Vanilla Click Frapp

I apologize if it seems like I’m in Vanilla Click overload. It’s just that I won this canister from Melting Mama and I feel like when I get something for free it’s good to pay it forward with as much info as possible. Please know that the amount of experimentation I am doing on this Click is what I do for ALL my shake recipes. Generally I make all my recipes three times before I post here and it has to come out consistent all three times. I’ve sort of broken that rule here to share as I experience but all that is to say there are food recipes on the way!

So day one I did a basic Click/milk shake. Day two I did a non-milk shake (with coffee…see post below…). Today I decided to see about doing a vanilla Click Frapp. I love my mocha Click Frapp for many reasons, chief among them that it has 42.5g of protein and keeps me full a loooooooong time.

So here’s a tip about this Frapp. And this is just MY preference so your mileage may vary. I made it up and it was wonderful but I was very averse to using vanilla syrup in it. Somehow the vanilla on vanilla action doesn’t work for me. Vanilla to me needs variation. So that is reflected in the recipe below. But you could easily substitute any flavor syrup you like (including vanilla).

Nik’s Vanilla Click Frapp
8 oz. skim milk
1 scoop Vanilla Click
1 scoop vanilla whey
a few pumps of sugar-free syrup (I used 5 pumps of Kahlua)
5-8 ice cubes.

A word about methodology. I recently had an epiphany. I like the “triple thick” style shake – creamy and thick = love to me. To achieve this with any shake is actually quite simple. Aeration is the key. Now yes, I know what you are thinking. “But air creates those little bubbles and I HATE those!” Yes that is true. HOWEVER, that’s in the first few seconds in the blender. Leave your blender on two minutes longer and what was bubbles will become a thick shake on its on without any ice!

Long story short…the air tangos with the whey and milk and changes the consistency. Then when you add ice you get something like a Wendy’s frosty. So blend your liquids for about 2 minutes before then adding ice. I like to wipe down my countertops while this is going on. Some may like to just watch the blender or do something else. WHATEVER. If you like thick shakes, trust me…this works. To know if you’ve done it correctly, look for the “gurgle pop” when you stop the blender. Basically a large bubble will come to the surface and pop. That happens and you are good to go!

Back to the Frapp…I top with fat free whipped cream and eat it with a spoon.

The RNY answer to Red Bull

Going to school? Have finals to cram for? Check THIS out:

+

produces...

The day it all "Click'd"

Be patient...I want to go through this whole experience of trying Vanilla Click.

So...I get the package and am ridiculously excited (as evidenced by my post). My first impression of the canister was that I think they should have changed up the packaging a bit. I mean this is New! Vanilla Latte! CLICK! If Click were sold on a shelf near me (and thank GOD it isn't) and I passed this stuff, I'd think it was the old flavor. I wouldn't know it was the New! Vanilla Latte! CLICK!!!

S'anyway...

I seriously thought about foregoing lunch to try this but I decided against it. My lunch involved grilled chicken, technically a better source of protein than the casein protein in Click. One thing I love about my RNY is the ability to think rationally about my food choices. Actions? That's a whole 'nother jar of peanut butter. But I digress...

So I have this thing of Hood milk here at the office. I brought it in one day and forgot to take it home. Hood milk lasts forever and ever. I bought it a month ago and the stuff doesn't expire for another three weeks. Anyhoo...so I get out my trusty work blender (yes, I keep a blender at work. A mini-sized one) and my Hood milk. I like cold protein drinks so I poured in some milk and opened my jar of New! Vanilla Latte! Click! and...

It is soooo wierd. It's like white with little brown flecks in it. Kinda like when I make my decaf version of Click and you can see the flecks of coffee in it. Freaky. I guess the brown in the mocha hides that dynamic. Anyway, it smells like cake batter. I don't like that but I am willing to forgive it stuff tastes good.

So I whiz up 2 scoops with some milk and decide to taste it straight up (my inclination is to add about 3 packets of Splenda). Not bad...not bad at all. But I still want Splenda. So I add it + 6 ice cubes (my rule for making a good thick shake...add ice until 2 cubes break the surface of the liquid...). Whiz it again and taste...

You know what it tastes like to me...coffee flavored ice cream. I kid you not. I was so pleased! I LOVED coffee flavored ice cream as a kid. Mind you I loved it atop a warm brownie but I'm trying to live better these days.

So my verdict? Me likes. I have to play with it some before I decide if I like it better than mocha. It's got big shoes to fill. So my next mission is to make a protein heavy vanilla Click Frapp (my mocha one sports 42.5g of protein).
 
I'll keep you posted.

It's here! It's here!!!

My vanilla Click that I won from Melting Mama is here!

I am seriously considering forgoing lunch and making myself a vanilla latte. No...I'll do lunch...but at 3 p.m.? It's on like popcorn y'all!

Cookin' and bookin'...

Alas, I am but a poor blogger. That is to say that I don’t get any compensation for recommending things to you. Some of you do find it in your hearts to send me stuff and I try it and pay it forward by reviewing it here. All this is a prelude to something that is very near and dear to me…

My cookbook collection.

I don’t use cookbooks in the traditional way. I have many of them though. I use them to learn methodology. The science behind how food works. Why you add baking soda to some things and baking powder to others. How sweet and salty tastes work together? What vegetables can replace starchy carbs?

I also get inspired by ideas that I see. If “Hungry Girl” can make over something from Cheesecake Factory, perhaps I can make over something I love from P.F. Changs! So, to that effect, here are the five cookbooks I think are worth investing in and why:

Hungry Girl – 200 recipes under 200 calories

This book is NOT written for post-WLS, however, it gives great swap outs. One of my favorites is using butternut squash in place of potatoes for hash browns. Hungry Girl’s recipes are fun, easy to make, don’t cost a lot, and are easily adaptable (most of the time) to our food plans. And if you like the book, you’ll love the website with constant recipe updates!

Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery

This is a good book to have on hand, especially if you like to entertain. This book has a lot of higher end recipes that go well for a dinner party or simply an evening of self indulgence. Add to that the fact that they give you tips on kitchen staples and how to adapt recipes across surgery types AND surgery stages, and you’ve got yourself a winner!

Alton Brown's I’m Just Here for the Food 2.0

Anyone who has EVER watched “Good Eats” on Food Network knows that Alton Brown knows food – from the inside out. I have learned more about how food works from this guy than in all my years of home economics! His easy-to-understand explanations have helped me avoid many a pitfall. So if you’ve ever wanted to know the “why’s and how’s” of what you eat, definitely add this one to your collection!

Fantastic Food with Splenda

Y’all know I am a Splenda crackhead. I like dessert as much as the next person but I also like sauces and other things that would ordinarily involve sugar. This book teaches how to successfully swap out Splenda for sucrose in easy to understand instructions. I have actually made cake from this recipe book. Real cake. Not flattened out cake. Not…”something tastes off about this cake…” cake. Real, moist, buttery, sweet cake!

BONUS:

Weight Watchers Complete Cookbook

I have never gone on Weight Watchers but a friend once gave me their complete cookbook as a gift and I’ve been using it for years! Delicious recipes in almost any variety you can think of! Chinese, Italian, Greek…appetizers, brunch, dessert, it’s all there! And much of it is easily adaptable to our food plans.

So these are the cookbooks that often inspire my eating and cooking. Which are your favorites? Drop a note in the comments so I can check them out!