Because of my food aversions and intolerances, my food choices are limited. All those coffee drinks sound so decadent, but I do not tolerate caffeine or dairy well, nor do I care for the bitter aftertaste of coffee. My tolerance for caffeine and alcohol are limited to a shot glass of the least potent of their selections.
My favorite drink at our local coffee shop, (and a staple for critique group meetings) is a chai tea. I love the spiced flavor and the warmth. (I purchased a make at home version and found it tasted disappointingly of pepper. After studying the ingredients, I discovered the mix did in fact include black pepper. Blech.) Sometimes it helps make the ‘you have a lot of work to do’ critiques a little easier to digest.
Unfortunately I found that my favorite drink gave me headaches about three hours after drinking it. Conveniently this was the same time that my kids got home from school and was not the best combination. After much elimination, I discovered that the headaches came from the soy milk that I was using to replace the regular milk. You can imagine my excitement that my coffee shop now offers almond milk. I can enjoy my favorite drink with no headache. Yay!
When at home, I enjoy peppermint tea and I’ll try to brew my own chai occasionally. My own versions are never as good as the coffee shop ones. They are professionals and boiling water is a test of my cooking skills.
I also love large cups of hot chocolate, but therein lies several problems. Most mixes include or require dairy. (I found a yummy one and Walmart stopped carrying it. Grrr.) Some you can add water for satisfying results and some are just gross. The second problem is that if I go for the truly ginormous mug that I want, I have a queasy stomach later. Sigh. The third problem is that if the kids are home they will want some too, which inevitably requires half a container of mix, six soiled mugs, eight spoons, at least one spill on the floor and/or counter, and the discovery that we do not have any whipped cream or marshmallows. All to be followed with the fact that they didn’t like it or they forgot to drink it.
All this makes for my favorite drinks being a delightful and rare splurge.
Angela Schroeder
Patricia Kiyono
Elaine Cantrell
Jeff Salter
Joselyn
Tonette Joyce
Four Foxes, One Hound 
totally get that hot choc. scene — duplicated here over the recent holiday when five our our six grandkids decided they HAD to have some. Same result as yours: dirty mugs, spoons, spills, and most of the liquid left un-consumed.
Love this quote: “boiling water is a test of my cooking skills.”
Good that you were able to isolate the cause of your headaches, but I can imagine that was a lengthy process.
So how did you do on your running last year? Did you ever get those final 13 miles?
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I did! I made it 2006 for the year. It was pretty cool.
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I am sorry about your lactose intolerance.I became suddenly and violently lactose intolerant about 15 years ago and it lasted for 3. I could not even use much artificial coffee creamer because of the milk derivatives it contained. Rice milk gave me violent headaches,since it is made from brown rice,(I found out the hard way),which always gives me headaches. Not even having a sprinkle of Parmesan n my pasta was really hard for this half-Italian girl!
Almond milk is my go-to alternative for vegan dishes or to cut the cholesterol. It makes great oatmeal,fyi.
Unfortunately, the product I used to kick my lactose intolerance was pulled from retail and is now in a long process in the FDA getting approval. I have no idea what the hold-up is, but since my son works for the FDA now, I know things move slowly. It did an excellent job on me:
Lactagen.It may be available again.
Anyway, HIS son has taken to vanilla chai tea from Bigalow. I hope you find comforting beverages!
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That’s good to know. I can tolerate a little bit now and then. I just have to be careful and make sure the event is worth it. 🙂
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My youngest was often guilty of not finishing his hot chocolate. I started giving him half cups of it and that has worked for us.
My middle child was born with a lactose intolerance which was really stressful because he was a formula child. Ncr he was old enough he took a chewable tablet to allow him to have ice cream and all milk was the Lactaid milk. He was so happy when he outgrew the intolerance by the age of eight.
What exactly is a chai tea? I’ve heard it before but never had a desire to try it.
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It’s a mixture of fennel seed, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon stick, ginger root, and peppercorns. I would leave out the peppercorns. It smells yummy.
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I love chai lattes (or almost any kind of latte) too, but I have a strong negative reaction to the milk later on. I usually drink plain chai tea. A friend of mine gave me a recipe for it. I should dig it out and make some.
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