Summer is a
killer for my convenience food budget – by this I mean that when I’m outside
and sweating in the too heat, or in my car with NO AC… the ads for ice
cappuccino, frozen drinks and the like are very appealing. And since many drive-through outlets have
sales, I can most often get a drink for about $2.00 + tax. However…
This does
add up. In summer, my desire for these
drinks is at least daily. If I’m at
home, I’m 3 minutes away from the Canadian Icon of coffees, and if out in my
car or on my bike, the main road I live on has at least 5 places I can stop at
between home and my work. Temptations
are everywhere!
Because I
am frugal (and honestly, a bit lazy – why leave my sunshine at home and my
bikini to get a cold drink?), I have worked in my kitchen to make my own
versions of frozen drinks at a fraction of the cost, and no mystery
ingredients. Here are a few.
Ice Capp:
- about 1
cup of cold coffee (left over from the last pot and refrigerated)
- about ¾ cup
of milk (we use skim or 1%)
- about 2
Tbsp granulated sugar, powered sugar or chocolate syrup.
- 4 ice
cubes
- BulletTM
or extra strong blender
I found
that my BulletTM doesn’t break ice cubes as easily as I expected so it’s better
if I break the ice cubes in chunks first.
To do this, I put the ice cubes in a plastic bag, place the sealed bag
on a cutting board, and then hit it with either the edge of a can, the handle of
a knife, or a hammer.
After that,
put all the ingredients in the blender and blend away. I like to drink mine in a thermal mug (like
the one I use for tea in winter) with a straw coming out through the drinking
hole of the lid. Cheers!!
If you are
craving a healthier and less caffeinated drink, a fruit smoothie is probably a
better option. However, know that
commercial fruit smoothie has a lot of added sugar to give it the strong taste
it shows. But here we can make it a tad
healthier.
Fruit
smoothie:
- about 1.5
cups soft fruit in chunks (apples are not good; almost everything else works)
- about 0.5
(1/2) cup orange juice (I find orange juice has a stronger taste than OJ)
- ½ cup (or
an individual container) of flavoured yogurts (so that it’s sweetened).
- 4 ice
cubes (optional)
- BulletTM
or extra strong blender
Read above
for advice about ice cubes. The ice
cubes here are optional and depend in part on how thick your smoothie is
without the ice and how thick you like it.
Basically, put all ingredients together EXCEPT the ice. Blend away and check for consistency. Add ice if needed and blend again.
Cin-cin!