drinks Archives - A Calculated Whisk

Cashew Hot Chocolate

December 12, 2019 By Becky 4 Comments

This creamy cashew hot chocolate is packed with superfoods and easy to make with pantry staples. It’s also infinitely adaptable, with dairy free and vegan versions plus flavor variations. Thank you to Rodelle for providing products for use in this post!

I recently gave up coffee again, which has been rough. (If you read my blog frequently, you might remember that I gave up coffee while trying to conceive–I’m doing it again to prepare for possibly trying for a second baby at some point!) Golden milk was my caffeine-free hot beverage of choice then, and I still love it, but this cashew hot chocolate is my current favorite. It’s quick, simple, tasty, and filling–everything I need to start my day off well.

Peach Nectar

August 20, 2018 By Becky Leave a Comment

This peach nectar recipe is an easy and delicious way to sip on summer’s best peaches. If it’s a special occasion, add some prosecco and make it a bellini!

Here it is: the essence of summer peaches in drinkable form! This peach nectar is so simple to make and so, so good. Basically we’re blending fresh peaches with a little bit of lemon and honey to balance their flavors, plus a hint of salt and vanilla to round things out. I was going to call this a peach agua fresca, but it’s thicker than that and almost creamy (in the most delicious way possible).

Golden Milk Ghee Latte

January 16, 2018 By Becky 29 Comments

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

This warming and lightly sweetened golden milk ghee latte is packed with nutrients from turmeric, cinnamon, ghee, almond butter, and collagen. It will soon become a comforting and craved part of your daily routine!

I have a snow day today! There are currently a few flakes falling from the sky and I can see a tiiiiiny dusting on selected patches of ground, so naturally, schools are closed and all my appointments were canceled.

As a New Englander, I have to admit that I scoff a little when Chattanooga shuts down for a few flurries, but it’s probably the safest bet given all the mountains in the area and everyone’s lack of experience driving in wintry weather. I’m also definitely not going to complain about getting to spend another day snuggled at home drinking golden milk ghee lattes!

Pitaya Peach Smoothie

September 21, 2017 By Becky 16 Comments

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

This pitaya peach smoothie has quickly become my go-to power breakfast because it’s easy, healthy, gorgeous, and delicious. What more can you ask for in the morning?

Thank you to Rodelle for providing products for use in this post!

Big news: Ben and I are married! We started dating almost six years ago, before the idea of starting a food blog had even crossed my mind, got engaged almost three years ago, and tied the knot on Saturday. I’m so happy and in a way amazed that we are finally married, mostly because we’re not the best at planning big events. However, we somehow pulled it off (with a huge amount of help from our families and especially my mother, who put together all the little decorative elements and details into something better than I’d ever imagined) and are so thrilled to be husband and wife. Also, Ben’s sister and her husband threw us an outdoor rehearsal dinner that was so fun I worried the wedding itself couldn’t top it, complete with a gorgeously decorated tent in their driveway and a late-night fire pit. I could go on and on about our wedding weekend, but should probably save it for a separate post since I also have lots to say about these smoothies. If you’re interested, though, here are a couple of photos from our first look shot by my dear friend, bridesmaid, and photographer extraordinaire Lindsey Lowe.

So, smoothie time! I have been making smoothies all spring and summer long, and this pitaya peach smoothie is my very favorite. I shot a cookbook written by someone else this summer (more details coming!) for the first time, and had 60 photos due just over two weeks before my wedding date. As if photographing a cookbook and planning a wedding wasn’t enough, I also continued to work 30 hours a week as a speech therapist and took on several other freelance projects. To say I didn’t have time to cook breakfast would be an understatement. This is such an easy breakfast, especially if you use an immersion blender like I do–you can make your smoothie in a big jar and drink it from there, too!

Pineapple Peach Margaritas

July 18, 2017 By Becky 6 Comments

These creamy, frozen pineapple peach margaritas are just the thing for hot summer evenings.

Somehow a whole month has passed without me sharing a recipe, and it’s felt like no time at all! I didn’t intend to take such a break, and I’ve been sitting on these scrumptious margaritas for quite some time, but one thing after another kept piling up. I’ve been hard at work on some exciting freelance projects that I can’t wait to tell you about as soon as I’m able!

