HELLO HORCHATA!

One thing about me is this, I don’t follow recipes very well.  I prefer to see what ingredients I have in the refrigerator and/or pantry and just whip up something healthy on the fly.  On the weekends when I have more time I will attempt at making a recipe but that doesn’t happen too often.  Some things are a winner, other are a big #fail.  And actually, believe it or HNAT I like to make flops (my last name is spelled Hnat and pronounced “not” so I frequently replace it just to have fun with my odd Czech name).  

Well, maybe like is a strong word.  

We all have failures in the kitchen, don’t get me started on the millet tortilla’s I recently tried to make.  But my philosophy is this, shaking it off and trying again.  And again until you get it right.  Especially if it is something you love and really want to add to your regular food rotation.  I’m going to master making homemade gluten-free tortilla’s with the tenacious spirit like I have done with my protein pancakes and gluten-free muffins.  Some things just take a little longer than expected to nail down.  Those subtle nuances of creating food, getting it just right, that you can only learn from experience after experience after experience.  Much like my friend who has mastered her homemade brick-oven pizza crust!  She knows when the dough is perfect, but it took months of working with it to finally be able to read the dough and know when the time is right. 

That being said, I’ve never tried real authentic horchata yet (very likely to change by end of week though!).  But I’ve been intrigued with the recipe and created my quick and easy lower-sugar rendition with Vanilla Nut Teechino, unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk and a couple drops of liquid SweetLeaf stevia.  When I want the authentico horchata, I add a pinch of Organic Gemini tigernut smoothie mix but haven’t made the tigernut milk, yet.  The quick and easy version has become the house summer drink because I brew a big pot of Teechino and then once cooled, add the other ingredients.

Another option:  you can try the Califia Farms version which is sold at Whole Foods, Kroger and some Publix locations (or try here).  Hint for peeps reducing their sugar intake, especially liquid sugar – an 8-oz glass has 11 grams of sugar added to it.  Significantly less than a regular soda like Coke, but it is almost half of the recommended daily sugar allowance for women which is 24 grams of added sugar per day. Which is why I like to make the stevia-based, Teechino-version instead.  It’s the Hnat Horchata!  But as a treat, I may check out the Califia horchata and perhaps turn it into ice cubes to lightly sweeten a drink (each ice cube = 1 oz) or turn it into something, perhaps use in muffins… 

Let me know what Horchata version you whip up and how you like it! 

Cheers!

Jennifer