Category Archives: Beverages

London Fog

Tiffany tried this tea at Starbucks and decided she wanted it at home (and at a fraction of the cost).  I’ve posted her Fruit Loops Tea which really does taste like fruity cereal, and her Creamalicious Latte. This is another tea she likes to make. She used to enjoy drinking coffee but cannot tolerate its caffeine any longer and misses the warm comfort of a lovely latte. So she created these teas.

So here is how to make it.

Boil a cup of water.

Fill mug 3/4 full with milk of choice; she uses either almond milk or cashew milk.

Heat the milk on medium heat.

Place Earl Grey tea bag in mug, fill 1/4 full with boiled water and add sweetener as desired. Tiffany uses two spoonfuls of xylitol, two doonks of stevia for my hubby, and 3 doonks and two xylitols for Sean. So, use whatever sweetener and how much you like.

 

Steep for a few minutes. Tiffany likes her tea pretty mild; so feel free to steep your tea a bit longer if you prefer a stronger tea. Remove tea bag.

As soon as the milk is warmed (not boiled), add the warmed milk to the tea, stir and drink.

London Fog

Ingredients

  • Earl Grey tea bag
  • milk (we use almond or cashew milk)
  • sweetener of choice (xylitol, stevia, etc.)
  • water
  • dash or two of vanilla

Instructions

  1. Boil water
  2. Pour milk into chosen mug until 3/4 full, pour into saucepan and warm.
  3. Add a dash of vanilla if your milk is plain.
  4. Place tea bag and sweetener in mug.
  5. Fill mug 1/4 full with boiled water
  6. Steep tea, then remove tea bag.
  7. Add warmed milk, vanilla, and stir.
  8. ENJOY the creamy goodness!
https://lifeofjoy.me/london-fog/

Hope you enjoy this tea as much as Tiffany does. :)

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Creamalicious Latte

Tiffany made up this creamy tea.  I posted her Fruit Loops Tea which really does taste like fruity cereal, a couple weeks ago. This is the other tea she likes to make. You see she used to enjoy drinking coffee but cannot tolerate its caffeine any longer and misses the warm comfort of a lovely latte. So she created these teas.

So here is how to make it.

Boil a cup of water.

Fill mug 3/4 full with milk of choice; she uses either almond milk or cashew milk.

Heat the milk on medium heat.

Place English Breakfast tea bag in mug, fill 1/4 full with boiled water and add sweetener as desired. Tiffany uses two spoonfuls of xylitol, two doonks of stevia for my hubby, and 3 doonks and two xylitols for Sean. So, use whatever sweetener and how much you like.

Steep for a few minutes. Tiffany likes her tea pretty mild; so feel free to steep your tea a bit longer if you prefer a stronger tea. Remove tea bag.

As soon as the milk is warmed (not boiled), add the warmed milk to the tea, stir and drink.

CreamaliciousTea

Ingredients

  • English Breakfast tea bag
  • milk (we use almond or cashew milk)
  • sweetener of choice (xylitol, stevia, etc.)
  • water

Instructions

  1. Boil water
  2. Pour milk into chosen mug until 3/4 full, pour into saucepan and warm.
  3. Add a dash of vanilla if your milk is plain.
  4. Place tea bag and sweetener in mug.
  5. Fill mug 1/4 full with boiled water
  6. Steep tea, then remove tea bag.
  7. Add warmed milk, and stir.
  8. ENJOY the creamy goodness!
https://lifeofjoy.me/creamalicious-latte/

Hope you enjoy this tea as much as Tiffany and Sean are. :)

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Fruit Loops Tea

Tiffany made up this interesting tea that tastes like fruit loops cereal. :D Seriously, it really does taste like fruity cereal.

So here is how to make it.

Boil a cup of water.

Fill mug 3/4 full with milk of choice; she uses either almond milk or cashew milk. If it is plain milk, add a splash of vanilla.

Heat the milk on medium heat.

Place Lady Grey tea bag in mug, fill 1/4 full with boiled water and add sweetener as desired. Tiffany uses two spoonfuls of xylitol, two doonks of stevia for my hubby, and 3 doonks and two xylitols for Sean. So, use whatever sweetener and how much you like.

