Eating healthy can sometimes feel like a pointless task. We all want to live a healthier and more active lifestyle but then the hectic schedule of work and family can disrupt those plans. Smart choices become bad choices and we quickly find ourselves falling back into our old routines. There are actually some easy choices that we can make that are as simple as adding some flavor to our favorite beverages or foods. It’s as easy as keeping those flavors right in the pantry.
Switch Up the Morning Routine
In the morning, we typically get up and make our coffee. Some people drink it black while others drink it with a heavy dairy-based creamer that is full of sugar. The coffee is the necessary jolt to wake us up and be ready to tackle the day. The creamer is the fatty element that is not necessary. There is no need to give up on your flavors entirely. Some easy tricks to make the coffee taste more artisanal while staying healthy are right at your fingertips.
Use What You Have
One simple thing to do is to brew the coffee with basic spices you most likely have in your pantry already. Fill your coffee filter with some coffee grounds and add 1 or 2 drops of vanilla extract. Stir it around with a spoon in the filter. This will evenly distribute the vanilla flavor. Now you instantly have vanilla flavored coffee. A bit more flavor can be added by putting a shake or two of cinnamon to the grounds. Simply brew as normal and you instantly have vanilla coffee or vanilla cinnamon coffee.
Buy These to Add Flavor
Another easy way to add flavor to your coffee is to add some coconut syrup. Monin actually is a brand that makes several tropical and traditional flavored syrups that you can add directly to your freshly brewed coffee each morning. It doesn’t matter if you are in the mood for a tropical iced coconut coffee or a caramel latte. These syrups create coffee shop quality beverages each time.
There’s no need to stop at coffee though. We all know that soda is full of sugar and will result in additional weight gain. Sugar takes a long time for the body to process and soda is terrible for our health. Club soda is carbonated water that has zero sugar. A spoonful of any Monin flavor will create an instant artisanal soda whenever you get the hankering for a flavorful carbonated beverage.
Speaking of Beverage Flavoring
If you don’t have these syrups on hand, there are other ways to infuse beverages and make them tastier. A simple pitcher of purified water can become delicious flavored water within just a few hours. Add your favorite fresh fruit right to the water and some fresh herbs to create one of a kind beverages. You can also keep a recipe book of these so you know which were crowd-pleasers. A popular blend is a few sage and mint leaves combined with blackberries and lemon. Let sit in the fridge in a pitcher of water for at least six hours and you have a deliciously infused water.
Enjoy the Tropics in Many Culinary Ways
Tropical flavors are especially fun to work with. Pineapple, mango, coconut, papaya, and guava all are fantastic flavor additions to smoothies, alcoholic beverages, ice cream, or yogurt. Here are some great ideas to make tropical treats with these flavored syrups.
Add any of the flavored syrups to some plain or vanilla Greek yogurt to give it some added flavor. Additionally, you can create yogurt parfait and add a flavored layer, then some chopped fruit, another flavored layer that is a completely different flavor and more chopped fruit.
As for ice cream, drizzle a few teaspoons of flavor syrup right over plain vanilla ice cream and you just turned basic into fantastic. The same is true for smoothies. A plain or vanilla smoothie turns into a flavor explosion when some fresh fruits and zero-calorie syrups are added during the blending process.
There is no need to go to a bar and spend a fortune on a night out over margaritas or piña coladas. Adding a few drops of this flavored zero calorie syrup, some fresh fruit to ice, and your liquor of choice will result in a healthier frozen adult beverage right in the comfort of your own home. You do not need to worry about additives from bar mixers. No matter how you decide to naturally flavor your snacks and drinks, you can’t go wrong with all-natural and zero-calorie flavors.