Okay, let’s be real here. How many of you have time for a balanced breakfast in the mornings? As a work-at-home mom, you’d think I’d have breakfasts on lock. But in reality, most days I’m putting Juniper down for her first nap before I realize I haven’t eaten anything. But as busy as my mornings are, I always make time for coffee, so I wanted to find an easy way to make my first cup of the day a bit more substantial in the nutrition department.

I’ve heard of people making iced coffee protein shakes in blender bottles, but in the morning, what I really crave is hot coffee. I figured putting scalding hot coffee in a blender bottle wasn’t the smartest decision, but just stirring protein powder into hot coffee resulted in a lumpy, grainy drink. I thought about blending it in my Vitamix, but that seemed like too much fuss (and more dishes to wash), but then it occurred to me— I could use my mini milk frother as a submersion blender and create the perfect hot cup of protein-filled coffee! And it worked!

Check out how I made my morning cup taste like a pumpkin spice latte, but with plenty of protein to see me through the morning!

Start out with some International Delight Pumpkin Pie Spice creamer in a large cup (I used one tablespoon) and pour some hot coffee into it. Make sure the cup you use is twice as big as what you need, because blending will cause the drink to slosh around.

Add vanilla protein powder to your coffee (one spoonful at a time) as you use a milk frother to blend it together. It will get frothy and foamy, and grow in size.

Then simply pour the drink into a coffee mug, or just use the cup you blended it in. It will be frothy, sweet, and rich! I only used 1/2 the amount of a regular serving of protein powder, because I didn’t want it to be too flavorful and overpower the coffee. 10 grams of protein is still pretty good for a cup of coffee, I’d say!

To be clear, this is not an actual latte, because I didn’t use espresso and steamed milk, but it has similar frothy qualities to a latte. Very yummy just the same!

Of course, you can change up your creamer flavors with the seasons, but I loved the Fall flavor of International Delight’s Pumpkin Pie Spice creamer with this morning’s cup of protein coffee. You can use International Delight’s product locator to see where you can find seasonal flavors near you.

Sign up for International Delight’s newsletter and be the first to find out about special promotions, new seasonal flavors, and coupons! Follow them on Pinterest and Facebook for fun recipe ideas, too!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight. The opinions and text are all mine.

It never feels quite like Autumn yet until I’ve made a batch of from-scratch cinnamon rolls for my family. The oven warms our home with the scent of sugar and spice, and as soon as the rolls have cooled enough to not burn our mouths, we all gather around the kitchen counter to enjoy the treat with our hot beverages of choice.

Of course my drink of choice is hot coffee, which I always have standing by in a thermal carafe for refills throughout my morning. Now that it’s Fall, though, I’m excited to put a literal twist on my favorite coffee break treat! These cinnamon rolls are made with pumpkin and glazed with International Delight‘s Pumpkin Pie Spice creamer for an extra dose of delicious. And look, ma! It’s a wreath! How much more festive can things get? I’m open to suggestions. ;)

Cinnamon Pumpkin Twists

2016-10-14 16:17:44

Yields 16

A festive twist on cinnamon rolls!

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Cook Time

20 min

Total Time

2 hr 30 min

Cook Time

20 min

Total Time

2 hr 30 min

174 calories

32 g

21 g

4 g

3 g

2 g

52 g

80 g

17 g

0 g

1 g

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size

52g

Yields

16

Amount Per Serving

Calories 174

Calories from Fat 37

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 4g

7%

Saturated Fat 2g

12%

Trans Fat 0g

Polyunsaturated Fat 0g

Monounsaturated Fat 1g

Cholesterol 21mg

7%

Sodium 80mg

3%

Total Carbohydrates 32g

11%

Dietary Fiber 1g

5%

Sugars 17g

Protein 3g

Vitamin A

26%

Vitamin C

1%

Calcium

2%

Iron

3%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Does this look wrong?

