The cold has descended upon Cape Town. It seems that winter decided to make an early appearance this year and it's freezing cold. I don’t know about you, but hot coffee and hot tea can only do so much. I find myself craving something more indulgent and warming in a hot mug to warm my hands as well as thaw my insides. I have never really been a fan of hot chocolate because its just too sweet for me. So what options do I have? The choices were not so great so I decided to take matters into my own hands and make something that would satisfy both my cravings and my taste buds. Honestly, I did not expect my daughters to love it as much as they do, so it's a win all round... healthy, satisfying, warm and happy smiles:-)
Why make my own Hot Chocolate?
So lets go through the healthy hot chocolate planning phase...
Store bought hot chocolate isn’t a healthy option. I know there are skinny hot chocolates available but when I compared the nutritional value of the skinny and normal hot chocolates, the difference in the energy content was not what I hoped for. Adding in milk took it to another level so it was not an option for me.
You should know me by now - I did what I do best. I began researching, concocting, adding and deleting, testing and testing till I made my own spicy, healthy, hot chocolatey drink. The beauty of this mixture is that just a teaspoonful gives you the richest, most chocolatey taste and the spices are so warming to the senses. You do need to stir the drink while sipping to ensure there is no settling of the ingredients at the bottom as some of the spices do not dissolve completely.
So Healthy I love it!!!
I am so excited to share my recipe with you. But first, I want to tell you about the health benefits of my recipe.
I have discovered that cacao has half the kilojoules, double the protein, and crazily, 9 times the fiber content of a hot chocolate. Healthy gut, here I come!
Also, raw cacao is a super food for skin and body. Here's to healthier skin and slowing down the aging process while I indulge.
I have added the turmeric, cinnamon, elachi, ginger and clove powders for the healing properties of these spices. Tumeric is wonderful internally for your digestive system and to increase your level of anti-oxidants. Cinnamon and elachi are known anti-inflammatory agents. Ginger is excellent for the digestive system and cloves, in addition to being anti-inflammatory, are a natural pain killer.
What milk do you like?
I love the taste of oat milk, and with its lower kilojoules and fat content, it is perfect for my guilt-free hot chocolate.
I am not a fan of sugar or of artificial sweeteners. I have found stevia, made with the leaves of the stevia plant, to be a better substitute for sweetness.
The best part of this drink is I can drink a few mugs a day completely guilt free!!!
And as promised, here is my recipe.
You are welcome to make changes to suit your taste
Healthy, Spicy Hot Chocolate Recipe
Ingredients
50 g raw cacao (organic is best)
5 g turmeric powder (1 teaspoon)
5 g cinnamon powder (1 teaspoon)
2.5 g elachi / cardamom powder (1/2 teaspoon)
2.5 g ginger powder (1/2 teaspoon)
1.25 g clove powder (1/4 teaspoon)
To make
Sieve all the ingredients together and mix to make sure all the ingredients are blended evenly and store in an airtight jar.
Place 1 teaspoon of the blended mixture into a mug. (if you are using oat or a none dairy milk I find that you need a lot less of this hot chocolate but if you are using normal full fat milk then you need a bit more of the hot chocolate mix.)
Add 1/2 a cup of boiling water, and stir well. (I do not like only milk drinks so I like adding water and milk. But you could use only milk.)
Add 1/2 a cup of oat milk. (You can use any milk of your choice)
Heat if it is too cool.
Add Stevia for sweetness. (You can also add any sweetener of your choice. I normally have coffee and tea without sugar but I feel a bit of sweetening is need with this drink to eliminate the slight bitterness of raw cocoa)
I hope you love this as much as I do. :)
I will be giving away sachets of my Healthy, Spicy Hot Chocolate this winter (limited stock).
Thank you and lots of love
