Coconut Mocha Frapp (healthier than you know what from you know where)

Coconut Mocha Frappe

The deluge of seasonally flavored frozen beverages continues. Today's swap takes us to the caffeine fiend's haven known as Starbucks, celebrated for its strong brews but feared for its selection of over-caloried drinks. While many incarnations of the Frappuccino are available year-round, limited-edition fancy flavors are always popping up. This summer, it's the dastardly blend of coconut, chocolate, and coffee. What freezy-java lover can resist such a concoction? One who knows what's best for them. At its worst -- a giant Venti made with whole milk and topped with whipped cream -- this drink has 550 calories and 18g fat. ACK! Even a seemingly reasonable Tall Frap made with nonfat milk and finished off with whipped cream has 300 calories and 9g fat -- too much for a sippable treat. Considering how tasty our version of this rich drink is, there's really no reason to spend hundreds of calories on this thing. Blend it up at home and chill out, people!

THE FATTENING VERSION

Serving Size: 16 oz. (Grande) with toppings, made with 2% milk
Calories: 400
Fat: 14g
Sodium: 210mg
Carbs: 66g
Fiber: <1g
Sugars: 62g
Protein: 5g


Wake Me Up Before You Coco...

This new recipe is a major eye-opener, and not only because it's made with coffee and chocolate -- it will open your eyes to just how easy it is to make Starbucks-style blendy drinks at home... YAY!!!

Ingredients:
2 tsp. shredded sweetened coconut, roughly chopped
2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp. fat-free non-dairy powdered creamer (like the kind by Coffee-mate)
1 tsp. instant coffee granules
1 tsp. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 no-calorie sweetener packets (like Splenda or Truvia), or more to taste
1/8 tsp. coconut extract
2 cups crushed ice or 10 - 16 ice cubes
2 tbsp. Fat Free Reddi-wip
1 tsp. light chocolate syrup

Directions:
To toast the coconut, bring a skillet to medium heat on the stove; add chopped coconut and, stirring occasionally, cook for 2 minutes, or until lightly browned. (Or, if you have a toaster oven, just toast until lightly browned.) Set aside to cool.

In a tall glass, place cocoa powder, powdered creamer, coffee granules, chocolate chips, and sweetener. Add 1/2 cup very hot water and stir until ingredients have mostly dissolved. Add coconut extract, and transfer contents of the glass to a blender. Rinse the glass, if needed, and set aside.

Add ice to the blender, and blend at high speed until completely mixed and smooth. Pour into the tall glass.

If you like, add additional sweetener to taste. Top with Reddi-wip, drizzle with chocolate syrup, and sprinkle with toasted coconut. Enjoy!

MAKES 1 SERVING

Serving Size: entire recipe (about 16 oz.)
Calories: 120
Fat: 4.5g
Sodium: 24mg
Carbs: 21g
Fiber: 4g
Sugars: 8g
Protein: 2.5g

THIS ARTICLE WAS TAKEN FROM THE HUNGRY GIRLS NEWSLETTER

a hat and a bike

Do you ever get obsessed with a certain item that you don't have and are constantly looking in stores or on line for, until you either purchase said item or move on to another one? Well, I do all the time. Like adult trikes that I have posted about a lot of times, retro travel trailers, vintage dresses, shoes, etc., etc.
Lately I have been imagining myself actually owning a trike which I would have found at an" I can't help but buy it" price and start tooling around the neighborhood. Only problem is that in real life it's sooo hot out, so if my daydream comes true I will have to wear a hat to shield me from the hot sun. So I start looking at straw hats everywhere I go, like Target, Walmart and Old Navy. I found a cotton Gilligan looking hat on clearance at Old Navy for five dollars just so I will be ready to live my dream come true. But for now, my only modes of transport are my Ford Focus or my two feet! Maybe I will try my hat out in the car or out walking while pretending to be getting a great workout on my trike!

(I couldn't find any cool trike pics so have resorted to the two wheel variety!)

