DIY MATCHA: How I Make My Own Matcha Drinks At Home | PANATEAxLITML

I've gotten TONS of questions on how I make my matcha at home, and I don't blame ya'll one bit because I post ALL THE TIME about my matcha craze! If you don't know what MATCHA is, it's basically finely ground up green tea leaves (not just the regular kind, the really really good kind) and it's got A TON of health benefits to it. I've been drinking matcha for a couple of years now, and I absolutely love the taste of it & how it doesn't give me that coffee-crash. (I drink coffee from time to time too, don't get me wrong! But, I don't live off of coffee anymore - at least not right now and I hope to keep it that way). If you want to find out more about the health benefits of and what makes matcha different, click HERE. 

Today, I'll show you guys how to make matcha in TWO different ways. The first will be the traditional way, made with just hot water and a bamboo whisk. The second will be my go to recipe, which is the matcha latte. So, keep on reading to find out how YOU can make your own matcha drink at home! 

At Home Instant Matcha 

This is probably THE EASIEST matcha recipe EVER, which takes DIY Matcha on a whole new level. 

What you need:
- 1 PANATEA Instant Matcha Packet
- 12 oz Water
- 1 cup ice

What to do:
- Once you have the 12 oz water in a cup, add 1 packet of the PANATEA Instant Matcha Packet 
- Then, just add the ice, and VOILA! You've got yourself an iced matcha!

DIY Matcha Latte 

This recipe is my GO-TO. RIDE-OR-DIE. TRIED-AND-TRUE. Y'all ready for my DIY matcha latte recipe?!

Here's what you need:
- 1 tsp PANATEA Ceremonial Grade Matcha
- 2 Tbsps Water
- 1 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk (or milk of your choice)
- Optional: Bamboo Matcha Whisk

What to do:
- Heat up the water (but not to boiling)
- Place in a bowl and add the 1 tsp of Matcha
- Whisk away OR place the water and Matcha in the blender and blend
- Heat the almond milk or milk of your choice (but again, not to boiling) 
- Add the warm milk into the blender and blend again. (again, you can skip all the separate steps and just blend the water, milk and matcha in the blender) 
- Pour the yummy goodness into your favorite cup
- Optional: sprinkle extra Matcha on top! 
 

I'm loving the options of being able to make a quick matcha, but also being able to make it into a morning ritual and sipping slowly on that warm creamy matcha latte! What would your choice be: Are you an on-the-go person who likes iced matcha? Or are you a slow-down type of person and enjoys the ritual of making your morning matcha latte? 

These are the best ways I've found to make my DIY matcha drinks and I thank PANATEA for graciously sending me a few samples of their matcha to try out! If you'd like to try too, you can use the code "DOROTHY15" for 15% off your first order!

Hope you loved this post so Matcha ;)

xoxo, Dorothy

Medical School and Burn Out

If you're a fellow second year medical student, you know that it is officially Board-Study Season. And I don't know about you, but I definitely feel the stress already. A few medical students who are a year or two ahead of me gave some of the same tips, and it is this: DON'T GET BURNED OUT. Does this phrase give any one else chills? It's a topic that is commonly thrown around within the medical community - whether students, residents or so on. Now that we're officially in this season of life where it seems like the "end of this tunnel" will never come, I truly believe that this is one of the times in my life in which I really need to be more aware of my mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health - so as to prevent this thing called "burn out". 

As if I, and other medical students don't already get "burned out" from constantly studying during the year, we now have one more thing on our plate - a big thing - that we are up against. So what can I do now to hopefully keep this burning out thing at bay? 

1. Community - surrounding myself with friends who are on the same mission, as well as those who can encourage me and keep me grounded is crucial. I've been blessed with friendships here at medical school and back home where I can go to those friends for encouragement, advice, fun - anything really. Another thing that ties in with this is "intentionality" (is that even a word?) because these friendships and relationships are not cultivated without putting in time and effort. 

