My Matcha Latte Recipe

Matcha has become the latest addition to my day. Typically coffee and I have a great bond, but since I’ve been trying to cut back on it, I’ve started switching over to matcha. At first, I thought it was just a fad or just “another green juice”, then after reading about so many health benefits I wanted to try it out. Who knows, maybe it is just another fad, but it’s definitely one I stand with!

Let’s start with the basics. What is matcha & why should you drink it? Matcha is a powder that comes from a whole green tea leaf. Usually, when you make green tea, you only use part of it. The whole leaf doubles the nutrients, caffeine, and overall health benefits. It gives the caffeine benefit without the “crash” hours later. It keeps you balanced and energized longer without letting you feel gross or tired. It also has high levels of L-theanine which help you avoid the crash, and gives the calm feeling of peace throughout your body.

I am fairly new to the fad but I really want to start making other drinks and treats out of matcha. If you have any recommendations please leave them in the comments below. Here’s my recipe;

Ingredients:

1 tsp Matcha Powderimg_8737

1 tbs Water

3/4 Cup of Coconut/ Almond Milk

1 tsp Honey (to taste)

You start by putting the matcha powder into any cup or mug you would like. Add 1 tsp of hot water and begin to whisk in a “W” or “M” motion. Personally I bought the kit which included the bamboo whisk and the spoon. This kinda of whisk makes the matcha more frothy, which is typically what you would want in a latte. Keep whisking until it becomes a green paste with no lumps.

Of course, if you’re just beginning to drink matcha you do not need to go out and buy the kit. Any whisk & teaspoon will do. Please remember if not using bamboo whisk, it will be less frothy.

Next, I warm up 3/4 cup of Coconut milk on the stove. It doesn’t need to boil, just make sure it’s hot. Pour the milk into your cup of matcha & mix.

Finally, you can add any sweetener you choose. I like to add a little bit of honey and mix that in. Enjoy!

Amazon Book Review

My absolute favorite thing to do is read books. My ideal Sunday afternoon would be to just curl in my bed and read a good book, maybe with a face mask on and some coffee. My favorite kinds of books are either a love story, a poetry book, or a mystery. I love being able to lose myself in the books that I read and possibly sit there for hours. So recently I have purchased a couple different books from amazon in the last couple months (and by a little I mean about 15 LOL). Today I’m gonna be reviewing my top 5. I’m gonna tell you guys a little bit about the books and why it was such a great read for me. I am leaving all of the book links down below along with a picture of them if you guys are interested in purchasing.

#1 Adultolescence By Gabbie Hanna

  $12.49 Book Link

This book is absolutely amazing! adultolescenceThis is a poetry book in a very modern style. Gabbie describes the perfect mix of adult and child. Basically all of your thoughts that happen in your teen years which can make you feel alone, happy, hopeful, in love, etc. were condensed into one book. I personally relate so well to almost every poem in here, it’s crazy. (shhh BTW it’s currently on sale from $16.99, sopick it up!)

#2 This Princess Saves Herself By Amanda Lovelace

$11.99 Book Link

princess.pngOf course I’m sure everyone has heard of this book by now, but when it first came out it didn’t really attract me until more recently. One of my friends actually put me on to this book and said I just HAD to read it. It changes the more typical “romance” poetry book, into the realization that maybe there isn’t a happy for everyone and that’s okay. It’s a very empowering book for women, which is what I personally like about it. (This ones on sale too! It was $14.99 and now its

#3 I Love My Love By Reyna Biddy   $10.17 Book Link

i love my loveI am so obsessed with this book. I first heard about Reyna on Twitter and I actually started following her before she even released this book. Let me take it back for a minute, about a year and a half ago I went through a really heavy breakup and Reyna actually released a soundtrack to this book. To this day, I swear that is what helped me get through this particular breakup. It is full of heart wrenching poems that make you cry, make you feel hopeful, and make you fall in love. It is definitely one of kind. The soundtrack is basically her reading a few of the poems in this book. After she released that, months later she released the whole book. I didn’t get the chance to pick it up until about a month ago, and trust me it is so worth it.

#4 Her Favorite Color Was Yellow By Edgar Holmesfavorite color is yellow

$13.49  Book Link

This book is beautiful and very one of a kind. He talks about how it feels to fall in love, the aching hurt when his love leaves, and how it feels to get her back. It truly is a must read, again its a poetry book which seems to be my favorite lately. I 100% recommend this, I made 2 of my friends read it and they also fell in love.

#5 I Wrote This For You By Iain Thomas $19.67

Book Link

this for you

This book is just so unique, I feel like it’s a must read for everyone. Everyone takes what they need from this book. Whatever is currently going on in your life, I feel it says exactly what you need to hear. It focuses on basically aspect of life from beginning to end. Every word is said beautifully and really gets you in your feelings. If you’re not big o that, I would definitely skip this one lol.

Road Trip Do’s and Don’ts

Traveling to a new city seems so exciting, until you begin thinking about all the details. Will you fly? Is it close enough to drive? How many hours am I willing to travel? Or, like in my case, the budget just isn’t big enough for a last-minute flight. My latest road trip took 17 HOURS. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of road trips. I love stopping and being able to take the “scenic route”, but what happens when your 10 hour trip turns into 17?  You start to get a little moody and tired.

These are my tips to make your trip fun but not take too long.

DO Bring pillows & blankets. 

Trust me, no one can drive for 10 straight hours by themselves. Whether it is your spouse, friends, or family, it IS okay to say you need a break. You don’t have to fall asleep but being cozy and comfy is definitely a plus. This is especially necessary if you’re driving somewhere cold.

DONT Stop every hour.

Plan out your stops, check your gas tank, and don’t drink a gallon of water in the car. Especially if you’re traveling with a group of friends who may not need to stop so much. This will probably cause tension during the rest of the ride. If there are sightseeing spots, plan them out and make sure EVERYONE is on board.

DO Take a million pictures.

Even if people make fun of you for it, keep taking them. When you look back at your trip, you and everyone else will love those memories.

DONT Leave your personal belongings behind. 

Please make sure before you leave the rest stop that you have EVERYTHING. It’s inconvenient to everyone with you and especially annoying when you realize three hours later and you have to turn around. This is why my trip became 17 hours long by the way.

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(My boyfriend Richard/ Destination: Jacksonville, North Carolina)