Source:

Source: daydreamlily.com via Louise on Pinterest

Source: thetulip.tumblr.com via Joscelyne on Pinterest

Country Living Oilcloth Clutch Tutorial

Step One: Print two copies of our template and cut out. Leave one template intact; cut the other along the dotted line (as shown) to create a total of three patterns.

Step Two Use the resulting patterns to cut three shapes from half a yard of oilcloth ($8.99 per yard; fabricdepot.com). Place the largest oilcloth shape on a table, right side up. Twist a hair elastic into a figure eight, with the bottom loop larger than the top (as shown). Center and tape the elastic atop the oilcloth. Baste in place a quarter inch from the edge; remove tape.

Step Three Align the two smaller oilcloth shapes atop the larger one (as shown), right sides facing down; tape in place. Stitch around the outer edge, leaving a quarter-inch seam; remove tape as you go.

Step Four Use scissors to make small slices about every inch along the bag’s seam allowance (as shown) to allow for easy turning.

Step Five Turn bag right side out. Topstitch along the flap’s edge, then finish by hand-stitching a button onto the bag (as shown in photo).

Read more: How To Sew a Clutch Purse - DIY Purse Template - Country Living

Family weekend

We went to Florida last weekend and had a grand time seeing family and friends.
We got to meet our new baby great nephew Elijah who was just a little doll! Our great niece Lilly has gotten to be such a lovely young lady and her mom Chrissy ( my niece) and her husband look like they are a very happy and blessed family!
And of course we got to hug and kiss and play with our grandson Kavi who brings us so much joy with his loving and happy ways
Our daughter Christina looked oh so sweet with her new bangs and her husband Suj looks even leaner now since he is a runner!
I managed to eat healthy while there and have lost about 8 pounds in the past 5 weeks. Yippee for Angela who has also lost 8 pounds! Woo hoo! I have been eating meat only a few times a week, and have only been having fruit or raw food bars made of dates and nuts as my sweets, occasionally having frozen yogurt as a special treat within my calorie allowance. An app on my phone called My Fitness Pal has helped me tremendously. It calculates my weight, calorie intake and exercise to help me lose a pound a week. I have found the most obscure items in their calorie data base and find the app very easy to use. I still have a long way to go and I will probably be joining the YMCA so I can use more than my exercise bike this summer!

My daughter Jenny with Lilly on the left, Elijah in her arms and Kavi on the right!

Kavi with a balloon car that was made for him at a restaurant on Sunday

Christina and Jenny my two beauties!

What I'm working on now

I found a tutorial for this Afghan pattern and have enjoyed working it.  I plan on making a lot of these to use up my surplus of yarn:)

i want, i want, i neeeeed

Source: nancysvintagetrailers.blogspot.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Source: decrenew.blogspot.com via Dana on Pinterest

Source: pclouse.blogspot.com via Paula on Pinterest

Source: nancysvintagetrailers.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Sigh...You know how I daydream about touring the USA in one of these with my husband...by golly, one day we will! One day we will!! A Tin Can Tourist is what I want to be when I grow up!

on the way home

the tree that snapped

Yesterday, Ray and I made a trip to Target in a town about 45 minutes from here. The weather was bright and sunny and I wondered when it would rain again since it has been so hot but no usual afternoon thunderstorms to cool things off. Well, on the drive back home we noticed it looking rainy and misty up ahead, but it was more like a blinding torrential rain that made it so hard to see, we pulled over at a gas station to wait for the storm to pass. Several other cars did the same thing and we noticed that electricity was out at the station. The wind was whipping like crazy as we gazed from under the shelter of the gas station overhang and Ray kept pointing out how one of the trees nearby was bending really low from the force of the wind and the next thing you know, the tree was down, snapped apart from the force!
We were only a few miles from where the April tornado had passed through and I am sure many of the residents of the area were anxious about this fast moving and powerful thunderstorm.
When the storm passed through we got back on 431 to come upon a roadblock probably due to a fallen tree or something, so we followed a line of cars down a narrow country road figuring that those drivers knew how to get back on the main road. Apparently Aprils storms had been down this road before us because both sides of this road had uprooted and broken trees. A little surreal for sure.

the detour