Steep for a few minutes. Tiffany likes her tea pretty mild; so feel free to steep your tea a bit longer if you prefer a stronger tea. Remove tea bag.

As soon as the milk is warmed (not boiled), add the warmed milk to the tea, stir and drink.

CreamaliciousTea

Ingredients

  • English Breakfast tea bag
  • milk (we use almond or cashew milk)
  • sweetener of choice (xylitol, stevia, etc.)
  • water

Instructions

  1. Boil water
  2. Pour milk into chosen mug until 3/4 full, pour into saucepan and warm.
  3. Add a dash of vanilla if your milk is plain.
  4. Place tea bag and sweetener in mug.
  5. Fill mug 1/4 full with boiled water
  6. Steep tea, then remove tea bag.
  7. Add warmed milk, and stir.
  8. ENJOY the creamy goodness!
https://lifeofjoy.me/fruit-loops-tea/

Hope you enjoy this tea as much as Tiffany and Sean are. :)

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Sugar-Free OREO®Chocolate Milk

Okay, I’ve shared sugar free chocolate milk here before but that was one my son made. I’m sharing one I have since modified and absolutely love.

I loved Oreos ® but they are not on plan for me any more. ;) I’ve shared OREO skinny chocolate before too but sadly, that is not really conducive to my weight reduction because I love it too much and eat way too much of it. But this is portion controlled and yummy!!!

First you must have some Black Dutched Cocoa Powder. I get The Cocoa Trader brand.

I’ve done this with almond milk and cashew milk but you could use whatever milk you like. :)

I put 2 cups of milk in my blender, add two tablespoons of black cocoa, a pinch of salt, a dash of vanilla, and two tablespoons of THM Supersweet, which is an erithritol stevia blend. And just blend away.

Quick, easy, and lovely oreo taste. :)

I forgot to take photos when I used my last bit of black cocoa today, so I’ll add pictures as soon as I get some in but wanted to share this deliciousness with you pronto. :)

Sugar-Free OREO®Chocolate Milk

Ingredients

  • 2 cups milk of choosing, I use almond milk.
  • 2 tablespoons black dutched cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons THM super sweet (erithritol stevia blend)
  • pinch salt
  • dash vanilla

Instructions

  1. Put all in a blender and blend. I blend mine about 30 seconds.
  2. Pour into a tall glass and enjoy! 🙂
https://lifeofjoy.me/sugar-free-oreochocolate-milk/

Until next time,

Michele ºÜº

 

Hot Cocoa THM ~ Lifeofjoy.me

Hot Cocoa – THM version

Warm chocolately goodness in a cup. Just the thing to warm you on chill evenings. Made sugar free and dairy free too.

For years we’ve made hot chocolate or hot cocoa, whichever you prefer to call it, using the recipe I found on the Hershey’s Cocoa can years ago. I don’t know if it is still on the can or not.

We substituted almond (or cashew) milk for the regular milk and Gentle Sweet (a blend of xylitol, erythritol, and stevia but you could use your favorite sweetener) for the sugar. It’s such a simple recipe that it was quite easy to modify.

Here we go . . .

Combine 1/3 cup cocoa (or as little as 1/4 cup if you prefer a milder chocolate flavor)

Cocoa powder ~ Lifeofjoy.mewith 1/2 cup Gentle Sweet or your preferred sweetener (Gentle Sweet is supposedly a little less than twice as sweet as sugar. If you use straight xylitol or erythritol, you’d use the same amount as you would sugar, so I’m told.)

Cocoa Powder and sweetener ~ Lifeofjoy.mewith a couple pinches of salt in a pot.

Cocoa dry ingredients ~ Lifeofjoy.meWhisk it, add in 1/3 cup of water, and bring to a boil on medium to medium high heat.

Add Water for cocoa ~ Lifeofjoy.meBoil for 2 minutes.

Boiling cocoa base ~ Lifeofjoy.meAdd in about 5 or so cups of almond (or cashew) milk.

Add almond milk ~ Lifeofjoy.meKeep whisking until it reaches desired temperature.

