One thing I really love about my summer vacations as a teacher is that mornings are a lot slower. During the school year, it's rush, rush, rush to get out the door by 7:15. In the summer, we get to slow down, hang out in our jammies, and just chill. The boys watch TV, I cuddle in my chair with my iced coffee and catch up on blogging, my lip business, or just check in on social media.

I never used to be a coffee drinker, and I still don't drink it straight up. If I did have coffee, it was from a carton iced coffee, but in my recent weight loss journey, I have found an iced coffee recipe (thanks to my friend Stephanie) that starts my morning off with both the caffeine and protein I need for the day without adding a ton of sugar or calories. Today I wanted to share that easy drink with you.

It all starts out with a nice cold brew. Most of the year, I'm not a hot drink person. Even in the winter, you'll usually find me with a chilled beverage in hand. A nice cold brewed drink is even more refreshing to start off a summer day! I recently discovered Starbucks® Nariño 70 Cold Brew pitcher packs! Making cold brew coffee can seem daunting, but with these, cold brew is so easy!

Measure out four cups of water, and put in the two pitcher packs found in the foil bag in the box. Put the pitcher into the refrigerator and let it brew for 24 hours.

The next day, remove the pitcher packs, then add in three more cups of water. Besides the Starbucks® Nariño 70 Cold Brew, I use a vanilla protein shake and sugar free caramel syrup .

I put the vanilla protein shake in my 24 oz tumbler, add a touch of the syrup, and fill the rest of the cup up with Starbucks® Nariño 70 Cold Brew. It's so easy!

You can find the Starbucks® Nariño 70 Cold Brew pitcher packs at your local Walmart. Because they are new, they may be located on an end cap right now, otherwise, look for them in the coffee aisle! Right now you can collect 75 Bonus Stars with purchase of any (3) Starbucks® packaged coffees or K-Cup® pods through 7/10/17 (click through to Walmart.com/starbuckssummer for more details).

Are you a cold brew drinker? What's your favorite way to start your mornings?

I'm linking up with Tuesday Talk,  Creative Corner and Happy Now.