Wintertime is the perfect time to sit down with a good book and a hot drink. My favorites are lattes or cafe miels because they are so easy to make. I don’t have an espresso maker so I always just use strong coffee.

Earl Grey tea, Green chai tea, Herbal chai tea, or coffee all work well for lattes. Here is the method no matter what your base is.

Steep the tea or coffee. I like to make the coffee strong since I don’t use espresso. Meanwhile, in a deep saucepan, heat a cup of milk along with a pinch of salt and sweetener of choice. I like to use a tsp or two of Pyure. Heat through, but do not boil it. Using a stick blender or hand held milk frother, mix the milk and sweetener. Pour your tea or coffee into a large mug and top with milk. Add a swirl of Reddi Whip and sit down and enjoy.

Add collagen or whey protein for extra nutrition. If you add either one of those, you have a snack since they both have protein. Use a drink to tide you over between meals instead of mindless snacking.

I like to add vanilla or caramel flavoring. Vanilla pairs well with all of it and caramel goes well with coffee. Tweak the recipe to find what you like.

Another drink I love is a Cafe Miel. I found this one at a local coffee shop. Since I had never heard of them I decided to give it a try. It is basically a honey latte, but my secret ingredient is a bit of maple syrup and I use real honey. Please don’t use a honey syrup when real honey is SO good! Here is the recipe:

6 oz strong coffee (or one or two shots espresso)

8 oz milk of choice

1 T honey

1/2 T maple syrup

cinnamon

Prepare the coffee like normal. Heat the milk in a deep saucepan. Add the honey and maple syrup. Heat till very hot. Add a couple dashes of cinnamon. Use a stick blender or hand held frother to froth it up. Pour the coffee into a big mug. Add the milk, top with Reddi Whip and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Pull out that book you have been wanting to read and enjoy!

Do you have special recipes you use for hot drinks? Let us know where we can find them so we can make them, too.