There’s something delicious about sitting at camp after a long day, soaking up the view and savoring a hot, frothy cup of coconut milk chai. The smell, the taste, the texture, oh so good!
Don’t worry, you’re not going to have to dehydrate your own coconut milk! This super easy recipe uses dehydrated coconut milk you can buy. It really hits the spot after a long day on the trail! I try to save it for dessert, to savor as I sit in my Crazy Creek chair and watch the world go by. If I arrive at camp with low blood sugar, I’ll down a cup before dinner. Either way, the fat in the milk helps me stay warm while I sleep.
AIP Friendly! I like to use Z Naturals’ brand, because they make organic dehydrated coconut milk that has tapioca maltodextrin instead of the corn maltodextrin found in other brands. The powder tends to cake up really hard, and the maltodextrin helps prevent that. Their milk is also free of casein (milk protein), a commonly reactive substance that is typically added to dehydrated coconut milk powders. Z Naturals offers the milk in multiple sizes: 1 pound, 5 pound and 33 pound.
click for larger view
Customizing your recipe:
Sweetness: I like my chai not too sweet so I can taste the flavors better. If you like yours sweet, do a trial and add a TBS of coconut sugar at a time, to taste. Coconut sugar is fairly low-sugar, with 7.5g sugar/1TBS, as compared to white sugar’s 12.5g.
Spice: Everyone has their own preference on the spices, so I suggest you make a cup at home first, and make any adjustments you like.
Thickness: I like my chai fairly thick. If you do not, this recipe also works nicely with 1/3 cup coconut milk powder per serving instead of 1/2 cup.
HINT: The dried coconut milk has tapioca maltodextrin as an anti-caking agent, but it still arrives a bit clumped because the bags are vacuum-sealed and pressed flat. I recommend gently pressing or banging the bag against the edge of the countertop (a concrete step works nicely too), to break it up a bit. Careful it doesn’t bust open! Then, one or two cups at a time, run the entire bag through the blender or food processor to powder it. Dig out the bottom of the blender each time, or you’ll end up making a wee bit of coconut butter down there. Powdering the milk will make measuring and mixing easier. The powder won’t get clumpy again in your cabinet if you powder it well and seal it tight.
AIP Dehydrated Coconut Milk Chai Recipe
Makes 1 serving. Multiply as needed.
If making multiple servings for a trip, store in one bag, and for each serving, measure out 1/2 cup + 1 slightly heaping TBS mix per 1 cup water.
all the parts
Ingredients:
1 cup water
1/2 cup coconut milk powder
1TBS coconut sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp vanilla bean powder
1/8 tsp clove powder
1/8 tsp ginger powder
Optional:
– Bring along 1 tsp of coconut oil per serving to add, for nights you want to sleep warmer.
– If you’re naughty like me and sometimes sneak a seed spice in, this is really good with just a pinch of cardamom (NOT AIP).
At-Home Instructions:
1. Measure all the dry ingredients into a bowl, and mix very well.
chai mix ready to blend well
2. Place into a ziploc bag or other sealable container.
chai mix ready for the trail
3. Store in a cool, dark place, or in the fridge until use.
In-Camp Instructions:
1. Give the bag a good shake or stir to make sure the ingredients are well-blended. Smash up any clumps.
2. Place mix in cup. If you’ve prepped more than one serving: per serving, measure out 1/2 cup plus 1 slightly heaping TBS of mix into each cup.
3. Boil 1 cup water for each serving.
4. Add water to mix, and stir well. If you have a fork or a whisk, use it to whip the chai up into frothy goodness.
- Give the bag a good shake or stir to make sure the ingredients are well-blended. Smash up any clumps.
- Place mix in cup. If you've prepped more than one serving: per serving, measure out ½ cup plus 1 slightly heaping TBS of mix into each cup.
- Boil 1 cup water for each serving.
- Add water to mix, and stir well. If you have a fork or a whisk, use it to whip the chai up into frothy goodness.
Last but not least: If you think you’ll drink this chai at home or on car-camping trips, get yourself a lightweight hand-held milk frother. I have a small one I got through Amazon, and it’s been an awesome little tool! Tip: I started with the cheapest version (around $5) and it broke pretty quickly. I recommend getting something of higher quality than that!
I just found your wonderful website. I started backpacking two years ago and can’t get enough. I’ve been trying to find good websites for paleo backpacking food–thank you for sharing your ideas and tips! My challenges are to seriously reduce my pack weight (what, I have to buy new gear again?) and to figure out my optimal carb regime on the trail (I was diabetic, but my paleo diet has normalized all my numbers–it means I struggle a bit with insulin resistance, even on the trail). I would be very interested in your thoughts and ideas about efficient carb consumption to maintain energy, burn body fat, and support muscle strength while backpacking. Thanks!
Debbie – Sorry for the delayed response, I was sick all spring (see my shingles posts) and missed your comment.
It’s great to hear the paleo diet has curbed your diabetic tendencies! As far as the insulin resistance, do you use periodic fasting to help break that cycle? It can be very effective. If you deal with adrenal fatigue, it can be tricky, but I’d suggest looking into it. Plenty online.
On the topic of blood glucose – I am not diabetic, but I have surfed the edge of blood glucose imbalance for many years. I can have both hypoglycemic and insulin resistance symptoms, and it’s easy for me to fall into them when I let my diet becomes sloppy.
