DIY Cafe Latte

I have a little bit of a coffee problem.  Okay.  Maybe that's not entirely true.  I have a really BIG coffee problem.  I love lattes.  All of them.  I don't really care the flavor,  I love them all.  Problem being, no matter where I go to buy them pre-made, they come with a hefty price tag.  A grande will run you around $5 a piece, give or take a few.  If I get one once a day, that really adds up.  (I don't get them that often, but you get the point).  

As a family trying to stick to a budget, this just isn't feasible.  It is a luxury that I have had to take a second look at.  I try to limit my stops now to twice a month, on Sundays, before church.   What do I do in the meantime you ask?  I have found a FABULOUS machine that is worth its weight in GOLD that makes them for me simply and quickly.  This is my baby:

You can purchase this lovely latte machine at amazon among other places.  I suggest amazon but only when its half off, which really does happen quite frequently. 

Now, minus the price of this machine each latte runs me under $1 each!  That's more than 5 for the price of one.  The ingredients couldn't be simpler; milk (duh), the brewed coffee, and some of those lovely flavored syrups you find in the coffee aisle.  Or, you can make your own syrups.  Just scour pinterest for a bazillion different recipes.  I can't tell you how grateful I am to own this little beauty.  Money aside, it also saves me trips out of the house to get my latte fix.  If you are looking for a coffeehouse alternative, this is truly the route to go.  

Don't like coffee?  You can make frothy hot chocolate too.  Just think of the possibilities!

****I have been in no way compensated for this post.  Not even with a cup of coffee.  The opinions expressed are solely my own****

Low-Cal Simple Banana Cream Shake

I don't normally post too many recipes on here but I couldn't pass this one up. I have been trying to get better at what I am eating for a multitude of reasons but I still have a sweet tooth.  The biggest problem with desserts is that with all that sugar comes a boat load of calories.  And I just don't have that many to spare on snacks.  And snack I must.  But, I want it to be filling too.

image source

Now, I know there are many nay sayers out there because this does contain artificial sweetener.  It was a choice I had to make and having something to satisfy my sweet tooth outweighed the importance of 'all natural' on this one.

Recipe:

1 1/2 C. unsweetened almond milk (I use the vanilla flavored)

1/2 banana (3 oz. total wt.)

1 Tbs. sugar free fat free banana cream pudding mix

Small handful of ice cubes.

Place the ingredients in your blender.  The pudding mix helps to thicken this to give it more of a shake consistency. 

This recipe only has approximately 135 calories and is quite a generous portion.  Enjoy!