For the rolls

1. 2 1/4 Cups all purpose flour (Plus additional for rolling out dough)
2. 1 Packet yeast
3. 1/2 Cup pumpkin puree
4. 3 Tablespoons butter
5. 2 Tablespoons sugar
6. 1/2 teaspoons salt
7. 1 egg

For the filling

1. 2 Tablespoons butter (melted)
2. 1/3 Cup sugar
3. 2 teaspoons cinnamon
4. 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

For the glaze

1. 1 1/2 Cups confectioners sugar
2. 2-3 Tablespoons of International Delight Pumpkin Pie Spice creamer

Instructions

1. In a small saucepan on the stove, whisk together the pumpkin puree, sugar, butter, and salt over medium heat. Once ingredients are combined (before reaching a boil), remove from heat and allow to cool to around 90 degrees, or to a bath water temperature. Mix together flour and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Add the pumpkin mixture along with the beaten egg to the flour mixture and mix on low speed until a wet dough has form. Turn out the dough into a greased mixing bowl, flipping the dough to ensure it is greased on all sides, cover the bowl with a towel, and allow the dough to rise in a warm environment. This usually takes an hour.
2. Punch down the dough and knead on a floured surface for about 5 minutes. Separate the dough into three evenly sized balls. Roll out the balls into approximately 12" circles. Place the first circle onto a parchment lined baking sheet (or non-stick pizza pan), and brush a layer of melted butter over it. Mix together the spices with the sugar and sprinkle half of the mixture evenly across the circle, then cover with another circle and repeat, using the rest of the butter and sugar mixture. Top with the last circle.
3. Cut out a small circle from the middle of the stacked circles with a biscuit cutter or small cup. Then slice the large circle in half, then quarters, continuing until you have created 16 pieces. Twist each individual piece, pinching it down at either end to prevent it from unrolling during the baking process. Cover with a towel and allow the rolls to rise again for about another hour.
4. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees and allow to cool for five minutes before carefully transferring the rolls to a wire rack for glazing.

For the glaze

1. Whisk together 1 cup of sifted powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons of International Delight Pumpkin Pie Spiced creamer. Add more sifted powdered sugar until you have a thin mixture that will still easily drip off the spoon, but is thick enough to coat the spoon. Pour the glaze slowly and evenly over the rolls on a wire rack, allowing the glaze to drip through the wire rack. If you have a bowl wide enough, you can catch the glaze under the rack, immediately pouring it over the rolls for a second coat of glaze.

By Making Nice in the Midwest

beta

calories

174

fat

4g

protein

3g

carbs

32g

more

Making Nice in the Midwest https://makingniceinthemidwest.com/

You don’t need a stand mixer or electric mixer of any kind for this recipe. The dough easily comes together with some hand mixing if you prefer that method, and after the first rise you’ll be hand-kneading the dough too.

If you’re intimidated of trying a recipe with yeast, don’t be! It’s very simple. Just make sure you don’t add hot ingredients to the yeast (just warm) and be prepared to wait some time in between rises. This is a fun recipe to do on a Saturday or Sunday morning when you know you’re going to be at home for a while. And the smell while it bakes! Talk about the essence of fall!

This is what your dough will look like after the first rise (above). Definitely make sure that the stovetop ingredients have cooled sufficiently before adding them to the flour in the first step. If you add hot ingredients to the yeast, it will kill the yeast, and your dough will not rise and will not look like the above image.

This method of making rolls by layering stacks of dough reminded me a bit of making lasagna. You can add additional mix-ins to the in-between layers of dough, like dried fruit or chopped nuts. Filling it with pumpkin butter or apple butter would be a delicious substitute too!

This is the first time I’ve used flavored creamer in a glaze, and I just loved the way it turned out! It packs a little more yum than just milk and sugar alone. I used International Delight Pumpkin Pie Spice creamer, but I bet their French Vanilla or Hazelnut flavors would be delicious as a glaze too.

I decided to keep my glaze on the thinner side so you could see more of the beautiful twist design on the rolls, but if you like a sweeter roll, you may choose to add a bit more sifted powdered sugar to make your glaze thicker than this.

This treat was a really big hit with my family, so much so that I made two batches so we wouldn’t have to hide them from our family and friends who stopped by that day. Not that I would ever do that….

Make sure you sign up for International Delight’s newsletter to receive coupons and news about up-coming seasonal offerings. They’ve also got some fun recipe ideas on their Pinterest and Facebook accounts. Tag your International Delight coffee break moments with #IDelight for a chance to be featured on their Instagram too!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight. The opinions and text are all mine.

There are two things I need from my breakfast. I need it to be a healthful meal that will fuel my mornings with no 10:00 crash, but I also need a little indulgence so I don’t feel deprived (and then indulge big time later). When I was pregnant (each time), all I wanted was sugary breakfast cereal. But I vowed to cut out sugary cereal from my breakfast routine after the kiddos were born. Not only was it horrible for losing the baby weight, but it didn’t fuel me with the energy I needed to start my mornings with two young whipper-snappers bouncing around the house.

