Matcha Lattes and Re-Connecting to Routine

If you look on my phone right now you'll see a lot of pictures of homemade matcha lattes. I'm a little obsessed with matcha tea (a traditional, ceremonial green tea powder) right now, with its gentle dose of caffeine, l-theanine, and antioxidants. Okay, more then a little... I set up a monthly delivery! I use this tutorial, with my favorite coconut almond milk and honey to make the most amazing not super sugarly latte:

🍵How to make a matcha latte at home? Matcha lattes at the café are packed with sugar and sweetened milk, here's how to be a badass b and make it DIY at home. Respek thy 🍵 matcha +your hot body⚡️⚡️ Here's what you'll need: Materials: -A chasen bamboo whisk or a high powered blender -Matcha powder from Japan (Look for ceremonial grade from Japan) -Boiled water, cooled for 5 minutes -Almond or coconut milk (unsweetened saves you inflammation + sugar) -Coconut butter (optional if using a blender only, adds satiation) Directions: 1- Boil water and cool for 5 minutes to 175-185 degrees F, matcha is best made with water slightly under boiling. 2-Add your matcha powder to your chawan (matcha bowl) or a bone dry blender and sift slightly with your bamboo whisk. 3- Add slightly cooled after boiling water. Whisk in M and N motions causing your chasen or blend on high. 4-Add your almond, coconut milk or milk of choice. Add coconut butter in to blender only if using. Blend on high or whisk in milk. SERVE ⚡️⚡️⚡️🍵🍵🍵#matchalatte #goldengirl #iquitcoffee

A post shared by Candice Kumai (@candicekumai) on Jun 22, 2017 at 4:52am PDT

This is part of my attempt at reconnecting with a healthy routine.

A little story: Before we left Pennsylvania I was carrying around an extra 10lbs which is a whole lot on a naturally slight 5'2" frame. A combination of sitting at a desk 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, and eating a few too many sweets, and not feeling like I had the time to hit yoga more then 1x a week, made it almost impossible for me to lose. When we moved to Colorado - and specifically when I started teacher training - suddenly I found myself with time, and more then that, I found myself with the real commitment to change. I started doing yoga 3-5x a week, and I completely revamped my diet. Green smoothies, more veggies in general, and a real cutting of sugary items. I lost 15lbs at which point I decided to loosen up a little because it was not actually a weight I wanted to be at. I let go of some of my restrictions and gained about 4 of those back putting me in a place where I felt strong and healthy.

Mostly, maintenance has been fine. Summer however gets a little hard, and specifically travel in the summer is the hardest time to maintain. This summer I've been doing a little worse then normal. I'm staying up too late, sleeping in a bit in the morning, not making the best food choices and have slacked on my normal yoga routine. I gave up on my regular lifting day without even trying to see if I could make it work. I was feeling sluggish, not my best, and starting to worry about fitting into my very fitted bridesmaid dress for a September wedding!

A few weeks ago I decided to recommit. I set an alarm on my phone to remind me to go to bed, I started my regular matcha routine (normally partnered with amazingly yummy pasture raised eggs from some of my students!), upped my green smoothie game, and reigned in my nighttime sweets consumption.

I also recommitted to as much yoga as I can with Gwen home from school, started hitting the machines before my Tuesday night yoga class, figured out how to take Gwen to the gym with me on Thursday mornings, and cashed in on a consult I won with an herbalist (I love seeing what nature can do to support everything else I'm doing).

We are traveling now, so a lot of routine has changed, again! But recommitting before we left has helped me to make better choices on the road. The more you move, the more your body craves movement; the better you eat, the better you feel, and the more you want to keep that good energy going. Moreover I just feel good again!

Here's to healthy living and a healthy life. That's a choice I always want to make.