This post is sponsored by Calphalon.  All opinions and recipe are mine alone. #EspressoWithCalphalon

Rise and shine, friends!  I recently added a new appliance to my kitchen and let me tell you, it’s been a game changer.  Christmas came early when Calphalon reached out and asked if I wanted to try their Temp iQ Espresso Machine – yes please!  When I worked in the city I used to make multiple trips to the coffee shop for specialty drinks each week.  Now that I work from home and live 30 minutes from the nearest coffee shop, my fancy coffee drinks are sorely missed…. VERY sorely missed.  I’ve had an espresso machine on my wish list for a long time and, you guys, this baby does not disappoint.

I’ve been using the Temp iQ Espresso Machine in my kitchen for several weeks now and drink after drink, I am amazed at the high quality espresso.  Tony and I have had so much fun experimenting with different creations – we like to make one for each other each morning!  We’ve been whipping up lattes, cappuccinos, protein coffees, iced americanos, and London fog steamers to start our day.  I seriously can’t get enough so I even picked up some decaf beans so that I can enjoy drinks at night!

The espresso maker is simple to use right out of the box. It uses precise temperature for an even extraction throughout the brew cycle and is pre-programmed for single and double shots.   The 15-bar Italian pump allows for maximum flavor extraction and let me tell you, when this thing is running it smells deeeevine – you’d swear you were sitting in your favorite coffee joint!

I also love the built in steam wand which produces a dry steam for creamy froth with microfoam milk – it quickly steams the milk and creates the perfect foamy texture to create lattes and cappuccinos.  I plan to add latte art to my list of hobbies very soon!

If you are in the market for a true coffee shop experience in your own home look no further – the Calphalon Temp iQ Espresso Machine is your answer.  Head to your local Bed Bath & Beyond to find one!  Also makes an incredible gift for the holidays – tis the season!

Maple Cinnamon Cappuccino

Today I’m sharing a simple and delicious Maple Cinnamon Cappuccino recipe with you guys. The drink is perfect for this time of year – sweet, spicy, and topped with the fluffiest foam you can imagine.  One serving is 70 calories or 2 SmartPoints on all three MyWW plans. Enjoy!

Maple Cinnamon Cappuccino

 

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Author: Rachel's Healthy Plate

Serves: 1 cappuccino

Ingredients

• 1 shot freshly brewed espresso
• 6 oz skim milk (can sub other milks)
• ¼ tsp cinnamon + more to garnish
• 1 tbsp maple syrup, to taste (I used sugar free)

Instructions

1. Using the Calphalon Temp iQ Espresso Machine, brew one shot of espresso into a medium mug.
2. Stir in cinnamon and maple syrup.
3. Place milk into the stainless pitcher and use the attached steam wand to heat and froth the milk. Create as much foam as you'd like.
4. Pour the steamed milk into the espresso and top with foam. Garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Enjoy!

Notes

Makes 1 Maple Cinnamon Cappuccino.

2 Blue SmartPoints/2 Green SmartPoints/ 2 Purple SmartPoints on MyWW

Nutritional information is calculated with MyFitnessPal and may vary based on brands used. Smart Points information is calculated with the Weight Watchers app and may also vary based on brands used.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1 serving | Calories: 70 Fat: 0 Saturated fat: 0 Carbohydrates: 12 Sugar: 9 Fiber: 0 Protein: 6

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I am so excited you are making one of my recipes and I would love to see how it turns out! Make sure to share it on Instagram and tag me @rachelshealthyplate and use #rachelshealthyplate so I can see your creation!

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Summer is here which means I’m wanting to spend time outside as much as possible.  More time outside = less time in the kitchen.  I’ve been looking for ways to step up my food prep game and after reading about the FoodSaver®, I knew this little machine could be a game changer!  If you’ve never played around with vacuum sealing in the kitchen then you better buckle up, because I’m about to blow your mind.  The FoodSaver® has ALL KINDS of great uses, which we’ll talk about in a minute, plus I’m going to show you one of my favorite ways to use it in: DIY Smoothie Packs.

Let’s do a quick rundown of this fun little gadget, shall we?  The FoodSaver® FM2000 Vacuum Sealing System is a compact appliance that is simple to use and will prolong the life and quality of your food – it keeps food fresh up to 5x longer!  Plus, it’s a great tool to use for meal prep because you can cook one time in bulk and divide it into multiple portions for future use – and it’ll be just as fresh each time!  This not only saves you a TON of time, but it’ll save your wallet too!  Buying in bulk is always cheaper and you’ll have so much less food going to waste.