2. Fitness & Eating Clean - I've talked about this before in a previous post, but I love working out. My body can tell when I haven't been moving and eating well, and it tells me to get movin' and get back on track. I guess I've become more aware or in-tune with my body, which is something important especially with the very busy life I lead. It's important to know when it's time to slow down, take care of yourself, so that you can better focus on your goals. Exercise & meal prep! Exercising not only keeps you physically fit, but also mentally fit! But HEY - don't forget to treat yo'self though. Take rests days and if you're needing that chocolate, ice cream, chips (whatever your weakness is) - GO FOR IT - just remember, everything in moderation! 

3. Faith - whether times are good or tough, my faith is something near and dear to me. I know that no matter what happens, I can fall back on it and know that everything will be ok. Life is not perfect and things don't always happen as I think they would. But I know that if I continue to believe and have faith that things will work out for the best, they usually do! 

4. Take Breaks - so simple, but easily forgotten. I try to talk to my parents every day even if it's just a little bit. And if you didn't already know - I'm engaged (EEP!) - So it's important to still be able to spend time and talk with the fiance! On top of all of this we are wedding planning. Am I crazy? (Maybe later on I'll write about my experience of planning a wedding while in medical school?) I don't know, but all of these things I've mentioned are more important now that ever! So I take breaks, watch my shows and get a good laugh. Hang out with my friends, and blog too ;)

I'm hoping that these things will carry me through the next few months, and even through the rest of my career in medicine.

What are your favorite ways to prevent burn out? Have you experienced it yourself? What did you do to recover? I'm all ears to any advice! 

xo, Dorothy 

PS. Aren't those pillows the cutest? This is one of my current favorites because I need all the motivation I can get for these next few months. Check more out at F R E E L Y by clicking here. (Many thanks to my friend Ashley @ F R E E L Y for this wonderful piece). 

REVIEW: RXBAR

As promised here is my review on the RXBAR! I got a special promo on them through Facebook, where you can get 6 flavors for $3, to introduce you to the brand and flavor. I'm not sure how to find the code again, but I will have a link at the end of this post for $5 off your first purchase! 

Without further ado, here it is: 

1. Sea salt caramel - TBH, this was not a good flavor for me. I don't think the caramel taste works with the dates. Personally, this was not the flavor for me. (sadly).
    
2. Mint chocolate - This is one of my top 2 faves! It was very good! I loved the refreshing taste of the mint and the chocolate. The taste works well with the dates, where as the sea salt caramel just didn't do it for me. 
    
3. Chocolate sea salt - if you don't like mint, you would probably love this one instead. This one is the other flavor in my top 2 faves! (Actually I think this is my first favorite!!!) The chocolate sea salt works great with the dates. The salt flavor is not overwhelming whatsoever.
    
4. Chocolate coconut: I surprisingly loved this one! I'm not usually a coconut person when it comes to deserts/bars/etc. but I love coconut water, coconut oil - so I'm weird in that way. BUT this was actually Good. The coconut flavor was not overwhelming, and it blended well with the chocolate flavor.
    
5. Blueberry: this one was good too but I love the ones with chocolate (and chocolate chips) more - I'm a chocolate girl! I was eating this during one of the breaks of my exam. It kept me full throughout, even if I just ate half. This is a good flavor for you if you're not really into the chocolate-y flavors! 
    
6. Peanut butter - so my peanut butter bar went missing (sad face here). I have no idea where I put it haha. I'm sure it tastes good but I can't give an opinion on that since I didn't get to taste it. I do have a granola/cereal that is dark chocolate peanut butter and I hope RX bar makes a flavor like that because it'll be like Reese's pieces!

Pros:

-Lots of flavor options, although I haven't tried them all. I liked 4/6 that was in the sample pack. I'm sure there are other awesome flavors! 

-Quality/content is amazing. It's super healthy but still Satisfies your sweet tooth if you're craving something sweet. It has dates, almonds, cashew, and 3 egg whites (and no BS haha). Real. Whole. Foods. I love that I can have a snack that is healthy and satisfying. Also, these are "Whole30" approved which is awesome for those who are doing that. (I personally am not, though).

-Keeps me full longer than other bars!! Some snack bars just don't cut it for me - I'm still so hungry afterward. But this actually satisfies my hunger (at least for a while - 3 hrs tops) because of its protein content and the content overall. It's not just a bunch of fillers. 

