This drink has me really excited. Last year I tried this drink at our local (read 20 minutes away in a Target store) Starbucks and fell in love. I was kind of obsessed. I’m already slightly obsessed with Target, but after I tried this mocha I found excuses to make sure we went to Target weekly.

“Honey, I see they’re having a diaper sale at Target. We should probably go.” We buy our diapers on Amazon.com.

“I just printed off about 15 Target coupons (no lie!) and I bet if we drive over there I could save us tons of money.” Dollars were saved. Money was spent. (Does anyone ever walk out with only the stuff on their list. Not me!) Mochas were drank.

I was happy.

But spending $4 a pop on mochas, who knows how much in Target, and the gas money sure added up. It was time for a change. I found this recipe, tweaked it, and now I make it all the time! I can say that being able to make it at home kind of dampens my excitement to buy it at the store. Now, if only I could figure out how to make their Caramel Macchiato… (Okay. I don’t want to figure that out. I love it too much.)

I used a caramel syrup (found in the coffee aisle), but if you can find toffee syrup that’s even better! That’s what they use at Starbucks. It’s so good! Also, for the salted part, I did 1 part kosher salt to 8 parts turbinado sugar, mixed it and then sprinkled it on top. I made a lot. This salt/sugar mixture lasts for ever!

Salted Caramel Mocha

recipe from somewhere but I can’t remember where

Ingredients:

• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup strong coffee or espresso
• 1 T maple syrup
• 1 T cocoa powder
• 1 T caramel syrup (I actually left this out this time around and just put more caramel on top of the whipped cream)
• whipped cream, caramel sauce, sugar/kosher salt mixture (try 1 tsp salt to 8 tsps sugar)

Directions:

1. Make your coffee. Whisk in maple syrup, cocoa powder, and caramel syrup.
2. In a small saucepan, heat your milk on medium heat. When it starts to bubble, take it off the heat, whisk it for 30 seconds and add it to your coffee.
3. Top with whipped cream, caramel sauce (I had some homemade on hand!), and the sugar/salt mixture.
4. Enjoy!

– Jill

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We have a smoothie every morning for breakfast. Usually this one. It’s good to change it up once in awhile though, so this is where the Strawberry Oatmeal Smoothie comes in.

This smoothie hit the spot. Sweet. Filling. Delicious.

We have one week left of our no baking, no sweets, no meat, no coffee, (pretty much nothing) thing that we’re doing and I can tell you that I am really looking forward to when I can bake. And to coffee. But this change has been good. I feel better. I’m less tired during the day. I have more energy. And it’s changing the way we eat.

Strawberry Oatmeal Smoothie

recipe from The Gracious Pantry

Ingredients:

• 1 cup ice cubes (I was out of ice, so I just used more milk)
• 1 banana
• 1 cup strawberries, frozen
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 cup milk
• 2 scoops whey protein powder (optional)

Directions:

1. Throw everything in a blender and blend away until smooth.
2. Enjoy!

– Jill

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So, last week (or maybe it was 2 weeks ago) Caribou Coffee brought out their Fall line of coffee drinks. My favorite? The Pumpkin White Chocolate Mocha. Oh, my. I really wanted to recreate that, and I still might try, but I got lazy. A friend told me about this Pumpkin Spice Latte over at The Gracious Pantry, and here we are.

Drinking this cured my daily wanting of the Pumpkin White Chocolate Mocha, which is an awesome thing considering those things cost $4 each, and that’s just the small size!

You get the a subtle pumpkin flavor, and because I could I added some fresh whipped cream. Best decision ever.

And if Pumpkin isn’t your thing, I’ve also got recipes for a Peppermint Mocha, and a Dark Chocolate Mocha. I also realized I didn’t have my recipe up from my favorite homemade drink from last year, the Salted Caramel Mocha. I need to get that recipe on here. It’s so good!

Pumpkin Spice Latte

recipe from The Gracious Pantry

(enough for 1 latte)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup strong black coffee (we have a Keurig, so I put as many grounds in my pod as I can and then use the smallest cup size)
• 1/2 T pumpkin pie spice (I make mine homemade from here)
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 T pure maple syrup
• fresh whipped cream, optional

Directions:

1. Brew your coffee. While that’s brewing put your milk in a small saucepan over medium heat, and cook for a few minutes. You don’t want it to boil, but you want it to get hot.
2. Add your pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, and maple syrup to your milk, and whisk for 30 seconds.
3. Add milk mixture to coffee, and top with whipped cream if desired.
4. Enjoy!

