Family Foodies

We’ve had a lot of rain and wind the past few weeks which has kept our daily temperatures below the mid 50′s. That is just downright freezing for someone who’s not used to making their own body heat!

I’ve been craving nice soothing hot beverages during our recent mini ice age in Las Vegas. This has me thinking that those of you who actually do experience a real winter, where ice and snow are still on the ground, may want warm drinks too.

Below, you’ll find a list of things I’ve tried and a few recipes you may want to make. All are kid friendly, no “adult’ beverages are listed.

Several years ago, I had a penpal who lived in North Dakota. She told me they loved to drink hot Dr. Pepper in the winter. I was stunned. But last weekend in an attempt to try new warm drinks, other than coffee, tea or cocoa, I decided to give my Dr. a zap! It’s good! I put some Dr. Pepper in a mug and warmed it to hot enough to drink, but not boiling and really enjoyed it! If you’re in a daring mood and have never tried heating Dr. Pepper up for a warm drink, give it a try!

My daughter is a lemonade freak. She decided to warm her lemonade up as I zapped the Dr.; She loved the hot lemonade.

If you’re wanting to provide a warm drink for the little ones, I found an awesome article on the Scholastic website that has several warm drink recipes for kids and fun memory time activity suggestions too.

I love Starbucks type coffee drinks. However, I really do my best to live in our budget. So I made up this recipe over a year ago. When I’m starving for a Starbucks this is a fun substitute:

In a coffee mug:

• add 1part instant coffee
• 1 part powdered creamer
• 1 part French Vanilla powdered creamer (or flavor of your choice)
• sugar to taste.

Pour boiling water in and stir very well.

For a one cup recipe, I’d put one to two teaspoons of each ingredient. I make this in larger batches to keep on hand and use the following measures: 1/4 c instant coffee, 1/4 c powdered creamer, 1/4 c French Vanilla powdered creamer, and 1/3 c sugar.

I personally put this in my food processor to grind into a fine powder so that it won’t settle in the jar. But you don’t have to. Just make sure to shake or mix it well before using it.

I keep it sealed in a glass jar and enjoy putting a couple tablespoons into a cup of boiling water when I drink it.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’m being paged by the Doctor!