Organic Hot Chocolate
Here’s a healthy way to enjoy holiday treats like flavored hot chocolate: make your own! Pre-packaged drink mixes almost always contain artificial flavorings, excessive sugar, and non-dairy creamer. (Which contains mostly hydrogenated oil and corn syrup, neither of which is going to bring you holiday cheer.) Rather than reach for the Swiss Miss, pick up some powdered cocoa next time you’re at the market. I prefer the non-Dutch-processed kind because it hasn’t been stripped of any acidity–which is to say, it has a deeper, more chocolatey flavor. If you’re a milk chocolate fan, however, you might prefer Dutch-processed (a.k.a. “alkalized”).
Mix 2 teaspoons of cocoa and 2 teaspoons of sucanat with boiling water for a standard mug of hot chocolate; for a Mexican version, add a dash of cinnamon and a drop of two of vanilla extract.
To make this organic raspberry version, I used two teaspoons of organic raspberry jam with the organic cocoa. You could also use orange marmalade for an orange-chocolate flavor, or even strawberry jam for a fresh, fruity mug of hot chocolate. Top it off with almond or hazelnut milk for the ultimate combination. For the mint lovers out there, mix cocoa and agave nectar with still-hot, steeped mint tea.
Once you have the cocoa powder, the variations are endless! Looks like Swiss Miss is going to have to find a new use for her marshmallows…
Cheers!
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Tags: chocolate, hot chocolate, raspberry, winter drinks