For today, though, I’m offering a simple, sweet, and creamy libation. These pineapple peach margaritas are made with ripe summer peach, frozen pineapple, fresh-squeezed orange and lime juice, and a splash of cream or coconut milk. I like a mix of sea salt and raw sugar for the rim, which helps strike an ideal and refreshing balance between sweet and salty tastes.

15 Naturally-Sweetened Cocktails for Summer Celebrations

May 21, 2017 By Becky 18 Comments

These 15 delicious drinks are made without refined sugar to help keep your summertime soirées a little healthier without missing out on any of the fun. If you have favorite naturally-sweetened cocktails for summer, I’d love to hear about them in the comments!

Watermelon Gin Cooler from A Calculated Whisk: This refreshing drink is made with honey-basil simple syrup and botanical gin.

Grilled Mango Habanero Margaritas from Wicked Spatula: This sweet & spicy cocktail is sweetened with honey. Grilling the mango adds a little bit of smoky flavor!

Strawberry Prosecco Lemonade

May 8, 2017 By Becky 26 Comments

If you love a light and refreshing spring cocktail, this strawberry prosecco lemonade is for you!

It’s strawberry season! In case you couldn’t tell from my Instagram profile, I’m pretty excited about it. I’ve been picking strawberries at my CSA work share each week, throwing sliced ones onto salads, blending them up into smoothies, snacking on them plain, and making them into this strawberry prosecco lemonade.

I’m going to be sipping on this all spring and summer–it’s so refreshing and flavorful. VOVETI prosecco is made from 100% prosecco grapes and has a tempered acidity, but it’s not to sweet. In other words, it’s a perfect match for sweet strawberries and tart lemons. VOVETI has hints of pear, green apple, melon, and peach, which is another reason it goes so seamlessly with the fruity flavors of this drink. And of course, with the popping corks and fizzy bubbles, drinking prosecco always feels like a celebration.

Matcha White Chocolate Latte

March 4, 2017 By Becky 55 Comments

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

This matcha white chocolate latte is the ideal drink for the cool days of early spring. It’s made without dairy and naturally sweetened with honey to taste!

Sometimes I look back at my prior food habits and just have to shake my head. While I’m far from perfect now, the majority of what I eat is homemade with real-food ingredients. That definitely wasn’t the case for much of my life! In high school, an early lunch meant I came home starving at three in the afternoon. My solution? I would make and eat an entire box of Annie’s Bunny Shape Pasta with Yummy Cheese and wash it down with chocolate milk. Oh, and my breakfast of choice from the cafeteria, snagged on my way to 7:30 am chorus practice? A double chocolate muffin, coffee, and chocolate milk. Lunch was often chicken nuggets and french fries, plus a Creamsicle from the vending machine.

College wasn’t much better. I worked at the all-you-can-eat dining hall my freshman year, and if I didn’t like the entrée options, I would take advantage of the proximity of the waffle station to the ice cream station and make myself a waffle sundae (yup, for dinner!). And when studying at the campus center, my go-to snack was a white chocolate mocha plus a bag of spicy potato chips. Post-college, as a first-year teacher, I succumbed to the Whataburger across from my apartment or the taco truck on my way home more nights than I care to remember.

I thought back on those white chocolate mochas as I whipped up this simple matcha white chocolate latte for myself the other day, and felt pretty proud. Gone are the days of dairy-laden lattes with suspiciously sweet syrups from the campus center, and late-night dorm-room Easy Mac. And believe me, this matcha white chocolate latte is so much better than any of that!

Cafe Brulot

February 20, 2017 By Becky 6 Comments

This post is sponsored by Cost Plus World Market.

Café brûlot is a fun and dramatic cocktail that will light up your Mardi Gras celebration.

Looking for an entertaining way to celebrate Mardi Gras at home? Look no further than this café brûlot cocktail. To make this iconic New Orleans drink, brandy and Grand Marnier are infused with citrus peel and whole spices, and then set on fire with a long match. To finish the drink and act as a fire extinguisher, hot chicory coffee is poured in. And although it’s not included in the traditional recipe, I like my café brûlot with a pillowy topping of gently whipped cream. It’s hard to decide whether the pyrotechnics or enjoying the drink itself are the best part of this drink!