Hot chocolate thm ~ Lifeofjoy.mePour and serve! :)

Ladel into mugs ~ Lifeofjoy.meWe really enjoy this. I hope you do as well. :)

Hot Cocoa – THM version

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup cocoa (1/4 if preferred less dark) powder
  • 1/2 cup Gentle Sweet
  • 2 pinches mineral salt
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 5+ cups almond (or cashew) milk

Instructions

  1. Whisk cocoa powder, sweetener, and salt together in saucepan.
  2. Add water and turn heat to medium/medium high.
  3. Whisk until it comes to a full boil.
  4. Reduce heat slightly and continue stirring. Boil for 2 minutes
  5. Add milk and continue whisking until desired temperature is reached.
  6. Pour into mugs.
https://lifeofjoy.me/hot-cocoa-thm-version/

Until next time, God bless,

 Michele ºÜº

Matcha Nin

Energy Boosting drink with great health benefits.

Matcha Ninny is the newest of the Trim Healthy Mama drinks. It can be served hot or cold. It’s summer, so we are drinking ours cold. Here’s the link to the video on the benefits and how to make it. If that link doesn’t work for you, here’s a different one.

So we make a few tweaks to their recipe. We use chocolate protein powder!!!! They use plain protein powder but we love the hint of chocolate that the other gives to the drink. I’m not a huge fan of milk, but chocolate milk, that’s a different story entirely. :)

Sooo, in this house, you don’t make one of anything. :D So we are making two here. For yours, you’d just use half of your chosen container for both almond milk and water. Ours are these cute pint jars. We got the red one at Dollar Tree, so cute. The other has a chalk board label and was about $3 at TJMaxx or Ross or someplace like that. ;)

By using half almond milk and half water it lightens the caloric load.

water in jar ~ Lifeofjoy.meAlmond Milk in pint ~ Lifeofjoy.meIngredients ~ Lifeofjoy.me

Add the liquid to the blender.  Then add the other ingredients: matcha, sweetener (We use Super Sweet.), vanilla, coconut oil, and salt. We just get inexpensive matcha at Walmart. It probably isn’t the best quality but we like it and can afford it.

Matcha add sweetener ~ Lifeofjoy.meAdd matcha ~ lifeofjoy.mecoconut oil ~ lifeofjoy.mepinch of salt ~ lifeofjoy.meDon’t forget the vanilla.

Blend.

Blend matcha nin ~ lifeofjoy.meThen add the protein powder and give it a quick whirl. Now if you like it frothy/foamy, then blend it longer but we don’t like foam.

Pour into your containers. We add a couple ice cubes because it is so hot right now that we need cool refreshment. Enjoy!

Matcha Nin ~ Lifeofjoy.meYum!

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Sugar Free Chocolate Almond MIlk ~ Lifeofjoy.me

Chocolate Milk and It’s Sugar Free

Milk (made from nuts) that is sweet and chocolatey are a favorite of mine!

Sean wanted chocolate milk one day and made this recipe up. Of course, he doesn’t really measure, he just adds a little of this and a little of that but it hits the spot. :)

So he starts by pouring the milk into the glass you wants to fill, so he has a full glass. ;)

Not yet chocolate milk ~ Lifeofjoy.meThen he pours it into a blending cup but you could use a blender. Next add in about 2 tablespoons of cocoa.

Almond Milk with cocoa powder ~ Lifeofjoy.meThen add 3-4 tablespoons of Gentle Sweet (this is a THM powdered sweetener but you can use your favorite one).

Milk, cocoa and sweetener ~ Lifeofjoy.meHe said he usually adds the sweetener first because then he doesn’t have to wipe off the scoop. Then add a dash of vanilla.

Dash of vanilla ~ lifeofjoy.meI may add a small pinch of salt next time to round out the flavor; I just thought of that.

Then blend blend blend!

Blending Chocolate Milk ~ Lifeofjoy.meThe cocoa will be resistant to blending but persevere and it will surrender. :)

Blending Chocolate Milk ~ Lifeofjoy.meThen pour back into your glass and enjoy!

Sugar free Chocolate Almond Milk ~ Lifeofjoy.me

Chocolate Milk and It’s Sugar Free

Ingredients

  • 1-2 cups nut milk (we use almond milk but cashew or coconut milk would probably work fine)
  • 3-4 tablespoons Gentle Sweet (or sweetener of your choice, best if powdered)
  • about 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • dash of vanilla
  • maybe a pinch of salt?

