White Chocolate Latte

Rich, creamy and delicious. Perfect for an afternoon pick-me-up or an after dinner dessert drink. What is also completely refreshing about this beverage is that it costs so little compared to the $4.00 drinks you might purchase at your local coffee shop. For me, the ambiance is hard to turn down at these little shops (I LOVE walking into a Starbucks and having all my senses awaken). But, oh the possibilities with that $4.00 you don't spend. Save for a trip to Europe (hey, it could happen), start a college fund, or pay off your debt–Dave Ramsey would be so proud!

I'll be honest, I was hesitant about one ingredient in particular. Can you guess what it is? Instant Coffee! I do believe that some family members would disown me. However in this drink with the vanilla and almond extracts, and lots of luxurious richness, I really didn't miss the "real" coffee. To quote my skeptical coffee-snob husband "You can't tell that it's instant—only that it's good."

Have I mentioned this is a rich drink? For a lighter version, I would definitely mix and match different milks, perhaps using 2 cups skim milk and 1 cup whole. And although an optional ingredient, I used real whipping cream for the topping and next time I will simply use Ready Whip.

This was quite a treat–enjoy!

This post has been linked to Eat at Home.

White Chocolate Latte

From Southern Living

Ingredients

• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 2/3 cup white chocolate morsels
• 2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• Whipped cream (optional)
• Garnish: cinnamon sticks

Directions

Stir first 4 ingredients together in a small saucepan over low heat until white chocolate morsels are melted. Stir in vanilla and almond extracts; pour evenly into 4 mugs. Top with whipped cream, if desired. Garnish, if desired, and serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings

Homemade Sports Drink

My faithful running companions

After I had all my kids I thought I would never run again. In junior high and high school I had been very active. Even through all my years of having and raising babies I tried to keep fit with aerobics. Once my youngest was weaned and not attached to my hip anymore I started walking. But running? Nope—out of the question! Until one day…. My oldest son was home from college, my next oldest was on the cross-country team and they both encouraged me to run with them. I told them they were nuts, but they prevailed at last. I went running! I went about a mile without stopping! Eight years later, I'm still going strong and am just four weeks away from running my first half-marathon! I never thought it would come to this.

We all know how important it is to stay hydrated and replenished while in such intense training. I was not comfortable drinking your typical sports drinks, you find everywhere. So a friend of mine told me about the wonders of coconut water, (not to be confused with coconut milk), it is the clear liquid inside immature coconuts. The benefits of this liquid are many; all natural, only 43 calories per cup, more potassium than a banana, and a preventative for dehydration (to name just a few).

I have also added some cherry juice to this drink. When I went to purchase the juice at the health food store there was a great article on the benefits of cherry juice after a work out. The article stated that it was great for replenishing the body after work outs and it also keeps muscle pain to a minimum!

Coconut water is pricey, and works out to be a little more than the sports drink you see in the photo above. I typically make this drink after one of my longer runs.

I have found this drink to be a huge help in my post work out time. If I'm not careful, my energy level will really dive if I don't have the proper hydration, potassium, minerals, and salts after my runs.

Homemade Sports Drink

Ingredients

• 1 cup coconut water
• 4 teaspoons black cherry concentrate or to taste* (see note at bottom)
• splash of lime concentrate
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar (more or less to taste)
• pinch of sea salt
• 2/3 cup purified water

Directions

Stir all ingredients together until salt and sugar has dissolved. Refrigerate until cold.

Yield: 1 serving (about 14 ounces)

*Note: Feel free to substitute any juice for the cherry. If using juice that is not a concentrate, you needn't add water.

Thai Iced Coffee

My husband and I are big coffee drinkers, both of us having come from big coffee-drinking families. We love the stuff! So, of course we have our morning coffee, and everyday in the afternoon we have what we've come to call, our "3 o'clock coffee". Sometimes when the weather is really hot, we'll switch it up a bit and have iced coffee. Recently, we were having a discussion over our iced coffee and my husband said to me "the best iced coffee I have ever had was years ago when we lived in Glendale (California). I went to a Thai restaurant with a co-worker. At the end of the meal we had Thai Iced Coffee and it was incredible!"

Intrigued, of course, I went to my computer and started looking up recipes for Thai iced coffee. I came upon this one from Williams-Sonoma and found that a key distinctive ingredient in Thai coffee is cardamom (or cardamon). I'm sure a lot of you who are much more knowledgeable about Thai food already knew this.

Off I went to my nearest health food store to find the cardamom pods. My coffee was already ground so I just used my coffee grinder to grind up the pods.

This is me being extremely impatient, waiting for the coffee to cool down.

We did end up adding a little half and half for extra creaminess.

This beverage was refreshing and enjoyable. The cardamom was a bit overpowering so I think next time I make it, I will use 3 of the pods. It does however add a wonderful spicy-sweet element to the otherwise "normal" iced coffee.

Thai Iced Coffee

From William-Sonoma

Ingredients

• 3⁄4 cup French roast or other darkly roasted coffee beans
• 5 green cardamom pods
• 4 1⁄2 cups water
• 3⁄4 cup sweetened condensed milk
• Crushed ice as needed
• Splash of half and half (to taste)

Directions

In a coffee grinder, combine the coffee beans and cardamom pods and pulse until finely ground, about 15 seconds. Transfer the coffee mixture to the filter of a drip coffeemaker. Fill the top of the coffeemaker with the water and brew according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Transfer the coffee to a heatproof pitcher and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

Pour 1⁄3 cup coffee into each of 12 small glasses. Add 1 Tbs. sweetened condensed milk to each glass and stir to combine. Add ice and stir again, then serve.

Yield: 12 servings

Minted Lemon-Lime Watermelon Agua Fresca

Cool, refreshing and a drink that just screams "summer"! Not in a loud and obnoxious way, more like soft, gentle, "I'm thirsty but I don't want a really overly-sweet-and-filled-with-sugar drink." This beverage will quench your thirst and make you smile on a hot day.

Just look at the ingredients, fresh, juicy and just 1/4 cup of sugar.

The mint, lemon and lime rind are infused with the water and sugar. Then it's strained to be added to the puréed watermelon.

My first watermelon of the season, it wasn't really ruby red but it was very sweet.

My 16-year-old commented that the mint flavor was a little strong for his tastes. If you're not a big fan, you may consider cutting back a bit on the mint. I could easily see making popsicles from this or even a sorbet. Lots of different options for summer. Enjoy!

Minted Lemon-Lime Watermelon Agua Fresca

Adapted slightly from Cooking Light

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint
• 1 tablespoon grated lime rind
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
• 12 cups cubed seeded watermelon
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

Combine 1 1/4 cups water and sugar in a small saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 30 seconds or until sugar dissolves, stirring frequently.

Remove from heat; stir in mint, lime rind, and lemon rind. Let stand 20 minutes. Strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve over a bowl; discard solids.

Place watermelon in blender or food processor, process until smooth. Pour puree through strainer to remove pulp and little seeds. Mix watermelon juice and sugar syrup together in blender. Stir in lime and lemon juice. Serve over ice, or refrigerate until ready to serve. Stir before serving.

Yield: 9 servings (serving size: 1 cup); Calories 108 per serving