Great uses for the FoodSaver®

• Buy items like meat once a month when they are on sale – portion into vacuum seal bags and freeze until ready to use
• Package leftovers into single serve meals for later.  Having a freezer stocked with single serve meals is a lifesaver on busy nights!  Reheat it in the microwave right in the bag.
• Reseal snack bags, such as potato chips, to keep your snacks fresh for longer!
• Keep unused portions of ingredients fresh for future use.  You know those times when you only need half of an ingredient and have no plans to use it again in the near future?  Seal it up and never worry about wasted money on half used ingredients again!
• Non-Food sealing:  FoodSavers® aren’t just for food! Get creative with uses.  Sealing up a bag of toiletries when you travel is a great way to prevent messy leaks in your suitcase.

Other great FoodSaver® features:

• Bags and rolls are recyclable
• Bags are resealable – simply cut off the existing seal, make sure the top of the bag is clean, and then reseal!
• FoodSaver® makes a TON of great accessories such as canisters for pantry items, marinade containers, sealable lids for mason jars, bottle stoppers, deli containers, etc.  Each FoodSaver® comes with an accessory hose to use with these items.

Smoothie Packs with the FoodSaver®

Now that we’ve established how awesome the the FoodSaver® is, let’s talk about one of my FAVORITE ways to use it – smoothie packs!  I love smoothies in the summer but I do not love having to pull a bunch of ingredients out of the freezer, fridge, and pantry each time I want to make one.  I load mine up with protein powder and other boosters so I’ve got a lot of ingredients to get out.  With FoodSaver®, I can put all of my ingredients into a single-serve bag and then just pop one out of the freezer when I’m ready.  I just need to add my liquid and blend away!  HUGE time saver.

I shop for my fruit when it’s on sale and then spend a few minutes assembling my bags.  Once they’re full I vacuum seal the tops and in a just a few minutes, I have enough smoothie packs to last for weeks!

Here’s the basic formula I use for my smoothie packs:

• 1 cup frozen fruit
• 1 cup greens (spinach or kale)
• 1 scoop protein powder
• Additional smoothie boosters (I’m currently using organic acai berry powder and an organic energy blend made with beets and cacoa)
• 1 cup liquid added when ready to blend (I use unsweetened almond milk)

That’s it!  I love having these smoothie packs on hand for easy breakfasts and whenever I’m in the mood for something refreshing.  They’ll keep in the freezer for months with no worries of freezer burn.

Today I prepped my two favorite combos:

• Mixed berry + Kale
• Tropical Fruit (mango, pineapple, banana) + Spinach

If you want to check out FoodSaver® for yourself visit their website – your fridge and your budget will thank you and you’ll constantly be thinking up of news ways to use it!  FoodSaver® is the #1 best selling vacuum sealing brand + all of their products come with a 5 year limited warranty and are ETL Safety Certified.

This post is sponsored by FoodSaver®.  All comments, opinions, and recipe are my own.

The post Meal Prep: Freezer Smoothie Packs appeared first on .

Things I am on board with this summer:  sun, warmth, and fruity drinks.  I’ll say it – the amount of drinks I consume definitely increases in the summertime which is why I am always on the lookout for a more healthful alternative.  Standing in the aisle of my local grocery,  White Claws® Hard Seltzers variety pack caught my eye.  Their drinks are made using a blend of seltzer water, a gluten free alcohol base, and a hint of fruit flavor.  Umm… sounds good to me!  I served the seltzers over some fun fruit-filled ice cubes for a perfectly refreshing summer drink that doesn’t break the calorie bank.

Seriously, y’all, how fun are these drinks?!  Frozen fruit ice cubes are simple to make – you can use whatever fruit you already have on hand and it will instantly turn your drink into a festive summery beverage.  I made a mixture of ice cubes to pair with my White Claw variety pack.  The pack comes with Black Cherry, Natural Lime, Raspberry and Ruby Grapefruit.

The best part about these fruit flavored seltzers?  Each one is 100 calories, 4 WW SmartPoints (for both the Blue and Green WW plan), 2 g of carbs, gluten free, and I love that the ingredients list is super short.  They are light, crisp, and just slightly sweet – they don’t make you feel weighed down when you’re sipping away in the sun!

How To Make Fruit Ice Cubes

You’re absolutely going to want to make these fun ice cubes – aren’t they gorgeous?!  The best part: they’re insanely simple to make and will mostly definitely impress your friends.