I am by nature a sugar addict, so I have to be careful – I can get a bit out of control with dried fruit when I’m at home. I manage my sugar cravings by eating a bit of coconut oil or protein instead. On the trail I don’t worry about it.
When I’m in town, I eat a lot fewer carbs than when I’m on the trail. On an average day at home, I might consume one plantain (fried in coconut oil, with salt), one apple and/or banana, half a sweet potato, and assorted veggies. I’ll binge on fresh cherries and berries when they are in season here 🙂
On the trail my carb and sugars consumption can easily double! I become a hummingbird, and I eat all day. I make sure to have PLENTY of fat (I eat a lot of coconut oil) and salt on the trail. Since I’m still getting a handle on how my body wants to react to hard exertion on the trail, I’ve been watching what I reach for when I’m hungry. I trust my body to tell me when I’m out on the trail. I reach for carbs first, protein next, then fat and sugar. In town, I wouldn’t let the carbs win out, but when I’m working my body hard in the wild, I feel it’s okay.
For sugars, I eat dried fruit, some chocolate, and things sweetened with dates, coconut sugar and honey.
My main trail carbs are:
*dried plantain chips: I tend to make two types – dry, crunchy, starchy ones from plantains that are not yellow yet, and chewy, sweeter, less starchy ones from ripe plantains. In my perfect world, I’d only eat the chewy sweet ones, but I find a balance is good.
*sweet potato mashers or sweet potatos/squash in soup and stew mixes
*cauliflower couscous or cauli mash (recipe not posted yet)
*dried veggies galore
My trail carbs are not very varied, but these items really keep me going.
On pack weight – two areas you might look at are your actual backpack (they are so much lighter these days!) and your ground pad. The newer air-filled (non-foam) versions are really lightweight, and if you are not camping on snow, a good bet. Also, some of the new clothing options are much lighter than before, depending on how old your gear is. I always err on the side of safety/warmth and have a bit more than enough clothing, but for the rest, I’m pretty cut and dry about leaving extras behind.
I hope this is helpful. Keep us posted on what you get figured out!
Thank you for your wonderful recipe! I just recently started AIP to heal rheumatoid arthritis. Delicious treats like chai make me feel much more like I am nourishing and treating myself, rather than depriving 😉
Irene – I’m glad you found it! I agree, we need to make sure to provide the nurturing aspect, especially if the newness of the protocol feels like we’re limiting ourselves. Welcome to the AIP world, and may you find the healing you need!
Just stumbled upon you and your recipes. Thank you for the information. I have a question though; the recipe says 1 cup and 1 tablespoon of mix per serving. Yet, the recipe adds up to less than 10 tablespoons. I’m trying to figure out where I’m confused? Thank you in advance for clarifying for me! 😉
Janice – Oh my, thanks for the catch on that. I meant to type a “/2” after that “1”. Well, somebody has had some delicious and very thick chai! Actually, I’ve had it that way and it’s pretty darn good!
I have adjusted the recipe here to reflect the correct numbers.
Thanks again!
hi Sue,
Thank you for posting all the wonderful AIP dehydrated foods that you have. I went on a 10-day solo backpacking trip last fall (Sunshine Coast Trail, BC, Canada) and was worried about how I was going to feed myself as I had been on the AIP protocol for only 7 months. Your Chai recipe is to die for (I halved the sugar) and I tired the beef jerky (I used local venison), totally yummy. I even did tuna jerky which was such a big hit with my husband that I had to hide it so I would have some for the trail! I was worried about my complex carbs, so on a whim, I added tapioca starch to Sarah Ballantyne’s “plantain crackers” to help bind them, so they would not leak coconut oil (attracting animals) and to give me a bit more complex energy, wow, so perfect. So THANK YOU for your great recipes!!!
Hi Barbara;
Thanks for the shout! I love to hear when people use the recipes on the trail! I may have to try the tuna jerky version, it sounds great. What kind of temperatures were there when you went on the Sunshine Coast Trail? I’m wondering at how high a temperature the tapioca starch can help keep the coconut oil at bay.
Hi Sue,
Thanks for your reply! The plantain crackers worked well in temps around 70 – 75 F with the tapioca starch. The other benefit is that it crisps up the crackers. I start with two large green plantain, add about two teaspoons of tapioca starch per batch of crackers and reduce the 1/2 cup of coconut oil to about 7/8 of it. I also sprinkle a bit of kosher salt on top before I pop them in the oven. I score them after 11 minutes of baking, then bake for 50 minutes more. As soon as they come out of the oven, I transfer the crackers immediately to a paper towel lined cooling rack to soak up excess coconut oil. It makes these crackers like the way we envision crackers to be. :o) barbara
That sounds great, I’ll have to try it. Thanks for sharing!
Yummy!!!! I am so thankful I found this. I started on AIP about five months ago. One of my biggest challenges has been traveling with food, especially in the outdoors. I made this last weekend along with spaghetti squash oatmeal in Grand Junction. It was so nice to have a warm, filling, tasty treat before heading out on the trail. Thank you!!!
Dorothy – I’m glad you found the recipe! It sure is a comfort drink. I’ve had a version of spaghetti squash gruel, and it’s really tasty! Keep your eyes peeled here this spring – I’ll be posting more about traveling food after my spring trip.