Drinks

Nana Nog // Almond Banana Shake Recipe

1 · Jan 23, 2015 · 1 Comment

+ This Nana Nog // Banana Shake Recipe Post brought to you by the folks at Silk Almond Milk +

When I was a kid, one of my favorite treats was a banana shake that my Mom would make every once in a while, we called it a Nana Nog.

No relation to Egg Nog, plus you can drink it year-round!

It was a simple mixture, but it was always so heavenly. She would always pull it out of her hat, right at the perfect time.

You know, that moment when you’re craving a little sweet refreshing treat?!

Secretly I’m sure, she made them right when the bananas were heading south and she didn’t have time to make banana bread.

I however, would like to think she was so in tune with my every desire and knew just when the time was right to pull out her famous Nana Nog!

The name of the drink has a two fold meaning now. Of course it was originally named after the key ingredient, bananas. Now, since we call my Mom Nana, the drink is named after her the creator! It’s perfect!!

We have another drink called Magical Monkey Milk, I’ll have to share that sometime too! It’s yummy!!

Nana Nogs are simply a mixture of Silk Almond Milk, bananas, ice, a little bit of sugar and a dash of nutmeg. Boy I tell ya, it really hits the spot sometimes! I choose to use Almond Milk rather than traditional milk for several reasons. First, it’s obviously dairy-free so even friends with dairy issues can have this sweet treat. Plus, check out all these added benefits…

90 calories per serving
50% more calcium than dairy milk
Excellent source of vitamin E
Absolutely no cholesterol or saturated fat
Free of dairy, soy, lactose, gluten, casein, egg and MSG
Verified by the Non-GMO Project’s product verification program
No artificial colors, flavors or funny business

Yea, it’s pretty good stuff. Silk’s plant protein truly helps you BLOOM, plus it tastes GREAT!!

You should check out the Silk Site for all kinds of great ideas and coupons for all the Silk products.

Nana Nog Recipe

2 ripe bananas

2 cups of Silk Vanilla Sweetened Almond Milk

1 cup of ice

1/4 teaspoon of sugar

a pinch of nutmeg

Really truly, your bananas should look more like this…

In the jar of your blender, add all of your ingredients.

And Blend, that’s it!

This makes roughly three to four child size servings. Perfect to share with some friends.

My little guy Gage thinks it’s just the bees knees! Grab some Silk Almond Milk and surprise your kiddos with this fun treat!

This conversation is sponsored by Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.

Peppermint Almond Steamer with a Chocolate Twist

2 · Nov 5, 2014 ·

+ This Peppermint Almond Steamer post brought to you by Silk® Almond Milk +

I LOVE it when the weather turns chilly… I can’t say that I’m totally in love with deep winter, but I sure love the turning of the seasons. I especially love the warm drink season for sure!

There is really nothing better then curly up with your sweetie by the fire sharing a mug of some kind of warm treat. A few weeks ago I shared a new warm treat that I discovered and fell head-over-heels in love with…

An Almond Pumpkin Steamer made with Silk® Light Vanilla Almond Milk!

Oh my stars… If you haven’t tried this yet, you NEED to. Run and grab some pumpkin syrup before it’s gone for the season.

Now that we are transitioning from pumpkin season and moving into the peppermint season, I thought I would try a peppermint version of my Silk® Almond Steamer. It’s quite simply… Divine!

I love using Silk® products for my warm drinks. First off, they warm up especially well and you can feel good about indulging in a special treat when you are harnessing the power of plant protein. At 60 calories per serving, Silk® Light Vanilla Almond Milk is happiness in a glass. You heard right—that’s 1/3 fewer calories than our regular almond milk and still 50% more calcium than dairy milk. With a hint of vanilla and plenty of nutty goodness, our almond milk just got even easier to love especially when you pair it with the flavors of the season.

For those of you with dairy issues… Here is a special treat that you CAN have! I’m sure it becomes quite frustrating when everyone is snuggling with cups of hot chocolate. Here is a dairy-free option just for you!

For those of you who would like to up the ante a bit… You can add a little twist of chocolate to your steamer! This will make it so that it’s not dairy-free anymore, but if you like a smidge of chocolate in your steamer, this is the way to go.

I created some chocolate stirring spoons to serve with your steamers…

+ wood bead trivet by the little red cabin +

Won’t these be super cute to serve at a steamer bar?!

I added some holiday embellishments that I found at Target in the gift wrapping section on top of the wood spoons along with some Washi tape. Those are the extra special touches that take your simple treat and elevate it to something EXTRA special!

Chocolate Spoon Directions

Just make up a few of these chocolate spoons by melting some chocolate chips and dipping your spoon in the melted chocolate. On a baking sheet lined with wax paper, place your chocolate dipped spoons and then place the tray in your freezer for 10 minutes, so the chocolate will harden. Then place the spoons in a bowl for your guests.

Then all they have to do is swirl their spoons in their warm Peppermint Steamer to give it a touch of chocolate!

Peppermint Almond Steamer Recipe

2 cups Silk® Light Vanilla Almond Milk

1/4 teaspoon Watkins Peppermint Extract

Warm the almond milk slowly in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Remove from the heat as soon as you see steam, after about 3-4 minutes. Make sure you don’t over heat. Add the peppermint extract and serve immediately.