– Jill

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We our loving our smoothies this summer. Almost every morning we have one, usually this Berry Smoothie. I love how easy, refreshing, and tasty smoothies are. Plus, I like starting out my morning knowing that I’ve had something healthy.

There’s not much to say about these except how good they really are. Blueberries. Bananas. Milk. I usually use skim milk for my smoothies but if I happen to have full fat coconut milk on hand I am in heaven.

If you don’t like blueberries you can easily add any other fruit. Strawberries, raspberries, and mango all sound yummy to me.

Blueberry Banana Smoothie

recipe by me

Ingredients:

• 1 cup frozen banana chunks
• 1 cup fresh (or frozen) blueberries
• 1 cup milk (full fat coconut milk would be awesome here)

Directions:

1. Add your ingredients to a blender and blend away!
2. Serve right away. Makes 1 big smoothie.
3. Enjoy!

– Jill

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I saw this recipe awhile ago in Health magazine, and have been wanting to make it. Well, I finally got a chance to make them and they’re pretty good. I’ll admit that Reinman liked them more than I did, but they’re still pretty tasty for these hot days we’re having.

I think next time I make these I’ll try with Sprite or 7-Up instead of club soda. I think that may taste a little bit better, at least to me.

Strawberry Watermelon Floats

recipe from Health Magazine

Ingredients:

• 1 cup 1/2-inch watermelon cubes
• 1 cup chopped strawberries
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• lime or lemon sherbet
• chilled club soda

Directions:

1. Combine watermelon, strawberries, vinegar, and cayenne pepper in a medium bowl.
2. Divide about 2/3 of the fruit into two tall glasses. Add 1-2 scoops of sherbet to each glass, and top with remaining fruit. Fill with club soda.
3. Enjoy!

– the Jilb

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Last day to enter our giveaway! Update: The giveaway is over.

This smoothie tastes like summer. Sweet. Refreshing. Delicious.

And it’s so easy to make. Frozen banana. Fresh Pineapple. Coconut Milk. That’s it!

3-Ingredient Hawaiian Smoothie

recipe adapted from Paula Deen

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh pineapple chunks
• 1 banana, frozen and cut into chunks
• 1 cup coconut milk

Directions:

1. Put all ingredients into a blender, and mix until smooth.
2. Enjoy!

– the Jilb

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So, next week is our one-year blog-aversary (I know it’s not a word, but I like it!). So, starting next Monday there will be a fun giveaway, along with some fun food. Stay tuned!

My favorite drink during the winter season is the Starbucks Salted Caramel Mocha. A few days ago I got to thinking about how I’ll probably post a homemade version of that this Fall, and then I thought why don’t I make an iced version for these hot days we’re having?

This drink is perfect for this crazy, hot weather we’re having. It’s chocolate-y with a hint of caramel. I sprinkled a mixture of sea salt and raw sugar on top of the whipped cream which gives it a really nice sweet and salty crunch.

Make this, and you won’t be disappointed. Really, how could you go wrong?

Iced Salted Caramel Mocha

recipe inspired from The Motherload

Ingredients:

• ice
• iced coffee
• milk
• 1/2 T cocoa powder (or more if you want more chocolate)
• 1/2 T caramel coffee syrup (you find this in the coffee aisle at the supermarket. I’ve heard that the toffee syrup is supposed to be even better)
• whipped cream
• caramel syrup (like ice cream topping– i usually like to use homemade if I have it on hand)
• sea salt/raw sugar mixture to sprinkle (I make this using 1/8 salt to sugar ratio– so, 1/8 tsp of salt to 1 tsp of raw sugar)

Directions:

1. Fill a tall glass with ice. Fill another glass half with milk, and half with iced coffee. Mix in your cocoa and caramel syrup. Then pour over the glass with the ice in it. Top with whipped cream, caramel syrup, and then sprinkle with the salt/sugar mixture.
2. Enjoy!

– the Jilb

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