Good Drinking

Drink of the Month specials are totally my downfall. If I know someone is having a special, like the Grinch Shake at one of my favorite spots, or the Eggnog Latte or Chocolate Covered Orange Mocha at my favorite little coffee house, I will actively make a special trip to try them all. I'm THAT into specials! So naturally I'm on the lookout for some great specials, and I'd love to hear what you've found so far.

Alta Bakery and Cafe, for example, has a peppermint latte for the month, as I'm sure many other locations also feature this month. For me, peppermint has to have some mocha to help tone it down a bit! 

Applebee's has a Tipsy Reindeer and Strawberry Merry Swirl, and given that it's Eggnog Month, be sure to ask any restaurant about eggnog specials. December 3 is also peppermint latte day, so see if your local coffee shop has something going on.

Where have you found some great specials for the month? Do you know of any chains across the country who have some December offerings? Share them in the chat. 

In the past, I've always loved cranberry-flavored beverages, particularly the annual cranberry lemon-lime soda. Unfortunately, I'm also trying to limit my sugar intake, which means that I can't often have most cranberry drinks for the holidays. I will have a little treat here or there but ultimately it's not something I'm going to "waste" my sugar allotment on if it's a beverage.

That's why I was super excited to see that Skinny Mixes has some new holiday flavors this year, including a spiced cranberry syrup! It's called Mistletoe Spiced Cranberry Margarita and it looks oh so mixable, whether you want something hard or not. I can't wait to try it and see if it satisfies my craving this year. I've tried their mixes before and you can definitely just mix them with water if you prefer, too.

What kinds of cranberry drink recipes do you like that might mix well with this sugar-free version? Share them in the chat! 

As a cranberry cocktail lover who tries to avoid extra sugar, November cocktails get complicated for me. Once in a while you find a diet flavor but it's usually pretty terrible. I saw that Skinny Syrups is selling cranberry flavored syrup without sugar this year so I may try that out and see how it works, especially in my favorite, cranberry lemon-lime soda.

But then I discovered that there are lots of other alternatives, too, so I'd love your help in choosing one to try! These Skinnies look really good and have no calories, and this recipe for a sugar-free cranberry mojito definitely has me intrigued. These cocktails also look simple enough to make.

What do you think? Do you have other great low-sugar or sugar-free cranberry cocktail recipes? Share them in the chat!

It's so wild that hot chocolate season is almost upon us. It's pretty cold at night where I am, so I'd say it's already here! When it comes to keeping the pantry stocked for cold nights, I usually get a powdered mix for my family (with marshmallows!) but I like mine without much sugar, so I use the actual cocoa powder and add in what I like, which sometimes includes a little salt or cayenne powder.

That said, sometimes I'll try the mixes my family uses. One year my partner bought a bunch of samples to try and that was really fun. I highly recommend doing that as part of a holiday countdown. This year, I have Bones Coffee's drinking chocolate on my list to try. It does come with marshmallows and I've loved almost every one of their coffees I've tried, so it's likely to be awesome.

What kinds of drinking chocolate, cocoa or hot chocolate do you like best? What type do you prefer, and how do you enjoy drinking it? Share all of your cocoa knowledge and treats to pair it with in the chat.