I fully and openly admit that when it comes to Autumn-centric beverages, I much prefer salted caramel flavored anything over the immensely popular pumpkin spice flavored drink/food. There’s just something about the perfect mixture of sweet and salty that can satisfy nearly any craving.

Of course, it’s still technically Summer here- and with the temperatures still steadily soaring high- it might be a little bizarre to walk into any coffee shop to order a piping hot salted caramel latte or hot chocolate.

Thankfully, there’s a colder alternative available that takes no more than 2 minutes to prepare, mix and enjoy. Best of all, this recipe can easily be tweaked to become sweeter or saltier based on your own personal preference.

I went ahead and made it the old fashioned way, so the recipe below reflects what I used and how many measurements it’d take to make one smoothie.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

* 1 cup vanilla almondmilk

* ½ frozen banana

* 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

* 1 tablespoon peanut butter (creamy- not chunky)

* ½ cup ice

* 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder

* A pinch (or two) of sea salt

OKAY, HERE’S WHAT YOU DO:

1. Blend all ingredients (except the sea salt) until smooth.

2. To garnish, sprinkle the pinches of the salt on top. You can also use chocolate bar shavings and/or caramel sauce to make it look more presentable.

3. Enjoy!

How easy is that, right? I’ve been loving these lately- and they’re a great way to transition from Summer to Fall flavors without burning your tongue.

If you have any Summer-to-Fall recipes (including beverages) that you swear by this time of year- I’d love to hear them!

xx