I’m learning more and more about the best way to fuel my body for the life that I want live. Lately I’ve been working on my running game, that is to say, I’m racking up the miles on the road. Every day that I know I’ll be pushing myself to run a bit faster or a bit longer, I eat a huge bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. It gives me the extra edge that I need to reach my fitness goals. Now that fresh strawberries are appearing in the supermarket again, I’m so excited to have oatmeal my favorite way— with strawberries and cream!

I used some International Delight Sweet Cream to make blend up a nice batch of strawberries and cream to keep in the refrigerator for conveniently topping a nice bowl of healthy oats. Check out how easy and delicious it is.

I bought a whole bunch of strawberries on sale and soaked them for ten minutes in a big bowl of diluted vinegar. Then they’re cleaner and keep for a bit longer than just rinsing alone.

I blended together two cups of chopped strawberries with 1/4 cup of International Delight sweet cream. Then I used a funnel to pour them into a jar for easy storing in the refrigerator. It should keep for about a week, or you could freeze it into cubes and keep it for 3 months frozen.

I cooked up a big bowl of oats simply using water, and not adding anything else. Then I topped it with some of my blended strawberries and cream, along with sliced strawberries. It’s the perfect touch of creamy, fruity, and sweet to add to plain oats. And after I’ve made a batch, my oatmeal mornings are so quick and easy, giving me more time for my runs.

Super delicious oatmeal topping, and frozen, the strawberries and cream mixture makes a really delicious strawberry pop!

Such a delicious way to enjoy oatmeal. Try blending it with other flavors of creamer for a different twist. International Delight French Vanilla is great too! What’s your favorite way to enjoy oatmeal? (To be honest, my favorite way is with a delicious oatmeal cookie!)

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

My favorite thing about being a barista was having the power to make delicious drinks whenever I wanted them. (It’s the early morning shifts I could’ve done without…) At work I could create an amazing chai latte without super sugary syrups, and with a perfectly steeped bag of full leaf tea. Well, that was years ago, but I’ve finally perfected a quick and easy chai tea latte at home! I don’t even need any syrups or fancy machines.

If you’d like to make your own delicious chai tea latte, you have to check this out. It’s my very favorite (and did I mention easy) way to make a vanilla chai latte at home! So frothy, so flavorful, and so, so yum!

W H A T   Y O U   N E E D :

• International Delight French Vanilla creamer
• Your favorite chai tea bag
• Whole nutmeg
• Hot water
• Grater
• Milk frothing wand

S T E P   O N E :   Boil water and begin steeping your tea. Leave some room at the top of your mug for the cream and foam that you’ll add later.

S T E P   T W O :   Pour about 2 ounces of International Delight French Vanilla creamer into a little frothing pitcher or mug. You don’t need a special pitcher, I just happen to have one.

S T E P   T H R E E :   Use a frothing wand to create a nice meringue-like foam from the creamer.

S T E P   F O U R :   Using a spoon to hold back the foam at the top of the pitcher, pour your desired amount of cream into your steeped tea.

S T E P   F I V E :   After stirring the cream into your tea, scoop out some foam to top off the latte.

S T E P   S I X :   Grate fresh nutmeg to top off the latte. It’s a delicious touch that really adds a gourmet flair to the entire drinking experience.

You might also like to add fresh cinnamon to the top of your chai tea latte, but the nutmeg is exactly what I would use back in my barista days. But we didn’t have fresh nutmeg, so this is even better! I really love the vanilla flavor mixed with the chai tea, and the International Delight creamer adds the perfect rich flavor without having to steam milk and add syrup separately. I can let the hot water and frothing wand to the hard work for me!

This same technique would be perfect to make a London fog as well, which is a latte that uses earl grey tea with vanilla flavoring. Just steep your earl grey tea as usual and add the frothed International Delight cream to the top. So easy, and so delicious!

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

It just doesn’t feel like the holiday season unless I’ve made a fun holiday craft! As an adult, I’m much more into fancy housewares than paper chain garlands, so I thought a festive mug would be the perfect thing to make. This painted mug is dishwasher and microwave safe, making an impressive homemade holiday gift, or a nice addition to your own mug collection. I enjoyed using mine for drinking coffee with my favorite seasonal creamers from International Delight. After all, it is the holidays! The peppermint mocha and frosted sugar cookie flavors will only be around for the holidays, and then you’ll have to wait until next year to find them again.

I thought gold stripes would be perfect for the holidays, but would also add glam to my coffee during the rest of the year. You can use any color you like, of course, as long as the paint is clearly dishwasher and food safe.

• clear glass mug (You can purchase a set of four from Target here.)
• porcelain paint
• high quality masking tape (Do not use easy release painter’s tape.)
• small, high quality paint brush

Step One: Tape off stripes on your mug. You can trim the masking masking tape to be as wide or thin as you like— just lay out strips onto parchment paper and cut with a blade and ruler. I didn’t measure the spacing between stripes, but ended up pulling up the first tape job to slightly adjust the spacing. My goal was to perfectly incorporate the mug handles into the spacing of the stripes.

Tip: Press down the edges of the tape with your fingernail to make sure it adheres tightly to the walls of the mug. You don’t want paint seeping underneath!

Step Two: Brush several light coats of porcelain paint onto the open spaces between the tape. The first coat will be very sheer, but don’t worry, after it dries, you can apply a few more coats within mere minutes of each other. After 5 or 6 coats, the paint will be opaque.

Tip: Don’t brush on the paint too thick, or it might seep under the tape or dry in globs around it. The first coat of paint takes only a few minutes to dry, but don’t wait more than a few minutes between subsequent coats or the paint will be likely to pull up with the tape in step three.

Step Three: Gently peel off the tape, being careful not to peel off any paint with it. The edge of the painted stripes might pop up ever so slightly. Just rub your finger along the edges to push them back down. If any paint has seeped below the tape and dried there, just use your fingernail or a dull blade to carefully scrape it off immediately.

Step Four: Allow the paint to dry for 24 hours and then bake according to the instructions on the paint bottle you are using. This step ensures your mug will be dishwasher safe. Still— I wouldn’t scrub it clean with anything rough.

After they’re baked, feel free to use them immediately. Fancy, eh? Your friends will never guess you painted them yourself!

The first time I used my mugs, I filled them with freshly brewed coffee and my favorite seasonal creamer from International Delight— Peppermint Mocha. It’s like Christmas in a cup!

You can find International Delight seasonal creamers at most Target stores, and until December 24th, you can get 5% off International Delight, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Silk Coffee Creamers using the Target Cartwheel app. We bought a bunch to keep on hand for holiday parties and cozy evenings at home.

And of course we couldn’t resist checking out all of Target’s amazing holiday decorations while we were there! We picked out the girls’ annual ornament, and impulse bought some wrapping paper that was too beautiful to leave behind. Target always has the best supplies for a stylish Christmas!

Be sure to let me know if you make your own mugs! You could try hand painting trees, snowflakes, or fun phrases too. So many possibilities!

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