Super-healthy Matcha Collagen Latte
Everyone is obsessed with Matcha tea right now and rightfully so! Who doesn't love some extra antioxidants??
What is Matcha? It's a type of green tea made from young green tea leaves picked from a bush grown under shade. These shaded leaves are full of increased amount of chlorophyll content making them bright green and full of nutrients. They are handpicked and grind into a fine powder that you whisk with hot water.
With regular tea, you're soaking the leaves in hot water, throwing out the leaves (aka the real nutrients) and then drinking the left-over water. The critical benefit of matcha tea is that unlike regular tea where digesting the whole leaf and receiving the pure source of it's micronutrients.
Benefits of Matcha Tea include:
a boost of sustained energy over 6 hours as the body digests support micronutrients (remember you're getting the whole leaf) with the caffeine.
Detoxifies the body with it's high levels of chlorophyll
Enhances cognitive function and concentration with it's high levels of L-theanine
Provides a significant amount of antioxidants, including specific catechins that protect your cells and tissues against damage and reduces your inflammation & risk of glaucoma.
Aids in weight loss as your metabolic rate is increased
(For source of studies proving these facts)
Now, what's the deal with collagen? As you age your body slows down it's production of collagen (along with other things, looking at your liver enzymes). Not a great thing since collagen is the most abundant protein in our bodies, found in muscles, bones, skin, blood vessels, digestive system and tendons. Most importantly, it's what gives our skin strength and elasticity. (More on collagen.)
Three big benefits of hydrolyzed collagen (aka collagen peptides, same same) is:
1) It's a protein so it helps compliment your workouts. A study showed collagen peptide supplementation in combination with resistance training further improved body composition by increasing muscle mass, muscle strength and the loss in fat mass.
2) It can help keep you cartilage in tack (aka keep wearing heels, doing yoga and avoid a gnarly knee replacement scare in later life). A study showed an "increase in bone mineral density, a protective effect on articular cartilage, and especially in the symptomatic relief of pain."
3) You can start curing/avoiding your wrinkles from the inside out! A study showed that in 26 healthy females who displayed visible signs of natural and photoaging in the face, daily supplementation with 1 g of hydrolyzed collagen for 12 weeks led to a 76% reduction of skin dryness and scaling and 13% reduction in global lines and wrinkles.
Thankfully collagen is tasteless and dissolvable but not like-stir-it-in easy.
Bingo, thats when I came up with this trifecta! I mean t-r-i-f-e-c-t-a. Yep three. Okay first step, any coffee drinker should own a frother.
A) It makes your basic cup a good latte or capp with a press of a button. I’m a coffee snub, I didn’t say "great" but also not every coffee shop is great, ya know?
B) Yes, I love a good coffee shop but when I first wake, the efficiency of good cup of coffee is unparalleled. (As I sit in my pjs, sipping on my latte, typing this right now...)
C) You save a sh*t ton of money & time just making your own very simple latte every morning. Save the coffee shops for the afternoon/traveling/networking.
Nepresso frother is excellent but this one does the EXACT. SAME. THING.
So now in less time than it takes to make a cup of coffee I can make a unsweetened almond milk Matcha latte with collagen …that sounds way more high-maintenance than it is (aka my sweet spot).
Make it:
Pour 1/4 cup of hot water (aka 2 oz.) into frother
Scoop in match powder (1 tsp.). Add stevia if you like, I do a pinch.
Put lid on and froth.
Then pour in 3/4 cup of almond milk - or however much ya want ;)
Add 1 scoop of collagen
Put lid on and froth again.
Pour it into your mug.
BOOM! Just saved yourself five doll-hairs and you’ve got a latte that might actually keep a decent froth on the top while getting your skin glow and healthy life going.
Pro tip: Collagen can go in any of your frothed drinks - it makes the froth a bit more stiff but in a good way like your latte/capp froth holds longer but without changing the consistency of it. For this ADHD woman who misplaces her drink before finishing it. F*cking epic.
XO Amy Lee
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