Recipe: Skinny Iced Cappuccino

On Saturday I dressed up as a lion for a children's church event in town. It was so much fun and the kids loved it, but by the time I got home, I was whacked. I honestly don't know how people with big frizzy hair cope in the heat – my lion's mane was tied up in a bun as soon as I got home and I was craving something strong and cold to cool me down and soothe my headache. Caffeine always helps, and because I hadn't had a coffee all day, I decided to have a go at making an iced one. 

I love iced coffee, but the amount of sugar that goes into the ones in coffee shops is off putting. Making my own was so easy, tasted great and gave me the pick-me-up I needed without making me feel like I'd just drank a dessert.

Recipe for Skinny Iced Cappuccino

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp instant coffee – I used Black & Beyond espresso because I like it super strong. 
• Half a cup of skimmed milk
• Sweet freedom/honey/sugar to taste

1. Boil the kettle and put your coffee in a mug. 

2. Fill the mug half way with the boiling water and stir.

3. Top up with milk and stir again. (I am essentially telling you how to make a cup of coffee, it's that easy).

4. Next add your sweet freedom/sugar – I used about three teaspoons.

5. Fill half a glass with crushed ice and add to the coffee in your blender.

6. Whizz it all up and there you have it.

No fancy frothing needed – the foam forms all on its own in the blender.

Mm mm mm. What's your go-to recipe for iced coffee? Let me know your recommendations – I might be going through a phase... I also made iced tea that day, but that's a recipe for another post, another day.

Word of the Week

I meant to post this on Sunday. I wrote it on my hand, but soap washed it away. Biro ink usually takes ages to come off. I remembered the word anyway, as if I had written it on my memory. Remember to write about that, Naomi.

This happens all too often when I'm waiting to fall asleep at night. Maybe I'm thinking about someone, something - an event - and I'll furiously type out a powerful post about love and strength and goals and happiness - all in the endless space in my mind. And then I fall asleep because I tell myself now is not the time - I have to be up in six or so hours and there is no time to be feeling inspired. I'll write about it, maybe not straight away, but when it niggles and makes my fingers fidget and I have to log on and type it out, get it out, at a sensible time of day.

So, here I am writing about this, and it's been a work in progress for the entirety of this week so I'm pretty pleased that I haven't whimsically published it without thinking to read it through. It's not the middle of the night, but it's getting there.

#

On Sunday I went to church and took with me a new notebook. I decided it would be a good idea for two reasons:

1. I could write in it to stop me falling asleep in case the sermon was boring
2. I could write notes on the sermon if it wasn't boring

It turned out that I would write notes on the sermon, because, after all, it wasn't boring. A woman called Kath was speaking and I enjoyed and understood everything she said. She spoke clearly and passionately, but did not use volume to try and push her words onto anyone. I liked it and the first two pages of my notebook were filled with helpful verses and things I need to remember like, God approves of me, and I should share my troubles with people I care about - it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. I spend too much time comparing myself to others, thinking of ways to improve myself, to make myself more like people I deem 'better' than me. Anyway, Kath used a word during the talk that I knew I wanted to be my word of the week, and that word was 'thwart'.

thwart - verb (used with object) 

to oppose successfully; prevent from accomplishing a purpose.

Do you ever notice that with some words, they just keep popping up? For months my predictive text on my phone automatically changes the word 'thinking' to 'thwarting' and it has been irritating me so much! It was only on Sunday when I heard the word used in context that I really appreciated it, and wanted to incorporate it into my own vocabulary. I won't let anyone or anything thwart me, least of all the thoughts in my head.

What is your word of the week? You can listen to Kath's talk 'What's Stopping You' here.