eggnog Archives • A Sweet Pea Chef

Learn how to make lattes at home plus everything you need to know about latte flavors and latte ingredients. Bonus – 4 healthy latte recipes you can make whenever you crave a homemade latte! Before we’re getting into the details of how to make lattes at home and how to make them healthy, let’s talk about latte coffee for a minute, shall we? In my experience, there are 3 types of coffee lovers – those who love black coffee or plain espresso, those who prefer lattes or sweet coffee drinks, and those who love all types of coffee. I love a good old flavored latte here and there, especially when it’s cold outside. I’m sure I’m not the only one who loves to relax on the couch covered in a warm blanket with a latte in my favorite mug, am I right? The problem is that most lattes are not healthy. Nor cheap, might I add. Unless… you make them yourself. I’m a huge fan of transforming delicious but not healthy recipes into clean, healthy, but still totes amazing ones. Why wouldn’t I do that with latte recipes, right? Right! And the best thing about making homemade lattes is that you have full control over the latte flavorings and latte ingredients. That’s always great because you’re not only able to make healthy lattes but you can make them as sweet and flavored as you want. No more too sweet, too cinnamony or too mild lattes. So, no matter if you’re the type of person who loves a good latte daily or the type of person who enjoys them occasionally, these latte recipes will make your caffeinated moments healthier. ARE LATTES HEALTHY? Here’s the thing, some lattes are healthy, while others aren’t. Honestly, that’s the case with most drinks and foods. Drinking coffee moderately is actually not bad for you. Nor is drinking milk. So it’s not about the coffee or the milk, it’s about the rest of the ingredients that are not healthy or good for you. Ingredients like sugar, flavored syrups, and artificial sweeteners. Otherwise, yes, lattes are healthy. WHAT IS IN A LATTE? What do all latte recipes have in common? Coffee and milk. The coffee is usually a strongly-brewed coffee or espresso. And the milk is steamed to make foam. A latte without foam is known as a Flat White, BTW. As I already mentioned, various latte flavorings can be added to create flavored latte recipes such as mocha latte, chai latte, eggnog latte, and vanilla latte – the lattes we’re discussing in this post - however, the latte world doesn’t end here. There are numerous latte ingredients you can experiment with especially if you learn how to make a homemade latte. But more about this later. HOW TO MAKE A LATTE AT HOME The first thing you need to know about how to make lattes at home is that homemade lattes can easily be made healthy. To make healthy lattes… start by choosing your favorite latte flavors; make strongly-brewed coffee or espresso; combine the coffee with the latte flavorings and the rest of the latte ingredients – since this is a healthy latte we’re talking about, the flavorings are usually spices and the ingredients can vary but most healthy latte recipes require milk (regular milk, skimmed milk or vegan milk) and maple syrup instead of sugar or sweeteners – in a saucepan over medium heat for approximately 5 minutes; use an immersion blender, a mason jar or a whisk to mix everything together. Yes, it’s that simple. For realz. HOW TO MAKE CHAI SPICE If you want to make a chai latte, you have to know how to make chai spice and how to make chai tea. For the chai tea, you need: cinnamon sticks; black peppercorns; star anise; cloves; cardamom pods; ginger; water; black tea leaves or black tea bags; pure maple syrup; almond milk. To make the chai tea… place all the ingredients minus the black tea in a saucepan; bring to a boil; remove from the heat and add the tea; cover the saucepan with a lid; let steep for 10 minutes. Now you just use the chai tea in your regular latte recipe and there you have it – delicious and healthy chai latte. HOW TO MAKE EGGNOG One of my favorite latte flavors during this time of the year is, of course, eggnog. To make an eggnog latte, you have to start by making eggnog. How to make eggnog? Well... combine milk, raw honey, egg yolks, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a blender; pour the mixture into a saucepan; add cloves; cook for 10-15 minutes; add vanilla extract; use a fine mesh strainer to remove cloves; For more, tips and recipe steps, head over to my light eggnog recipe. 1. EGGNOG LATTE Eggnog Latte Here's a tasty eggnog latte recipe that’s better and healthier than the Starbucks eggnog latte recipe. And it's so easy to make a latte at home even without an espresso maker! For the Eggnog:4 cups unsweetened almond milk6 egg yolks2/3 cup raw honey1 tsp ground nutmeg, (plus more for topping)1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, (plus more for topping)1 tbsp whole cloves1 tsp pure vanilla extractFor the Latte:2 cups strongly-brewed coffee or espresso1 1/2 cups eggnogground nutmeg, (for garnish) Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Simmer for 5 minutes, whisking occasionally, until heated through and slightly frothy on top.Use an immersion blender in the sauce pan or transfer to a high speed blender. Divide into four mugs and serve hot, topped with nutmeg. 2. MOCHA LATTE Get the full recipe here for my Mocha Latte! 3. CHAI LATTE Get the full recipe here for my Chai Tea Latte! 4. VANILLA LATTE Get my full vanilla latte recipe here! OTHER LATTE FLAVORS In this post, we have 4 lattes – the eggnog and the chai latte and the classics vanilla and mocha lattes. But there are other amazing flavors you can add to your lattes. You can, of course, make a delicious and healthy pumpkin spice latte. Or you can create your very own latte recipe by following the principles of the healthy latte recipe described here and switching up flavors. Other latte flavors you can try: peppermint; matcha; cinnamon; coconut; earl grey; lavender. How to Make Homemade Lattes + 4 Latte Recipes 3 MORE HEALTHY DRINK RECIPES After all this latte coffee talk, I think it’s only fair to inform you that there are other healthy drink recipes you can make at home. I’m talking about healthy iced tea, healthy soda, and healthy coffee creamer. How does these healthy drink recipes sound? I hope they sound exciting because they are yummy for sure. HEALTHY ICED TEA RECIPES FOR SUMMER First healthy drink recipes stop - 4 Healthy Iced Tea Recipes For Summer. These healthy iced teas are made without any refined ingredients. Woot! My healthy iced teas are fresh, healthy, and with amazing summer flavors - lemon basil iced tea, blackberry mint iced tea, peach ginger iced tea, and coconut lime iced tea. Get the recipe. HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE SODA + 5 EASY CAFFEINE-FREE HOMEMADE SODA RECIPES The second stop of this quick healthy drink recipes journey is... How to Make Homemade Soda + 5 Easy Caffeine-Free Homemade Soda Recipes. No sugar, no artificial colors, and no preservatives involved! You’ll learn how to make fruity, caffeine-free and healthy homemade sodas with a few basic ingredients. And, if you’re wondering, the soda flavors I’ll be talking about in the post are strawberry, orange, lemon-lime, grape, and blackberry. Get the recipes. HOW TO MAKE COFFEE CREAMER + 5 EASY FLAVORS Learn How to Make Coffee Creamer + 5 Easy Flavors to add more coffee recipes to your list of healthy coffee recipes. And yes, these are definitely healthy coffee creamers. Making coffee creamer at home is actually very easy. Plus you can try as many flavors as you want. My recommendations are chocolate, hazelnut, peppermint mocha, and French vanilla. Get the recipes. This post contains affiliate links for products I use very often and highly recommend.