No. no. No. no. No. no. NO!!!

I love the first drink of the day. Usually it is tea, but for the last eight months or so it has been hot chocolate. The three brands that I usually drink is Cadbury’s, Ovaline, when I want something special, and when I want the ultimate best, I treat myself about once every seven years or so, Milo! When I was a child, that was what we had Ovaltine or Milo, it was one or the other, made with either evaporated milk or condensed milk, with the Carnation milk, sugar would be added, so it was nice and sweet.

We also had Camp coffee, a strange name now for coffee, with the milk as mentioned above. The Camp coffee is liquid. I have seen it in my local Tesco but haven’t plucked up the courage to buy it, in case it does not taste the same as I remembered.  I think it is about £2 so not expensive at all.

So, in the mornings, I have enjoyed my first drink of the day, a lovely creamy hot chocolate, made with evaporated milk only, not blue top, first mixed into a paste, then add boiling water, and keep mixing.

With just tea, I like to have two biscuits with it. I try to be ‘good’ by just sticking to two biscuits, as it is easy to have four or six. I have to try and have an ounce of discipline in my life. So, I don’t add salt to anything and now, mainly as an adult, I don’t add sugar, but if I do, it is not the end of the world.

After I have my hot chocolate drink, to discipline myself, I then have a cup of tea, no sugar no evaporated milk, but blue top. Then I can be happy that I have had my quota of liquid for the day! If I am at work later, I try to drink lots of cups of tea, so to get liquid in me, but I often do not finish the tea or it goes cold. Fizzy pop is different, I try not to buy it, a can is fine, but a two litres bottle, I could easily drink the lot in a day! That is my favourite cold drink, fizzy pop, not diet, ever! I also love to drink cold milk.

About three months ago, I tried to cut down on luxury spending, and so Ovaltine had to stop and Milo too. I only bought Cadbury’s as it was a lot cheaper. Tesco did a special offer Cadbury’s, they were selling it for £3 but if I used my Clubcard, at the till a pound was taken off! What a bargain!  So, for the next size up, I was able to buy a tin of Cadbury’s drinking chocolate for £2, I couldn’t believe my luck. A hot chocolate in most shops could not be bought for that price, yet I was having many drinks from just one tin.

One day, I decided to buy three tins, as I went through them quickly as I piled it up onto a heaped tablespoon and stirred into a nice thick paste with the boiling water.  

I thought it would last me a while, it didn’t. When I went back to Tesco, to my horror, the special offer had ended and it was now £3. I’d been spoiled, and didn’t want to pay that much, so I decided to look at unbranded, Tesco, hot chocolate drinks. My husband had bought for himself, the cheapest hot chocolate jars of hot chocolate drink that Tesco sells, it is something like 65p a jar! I don’t even want to go that low, and I have not tried it, he swears, “It is good,” Good for him! There is cut backs, but that is ridiculous.

I stood at the hot chocolate section and took my time looking at alternatives, I thought who knows, I could end up saving a lot of money here. After much thought, I chose two very different hot chocolate drinks, they were different sizes and both were under £3 so that was saving straight away.

When you are used to a certain taste, it can take time to adjust. I made it the same way two or three heaped tablespoons full, mixed into a thick paste with evaporated milk. I was using Carnation milk but the price went ridiculous so I bought Tesco’s own brand that was price matching with Aldi, so even there was a saving from about £1.80 down to 65p a huge saving right there!

The cheaper tined looked and felt watered down compared to the branded one, but you get what you pay for. Savings had to be made.

So, the first day with my new hot chocolate drink with the also cheaper tinned milk, was OK. I had to make it work and I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t Cadbury’s, for it looked like it had silver bits in and it felt rougher as I mixed it, it didn’t taste the same of course. It soon went. I had decided not to mix the two tins but to finish the first one before I tried the second one. It was OK I would say, 5 out of 10.

Yesterday, I opened the second jar, I put in two heaped tablespoons in it was horrible and bitter!!! But it was maybe too strong? So, this morning I put one heaped tablespoon and a bit more milk and it was nice. Nothing like yesterday. It was actually nicer, than the first jar. This second jar is smaller than the first jar.

Although it is a nicer tasting than the first gritty jar, I would give it 6 out of 10, I have decided, my Quite Time, my Quality Time in the mornings, is very important to me, so when this second jar is finished, I will buy the £3 Cadbury’s, hot chocolate, because there isn’t many pleasures in this life. For a cup of hot chocolate in a coffee shop, it costs around £3.50 or more! So, for £3 I am having lots of cups of delicious hot chocolate. I will still use the cheaper tinned milk; no sugar is ever added.  

For my birthday, I will buy a tin of Carnation milk and a tin of Ovaltine and a tin of Milo, with some of my birthday money!    xXx