Garnish with crushed candy canes and serve with chocolate spoons.

For more ideas on how to use the family of Silk® products this Holiday season, visit the Silk® Facebook page and sign-up for the Silk® Club for all kinds of ideas and special offers!

This conversation is sponsored by Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.

Almond Pumpkin Spice Steamer Recipe

6 · Oct 7, 2014 ·

Today, I stumbled upon something AAAAAMAZING!!

A little back story. I’m not a coffee drinker, however I love a good warm drink like hot chocolate, Choffy or a simple hazelnut steamer. I love the fall and I have always felt a bit envious of all you PSL lovers out there. For those of you who don’t speak Starbucks, that’s the iconic Pumpkin Spice Latte that appears at Starbucks this time of year. It has always been so intriguing. I started to think about how I could create my own PSL experience and I came up with this… The Almond Pumpkin Spice Steamer!

Yes, you will thank me after you try this sinfully simple treat!

Two ingredients, three minutes, some optional garnish and you are enjoying the flavors of the season. I use Light Silk Almond Milk. Why you ask? Well, first off it’s…

• 60 calories per serving – 60 calories for 1 whole cup!

• 50% more calcium than dairy milk

• Excellent source of vitamin E

• Absolutely no cholesterol or saturated fat

• Free of dairy, soy, lactose, gluten, casein, egg and MSG

• Verified by the Non-GMO Project’s product verification program

• No artificial colors, flavors or funny business

On top of all of that, it tastes great! I thought it would be the perfect base for my steamer experiment.

The next ingredient can be a little tricky. Getting ahold of some pumpkin spice syrup to add to your steamer. Here are your options…

Sweet talk your Starbucks barista into giving you a cup with just a few hits of the liquid gold (yea, I’m not above that at all!) I have been known to pay for a Tall PSL minus the L.
I have found a lovely Sugar-Free Pumpkin Spice Coffee Syrup by Archer Farms at Target. I’m sure that’s a seasonal item, so go and grab some quick. It’s in the coffee isle at your local target.
You can order some Torani Pumpkin Spice online. Where there’s a will, there’s a way! If you are a pumpkin lover, you can find some pumpkin spice syrup.

Now, all you need to do is pour your Silk Almond Milk into a small sauce pan over medium high heat. Gently warm your Almond Milk until it starts to steam. This will take 3-4 minutes. As soon as you see steam remove from the heat.

Pour into your mug and add a splash or two of your Pumpkin syrup. Start with a little bit and add until you have your perfect pumpkin flavor. Top with whipped cream and some pumpkin pie spice and voilá, you have fall in a cup! If you want to keep this dairy-free skip the whipped cream topping and it’s the perfect dairy-free autumn treat.

For more Silk ideas, visit their Facebook page. For all kinds of Silk fun, sign-up to receive Silk news and special deals right in your in-box! Seriously, check it out! This month they are giving away a CAMERA. Go join the Silk fun!!

What’s your favorite fall treat? Are you part of the pumpkin craze or are you holding out for egg nog?

This conversation is sponsored by Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.

Herbal Tea Lemonade

11 · Aug 4, 2014 · 8 Comments

+ Herbal Tea Lemonade a Starbucks Knockoff +

I am a HUGE lemonade addict… Yes, it’s that serious. I would rather drink lemonade than any other beverage on the planet. There is just something special about that sweet pucker of lemon flavor that I just adore. I tend to like my lemonade high on the pucker meeter, leaning more for the tart rather than the sweet.

As much as I love regular, fresh squeezed lemonade I don’t love all the calories and sugar that come along with that. I tend to keep the good stuff only for special occasions. Starbucks has a shaken lemonade that I just adore. It’s a combination of herbal tea and lemonade and it’s divine. Again, this is more of a drink reserved for special times due to the sugar content and the high price tag. Soooo, what’s a girl to do when she has a craving for Starbucks shaken Passion Tea Lemonade… I DIY it of course!

I have experimented with a few different flavors on top of the Passion tea and have found three that I just love. Celestial Seasonings Country Peach Passion is my all time favorite paired with lemonade and then my other two favorites are Tazo Passion and Vanilla Rooibos Parfait.

I brew up some tea using two tea bags, steeped in roughly two cups of hot water. Then I transfer the tea to a bottle and add more water until the bottle is full. My bottles hold a little more than 1 quart of liquid. If your container is larger, you may want to steep more than 2 tea bags.

To make the herbal tea lemonade, fill a large glass or jar with ice and a single serving Crystal Light lemonade packet…

Then I pour the tea over the lemonade mix and the ice, stir and enjoy!

+ Mason jar lid from The Mason Bar Company // Jar lid painted gold with Elmer’s gold Painters Markers +

My all time favorite herbal tea lemonade is the peach tea mixed with raspberry lemonade… To die for flavor!! What I love about this drink is the burst of fruit flavor without any of the guilt!! What are your favorite flavor combinations?

Disclaimer // This is not a sponsored post.

Drinks

Nana Nog Recipe

An Almond Pumpkin Steamer made with Silk® Light Vanilla Almond Milk!

Chocolate Spoon Directions

Peppermint Almond Steamer Recipe

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