Bariatric Foodie Play with your food
by Nikki
Good morning! How’s life treating you today? Me? Oh, I’m plugging away, getting ready for the holiday preview. Are you coming? If so, we’ve got some goodness in store for you! If not, don’t fret. Just look to your right, order yourself a “Portable Preview” and enjoy the yummy goodness of wls-friendly comfort food…without having to get out of your pajamas. (Truth be told…that might be the better deal…just sayin’)
So a funny thing has been happening in my household. I’ve been making my hot protein drinks and my youngest daughter will be playing outside/taking a bath/ ________(insert activity that takes a person away from the kitchen) and it’s like a radar goes off. Just as I’m doing my final stirs, here she comes. “Mommy, can I have some?” she says. The other day she jacked me for my Gingerbread Latte (with a scoop of the GOOD protein, might I add)! Drank the whole thing, burped, handed me back my now empty mug and had the NERVE to say, “that was good. I’m full now.” And walk away.
This drink, then, is an attempt at a defense mechanism. Because I figured if I put together a drink with more adult tastes, she wouldn’t like it. Now…at the same time I am the cookie manager for our Girl Scouts Troop and I’ve been eyeing that little green box of Thin Mints for weeks now. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not entirely opposed to them in their proper portions (I mean, each cookie only has 2.5g of sugar…again, just sayin’) but I know about me and moderation, so I abstain unfortunately. Here’s what I came up with that gets me over the hump.
Nik’s Hot Thin Mint for Grown Folks (only!)
(yes, all that is the name of the drink)
Ingredients:
12 oz. milk, divided into a 1/4 c. + 1 c.
1 scoop chocolate protein powder (I used this)
1 heaping tablespoon dark chocolate baking cocoa powder
4 packets no-calorie sweetener (to offset the bitterness of the cocoa)
3-5 pumps Davinci Peppermint Paddy Syrup
Directions:
In a mug, combine protein powder and cold milk and stir until a smooth paste forms. Add cocoa powder (it will not integrate into the milk).
In a small saucepan, heat milk until it becomes warm and frothy (or you could nuke it but you get less “froth factor” and I like that).
Pour hot milk over protein mixture SLOWLY, stirring the mixture as you pour. It takes some practice, but you should end up with a smooth, lump free drink.
Add your sugar-free syrup and stir again. If it’s not hot enough, nuke it for 30 seconds.
Top with fat-free whipped cream and…hide! Why? Because my defense mechanism wasn’t effective. The child has a mature palate. I can’t win. I suppose I’ll just have to start making two.
Sigh…
This looks really good; I will have to try it.
I was wondering, what SF syrups do you find you use the most of? I am starting to build up a stock, but the bottles will last awhile, and I figure if I have too many some will go to waste. I got the caramel and white chocolate just to try recipes for your protein drinks, but I also have the chai tea, hazelnut, kahlua, and English toffee (although now that I think about it, I probably could have used that in place of the caramel… oh well!) The salted caramel one is delish; I haven't tried the Chocolate/Strawberry one. Yet.
Two things: If you seal the bottles well every time you use them and store them in a place that doesn’t get too warm, they last quite a long while. I’ve been working on my bottle of cinnamon syrup for about a year and some change and it’s still good.
Davinci says on their site that the shelf life of their syrups is two years. You can find that information here: http://www.davincigourmet.com/customer/help/product_and_nutrition_faq/
Having said that, I most often use the following syrups: Hazelnut, Chocolate, Peppermint Paddy, Caramel, Vanilla.
I also have in stock and occasionally use: Cinnamon, Kahlua, Gingerbread, Pumpkin Pie, Orange, Raspberry, White Chocolate, Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Chai Latte, Egg Nog, Coconut, Toasted Coconut, Almond Roca…and a few others I can’t remember offhand. I know I have 20+ bottles at any given time. I store mine in a wine rack near my back door which is generally the coolest place in my kitchen. The ones I use most often, I store on my kitchen counter and they have syrup pumps in them.
Also…just as a heads up. After the Holiday Preview, Jen and I are starting to sell samples of our protein shake recipes (so you’d get everything you need to make one of our shakes in a little kit…it’s a total try before you buy sorta thing). That way you get to try out a new syrup before investing a big chunk of money for a whole bottle. Stay tuned for the announcement!
The samples sound like a great idea. I'll check them out when you get them posted up. And thanks for your information and list of most-used syrups! The fact they last so long makes me a lot less concerned about keeping a bunch of flavors around.
Found this recipe and gave it a go. Oh.My.Goodness, creamy minty chocolaty heaven! As much as I've come to enjoy the triple blended shakes I think I'm loving the hot drinks even more. Of course it is December and hovering around 40 degrees so… So glad I found you Nik!