Cons:

-Okay so these bars can be a little bit more money-wise the other bars. But they do seem to always have some kind of deal going on on the website! You can also use this link here: http://rxbar.me/eJC_N to get $5 off your first order! It will automatically take off the $5 off at checkout.

-Not available in most stores :( i have to order these for the most part (which to me is not a big deal anymore) but having these in stores would be more convenient. On the website, there is a store locator to find what stores do carry it near your area! 

Who else has tried RXBARS, and what do you think about them? Also if you have other favorite snack bars let me know down below! 

Post-Workout Blueberry Protein Shake + The Masonbar Company

This past Friday, I decided to do leg day (which I postponed from Thursday, since this week has been hectic). My workout consisted of warming up on the treadmill for 6 mins, stretching and weightlifting: deadlifts, reverse lunges, leg presses, straight-leg dead lifts and hamstring curls; then stretching again at the end. I normally do super-sets, which mean I combine two exercises back to back as one set, completing 3-4 sets, and resting in between sets. 

After this workout, I was completely done for! I usually would drink a protein-shake with just mixing my protein powder with 8oz of water, but I decided when I got home that I would make a Blueberry Protein Shake instead! Here's the recipe:

• 1 scoop of your favorite protein powder (I use BSN Syntha-6 Vanilla Ice Cream flavor)
• Handful of blueberries 
• 6 cubes of ice
• 1-2 cups of Cashew milk (I honestly eye-balled it)

Blend everything in the blender, and voila - a quick post-workout shake that helped me last until lunch time, thanks to the protein content. 

This smoothie already looked delicious, but I totally had to share with you all my favorite way to dress up my mason jars! A while back, when I first started using mason jars to drink basically everything out of I found out about The Mason Bar Company. They have the absolute cutest lids for your mason jars that have holes for straws in them so you can take your drinks to go. I have the plastic lids in copper and gold (but can't seem to find my gold one - insert sad face here), clear plastic straws, straw brush (to clean the straws), and a mint colored cuff. The lids are dishwasher safe, but the straws you have to hand-wash (which isn't a big deal to me). The cuff is super cute and fits my tall jars as well as my smaller ones. They also have bamboo lids for mason jars if that's something you're looking for. I haven't purchased those before but they're really cute and are also available if you're looking more for a storage lid! 

Do you drink out of mason jars too? If you do, give these a try! It's a fun way to personalize your drinkware - and enjoy your post-workout smoothie or whatever you may be drinking :) 

xo,
Dorothy

Share below what you like to do for working out, and what you like to re-fuel with after your workouts!

Go-to Breakfast

With busy days ahead, I make sure that I eat a filling breakfast! One of my favorites right now is Oatbran with Vanilla Protein Powder mixed in, and chocolate chips on top. As far as caffeine goes, I actually have not been drinking coffee this entire school year - I've been sticking to Matcha or Earl Grey (or some type of black tea). Yes, there is still caffeine in these drinks but I haven't experienced any crash and I feel that I have more energy when I don't drink coffee and stick to these instead. (side note: I do have coffee once or twice when I go home on breaks, because I really do love a good cup of coffee). 

Oats
1. Bob's Red Mill Oat Bran
2. Vanilla protein powder of your choice (make sure that it mixes well)
   Try: Syntha-6 Vanilla Ice Cream
3. Almond Butter
   Try: No Stir Almond Butter
4. 60% Dark Chocolate Chips

How to make it: Make the oat bran as directed by the package. Once it's done, mix in 1 full scoop of the vanilla protein powder into the pot, and stir well. Optional: add 1 tbsp of almond butter. 
Transfer to your favorite bowl and add 1 tbsp of the Dark chocolate chips on top and watch them melt :) 

Matcha:
1. Ecomatcha (from amazon) 
2. Half and Half
3. Optional: Honey or sweetener of your choice
4. Optional: Frother (from amazon) 

How to make it: Fill up your favorite mug half way with hot water and mix 1 tsp of matcha in and your sweetener of choice. Then, get another mug and fill it with half & half (2 Tbsps) and heat it in microwave for 30secs. Once it's done, froth the half & half and mix into the matcha. 

Voila! 

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PS. Let me know if you all are interested in more simple, easy, yummy recipes! 

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