You need three things for the recipe: ice cube trays (I prefer silicon), filtered water, and fruit.  You can use whatever fruit you already have hanging out in the fridge.  These are actually great to prep at the end of the week because you can use up fruit that didn’t get eaten!

To make the fruity ice cubes just wash and chop the fruit in small enough pieces to fit in the ice tray.  Fill each mold with fruit and then add enough water to fill the mold about 2/3 of the way full.  Place in the freezer until the water has frozen.

I like to mix and match my fruit and today I used:

• strawberries
• blueberries
• lime
• mint
• raspberries

I love they way they turned out – time to serve!

Fill a glass with your beautiful, fruit-filled ice cubes and top it off with a White Claw Hard Seltzer for the most perfect, refreshing summer beverage.  Enjoy!

Click here to locate White Claw near you!

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. The following content is intended for readers who are 21 or older. #SipOnSummer #CollectiveBias

Hard Seltzers with Frozen Fruit Ice Cubes

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

 

Author: Rachel's Healthy Plate

Ingredients

• White Claw Hard Seltzers
• Ice Cube Trays
• Fresh Fruit, your choice
• Fresh Mint, optional
• filtered water

Instructions

1. Wash fruit and cut into pieces that are small enough to fit into an ice cube tray.
2. Fill ice cube trays with cut fruit and mint.
3. Pour water into trays so that each mold is ⅔ full.
4. Freeze until ice cubes are hard.
5. To serve: Fill a glass with fruit ice cubes and top with a White Claw Hard Seltzer. Enjoy!

Notes

Fruit Ice Cubes: 0 WW SmartPoints
Each 12oz White Claw Hard Seltzer: 4 WW SmartPoints on both the Blue and Green WW plans

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 12 oz fruit flavored White Claw Hard Seltzer | Calories: 100 Fat: 0 Saturated fat: 0 Carbohydrates: 2 Sugar: 2 Fiber: 0 Protein: 0

3.5.3251

I am so excited you are making one of my recipes and I would love to see how it turns out! Make sure to share it on Instagram and tag me @rachelshealthyplate and use #rachelshealthyplate so I can see your creation!

The post Hard Seltzers with Frozen Fruit Ice Cubes appeared first on .

I recently got one of the new Vitamix Aer Containers, aka an awesome kitchen toy that turns your Vitamix blender into a whole new machine.  The unique shaped disc in the bottom gives you the ability to muddle, whip, foam, and emulsify — meaning you can whip up fancy drinks, dressings, sauces, frothy coffees, whipped cream, you name it!

I was browsing through the cookbook that came with the container and spotted a delicious looking strawberry lemonade.  I had everything on hand to make it so a few minutes later I found myself sipping on my new favorite summertime drink.  YUM.  So fresh and delicious but fear not, if you don’t have the Aer Container you can make this lemonade in any blender.

I adapted the recipe to make it 0 WW SmartPoints on both the Blue and Green plans – can’t beat that!  You can try it with different berries or even add a splash of sparkling water for a fizzy drink… maybe even a little booze for a party?!  It tastes just like the lemonade you find at those summer festival stands – so refreshing! Enjoy!

*If using a traditional blender base please see notes.*

Simple Strawberry Lemonade

 

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Author: Rachel's Healthy Plate

Serves: 2 servings

Ingredients

• 1½ c cold water
• 1 lemon, cut into 4 large slices**
• 4 fresh strawberries, tops removed
• 2 packets of stevia (or sweetener of your choice)*
• 2 cups ice + plus additional ice for serving

Instructions

1. Place ingredients into the Aer disc container and secure the lid.
2. Select the lowest setting. Start the machine and increase to the highest speed, let run for 30 to 45 seconds.
3. Serve over extra ice. Enjoy!

Notes

Makes two servings of lemonade at 0 WW SmartPoints on both the Blue and Green plans.

**If you are using a traditional blender container use the juice of one lemon - do not add the rind. If using the Vitamix Aer container you can add the lemon with the rind and the juice from the lemon will be extracted, leaving the rind intact.

*Adjust sweetener to taste.

For multiple servings simply multiply the recipe by your desired number of servings!

Nutritional information is calculated with MyFitnessPal and may vary based on brands used. Smart Points information is calculated with the Weight Watchers app and may also vary based on brands used.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: ½ of the recipe | Calories: 13 Fat: 0 Saturated fat: 0 Carbohydrates: 3 Sugar: 2 Fiber: 0 Protein: 0

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I am so excited you are making one of my recipes and I would love to see how it turns out! Make sure to share it on Instagram and tag me @rachelshealtyplate and use #rachelshealthyplate so I can see your creation! 

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