Infusapalooza

Happy New Year Fellow Infusiasts!

Here's to an amazing life-changing next block of twelve months!

Here's to a NEW me, and Exercising, and Clean Eating, and Dirty Training, and Counting Points, and Blocking out Cravings, and every other horrible commitment I put upon myself over the last couple of weeks.......all in aid of January, and don't look all smug over there, I know you've done exactly the same!

However, this year I have seen the light, I'm sorry to tell you this (I'm not really) but Dry-January is not a phrase that exists at Infusa HQ!



The very lovely Beth at Whole-Hearted Yoga taught me that the body and mind needs time to relax, unwind, and most importantly....it must be rewarded.
So, the programme I have been following in 2014 does exactly that:
Happy Heart, Happy Mind, Happy Tastebuds. 

That means training hard at squash and burning heaps of calories (both during the game, and the victory dance that Mr.I has come to hate), stretching myself mentally and physically with some yoga moves, which according to MyFitnessPal leaves me with plenty of remaining daily calories for some amazing lovely treats, and of course.....RUM!

I know it's been a silly length of time since we last spoke, and I promise, this year, I will make a bigger and better effort to keep talking. I'm always creating and drinking, I just need to improve on sharing these concoctions and learning from the greats out there!


Unless you are a keen follower on Twitter then you might not know what I received for Christmas! Mr.I AKA Santa Claus, truly deeply hit the nail on the head this year with an abundance of chocolates and alcohol, I have been spoiled beyond belief, check this little lot out.......



Out of ALL of these goodies, my all time favourite, cannot-get-enough, wonderfully perfect present contains neither chocolate, nor alcohol.

I know! I can hear your gasps from here!
Fear not, it's a frozen cup towhich I just need to add alcohol to!




I must admit, I'd seen these for months, and thought, "what a complete waste of time, why wait six hours to freeze a cup?", but in reality, my cup lives in the freezer, and so I've had a daily frozen treat everyday since Christmas.....I've even squeezed in a second after downing the first one so quickly!

As you will know, I don't really do the whole "review" thing, mainly because I think there are people out there with expert opinions, and so I just like to give my personal take on things, rather than try to persuade your purchasing choices.
However, when this entered my life, I immediately decided I couldn't live without it and in all honesty, I feel a burning desire to buy more, so that I can share the frozen love. 
Currently, my guests join me for dinner and drinks, but they do not have the luxury of a frozen "sippy-esque" cup, only Queen Infusa gets that baby!

My Non-Selfish Solution is....I must buy more!

The best thing about this little beauty? I get daily treats which should be banned on diets!
Although fresh fruit juices do contain high levels of sugar, I still like to have at least one glass a day, I like to taste my vitamins rather than taking pills, and now I take them in slush form!

Here's some pineapple juice made in to a slush-tastic soft drink, and underneath? I made it more cheeky by adding some homemade Raspberry Liqueur!


A real treat for me has been using Cherry Tango in the slush cup!
I've always loved Cherry as a flavour, and Tango brings back so many childhood memories, as it used to be my weekly treat after swimming club, and surprisingly, a 250ml glass of it will only set you back 27 calories!
As a drink on its own, that might not seem very exciting to you, but as a slush....This is insanely good!

A tip that I've taught myself when using the Zoku cup with fizzy drinks, try not to get overly excited with your stirring technique as this beats out the bubbles, and its really not quite as tasty without the fizz! Give it a good firm but gentle stir, scraping down the sides, but not beating it to death!

 A great diet friendly treat comes in the shape of a chocolate and coconut milkshake!

 
I can hear the wave of frowns over that last line, but before you lose all interest, the beauties at Koko Dairy Free have created a new chocolate version and at only 70 calories for half a Zoku cup, this made a great sharing ice-cream-esque treat for Mr.I and myself. Of course, if you want a whole shake to yourself, it's going to be 140 calories, but for a delicious chocolate milkshake with a hint of coconut, you're not going to get this pleasure any other way!

As always, catering for the fun life-loving individuals that I intend to appeal to, adding the very gorgeous Koko Kanu to this shake, takes this to a whole new adult level of love!

Saving the best until last, another treat that is delicious on its own, but fabulous with the addition of rum!

Mixer of the moment; Ting, is a lightly sparkling grapefruit soda, that when mixed with rum brings the taste of the Caribbean alive!
Unfortunately, in little old Wales, we're not quite ready for this evolutionary drink, and so my nearest stockist is approximately an hour away! During an evening of desperation and laziness, I decided I'd had enough and I needed a homemade alternative to add to my slush maker.
This was a lot easier than I expected, I just poured grapefruit juice in to the cup, added a good splash of lemonade, and began to stir it in to (what I like to call) 'Tang' slush heaven.

Although this is a deliciously sharp and tangy on its own as a slush or sorbet snack, for me, there was only one thing I wanted to add to this baby, let me introduce to you another new found love of mine.....Old J Spiced Rum!

Now that my 'Tang' was all nicely slushed up, in goes the Old J, which created a drink with a fantastic mix of flavour bringing this adult slush alive - Grapefruit, vanilla, lime, and spiced rum all fizzed together in a slush form!


December actually gave me the opportunity to meet its maker and find out about the process involved in creating this delightful rum. 
Being an avid Pepsi drinker, and avoiding its rival at all costs, I became wrapped in awe of Tom's story and how every layer of caramels were carefully tasted and matched to suit the same levels of that in Pepsi. Thus making it a perfectly paired cola for mixing with Old J. Unfortunately, both Pepsi and Pepsi Max don't seem to work well in the slush maker (more practice is required there), but the vanilla and lime flavours that infuse this rum means the most delicious and simple serve is with ice, a lime slice, and Pepsi. 


As you can see, I'm very much in love with the Zoku Slush and Shake maker, and before anyone suggests that this post is in anyway promoted by the company, think again, this gift was solely funded by Santa and is truly my most favourite gift of last year!
I do think I will have to get at least one more so that I can share the fun particularly in the warmer months, but for now, I'm enjoying a little selfish time, and fulfilling my new year resolution to love and reward myself more! Join me!