Fall Beverage ideas
 

Hello! I am really missing my fav fall beverages right now (I'm on P1), so I've been experimenting with some alternatives that are IP compliant. I thought I would share what I am doing and see if anyone else has suggestions.

For a pumpkin spice latte, I bought Harney and Sons Pumpkin Spice tea (so yummy!). I brew it very strongly and added it to a vanilla RTD and it is pretty good. I tried the sugar free pumpkin spice syrup last time, but I didn't really like the chemical taste.

And for a peppermint mocha, I use the healthsmart mint hot chocolate mix and add it to my coffee. This is really good and I drink this almost everyday for breakfast.

Do you have any fall alternatives for beverages you would like to share?

Every day, I end my day with Healthsmart Hot Cocoa (Aspartame Free). I usually have this between 7 and 8 pm. It is such a nice treat to sit in front of fire watching tv while sipping this, unwinding from the day.

Cinnamon tea is simple and easy. I just get the unground cinnamon sticks and put one in my mug with boiling water. Let it steep for 4+ minutes and then enjoy! The stronger the cinnamon taste, the sweeter it is to me. Yum.

Ooo, thanks for the suggestion about the mint hot chocolate mix! I'm missing my annual bottles of CoffeeMate chocolate peppermint creamer, and peppermint flavored stevia doesn't have enough flavor to suit me.

I just found Trader Joe's Harvest Tea and it's excellent.

I know you can heat up the IP chocolate drink for hot chocolate, or the IP RTDs with different syrups for hot drinks.
Just wondering if you can heat any of the alternate drinks (powders or RTD)?

I like to heat up the butterscotch pudding from Nashua (I'm not sure on the exact brand I purchase). There's also a café caramel pudding that I like as a hot drink.

You can heat any protein drink, you just need to do so slowly. Heating too fast or without any stirring and the proteins will coagulate resulting in an unpleasant texture.

I bought the following after seeing it used in a tea shop. It does an amazing job heating protein shakes because it constantly stirs as it heats. It was a splurge (birthday present to myself) but I really love it and still use it every time I have a hot shake at home.

http://www.amazon.com/Breville-BMF60.../dp/B004RCNJ9Q

It happens to make really good latte foam too, which the rest of my family enjoys.

My daily favorite P1 friendly hot drink in the winter is:

Bengal Spice Caffeine Free Tea (Celestial Seasonings Brand). I often put my 1 oz milk and also my 1 tsp. coconut oil in. A good several shakes of good quality cinnamon, a dash of sea salt, and a dash of vanilla extract (alcohol free).
It tastes very similar to chai tea and is very satisfying. All of my friends ask me to make it for them when they come to visit.

I also like coffee (or decaf) made similarly to above. Sometimes I leave out the cinnamon if I'm not in the mood.

Thanks for sharing! I love my hot chocolate and have it every day. I have an electric pot where I heat the water and add to my powder. I love it but I have to watch it as I don't want it to get too hot. I assume you make yours with water rather than milk while on IP. Have you found it creamier with this product vs adding hot water ot the powder? And, how well does the temperature gauge work - I read that it will shut off when it reaches desired temperature. I'm just trying to figure out if it is worth $130 when I have something already I like. If I can make it even creamier and the temperature gauge works well, I will get it.

I love hot drinks because I am always cold but I hate coffee and tea.

Also in heating the proteins/powders, if you didn't know this already, overheating also reduces the protein and makes it a little less effective/absorbable.

I'm not sure creamier is the word I would use. I would go with smoother, possibly silkier. Much more pleasing than the ones I microwave at work.

The temperature gauge is excellent. Very precise and always stops at the set temperature. There is no chance of overheating and coagulating the proteins. The only time it has had an issue was once when the spinning disk wasn't pushed far enough down to spin. That time I had some protein cooked onto the pitcher but the rest of the drink was the same texture as if I had microwaved. I generally heat to 150 and find it hot enough. If I know I'm putting it in a to go cup I will go up to 160 so that it is still hot when I drink it and the texture is the same.

I've always used an RTD for hot chocolate since having it so I've never thought about milk vs. water. I add two shots of espresso to make a chocolate mocha when I have it in the morning.

I have used it to heat the chicken soup packet too. I still mix it in a shaker with cold water then pour it into the heating pitcher. It might mix well enough with the frothing disk, but I have never thought to try.

I've had it for 11 months and still get excited by it every time I use it. I have even considered getting a second one for work but fear just how crazy my coworkers might think I am then.

Wahoofan, I put it on my Amazon wishlist!

Thanks. I just ordered one from Amazon. It will be here in 2 days. I will update how it compares using water as compared to my $30 electric pot.

The Breville milk frother looks great. I have the Nespresso milk frother, I wonder if it would do the same thing?

http://www1.macys.com/shop/product/n...~xcm_pos~zPos2

The hot never gets too hot and the element inside constantly keeps the liquid in a circular motion.

Thanks for your Delicious :p recipes!

After seeing the Breville in action I researched a variety of frothers including the Nespresso. I went with the Breville because I had their hot water kettle and had already tested the preset temperatures on that for accuracy. I'm sure the Nespresso would work too since the temperature range for hot is still far below boiling.

One thing I really miss is Starbucks :love:
Here is a few ways I get my Starbucks fix:
I get a quad shot of espresso in a grande cup then pour in my vanilla/chocolate RTD protein shake then pour it over ice - this is SO good!
Get a black coffee with an extra cup then mix w/RTD shake
One of the few drinks I can order there that is on plan is their Shaken Iced Tea Passion fruit unsweetened. It is kind of tart and sometimes I drink it plain, but it is also good with stevia.
I just got the EAS low carb shakes in Caramel this week, but haven't had the chance to try them yet. Thinking about maybe blending with coffee & ice or just using as a creamer in my coffee.

I am definitely going to give it a try, soon as it is cool enough to drink a hot beverage (I am in SE Florida). I used to love making the chocolate drink pack into hot chocolate.

Hot apple cider: make a cup of Trader Joe's Harvest Tea (or any tea that's heavy on cinnamon and ginger), add a small squirt of Apple Orchard Mio. Absolutely delicious. The Mio is seasonal so stock up if you want this drink year-round.

Oh! This sounds so yummy. I didn't realize there was apple mio! Thanks everyone for sharing the great ideas- I'm looking forward to trying some new things. I also made mug cake with the vanilla powder and added a hefty dose of pumpkin pie spice- so delicious!

My Breville came today. I have found there is no difference in taste between this and way I was making it but it is more convenient as I will not have to worry about unmixed powder at the bottom of my mug any longer. I do need to adjust the temperature as the optimum temp for milk is not hot enough for making hot chocolate with water.

I find the decaffeinated Bigalow Spicy Chai to taste great - I like it with a drip of liquid Stevia and a drip (literally) of milk when I have it hot, and I found it good over ice with just some Stevia in warmer weather when I wanted something cold.

I believe that regular coffee is something that slows weight loss for me. Decaffeinated alternatives are very helpful on IP.