Brewed Cacao Tea and Cacao tea Smoothie

One day I got a mail from my friend Jessica (who sent me Moscow Mule Cups last year). They have started a new company that sell cacao tea, which is not only delicious but also has many health benefits. This is a perfect healthy alternative for coffee. It is high in antioxidants and is completely sugar- free, gluten- free, and dairy free. This tea is 100% pure and organic. This doesn't have artificial flavorings, additives or preservatives. If you want to know more about this tea, here it is  www.cacaoteaco.com

As soon as I saw the message from Jessica, to review about their product, I was so happy and excited to try their new product. I received it and as I opened, the chocolaty aroma was too fascinating. If you like chocolate and coffee and worry about the calories and caffeine, then this is a perfect alternative. This is a good energy booster. Now a days instead of green tea, I will be having this cacao tea, so that my chocolate cravings will be satisfied. This has a subtle flavor of chocolate, unless you make it stronger by adding more cacao tea or boiling the water for a longer period.

As they suggested I tried the brewed cold cacao tea in my post workout smoothie. A slight chocolate flavored smoothie was ready within no time. You can use many different ingredients to make smoothie along with this cacao tea.

We can also add almond milk a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg to the brewed cacao tea for a nice milk chocolaty flavored milk tea.
Their links are
Instagram: @cacaoteaco
Facebook: #cacaoteaco

Ingredients:
For Cacao Tea:

1. Cacao Tea Powder- 1 tbsp
2. Water- 1 1/2 Cup

Method:

• Boil the water in a pan and when it starts rolling boil add the cacao tea and let it simmer for 5- 10 minutes.
• Enjoy a nice chocolate flavored tea.

Cacao Tea Smoothie:

1.  Almond Milk- 2 Cups
2. Spinach Leaves- a handful
3. Dates- 4 nos
4. Brewed Cacao tea- 1/2 Cup
5. Chia Seeds- 1 tbsp
6. Hemp Seeds- 1 tbsp
7. Peanut Butter- 1 tbsp

Method:

• Blend all the ingredients in a blender and enjoy an amazing smoothie within no time.

Apricot Energy Balls and Oats Energy Balls

These energy balls are so easy to make that it does not require any baking. Just process it, make it into round balls and enjoy these within no time. There are so many varieties in these energy balls. We can add many ingredients of our choice in these balls.

 I love apricots. Dried apricots from Costco are my favorite snack. And as we get them in a bulk, I made some delicious healthy energy balls which is a hit in my family. I was in a mood of making the energy balls, and as soon as I finished I finished making with apricots, I made some using oats. I ground the oats to powder, as I don't like to bite the oats in energy balls.

Energy balls or protein balls are so easy and packed with nutrients, that they are a very good to go snack. These soft, chewy balls are a perfectly awesome snack to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Ingredients:
For Apricot Energy balls:

1. Dried Apricots- 1 Cup
2. Almonds- 1/2 Cup
3. Chia Seeds- 1 tbsp
4. Dried Coconut- 2 tbsp

Method:

• In a food processor, blend all the ingredients till it forms a nice sticky mixture. Make round balls and store in an airtight container for almost 2 weeks.

For Oats Energy Balls:

1. Oats- 1 Cup
2. Cocoa Powder- 2 tbsp
3. Chis Seeds- 1 tbsp
4. Hemp Seeds-- 1 tbsp
5. Dates- 3/4 Cup

Method:

• Ground the oats to a fine powder.
• Add all the other ingredients along with the powdered oats to a food processor and process till everything combines well. At this stage the mixture will look like powder, but transfer to a plate and start rolling them into round balls. Store them in an airtight container in refrigerator and enjoy as needed.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

It's slowly becoming cold during night time and a better way to enjoy cold weather is by making a warm, richer, creamier soup that will be liked by all in your family. This mushroom soup was rich without being heavy and delightfully earthy. I suggest pairing this with warm oven toasted bread. That's how I like to slurp my soup.

To make this delicious soup , I used 3 portobella mushrooms, they give nice flavor and the lovely color to the soup. This is a chunky soup, if you want your soup to be more pureed, just use the immersion blender and blend well. As the mushrooms are roasted along with garlic, it gives an amazing flavor to the soup.

I make this soup once in two weeks as my family loves it a lot. My daughter is a big fan of this soup and likes a warm soup after coming back from school. She is like me, I like mushrooms a lot. As a kid, I remember, my dad used to bring lots of tiny mushrooms on the way back home after a morning walk. He plucked fresh mushrooms from the woods that used to pop up after a rainy day. My mom makes amazing dishes out of them. Feeling very nostalgic. In my native, we see these mushrooms in our backyard. They grow after a stromy night. They are edible and are so tiny. They used to grow in a large groups.
Ingredients:

1. Mushrooms (chopped)- 2 Cups
2. Onions(chopped)- 1 no
3. Garlic (crushed)- 2 nos
4. Flour- 2 tbsp
5. Salt- as required
6. Pepper Powder- 1 tbsp
7. Dried Herbs-1 tbsp
8. Water/ Broth- 3 Cups
9. Cream- 1/2 Cup
10. Butter- 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Heat butter in a pan, add the crushed garlic, stir for a min on a high flame.
2. Lower the flame and add the chopped onions along with chopped mushrooms. Stir well and let this cook till all the water gets evaporated. Mix in between.
3. When the mushroom becomes soft, add the dried herbs, in another bowl mix the flour, salt, pepper powder and water. 
4. Add this flour mixture into the cooked mushroom, mix well till everything gets well blended. Bring to a boil, stir and cook until thickened.
5. Stir in the cream, simmer until the flavors are blended, approximately 15 minutes. Switch off the flame and enjoy with oven toasted bread.