This is a little treat we started making a couple of months ago, and my wife has been wanting me to share it with the world ever since.
You could spend big $bucks and order something like this at your local coffee shop, or you could do like we do and make it yourself at home. It only costs about 50 cents per serving if you make it yourself. And if you make it skinny like we do, it will have a fraction of the calories too.
Skinny Vanilla HappyCino (click on any image to enlarge)
There are endless combinations you can make of this frozen drink. The basic one involves just four ingredients, and the taste reminds me of the snow ice cream we used to make when I was a kid.
Skinny Vanilla HappyCino 
A Happy Acres original
1 cup skim milk
1.5 oz sugar free vanilla bean syrup
dash ground vanilla beans (optional)
2 cups ice cubes
Combine all ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth. Pour into glass, add a straw if you like, and sip away.
Servings: 2
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 40 calories, <1 calories from fat, <1g total fat, 2.5mg cholesterol, 56.2mg sodium, 191.1mg potassium, 6.1g carbohydrates, 0g fiber, 6.2g sugar, 4.1g protein, 157.9mg calcium, <1g saturated fat.
If you like your drink a little sweeter, add a bit of your favorite sweetener. I often use a little stevia powder in mine. That satisfies my sweet tooth without adding any calories.
some HappyCino ingredients
Another one of our favorites has a few more ingredients, and the flavor reminds me of a malted milkshake.
Malted Cocoa HappyCino
A Happy Acres original
1 cup skim milk
1.5 oz sugar free chocolate syrup
1 heaping tbsp unsweetened malted milk powder
1 tbsp cocoa powder
2 cups ice cubes
Combine all ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth.
Servings: 2
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 67 calories, 4 calories from fat, <1g total fat, 2.5mg cholesterol, 83mg sodium, 232.3mg potassium, 10.5g carbohydrates, <1g fiber, 8.5g sugar, 4.7g protein, 161.3mg calcium, <1g saturated fat.
To add coffee flavor, you can use instant coffee or espresso powder, or else freeze prepared coffee in an ice cube tray and use the coffee cubes in place of plain ice cubes. Leftover brewed coffee works well for this.
By using different flavored syrups – with or without sugar, and other flavoring additions like cinnamon or nutmeg, you can make your own customized frozen treat. So do like we do and save the money and the calories by making it yourself!