Make your own Frappes!!!

Do you love all of those name brand sweet and delicious blended iced coffee drinks out there but hate spending five or more dollars on ONE drink?! I think most of us can answer yes to the previous question (even for those of us who do not enjoy the taste of coffee!) So how in the world do you make something at home that tastes just as good and costs only a fraction of what you'd pay at Starbuck's or Caribou? Easy!

Here's what I made today:

Mel's Raspberry Mocha Light Frappé!

Now I do have to say, that I have a fantastic Mr. Coffee Frappe machine that I received as a gift from my grandparents, which makes this process one step easier. (Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!!) It brews the coffee into the blender and BLENDS away! ...and boy oh boy does it ever blend! (Those of you who have experienced this with me recently are probably having a chuckle since we were quite startled at it's power! haha) Here's the link to this product if you happen to be interested in one:

http://mrcoffeestore.com/detail/COF+BVMC-FM1&trk_src_ss=COFFGS49WEBPAYPC%7CPPC%7CADW%7Cmr%20coffee%20frappe%20maker

However, if you do not have this fancy fandagled machine, this process is also very do-able! A little barista magic and presto; you can create anything! First decide what kitchen gadgets you have to work with...

 You may use an ESPRESSO MACHINE and a BLENDER: a shot or two of brewed espresso (depending on your taste) would be acceptable to add into a blender full of your desired ingredients (look further for recipes) making sure to add the espresso LAST and blend right away to achieve the correct consistency and avoid the shots turning bitter.

You may also choose to use a COFFEE MAKER and a BLENDER: For this, you will have to brew the coffee double strength. One recipe usually yields two small or one medium portion no matter what appliances you are using, so you don't even need half a pot. I would suggest brewing as small of an amount as your coffee pot will allow. If you have a 12 cup coffee maker, it most likely wont work to add only 1/2 cup of water to brew. If you have to brew more coffee than what you need, just remember that you should only be adding about 1/4 cup of double strength coffee to your blender for one drink recipe. 

 (If you have one of the ever popular "one-cup" coffee makers, brewing your cup at double strength would probably work out perfectly!) 

Here's the recipe for what I made today;

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Mel's Raspberry Mocha Light Frappé

For Brewed Coffee

3 tablespoons ground dark roast/espresso roast coffee

1/2 cup of water 

(alter amount of coffee and water depending on your coffee maker's size and capability)

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Contents of Blender

2 cups ice cubes

2 tablespoons sugar-free/calorie-free mocha syrup

fresh raspberries (about 6-8)

1/4 cup skim milk

In this order,

Place ICE in blender.

Add mocha syrup, 1/4 milk, and raspberries. 

Brew your double strength coffee. 

Add 1/4 cup double strength brewed coffee to blender.

Place cover on blender and frappé!

IMPORTANT; As soon as your coffee is finished brewing, place it into the blender and BLEND PROMPTLY to achieve the best consistency. Remember coffee is HOT so please be careful during transfer into blender. 

Pour into your favorite fancy glass with a straw and ENJOY!!! :)

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Here is another recipe I have made in the past;

Mel's {Treat yourself} Caramel Frappé

For Brewed Coffee

3 tablespoons ground dark roast coffee/espresso

1/2 cup water

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Contents of Blender

2 cups ice cubes

1/4 cup skim milk(or your choice) 

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract(*or*1 tablespoon vanilla syrup)

2 tablespoons caramel dessert topping(*or* 1 tablespoon caramel syrup)

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Place Ice in blender.

Add milk, vanilla, and caramel.

Brew double strength coffee.

Add 1/4 cup of brewed double strength coffee to blender.

Place cover on blender and frappé! 

IMPORTANT; As soon as your coffee is finished brewing, place it into the blender and BLEND PROMPTLY to achieve the best consistency. Remember coffee is HOT so please be careful during transfer into blender. 

Pour into your favorite fancy glass and top with whipped cream. 

Drizzle caramel dessert topping on whipped cream and add straw; ENJOY!!! :)

There are so many different recipes to choose from! If you are not into the sugar-free zero calorie taste ( I found mine in the organic food section of the grocery store), there are a wide variety of syrups available at grocery stores, Gordman's, www.starbucks.com, etc. Otherwise you may choose to use ice cream toppings like caramel and chocolate sauces! Get creative and add whipped cream, candy sprinkles, cinnamon, or nutmeg on top! All are delicious, so try your hand at becoming your very own barista today! You can make them strictly a treat or make a lighter version with less calories to suit your diet. It's SO much fun :) Any questions or new recipes? Feel free to comment and share!!!  

HAPPY SUMMER!!!!

Want to lose weight? Hold yourself accountable!

