Light "Coquito" (Puertorrican Eggnog)

Ok!  If you grew up in Puerto Rico you know all about "Coquito".  How everyone has a hidden bottle of it in the fridge during the entire holiday season...  It is a requirement in every visit and every "paranda", and Christmas without it just doesn't feel like Christmas to me.  So I know that this is supposed to be a blog about me becoming healthier and fitter.  However, Christmas time would not be the same without this puertorrican tradition  and I just can't go without making it nor enjoying it this year.  Every Christmas I have celebrated has involved this delicious treat.  The idea is to just have enough to savor it and to never over do it.  I love it, my hubby loves it and it is requested every year and I even make a "virgin" version of it for my son Chris (just exclude the rum.) 

Well, here is my "lighter" Coquito recipe (puertorrican eggnog)

Ingredients (4oz servings:)

1 beaten egg yolk

1 can of 2% evaporated milk

1 can of fat free condensed milk (read below)

1 can of coconut milk

1 cup of white rum

1/2 cup of water

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1/4 t. of ground cloves

a pinch of ground nutmeg

1/4 cup of raw almonds

1-2 cinnamon stick

Directions:

Combine your beaten egg yolk, evaporated milk , cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.  Add into a saucepan and cook on medium/low heat until the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.  Let the mixture cool for about 5 minutes.  Add the mixture to a blender with the rest of the ingredients (except cinnamon stick) and blend on high for about a minute or until well blended.  In a glass container (you can recycle your rum bottle or a wine bottle) add in your cinnamon sticks.  Pour the Coquito and store in the fridge over night.  Be sure to give your bottle a shake prior to serving.  Serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon as shown in the photo above.

Fat Free Condensed milk: I never do try to stay away from the "fat free" "sugar free" crap, however here is a little background on condensed milk... Condensed milk is less processed than evaporated milk.  It is essentially pasteurized milk (in this case fat free milk) combined with sugar.  Although condensed milk is high in calories it is never exposed to heat because the sugar in it prevents it from spoiling.  Water is extracted in the processed (kinda how they make greek yogurt) to obtain that thick consistency. 

Give the good old eggnog a rest and try making Coquito this year!  Drink responsibly and in moderation.  I am sticking to a serving of Coquito and a 45 minute Insanity workout on Christmas Day!

Feliz Navidad!