Want to enjoy Valentine’s Day and still stay low calorie?? Read on!
Book: I am half-way through “Where’d You Go, Bernadette?” by Maria Semple. It is funny and a fun read. On Goodreads, my friends give it 4/5 stars and I would agree. It is pretty neat to see what friends have read the book you are reading and what they thought of it! Again this one is for book club. I also have “Simply Salads” by Jennifer Chandler which I can barely look at because the photographs are terrible. (Sorry to be a downer! I know I should not judge a photograph by it’s cover!) But also almost finished with Devices and Desires: A History of Contraception which states that almost all the Christian churches were actually against contraception until the 1930’s. It is then that the Protestant churches began to okay contraception or… I guess basically say it was NOT a sin unlike the Catholic church’s stance.
My Scrumptious Freezer Meal Workshop is on Saturday! Woo hoo! If you would like to follow along, the details are here on this post with all the ingredients, shopping lists and recipes.
I have a speaking engagement in March on “Thriving” with moms as the audience. We will review exercises that in positive psychology have proven to make parents (and kids) happier. Maybe I will elaborate more as we get closer to March. Or make a youtube video. Or a photo that makes you “click here” so you can find the answer! Instead of just putting the answer right there on the photo or video. Yes, I have your secret sauce figured out Facebook. 🙂
Recipe: This recipe is sooooo simple it is ridiculous. Seriously. Get the stuff and just have FUN with it. We made these for a baby shower Italian Soda bar and I will make them again for Valentine’s Day. It is a special treat and pretty light on the calories! This is really light if you make your own homemade chocolate syrup like we do – about 35 calories instead of the store brand of 100 calories. The kids and adults loved making and drinking these. To make a cute presentation and because it is more practical to have a lid for shaking, we used canning jars for “glasses” to serve these drinks. Go ahead and try any combination you like and try it with raspberry syrup if you have some! Oh, boy was that delicious.
There is also a twist on this old-fashioned drink called a “phosphate”. You would add 1 tsp. of the phosphate to the recipe below. It can be found at Amazon, though a little pricey.
Chocolate Soda
serves 1
1 pint canning jar (optional)
8 oz. club soda (carbonated water)
2 Tb. chocolate syrup
ice
whipped cream (optional, but tasty)
Step 3: Add club soda and shake!
Top with whipped cream, chocolate jimmies, chocolate syrup, a cherry on top or whatever you like!
Ingredients
- 1 pint canning jar (optional)
- 8 oz. club soda (carbonated water)
- 2 Tb. chocolate syrup
- ice
- whipped cream (optional, but tasty)
Instructions
- Fill jar 3/4 full of ice. Add chocolate syrup. Add club soda. Twist the lid onto the jar. Shake. Top with whipped cream.
- *** Added option: Add 1 tablespoon of raspberry syrup. Ooh, yum! This syrup can be found in the coffee and tea section of most grocery stores. Or add half and half or cream with the chocolate syrup.
*** Added option: Add 1 tablespoon of raspberry syrup. Ooh, yum! This syrup can be found in the coffee and tea section of most grocery stores. Or add half and half or cream with the chocolate syrup.
I’ll definitely have to try this one! I’ve always wanted to try Italian sodas and this looks like a great one to start with because I always have the homemade chocolate syrup in the fridge. Now I feel inspired to look up some other homemade syrup recipes!
Oh you must!!! They were so much fun. The raspberry syrup was pretty easy to find in the coffee aisle. I like strawberry, but had to order that one. Raspberry is really potent and we started out with 1 T of raspberry syrup per cup of soda.