Gingerbread Syrup for Hot Drinks

Gingerbread lattes! Gingerbread americanos! Gingerbread hot chocolates! The possibilities are endless! I 100% wait until after Thanksgiving for Christmas things but these flavors felt fall enough to fit this week of Thanksgiving.

The Three Bite Rule - Gingerbread Syrup

Gingerbread Syrup

Ingredients:

(makes ~2 cups, or 12 servings. Half unless gifting!)
1 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbs honey
2 tbs molasses
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp grated or minced ginger
1 strip orange peal

Directions:

Heat everything together and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 5 minutes.
Pour through a mesh strainer, or through a cheese cloth, or through a coffee filter.
The Three Bite Rule - Gingerbread Syrup
Stir into coffee and top with frothed milk. (Microwave milk in a glass jar for 15 seconds. Screw on the top and shake vigorously.)
The Three Bite Rule - Gingerbread Syrup
Top with whipped cream and an extra sprinkle of nutmeg!
The Three Bite Rule - Gingerbread Syrup
I keep fresh ginger in the freezer and use a veggie pealer to shave the skin off and then chop or grate. It lasts forever and is a great addition to peanut sauce or smoothies too.

I loved this! It was such a fun treat to have on hand! It is delightful in coffee or in hot chocolate. The flavor is strong so a tablespoon felt like plenty in a cup. This makes more than enough so I’ll half it next time.
The Three Bite Rule - Gingerbread Syrup

Dragon Fruit Smoothie

This might be the easiest smoothie I’ve ever made yet it feels the most exotic! It only has 3 ingredients! Unlike many of my other smoothies, this one isn’t a meal, but is a great cool fruit serving as a snack or with something else for breakfast.
The Three Bite Rule - Dragon Fruit Smoothie
I buy these frozen dragon fruit puree packs at the grocery store and I went full on tropical for the flavors here: dragon fruit, mango, and coconut!

Dragon Fruit Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 dragon fruit puree pack
~1 cup frozen mango
1 cup coconut almond milk
1/2 cup water, as needed

Directions:

Add the dragon fruit. mango, and coconut almond milk into the blender.
The Three Bite Rule - Dragon Fruit SmoothieBlend and add water as needed for your desired consistency. (I used ~1/2 cup)
Enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Dragon Fruit Smoothie
How pretty is THAT??? Dragon fruit = pitaya. I often see both words on the package. Those frozen packs are beautifully pink and a bit of a splurge but this nicely highlights the sweet flavor. The color is even more radiant without any dairy in there- not that I should call almond milk dairy. I really only use it for the flavor. There’s nowhere near the calcium or protein of regular milk but I don’t loooove milk so I can appreciate almond this with a more watery and coconut flavor.

I should have poured some into my popsicle containers! This would be a good one!

Mocha Smoothie

I took a different route on this smoothie and made it into a snack-like smoothie versus a breakfast kind of smoothie. It was really good and hit the spot on a coffee-sat-too-long kind of day. It isn’t super sweet so the coffee flavor is for real. Don’t get me wrong, I love a fun coffee drink, but the serving of fruit can’t hurt. Right?
The Three Bite Rule - Mocha Smoothie

Mocha Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 cup coffee, chilled
1 1/2 cups frozen pear or banana
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground flaxseed meal

Directions:

Blend everything together. If it is too thick add in a bit more milk or some water.
The Three Bite Rule - Mocha Smoothie
Enjoy!

This was the perfect afternoon pick-me-up. A squirt of whipped cream made me fall more in love. I can see this one repeating when it is too hot to think!
The Three Bite Rule - Mocha Smoothie

Peanut Butter & Jelly Smoothie, Healthified

Wayyy back, circa 2013 I made a peanut butter and jelly inspired smoothie. Since then, I’ve been drinking a new version with a green base. I made this one several times a week while pregnant with Baby C and my preschooler had some whenever I made it. The greens in the base are totally camouflaged so it is a great green-smoothie starter.
The Three Bite Rule - PB & J Smoothie Healthified
I often use a smoothie to be my breakfast- with something small later, like 1/2 cup Cheerios or a hard boiled egg. It also makes a great snack during this busy, on-the-go season!

PB & J Smoothie, Healthified

Ingredients (for 1-2 servings: 1 meal or 2 snacks)

1 1/2 cups greens (spinach or baby spinach & baby kale mix)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (Greek or regular)
1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
1-2 tablespoon peanut butter (or 1 scoop peanut butter protein powder)
water

The Three Bite Rule - PB & J Smoothie Healthified

Directions:

Add greens, milk, and yogurt to the blender and blend well. Keep blending once it seems like enough. The more the better!
The Three Bite Rule - PB & J Smoothie Healthified
Then add in the blueberries, ground flaxseed, and peanut butter.
Add small increments of water until desired consistency. (I end up using about 1/2 cup usually)
Blend well and enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - PB & J Smoothie Healthified
I like it best with regular vanilla yogurt but Greek has more protein (and more tang). I buy this bag of “juicing greens” which is baby spinach and baby kale. Once it has hung around about a week and there is any left, I freeze it an break some off for smoothies.

I add the water to get it to a drinkable consistency. Milk would work too. I keep adding, very slowly, until it splashes on the sides of my blender. Then I know it’ll go through the straw well.

Chocolate Mint Smoothie

Anyone who grows mint has it in spades. Anyone who buys mint also probably has extra and wants to get their money’s worth. Everyone wins! In the fall, our herb garden goes bananas and I’m seeking all the ways to use the herbs at hand. I hadn’t made a smoothie with mint this whole season, not since last year’s mojito smoothie (which is also a delicious one). The mint flavor is also perfect to go with a green smoothie. Adding the chocolate flavor muddies the color, but it is ohh-so-worth it.
The Three Bite Rule - Chocolate Mint Smoothie

Chocolate Mint Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 cup spinach/kale
1/2 cup greek vanilla yogurt
1/2 apple, frozen
1/2 banana, frozen
hand-full of fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds

Directions:

Add greens, vanilla, and milk. Blend throughly.
Then add in the apple, banana, mint, cocoa powder, ground flax seeds.
The Three Bite Rule - Chocolate Mint Smoothie
Blend well.
Enjoy!

I loved this one! It tastes like dessert but starting the day with a fruit and a veggie is the best. The mint is nicely refreshing and the chocolate makes this taste like a total treat. If the color turns you off, pop it into a cup with a cover. This is totally a keeper!

The Three Bite Rule - Chocolate Mint Smoothie
Use your mint for these mojito shrimp and in this zucchini/ricotta/herb pasta and then for this smoothie!