Cozy drinks to warm you up ☕

Tis the season for warm specialty fall beverages, and today we're going to be making five of them. It's like being hugged from the inside. The beautiful thing with making these drinks yourself at home is that you know exactly what goes in it, so you can control the level of sweetness and make it a bit more wholesome. And if you'd like, you can make a big batch, store it in the fridge, and then reheat it whenever you feel like you need a warm cup of something, or share it with people, because that's how you make friends. So let's cozy up and make ourselves a warm beverage. First up, we're going to be making a really comforting golden milk. To a blender, we're going to add one cup of an unsweetened plant-based milk of your choosing, plus one cup of full fat coconut milk. You can choose a light fat if you'd like. Then we're going to add in a teaspoon of ground turmeric, which is what's going to give this drink its beautiful golden color. A teaspoon of ground cinnamon, a bit of freshly cracked black pepper, which sounds weird, but trust me, you can't taste it. It's just to help our bodies absorb the curcumin that's in the turmeric. And for its sweetness, we're going to add in two medjool dates with the pits removed. Finally, we're going to add in a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, and then blend this all up until it's nice and creamy. If you want your drink to be extra smooth, you can strain this mixture through a sieve before you heat it up, just to remove any chunks that might still be in there from the dates, especially if your blender isn't that powerful. But if you like the extra fiber, then just skip the straining step. Then we're going to add the pot to a stove on medium high heat, and stir it continuously until the mixture is hot. You don't want to stop stirring at any point because the milk might burn on the bottom of the pan. At this point, you can give it a taste test. If you do want it a bit more sweet, add up to a tablespoon of maple syrup, like I'm doing here. Then stir it in, remove it from the heat, and pour it for yourself into some cups. Here, I'm adding a little sprinkle of cinnamon on top, just for presentation. And if you'd like, you can also add in a shot of espresso to turn these into turmeric lattes, or just enjoy it as the delicious golden milk that it is. Next up, we're going to be making these beautifully vibrant beetroot lattes. So to begin, I'm going to peel and cut up some beetroots. I like to just steam them until they're cooked enough that I can easily pierce through it with a fork. I usually make a big batch of beetroots and put it in a glass container just to snack on over the next few days, or you can make this really quick and easy drink with it. So to a blender, we're going to add two cups of an unsweetened plant-based milk of your choosing. We're then going to add the equivalent of a full steamed beetroot to the blender as well. Two gooey medjool dates with the pits removed for the sweetness. And finally, a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract. Then blend this on high until it's nice and creamy. If you want to skip the steaming step for the beets, by the way, you can add in half of a raw beet instead, but it does make the drink a bit more earthy and a little bit less creamy, in my opinion. There's the optional step again to strain the mixture at this point, especially if you used raw beets or if your blender isn't that powerful. Then we are going to heat this up on the stove. I'm adding a cinnamon stick to it as well. You're just going to want to keep stirring until the drink fully heats up. Add up to a tablespoon of maple syrup if you like your drink a bit more sweet, then remove it from the heat and pour it into some cups. Here we're sprinkling on some freeze-dried raspberries that we just crushed into a powder. It's just for decoration, really. You can enjoy the drink as is, or if you'd like, you can turn it into a latte by adding in a shot of espresso. It's a warm, comforting drink. It's antioxidant rich. If you're in love with the earthy sweetness of beetroot as much as I am, you're going to love this one. For the next recipe, we're making one of Robin's favorites of the whole bunch, a chai hot chocolate. Into a medium-sized pan, we're going to add in one and a half cups of a plant-based milk of your choosing, two tablespoons of an unsweetened cocoa or cacao powder, a tablespoon of raw sugar, a quarter cup or 50 grams worth of a dairy-free dark chocolate that's just been broken up into pieces. We're then going to add in an inch of fresh ginger, cut into thin slices, and six cardamom pods that have first been slightly cracked open in half, just to expose the seeds so that its complex flavors can infuse into the drink. Then we're going to add in four whole cloves, three sticks of cinnamon, and an optional little pinch of cayenne pepper, which helps to bring out the chocolatey notes of the drink even more. Then we're going to place this on the stove on medium-high heat. Stir it continuously so that the milk and chocolate doesn't burn. When it's heated through, you can reduce the heat to medium to prevent it from burning and then using a strainer, we're going to remove the chunks of spices and ginger from the drink. Remove the pot from the heat and pour your hot chocolate into some mugs. If you want to make this hot chocolate extra indulgent, you can make a coconut whip to serve it with. It's really easy. So for this, you're just going to need a can of coconut milk that was left in the fridge overnight. We're going to scoop out the solid parts that have hardened on top and add it to a bowl or container. Add to this a teaspoon of powdered sugar and a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract. Then whisk it until you're left with a thick and fluffy coconut whip. You can then scoop some of this whip onto your hot chocolate, sprinkle on some shaved chocolate and garnish it with a cinnamon stick. It's super creamy. It's infused with all of these spices that make it taste so heavenly. And as the coconut whip starts to melt into the drink, it makes it taste even more rich and decadent. I highly, highly recommend giving this one a try. For the next recipe, we're making one of my fall and winter favorites. It's a mulled spiced apple cider. So to a large pot, we're going to pour in two liters of apple cider or apple juice. We're going to thinly slice one large orange and add this to the pot as well. The orange citrusy flavor is going to slowly seep into the drink. Then we're going to add a one inch piece of ginger cut into thin slices, six cardamom pods, partially cracked open in half. Be careful with your fingers while you're cutting these. We're then going to add this to the pot along with three whole cloves and four cinnamon sticks and a handful or two of fresh cranberries as well. Then we're going to place the pot on the stove on high heat. Bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and partially cover with a lid. We're going to let the spices and flavors infuse for about 20 to 30 minutes. Whenever you're ready, you can remove it from the heat and pour it into some cups. It's a deliciously sweet drink and the aroma from this is going to make your entire home smell like the holidays. Every time I've made this one, people ask for the recipe, so I'm sure you're going to love it. This last drink is for the peanut butter fanatics out there who, like myself, look for any excuse to enjoy some good old PB. So to a blender, we're going to add two and a half cups of an unsweetened plant-based milk of your choosing, four medjool dates with the pits removed, which is what's going to give this latte its caramelly taste and sweetness. We're then going to add in half of a cup of raw cashews, a shot or two of espresso as well, which you can omit if you're not a fan of coffee. Then we're going to scoop in two tablespoons of roasted peanut butter, a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, and a quarter of a teaspoon of ground cinnamon to finish it off. Then we're going to blend the mixture on high for a couple of minutes until it's nice and creamy. You can then pour it into a saucepan on medium-high heat and stir it continuously until the mixture is heated through. Then we're going to pour this into some mugs, top it with a sprinkle of cocoa powder if you'd like for presentation, and it's ready to be enjoyed. This drink is super thick, creamy, just the right amount of sweet. It's absolutely heavenly. Hope you enjoyed today's video and that you get a chance to make at least one, if not all, of these comforting drinks. If you do make any of them, tag us on Instagram so that we can see. And if you enjoyed today's video, it always means a lot when you take a second to give it a thumbs up. Full breakdown to all of these recipes, as usual, are also on the blog. So if you need metric or imperial units of measure, we've got you covered either way. Those links are in the description box. Thanks a lot for watching. Pick Up Limes signing off, and we'll see you in the next video.