This Chai Day Cut Calories from Your Regular Chai With These Tips

Although National Chai Day was recognized only 3 years back on September 21, the drink has been existing as a part of our dietary routine since ever.

Black tea, is nearly a calorie-free drink and a healthy substitute for sweetened beverages. A cup of 240 ml of freshly brewed black tea offers barely 2 calories, which is considered negligible.

Adding sugar and milk to it increases its calorie content which varies with the quantity of sugar and milk you are adding. But for us, chai is incomplete without these 2 ingredients. Use of these 2 ingredients since ever, have incorporated them into the chai ritual.

Simultaneously, a sedentary lifestyle with these high-calorie ingredients is burdening our health with chronic conditions such as diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular and related consequences.

Besides, milk which is the main ingredient of chai is considered a wholesome food not just for kids but for adults as well. But many of us are allergic to milk or deal with lactose intolerance after having it and other dairy products.

Overall, its analysis makes chai a high-calorie drink to be consumed twice or thrice a day.

Here are 3 healthy tips to cut calories from your cup of chai:

1. Switch to zero-calorie natural sweeteners from refined sugar

We often take brown sugar and jaggery as a healthy substitute for refined sugar. To your surprise, both of these are high in calories that are comparable to refined sugar. Brown sugar contains 42 Cal and jaggery contains 22 cal per tbsp. While refined sugar contains 49 calories. All these 3 sweeteners add to the calorie content of a regular cup of chai.

For those who consider honey, date syrup or maple syrup as a healthy substitute for refined sugar, one tbsp of these sweeteners offers 64, 60, and 52 calories respectively, which are even more than refined sugar itself.

Besides, a variety of artificial zero-calorie sweeteners are also available in the market, e.g. saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame potassium, cyclamates, etc. However, these artificial sugar substitutes are associated with health complications, and subsequently, they are not recommended to be consumed in routine.

So here are some Zero-calorie natural sweeteners that you can have daily in your tea with additional health benefits:

2. Watch the portion size of milk and sugar in your chai

On average, women need 2000 calories per day to maintain weight and limit Calorie intake to 1500 or less to lose one pound per week. While men need, 2500 calories per day and limit Calorie intake to 2000 to lose one pound per week.

Regular chai made out of cow’s milk offers you 123.5 calories approx. with 49 calories from tbsp refined sugar and 74.5 calories from ½ cup cow’s milk. If you are having chai thrice a day, you are getting approx. 369 calories out of 1500 and 2000 for women and men which are way too much for a drink, if you are on a weight loss journey.

If you wish to have your chai the way you like it and wish to cut calories at the same time, reduce the portions of sugar and milk to half which will eventually cut your calories to 61 per cup.

Know how much calories you are taking from a cup of chai here.

Moreover, you can use skimmed milk or 1% cow’s milk to further cut the calories.

You can also lessen the number of cups you are having per day or instead try other healthy variants of chai.

Also if you are having a regular chai in the morning, make sure you eat something before sipping on chai to avoid acidity.

3. Try Vegan Chai instead of Regular Chai

Vegan chai with plant-based milk will not only provide a lactose-free option for lactose intolerants but also cut the calories from your cup of chai with additional health benefits.

Here are some Plant-based milk that are easily available in supermarkets and online grocery stores:

Also, check out these 5 super easy low- calorie Vegan chai recipes that you can have twice or thrice a day:

1.Cinnamon almond milk chai

Ingredients: ½ cup almond milk, 1 tsp regular tea leaves, ½ tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp cinnamon powder, 1clove, 1tsp stevia

How to prepare:

Step 1: Boil a cup of water in a saucepan. To this, add 1tsp cinnamon powder, 1 clove grounded, and let it infuse for 2 mins.

Step 2: Add tea leaves, 1tsp stevia, and vanilla extract to it and boil for another 2 mins.

Step 3: Add ½ cup almond milk and heat on low flame till 5 mins.

Step 4: Strain in your favorite tea cup and enjoy it any time of the day.

This cup offers you approx. 40 calories.

2. Matcha Latte

Ingredients: 1 ½ tsp matcha powder, 1 tbsp hot water, 1tsp stevia, 1/2 almond milk

How to prepare:

Step 1: Take matcha powder in a mug.

Step 2: Add the hot water and mix well to get a lump-free paste.

Step 3: Add the ½ cup hot almond milk, and 1tsp stevia, and use either a whisker or a frother to mix the ingredients well.

Step 4: Serve the tea immediately.

This cup offers you approx. 28 calories.

3. London fog latte

Ingredients: 1 tsp earl grey tea, ½ cup almond milk, ½ vanilla extract, 1 tsp stevia

How to prepare:

Step 1: Heat 1 tsp earl Grey tea in water and let it infuse for 5 mins.

Step 2: Meanwhile, heat ½ cup almond milk, add 1 tsp vanilla extract, and whisk it until frothy. You could also use a milk steamer instead.

Step 3: Strain the tea and pour the hot and frothy almond milk into the tea.

Step 4: enjoy it hot.

This cup offers you approx. 42 calories.

4. Chamomile tea latte

Ingredients: ½ tsp Chamomile tea, 1 cup almond milk, 1tsp vanilla extract, 1 clove, 1 cinnamon stick

How to prepare:

Step 1: Heat 1 cup almond milk in a saucepan, and add chamomile tea, cloves, and cinnamon stick to it.

Step 2: Strain chamomile tea into the cup, add vanilla extract to it and whisk it until frothy.

Step 3: Garnish with cinnamon powder and serve hot.

This cup offers approx. 68 calories.

5. Oat milk tea latte

Ingredients: ½ cup oat milk, 2 tsp tea leaves of your choice, 1 tsp stevia

How to prepare:

Step 1: Boil the tea leaves for 5 mins until it is brewed.

Step 2: Meanwhile, heat the ½ cup oat milk with stevia over medium-low for 2 minutes, followed by whisking

Step 3: Strain the tea in a mug, and add frothy oat milk to it.

Step 4: serve it immediately.

This cup offers approx. 65 calories.