I am the type of person who likes my coffee to taste like candy. Not crazy-style -- most mochas at Caribou or Starbucks are too much for me and I ask for them to cut the flavorings in half. Nevertheless, I always thought I couldn't handle a plain latte. When I calorie-counted in the past, I sacrificed an extra 130 calories per day so that I could add Monin coconut syrup and Ghiradelli sweet ground chocolate to my espresso and milk every morning. To me, it was totally worth it. In my mind, I couldn't drink coffee any other way. And hey, I could stay within my calorie goals even with this treat every morning, so why not? 

When I joined Jenny Craig, I realized I had to give that up. Jenny Craig has no "limited free food" option for Monin syrup and Ghiradelli chocolate. It's not on the plan. Period. 

I am a teacher and I had recently received a Christmas gift of Grey Duck Chai. Unlike some of the other brands that have a ton of sugar, one ounce of the chai mix had only 22 calories. So I decided to wean myself onto making a "Dirty Chai" in the morning. I did 1 spoon of Splenda, 1 oz of the Chai mix, and then added my espresso and 1 c of milk. Chai mix still isn't on the Jenny Craig plan, but at 22 calories, I counted it as a limited free food and didn't stress about it. 

Then I ran out of Grey Duck Chai mix. 

I figured it was working for me, so I'd just order some more. But in the meantime, I would try just adding an extra spoonful of Splenda as a substitute and see if that made it palatable. 

Indeed, it did make it palatable! In fact, after a few days I decided not to even order the Chai mix. My new morning drink was espresso, milk, and Splenda. That's it. Sweet, flavorful, and 100% Jenny-approved! 

Yesterday, I did a coconut mocha again. I had run out of coffee beans and couldn't make my espresso at home, so I decided to go to my favorite coffee shop and get my favorite drink. 

It wasn't bad. But definitely not worth the calories. I have grown accustomed to my new beverage and I guess I just don't miss my old coffee drink. Yay for progress!