See more photographs and step-by-step recipe instructions on Discover, a blog by World Market!

This post is sponsored by Cost Plus World Market. Thank you so much for supporting the sponsors that keep A Calculated Whisk running!

Smoky Maple Margarita

December 26, 2016 By Becky Leave a Comment

Smoky Maple Margaritas

If you’re looking for a uniquely delicious drink to ring in the new year, this smoky maple margarita is just the ticket!

If you celebrate, I hope you had a wonderful and Christmas and a fabulous first night of Hanukkah! My mom flew down to Chattanooga and arrived on Christmas Eve, and we have been having the best time hanging out with my in-laws and nieces. The girls are beyond excited because they got a trampoline yesterday. In between eating all the holiday treats, it was really nice to bounce a bit.

Smoky Maple Margarita

Today I’m just popping in quickly to let you know that I’m sharing a recipe for a smoky maple margarita over on SoFabFood. It’s pretty much a classic margarita with two important upgrades: it’s sweetened with maple syrup and laced with smoked paprika. It’s not enough to make the drink spicy, but just enough to give it an enticing smoky flavor and aroma that’s perfect for this time of year. Wishing you and yours a fabulous and delicious 2017!

Click here for the smoky maple margarita recipe!

Pomegranate Vanilla Bean Margaritas

November 25, 2016 By Becky 6 Comments

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

These festive pomegranate vanilla bean margaritas are sweet and just a tad sour, with extra richness thanks to the vanilla.

How was your Thanksgiving? To be honest, over here we’ve had better. One of my fiancé’s brothers was in an accident the night before Turkey Day and is still in the hospital. We spent the morning with him at the hospital yesterday and my fiancé slept there last night. He’s going to be okay, but it’s been quite a scare. We were planning to drive down to Atlanta for a big gathering with Ben’s extended family, but ended up staying here in Chattanooga and grabbing a quick restaurant Thanksgiving at Beast and Barrel’s buffet (it was delicious, but I missed getting to cook!). My future niece has also been sick, so I think we have a Thanksgiving redo in the works for Saturday or Sunday.

After all of that, I’m totally ready for a pomegranate vanilla bean margarita. And after a hard day of Black Friday shopping, I bet you will be, too! (By the way, my absolute favorite kitchen gadget, the Instant Pot, is on sale for just $68.95 today! It’s the one thing I bought last year on Black Friday and I use it all the time. Highly recommended as a gift for yourself or others who love to cook and/or save time.)

A few years ago, Ben and I hosted Thanksgiving at our apartment in Boston. I had just started grad school, and I invited all my classmates (60 total) to come if they weren’t able to travel home for the holiday. Ten of them accepted and my mother came, too, so we had a good-sized crowd. It’s the only time I’ve hosted Thanksgiving so far and it was so much fun. Ben made most of the savory dishes, although I did contribute a sweet potato and kale gratin, and I was in charge of dessert. I was also in charge of drinks, and decided to make these cranberry margaritas. I added a tiny splash of vanilla extract, and they were a huge hit. We had beer, wine, and other spirits available, but no one drank anything other than our featured cocktail!

Watermelon Cooler

August 5, 2016 By Becky 4 Comments

This refreshing watermelon cooler has a hint of basil and cucumber and stays chilled thanks to frozen watermelon balls. Cheers to summer!

Big news: the popsicle stain came out of my pants, and I made us a watermelon cooler to celebrate!

A couple weeks ago Ben came home with a really pretty bottle of something called Uncle Val’s Botanical Gin. He tried it at a bar in Nashville and enjoyed it, so he hunted down some to bring home. I was excited because gin and tequila are my spirits of choice, but Ben usually only buys whiskey and I just can’t stand it. I tried the gin and in addition to the expected piney juniper flavors, I noticed hints of cucumber and sage. It’s such a unique flavor, and really refreshing for summer. I suspected it would pair perfectly with fresh watermelon and decided to create this watermelon cooler.

A watermelon cooler is just what you need on a summer Friday. If gin is not your spirit of choice, this is also delicious virgin and I bet it’d be great with tequila, too. It’s basically watermelon juice amped up with a bit of subtlely herbal honey syrup and tangy lime juice.