I know you can picture it: the hazy, dreamy images of sipping hot coffee and cozying up in swaddles of soft blankets, with candles flickering, and a fire roaring. People reading, working. Sipping. Warm, cozy and perfectly content.

As much as I’d love for that to be my reality, Winter can really suck my mojo if I let it. Just being honest.

And if I drank as much coffee as my body wanted to {to be warm and feel halfway awake and productive in the 6 hours of daylight}, I’d really be in a mood. As would my body, in all the other hours of the day in between my caffeine and blood sugar crashes.

But, it’s so easy to do. To slowly let yourself slide into drinking a cup.. or a shot… then another just because it’s cold out.

Or worse, when your innocent cup of coffee morphs into a creamy, sugary fest that becomes even more addictive. You know what I mean. Those red-cupped holiday drinks that become a daily habit. Which would be fine if they didn’t give you the opposite end result of what you were looking for in the first place (energy, warmth, that gooooood little feeling).

Like a bait and switch. Where you get tricked in the long run. Because coffee can be great, but if you’re forced to admit it- it definately affects your blood sugar (which makes you hungrier), the rate at which cortisol is released (which means added fat storage), and can make your hormone balance a little shifty (which is never good).

So, obviously, I’m always on the lookout for something to give me all of the good, but without the bad after-effects. Because I need all the energy and productivity I can get, but would prefer to leave that other stuff behind. You know, if it was optional. Which is why green tea is usually my hot beverage of choice. But that can get old after a while.

So today, a little  winter homemade or coffee shop order idea that won’t leave you haggard and hungry.

Yerba mate is a great option as a base, with caffeine amounts that fall somewhere in between green tea and coffee, but without the acid that coffee has (that cause jitters and more stomach acid).

Yerba mate also doesn’t have as many tannins as tea, making it a less bitter and more flavorful. The taste is dark and more roasty, similar to coffee, with lots of antioxidants- including the same ones as dark chocolate. And you can buy it to make at home [loose leaf or in teabag form], or order out at most coffeeshops which brew it in bigger batches like they do coffee.

If you can’t find it, try this recipe with black, chai or green tea as well.

Yerba Mate Latte

1 cup brewed yerba mate

1 inch steamed milk (hemp or whole milk)

cinnamon, lots

Brew tea in water and steam milk in a separate saucepan. Pour tea into the cup, top with steamed milk and sprinkle with cinnamon. Add honey if desired. If you’re ordering out, ask for yerba mate with a tiny inch of steamed hemp or whole milk.

Love this recipe? You’d love the cookbook then too. And be sure to check out the brand new Food Academy, now open for enrollment, and the seasonal meal plans!