Cheap Makeshift Daily Latte

I love a good Starbucks soy latte. My stomach has never really handled regular old coffee the best, but I always want the caffeine. That said, Starbucks is not on my daily spending list anymore. We are thinking about our future, a new house, and how to save a few pennies and a drink that costs over $3/day didn't make the cut.

We have a Keurig, and I could buy the ready made lattes that you can pop in, but they never quite do it for me. They always taste more like a chalky hot chocolate to me than a foamy goodness latte. I also realize in theory, we could invest in a cappuccino machine and make our own lattes but hello saving money.

So I toss a half-calf in the Keurig (I never fully weaned back onto full caffeine post pregnancy and a full year plus of nursing, plus I like the taste better. While it's brewing, I put in my sugar and/or splenda depending on my choice that day.

I choose the smaller of the two options (if you have the newer Keurig you probably choose the tiniest one if you wanted to- or the medium one) because I want room for my frothy milk. Then once it is brewed I take a teeny splash of vanilla extract to it.

We keep soymilk in the house. I know there are some people who say soy is bad for you, but I only have it in my coffee each day because I'm lactose intolerant and it's only a couple of ounces. Now here is the secret to my madness coffee: I shake it as hard as I can. Now no, it's not the foamy goodness from starbucks that's hot when it comes out, but it does work! As soon as I'm done shaking, I put it in the already brewed coffee.

Delicious morning treat- and much cheaper than the daily stop at Starbucks. The holiday cups are out and the peppermint lattes are calling my name, but I know I can pick up a Peppermint Mocha  creamer and fulfill this need the same way. Here's to home made coffee !