I for one have struggled with the typical roller coaster of habits when it comes to eating well in order to stay in shape and of course my scale reflects this. It's easy to justify what you'd like to eat as being acceptable even when deep down you know it's not the right option. "Well it's only a handful of potato chips, so it wont hurt..." but that 'handful' of potato chips that you're not really counting against you is really 160 calories per 1 OUNCE. If you're like me, you don't stop at one ounce either! haha... Before you know it, you've consumed an extra 500 calories!!  SO... look into how many calories you're eating.

You may think, "ugh...that's just too much work", but really it's right there for you on every label of everything you consume. Plus there are amazing tools out there that calculate your daily totals and so much more without you having to do any figuring. A friend of mine just invited me to use http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ who also has an amazing phone app available as a FREE download! Most people have their phone with them all of the time, so it's convenient to type in the food you've eaten and let them calculate for you! They have a huge database of brand name and generic foods already in their database but if for some reason they don't have what you are looking for it's very easy to add in a new food/drink/snack. It's also great that once you answer a few simple questions during setup, the site tells you exactly what date you should expect to see your goal weight and how many calories you should be consuming in your every day diet! It's fool proof :) Which is good for me haha!

Other features of http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ include;
Weigh-in tracking
Exercise tracking
Nutrition/Fitness/Progress Reports
BMI Calculator
BMR Calculator
Recipe Nutrition Facts Calculator
Heart Calculator
Large Community of Message Boards/Forums
Weight loss trackers and badges for blogging or other personal websites

AND one of the coolest parts of this site, is that you can invite your friends to join with you. This way, you get to share your progress and go through the inevitable struggles with people you know who can help motivate you to keep moving forward! Don't worry though, if you don't want anyone to see your food diary and would only like to share certain parts and pieces of your profile, you can set your privacy to show what you are most comfortable with on the website.

So who's up for it!? Join me today and see just how easy and motivating it is to make the best choices to better reach your fitness and healthy lifestyle goals! No matter how big or small your goals are, or if you would just like to learn how to live a healthy lifestyle this is a helpful site! Add me today! My profile name is; meloramma.  :) lol

How do you communicate?

Technology has changed the way we all communicate with each other these days... but is it for the best? I ask this for a lot of reasons lately, and I feel I'm seeing a whole new side of things since I'm taking this break from social networking in general. I have gotten passed the compulsive need to check my Facebook account the second I wake up, between loads of laundry, during play time, and as I'm falling asleep each night. It's interesting though when you're not so involved in everyone else's lives how you notice all of the references throughout your day like on television and in every day conversation. Besides the fact that there is so much of an obsession with it all, there isn't much harm in it all really (unless people are putting too much personal information out or just trying to be catty).

 What does concern me though, is the fact that communication between friends, relatives, work places, etc. seems somewhat compromised. At first glance, things like Facebook, Twitter, and e-mail are a wonderful way to keep in contact with each other especially when you may  not get the chance to see the people who are important to you on a regular basis. It's a great way to share the highlights of your life with those around you. However, do you notice that more people are "speaking" to each other using text, e-mail, Facebook and so on when it would be so much more effective just to sit down with someone and physically TALK either in person or over the phone if you must? Have we forgotten what it's like to sit down with a friend and have a conversation? There's so much more than words in communication that end up being misinterpreted or completely lost when we decide to communicate through technology. Have you ever gotten upset over a simple text message only to find that it wasn't intended the way you took it? Of course you have, we've all been there... and it's happening more and more.

 Let's take applying for a job as another example. More and more companies and businesses are resorting to online applications for all of their hiring needs for reasons of convenience obviously. However I think there's something to be said about a person who takes the time to walk into a potential workplace and start a conversation with a manager about the position they're applying for rather than just being another online applicant. I realize that this is not practical in every situation, but do you see how we are all sort of getting lost in technology lately? How can you really communicate with someone unless you make the effort to tell them how you feel and where you are coming from in person? Are emoticons taking over for our facial expressions? Are we relying too much on our fingers to do the talking through our keyboard? 

My hope is that I can have more real interactions in every day life from here on out. I love how easy it is to show my friends and family how big the kids are getting and what their milestones are, through things like e-mail and blogging but lets not forget the power of a real, in-person conversation when it comes to the important conversations in life. If one of my friends was upset with me, or I did or said something that made them upset in any way I sure hope they would call me up or sit me down and TALK to me. I know it's sometimes the difficult road to take.... to communicate in person, but it's so much more worth it and I know I personally appreciate it more than I can express. I haven't always been able to do this myself but as I grow and learn, I realize the importance of communication in every relationship I have. Plus, I always love a coffee date or a nice walk outside : )