Bye bye Starbucks!

At the risk of making this a blog of recipes, I have another one. But hey--clear instructions are essential to any recipe, right? In any case, this one comes at the request of my sister and only follower (yes, "they" are the same person).

Don't panic at what I'm about to say; I have your best interest at heart...You can finally give your wallet a rest and stop paying $5 dollars for a non-fat skinny mocha frappuccino no whip. Skeptical? I would be. But believe me, this recipe is quick, easy, and requires fewer than five ingredients. And here's the golden ticket: you can consume two creamy, delectable cups for under 50 calories! When you consider that the "lightest" frappuccino available at Starbucks is small and watered-down at 100 calories, you'd be crazy not to give the ingredients in your kitchen a try.

I present to you...

THE Skinny Vanilla Mocha Frappuccino

What you'll need:

• 1 1/2 cups of your favorite coffee (or 1 tsp of instant coffee with 1 1/2 cup of water)
• 1/2 cup of the milk of your choice (I had vanilla almond milk in the fridge)
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 packet of Stevia, Truvia, Splenda, or real sugar (optional)

How to concoct the deliciousness:

Brew a batch of coffee. Pour 1 1/2 cups in a shallow container and set aside in the freezer overnight or until frozen (close to 4 hours).

Remove container from the freezer and allow the coffee to thaw until you can break it into ice chunks.

Place the coffee ice chunks, milk, vanilla extract, cocoa powder, and Stevia in a blender. Using the appropriate settings, blend until creamy.

Prepare to be amazed!

Note: If you use instant coffee and water, you will not need to put the mix in the freezer. You merely have to add ice cubes to the blender.

For a holiday treat, add a tiny bit of peppermint extract!