Instructions

  1. Pour your milk into either a blender or blending cup.
  2. Add sweetener
  3. Add cocoa powder
  4. Add vanilla
  5. Add the pinch of salt if desired
  6. Blend blend blend!
  7. Pour into your glass and Enjoy!
https://lifeofjoy.me/chocolate-milk-and-its-sugar-free/

I hope you enjoy this chocolate milk, we sure do.

Until next time, God bless,

 Michele ºÜº

Mixed Berry Kefir

Another delicious kefir variety with frozen strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries.

This week I’m sharing another way to make a kefir (ke-FEAR) drink. I know it is a bit of a cop out because by now you have the idea of what to do. But it is the only thing that was coming to me this week.

So here it is. Start with about a cup of kefir. (I made this for four people so I had two cups. I usually make for at least two half to three-quarter cup servings.)

Plain double fermented kefir ~ Lifeofjoy.me

Add a few strawberries, about a quarter to one third cup of blueberries, and about a quarter cup of blackberries. (I prefer blueberries but the blackberry seeds are pulverized in the blender.)

Frozen berries + Kefir ~ Lifeofjoy.me

Add in about 4-6 ice cubes, or more if you like yours really thick and icy. It is currently VERY cold out and I’m not into drinking or eating cold things when I’m cold.

Kefir +berries + ice ~ Lifeofjoy.me

Add in sweetener of your choice; 2-3 doonks of stevia powder which is a scant 1/8th of a teaspoon. (You can see the powdered stevia in the picture above.)

Blend away!

Blending Mixed Berry Kefir ~ Lifeofjoy.me

Drink up. Mixed Berry Kefir ~ Lifeofjoy.meI recently read where a gal had tried for years to get pregnant and couldn’t, and even spent lots of money on fertility drugs and such. Finally decided to stop trying and just enjoy the niece she has and get healthy. She started drinking kefir daily and ended up getting pregnant. So, maybe it can help if you are trying to get pregnant. Although, as with most things, don’t go overboard. It appears that drinking too much can also not be good for getting pregnant. :)

Kefir ~ Lifeofjoy.me

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

E Kefir ~ Lifeofjoy.me

Kefir as an E Drink

Kefir with peaches, pineapple, and citrusy baobab for a yummy, healthy drink.

This week I’m showing you how to make Kefir as an E drink. It is really simple. Add a few slices of frozen peaches, a bit of frozen pineapple, ice, and stevia. That’s it. Give it a whirl in the blender and drink.

E Kefir Ingredients ~ Lifeofjoy.meBlending Kefir ~ Lifeofjoy.meSimply blend and serve! :)

Fruity E Kefir ~ Lifeofjoy.me

Kefir as an E Drink

Ingredients

  • All of these measurements are approximates and very flexible, change as you desire.
  • 1 cup double-fermented kefir
  • 4 slices frozen peaches
  • handful frozen pineapple
  • 4-8 ice cubes depending on how thick/slushy you want
  • 2-3 doonks stevia extract powder

Instructions

  1. Put it all in a blender and blend until smooth.
  2. Drink.
https://lifeofjoy.me/kefir-as-an-e-drink/

I hope you enjoy this healthy probiotic, prebiotic drink.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Quick Kefir Drink

Happy Drink ~ Lifeofjoy.meI’m really tired and just remembered I need to get a post up. So here is a quick kefir recipe. My grandson, Liam, really likes this! Oh, and it is super simple!!!

Simply add a couple drops of your favorite extract and a bit of your favorite sugar-free sweetener to double-fermented kefir. Stir and drink.

Yep, I told you it was easy. I put a couple drops of strawberry extract in about a half cup of cold kefir and a doonk (1/32 teaspoon) of stevia powder OR a few drops of stevia glycerite or whatever alternative sweetener you prefer. It is best to use a powdered or liquid sweetener alternative.

Yes, this is a bit of a cheat recipe, but it’s the holidays and everyone needs a little simple recipe in their lives. ;)

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº