Take that Starbucks

I've lost almost 70 pounds in the past 16 months. Of course those were the same 70 pounds I had lost before my wedding, the same 70 I gained pregnant with Charlotte, the same 70 I lost in the year following her birth, the same 70 I again gained pregnant with Sawyer.

You see the pattern.

But this time there are no more babies coming. I want the extra weight off and am working my ass off to get it off. I'm down to the last 20 or so pounds to get where I want to be and I'm really being conscientious about what I eat.

Yesterday after the kids went down for a nap, I told Mike I was going to lose my ever-loving shit if I didn't go buy some shoes and get some coffee I asked Mike if I could step out for a few. Famous Footwear was having a BOGO, I needed new sneakers, Sawyer needed winter boots, and I needed to get the eff out of the house.

After my shoe-shopping excursion I stopped at Starbucks for one of my seasonal favorites: a tall peppermint mocha latte, skinny. I figured it couldn't have that many calories since I ordered it with skim milk. I drank about 2/3 of it on the drive home and when I got in, I came home to look up the nutritional information so I could add it into my food journal.

THREE HUNDRED CALORIES.

FORTY-SEVEN GRAMS OF SUGAR.

For a SMALL. A NONFAT small. WITHOUT whip cream.

I threw the rest away and tweeted my agony. Apparently, the rest of the free world had no idea that there were that many calories either and an uproar ensured. (Ok, uproar maybe a little strong for a bunch of angry women bitching that now that had to have CELERY for dinner because they got their WITH WHIP CREAM. Oh, the humanity!)

Anyway, long story short. There's no sugar-free version, and all of those calories comes from the mix they use which is cocoa, fat, and sugar.

So, I decided to take on Starbucks and see if I could make my own, have it taste nearly as good, and keep it fat and sugar free.

And because I'm AWESOME, I did it!! You're welcome. I'll take donations in the form of gold doubloons, babysitting time, and lap dances.

Skinny Sugar-Free Peppermint Mocha Latte

What you need:
1.5 c skim milk
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 Tbsp Splenda
1/8 tsp peppermint extract
Espresso or coffee.

Because I'm lucky enough to have a Tassimo in my life and espresso ALWAYS on hand, I used this: You can also use regular coffee or espresso.



To make:
-Heat up the milk, stirring constantly.



-Add in the cocoa powder and Splenda. I like mine quite chocolaty and sweet, so if you want to ease back on either one or add more, feel free. Just a guideline.



-Add in the Peppermint extract. Be careful. Peppermint extract is INCREDIBLY strong, and you need only 1/8 of a TEASPOON.



-You're done! Pour the mixture into your espresso/coffee and enjoy!



Calories: 40 per 1/2 cup.
Mixture will make enough for 2 or 3 coffees, so if you don't plan to have that many espressos, it stores very well in a container in the fridge and reheats well.
If you don't have a coffee pot, Starbucks makes a pretty damn good instant blend that you can add directly to this mixture!
And if you don't drink coffee, this is yummy on it's own, like a winter blend hot cocoa!