Thai Tea, Anyone??

Ok, a lighter post after my rather dreary 10 month update...

I went out for Thai food the other night with a former student who just finished up her freshman year of college (have mercy, that makes me feel OLD). I introduced her to the sweet nectar that is Thai tea. If you've never tried this magical concoction, it's a black tea that is brewed with a myriad of other spices (star anise, orange blossom, tamarind, etc.) and steeped for longer than most teas to make it super rich. It is a dark orange color when it's brewed, and traditionally it is topped with either evaporated milk or half-and-half to make it creamy... This beverage is an absolute vice for me, but it is absolutely LOADED with sugar when it is made in a restaurant. I have only had this guilty pleasure 2-3 times since surgery, but after meeting up with my ex-kiddo, I decided to go on a mission to either a) figure out the spice mix and make my own, or b) find the spice mix online and turn it into something VSG-friendly. I found out the name of the typical tea mix that is used in many restaurants, and went on a hunt at my local Asian Market... I FOUND IT! And it was only $5 for a HUGE bag!

 I then did a quick Google search and came across The Bariatric Foodie's recipe for WLS friendly tea... Basically, the recipe swapped out the sugar for Splenda and opted to use Evaporated Milk as the "cream." I stuck with the half-and-half and made a DELICIOUS batch of tea! (I'm excited to try the "Ghetto Pad Thai" recipe that was on the blog now, too!)

I'm so excited that I don't have to go without this favorite! I know that I haven't made any grand discoveries by simply using Splenda instead of sugar, but it was a nice reminder that, with a little digging, researching, and recipe-altering, we can still enjoy our favorite "guilty pleasures" without sacrificing our success. Further proof that we don't have to live a life of plain chicken breast and water... This journey can still be full of delicious, satisfying, and pleasurable foods as long as we take our time!

(edited for typo)

Does it taste similar to chai tea?  Love chai!

I love chai also, but Thai tea is more sweet, where chai is more warm spices. I do think hat if you like one, you might like the other though! I'm not a big tea drinker, but I love both :)

I imagine it would be similar to Chai as the PP asked. Those ingredients are similar. The black tea, star anise, for example. There is also a cinnamon stick, whole cardamon, whole cloves, and more. I make homemade Chai sometimes as I got the recipe from a local Indian restaurant who makes it from scratch. It is the best Chai I'd ever had in my life. Pre-op we used to eat there A LOT and I always got Chai. The owners knew us as regulars and noted once how we always order it. He just offered up the recipe and proper preparation instructions, which I had been doing wrong with the Chai tea bags.

Their Chai is made with the spices and milk, but they do not add the sugar. This is a bonus, except, of course, I don't drink & eat at the same time :[

I haven't been there since before my surgery, although, they do have some decent menu options I could have. My 38th birthday is coming up in a little over a week and while I try not to celebrate things with food anymore I might have to suggest we go out to dinner there that evening.  They are a higher-end Indian food restaurant with order off the menu only for dinner and I could easily stay on plan and have a bunch of tasty leftovers.

BTW - Chai means tea, so when people say Chai tea they are really saying tea tea ;)

Let us know how the 

It is similar to chai, but it is brewed for much longer, making it much richer. The consistency is closer to a rich coffee than a thin, watery tea. It's delicious though!

Ohhhh..... I love that tea.  Same boat as you, I just can't order it.  It is even worse than diet coke as far as triggers go.  Does that mix have calories involved, or is it just tea?  I have asian markets in the metro Detroit area, so I may have to go on a hunt.

For the chai drinker... you can buy chai that is sugar free and add your own milk.  If you use flax milk you can make a large hot chai for only 25 calories :) Use skim milk for more calories, but the benefit of some protein in it. It just occurred to me that I have never tried it using vanilla protein mix- I bet that would work well!

I used to do it with Syntrax Nectar Vanilla Bean Torte and it was delish! I would freeze the tea into cubes and then blend that into the shake. Tasted like a frappe chai latte! That was my go-to for the first 7ish months post op. 

ETA: The Thai tea mix is 5 calories per serving and less than 1 net carb!!

Wow great idea! I do love both Thai ice tea and chai. Nice reminder that it does not have to be all blah.