This past year I’ve traded my love of sugary cereal for a love of yogurt bowls in the morning. Usually I’ll mix in seasonal fruit and muesli, but recently I’ve been making my own refined-sugar-free granola mixes for more of a delicious crunch with plain, low fat Greek yogurt. It’s the perfect blend of healthful and indulgent, as just a little bit goes a long way. Little swaps like this make big impacts my longterm health goals.

Now that Horizon Organic offers flavored creamers, I can make another good swap in my morning routine. I recently tried their french vanilla creamer for the first time and enjoyed it along with my homemade granola and yogurt.

I’ve been making my own granola for a few years now, and I gotta say— It’s my favorite homemade granola by far! Don’t leave it sit out for too long, or it might just disappear.

Chocolate Crunch Granola

2016-09-15 22:33:00

Refined-sugar free and full of delicious and healthful whole food ingredients!

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Cook Time

50 min

Total Time

2 hr

Cook Time

50 min

Total Time

2 hr

4928 calories

558 g

19 g

266 g

132 g

126 g

1062 g

1306 g

133 g

0 g

122 g

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size

1062g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 4928

Calories from Fat 2270

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 266g

409%

Saturated Fat 126g

628%

Trans Fat 0g

Polyunsaturated Fat 49g

Monounsaturated Fat 73g

Cholesterol 19mg

6%

Sodium 1306mg

54%

Total Carbohydrates 558g

186%

Dietary Fiber 98g

392%

Sugars 133g

Protein 132g

Vitamin A

40%

Vitamin C

5%

Calcium

108%

Iron

223%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Does this look wrong?

Dry Mix

1. 3 Cups of old fashioned oats (gluten free options are available)
2. 1 Cup of sliced almonds
3. 1/3 Cup of milled flax seed
4. 1/2 Cup of dried fruit (I prefer cherries)

Wet Mix

1. 2/3 Cup of either maple syrup, honey, or date syrup
2. 1/2 Cup of melted coconut oil
3. 1/3 Cup of cocoa powder
4. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5. 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
6. optional mix in at the end: 1/2 Cup of mini chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
2. Chop your dried fruit and mix it with the oats to avoid their clumping together. Then combine the rest of the dry mix into a large mixing bowl. Combine the wet mix together thoroughly, pour over the dry mix, and fold it in. Spread the mixture into a jelly roll pan and bake for 50 minutes at 250 degrees F.
3. Allow the pan to cool for 30 minutes before loosening the granola from the pan. There will be big chunks, so you may break them up or leave them clumped together depending on your preference. Add mini chocolate chips at this point if you'd like your granola to be extra indulgent.

Notes

1. Allow the granola to rest for around 2 hours before storing it in an air tight container.

beta

calories

4928

fat

266g

protein

132g

carbs

558g

more

Making Nice in the Midwest https://makingniceinthemidwest.com/

This recipe is so easy! If you have kids, I’m sure they’d love to help. Simply mix the first set of ingredients together in a mixing bowl, then the second set in a large measuring cup. Pour the wet over the dry, mix, then spread out in a pan.

Pro tip: Mix your chopped fruit in with the oatmeal before adding anything else. It will help keep the fruit from clumping up.

After baking, break up the granola (which will be formed into glorious clumps after cooling) and add mix-ins like mini chocolate chips or unsweetened coconut flakes.

I sprinkled my granola over nonfat Greek yogurt and added a couple of end-of-season strawberries. So good! Lucy and Juniper were literally crying for more. Ha!

If you’d like to check out Horizon Organic’s flavored creamers, you can find them at Target and save 20% on your creamer purchase by using the Target Cartwheel app. While you’re there, be sure to check out their always on-point seasonal decor! We grabbed some plastic pumpkins to mix in with real ones we got at the pumpkin patch, because I figured reusing them year after year would make them more cost effective.

Side note: I totally give my kids snacks to keep them placated during our Target shopping trips! Then I can browse the aisles with a little less distraction. This time around the girls shared Market Pantry fruit snacks.

I hope you all try out this recipe! I promise it will not disappoint. I’m planning on making a huge batch for the holidays to give with our family gift baskets. Last year was a movie night basket with coconut oil, popping corn, cardboard popcorn containers, sweets, and a DVD. This year I think we’ll do a brunch theme for everyone! (Who doesn’t love brunch?!)

Don’t forget to check out the Cartwheel app to save 20% on International Delight Simply Pure, Horizon, Silk and So Delicious creamers at Target until October 22nd. See ya there!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of WhiteWave Foods. The opinions and text are all mine.