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The holiday season is upon us at full force! Wow...I'm always amazed that the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas seems to fly by at warp speed. One thing that I love to enjoy during this season is a delicious peppermint mocha. The nutrition stats on a tall (that's barista speak for a 12 oz.size) peppermint mocha at Starbucks can be eye opening! For a whole milk with whip drink it comes in at 350 calories and 15 grams of fat! Yikes! This year, they are actually giving you the option of making it skinny...which is awesome. The tall Skinny Peppermint Mocha is a respectable 100 calories and 1 gram of fat...of course, it doesn't have any whipped cream and it is made with artificial sweeteners. It's also kind of pricey at around $3.50 a cup.
What's a Peppermint Mocha loving girl to do??
Make her own skinny version, of course!
I have posted about my love of a stevia company called Nunaturals in the past. They have, as far as I am concerned, THE best tasting all natural no calorie sweetener available. Ever since my introduction to these wonderful products, Liquid Vanilla Nustevia has been one my favorite no calorie sweeteners. I love it in oatmeal and tea. When they sent me a sample of one of their new products, Liquid Peppermint Nustevia, I was thrilled to try it. Of course, my thoughts went immediately to a low calorie, reduced sugar version of a Peppermint Mocha! (Disclaimer: I was sent Liquid Peppermint Nustevia for free and was not paid for this review. All opinions are mine.)
What makes this no calorie sweetener stand out is the use of high quality peppermint ( and yes, you CAN taste the difference) blended with their wonderful non-bitter tasting stevia.
Skinny Peppermint Mocha
Servings -1 Serving Size - approx. 10-12 oz. Points Plus per Serving - 2 Points+
Calories - 82.7, Total Fat - 0.6g, Carb. - 17.7g, Protein - 1g, Fiber - 0g
1 cup of your favorite black coffee, HOT
2 TBSP fat free half and half
1 heaping TBSP good quality chocolate syrup (such as Hershey's)
8-10 drops Nunaturals Pure Liquid Peppermint Nustevia
5 drops Nunaturals Pure Liquid Vanilla Nustevia
2 TBSP Cool Whip FREE
In a large mug, combine the coffee, fat free half and half, chocolate syrup and Peppermint Nustevia. Stir. Top with Cool Whip Free. Garnish with a candy cane or sprinkles, if you wish.
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You may be wondering if you could make this entirely sugar free by using a sugar free chocolate syrup. The answer is YES, but I have yet to find a good tasting sugar free chocolate syrup and you would be using some artificial sweeteners if you did. But... you could do it to make it even lower in calories then my version. Honestly, I really like the balance between the sugar and the stevia in this drink.
If you haven't tried Nunaturals products, I urge you to send for the free samples. (See above on how to do this!) This company has some amazing, all natural, no calorie sweeteners that are so helpful in lowering calories without sacrificing taste. I think you will be pleasantly surprised!
Such a busy time of year! I am caught up in all the tasks that need to be completed...AND I get to help my daughter get settled in her housing in NYC for the upcoming semester and shuffle around housing for my other college kid. Never a dull moment! I do have some really exciting things planned for the very near future though...I received and awesome cookbook in the mail over the weekend to review AND I will be doing a giveaway along with it! Woo hoo!
On a side note, it's really hard to get decent pictures this time of year, with the sun setting around 5pm so I apologize for the lack luster pics that have been showing up here lately!
On a side note, it's really hard to get decent pictures this time of year, with the sun setting around 5pm so I apologize for the lack luster pics that have been showing up here lately!
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I love that you made a lighter homemade version! This looks delicious and holiday appropriate!
ReplyDeleteWhat would be a great substitute if we do not have the NuNaturals vanilla and peppermint stevia?
ReplyDeleteI haven't experimented with different things to replace the Nustevia products in this drink. I think you could try using vanilla extract and peppermint extract, along with some sort of sweetener in place of the Nustevia drops...but you'd have to play around with the amounts.
DeleteThis sounds so good! I make Biz's iced cafe mocha all the time and would love to try this. I'm going to check into the free samples too. Since I'm liking sugar now I might as well make it lower in calories and still taste good right? I am glad you gave the review, as I don't like many "fake" sweeteners but, I will definitely try the ones you like :)
ReplyDeleteI've been using NuNaturals sweeteners since I first read about them. I usually buy them online but find them also at Whole Foods. I've ordered the new chocolate stevia drops and the company said they are already sweet. I'm looking forward to trying them. Excellent products.
ReplyDeleteThanks to your giveaway, I'm a NuNaturals fan myself. I still buy the little packets to put in my coffee, though the vanilla drops are all gone. I still have the chocolate ones though--I should try putting them in my coffee or something. I didn't know they had a peppermint one, that sounds really good! I just pinned another recipe for a skinny peppermint mocha but this one is totally different and sounds just as good!
ReplyDeleteOw! That sounds delicious. I would love to curl up with a mug of that
ReplyDeleteThat THAT Starbucks! :) Kidding... but you sure give them a run for the money with this one Renee. All the best!!!
ReplyDeleteOh dear. Typo. Should read TAKE THAT Starbucks... I think I need to go to Starbucks and get a coffee so I'm ore awake. :)
ReplyDeleteno worries Roz...I'm proficient in typo! lol
DeleteI'm also a huge fan of NuNaturals products. I was sent a bottle of this new flavor but have yet to try it. I so want a hot mug of this Renee! This brand of stevia is the best tasting sweetener I have tried.
ReplyDeleteSounds like your month is extra busy with helping the kids settle in. It's so wonderful that you can do that with them. The college years go by so fast! Enjoy your time together, happy holidays!