I am a poet and I didn’t even know it!

Ok, so I live in Baltimore. Jen is in New Jersey. Both our states are embroiled (never before has that been the MOST appropriate adjective) in a heat wave! It was 105 degrees in Baltimore yesterday, beating the record of 101 set in 1999. At 11 p.m. it was 95 degrees. Today is supposed to be more of the same. Yeah. This is so not cute.

So, to that effect we figured we’d help you out with some of the kitchen gadgets that can help you beat the heat.  Because you see…we are Slurpee fanatics. And yes there are Crystal Light Slurpees thanks for pointing that out BUT they are neither calorie-free nor low-carb so moderation is the key with those things. In the absence of that, here are some things you might want to check out:

The Hamilton Beach Icy Treats Maker is your gadget! It crushes ice to a nice, slushy consistency and you can add just about anything you like to flavor it. My current favorite is one stick of sugar-free Kool Aid Lemonberry Crush + 1 stick sugar-free peach drink mix. Yummy!

I have ordered the Mr. Coffee Frappe Maker and plan to do an extensive review once I’ve made some stuff on it but the feed back is great. For those that want something that is tried and true, the following is great (and multi-purposed):

The Keurig Coffee Maker will do your drinks hot in the winter BUT it also has an “iced coffee” function that will make a perfectly concentrated brew for your iced coffee fix. I have tasted the coffee too. It is YUMMMMMMMEEEEE…(I’m sorry…what were we talking about again?)

A good, sturdy ice cream maker is a plus. Once you get one, head over to my girl Michelle’s blog and check out her plethora of protein ice cream recipes (and protein ice cream cake!). This is the one I have and it is pretty good. Well, actually I have three, but I’ll show you two of them. This is the first. It is for when I don’t want to have to do much “hands-on” work:

Now I have two daughters and they love to prepare stuff just like me so I thought it would be fun to invest in one of these. The benefit is that they can each make their own ice cream, play and store it all in one gadget:

So there you have it folks. Five solid options for beating the heat with cool treats that will keep you on plan and sat-is-FIED! No need to thank me. I do, however, take payments in ice cream (particularly the following recipe)

2 cups milk

1 package sugar-free chocolate pudding mix

2 scoops chocolate protein powder

1/2 c. sugar-free chocolate chips

3-4 La Nouba sugar-free marshmallows, cut into pieces

Slivered almonds

Combine milk, pudding mix, and protein powder in a bowl and beat with a hand mixer (or immersion blender) until smooth. Add to ice cream maker and churn according to your ice cream maker’s directions. About 10 minutes before your ice cream is done, add marshmallows, chocolate chips and nuts. Freeze for about an hour to firm. Scoop and enjoy!