Healthy Warm Beverages for those Cold Winter Days

I’m guilty of it, as I’m sure many of you are, too. Guilty of getting just a little excited when you see that Starbuck’s red cups have arrived. We all know what that means… delicious, high calorie, sweet drinks to comfort our souls. They are oh-so-good but oh-so-bad for you! Did you know that a Grande Peppermint Mocha with soy (my favorite holiday drink) has 330 calories?! Not only that, but it also has 52 grams of sugar! That’s without whipped cream! Oh, but you can save 40 calories and opt for the Skinny Peppermint mocha with non-fat milk. One of my other favorite holiday beverages is, of course, the Pumpkin Spice Latte. Pumpkin pie in a mug on a cold, fall day just makes you feel warm and cozy inside. However, that comforting feeling is soon to disappear when you hear that a non-fat grande one of these bad boys packs on a whopping 330 calories and 50 grams of sugar! The American Heart Association recommends that men consume 45 grams of sugar a day and women only 30! If you were to splurge and go for a Venti Peppermint Mocha (which I’m guilty of having done when I was commuting in the early morning hours), you would be drinking 66 grams of sugar! That’s more than two days of the recommended amount of sugar a woman should be getting. Yikes!

So, what’s a girl to do on a cold winter day when a nice, warm Peppermint Mocha is calling her name? Make one at home that is low in calories, low in sugar, and includes Fitmixer’s awesome Tri-flow products which will enhance performance, growth, and recovery from your daily activities. As I mentioned above, I’m a sucker for the Peppermint Mocha. I actually love anything with chocolate and mint and there’s just something about a hot Peppermint Mocha on a cold day that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. So when I discovered how much sugar and calories were in a small one at Starbucks, I was pretty bummed. Then I decided to make one at home and solved my dilemma

Peppermint Mocha

• 1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk or milk of choice
• 1 scoop Fitmixer Chocolate Slim
• 1/4 tsp peppermint extract
• 1 cup of hot dark coffee
• Using your Fitmixer blender bottle shake your milk and Chocolate Slim until combined well.  Pour into a small saucepan and add the peppermint extract.  Whisk until the mixture is warm and frothy.

*If you like your beverages sweeter, you could substitute Peppermint Stevia for the Peppermint extract. 

Nutrition per serving: 132 Calories, 19 g carbs, 7 g fat, 5 protein, 6 g sugar

Pumpkin Pie Latte

• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or milk of choice)
• 1 tbsp pumpkin puree
• 1 scoop Fitmixer Vanilla Slim
• 1/2 – 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 cup of dark blend hot coffee (I used Starbucks Sumatra blend)

In your Fitmixer blender bottle shake your milk and slim until combined well.  Pour into a medium saucepan and heat over medium.  Don’t have a blender bottle?  Add the milk and Slim to a small saucepan and whisk until combined.  Add pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice to the pan.  Continue whisking until the mixture is warm and slightly frothy.  Pour into your mug of hot coffee.  I used a large mug so my coffee and pumpkin mixture fit.  If you don’t have as large of a mug, you can split it into two servings.

Nutrition per serving: 142 Calories, 21 g carbs, 7 g fat, 5 protein, 6 g sugar

Peppermint Hot Chocolate

• 2 cups of Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk, non-fat milk, or other dairy option
• 1 scoop Fitmixer Chocolate Slim
• 1/8 tsp Peppermint Extract

Using your Fitmixer blender bottle shake your milk and Chocolate Slim until combined well. Pour into a small saucepan and add the peppermint extract. If you like it very minty, add more than 1/8 a teaspoon but I must warn you, this stuff can be strong! Whisk the mixture over medium heat until it’s warm and frothy. Top with a few marshmallows or a dollop of light cool whip for a cozy winter treat!

Nutrition per serving: 170 Calories, 21 g carbs, 10 g fat, 5 protein, 6 g sugar

There you have it. Three low-calorie, low sugar, delicious warm beverages to enjoy this winter!

*You can substitute Fitmixer Protein powder for the Slim in any of these drinks. Just use half a scoop rather than a full scoop of protein powder. Keep in mind, this will change the nutrition information.