use it to make this incredible latte. I would go for the latter 🙂

How To Prepare Chaga Tea:

• Add 4 tablespoons chaga tea chunks to 1L of water in a medium saucepan
• Simmer on stove for 30 mins to 1 hour (the longer you simmer is the more the potent it will be)
• Strain and enjoy

From Giddy Yo Yo’s website ‘you can brew your GY CHAGA up to 3 times or until the dark pigments no longer extract into the water. Store used GY CHAGA in the freezer in between batches.

Chocolate Chaga Tea Latte

Feeling stressed? Cozy up to this warm and comforting Chocolate Chaga tea latte to relieve stress.

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Ingredients

  

• 1 cup brewed chaga tea
• 1 tablespoon raw cacao
• 2 brazil nuts soaked for 4 hours, just soak ‘em the night before
• 1 teaspoon maca
• 1 tablespoon hemp seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch cayenne powder
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Splash of your favourite nut milk
• 1 tablespoon raw honey

Instructions

 

• To brew chaga tea, in a medium sauce pan, add 4 tablespoons loose chaga to 1 L water. Simmer on stove for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Strain chaga tea reserving granules (as mentioned above)
• To a blender add strained tea and remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth.
• Feel free to return the mixture to the saucepan to reheat a little.

Notes

If you don’t have a high powered blender, it may taste a bit gritty due to the brazil nuts.

Have you ever used chaga tea before? If so please comment below and let me know what you thought and what your favourite way to drink it is.