A Healthy Hot Cocoa Recipe
A Sugar Free, Dairy Free, Low Carb, Paleo-ish Drink of Happiness
A Little Explanatory Note: After spending most of my life not feeling well, sparring regularly with Hashimoto's hypothyroidism, I finally ended up at rock bottom health-wise. The medication and diet regiment prescribed by any physician that I sought help from finally left me unable to move for six weeks. The only way I can describe how I felt was like an engine that ran on seven of eight cylinders; the mental fog and flu-like feeling was excruciating.
Whining is one of my least favorite human traits. EVER. So in between the worst of the brain fog and headaches I began to become the living embodiment of "Patient Heal Thyself". Many experiments, frustrations, and trials later I have emerged seventy pounds lighter. More importantly, after sixteen years I am almost completely free of the need for thyroid medication, and: I FEEL AMAZING!
I won't go into the whole of that story with this post, but wanted to offer up a little back story as to just how important each of these recipes are to me. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
Hot Cocoa. The very mention of this drink is like a restorative balm to my soul. I really love chocolate. I also love to be warm, as my hands are usually around the daily average temp for the planet Hoth. Hot Cocoa in my old world came in the common can form, a powdered dairy and sugar laden festival for the senses. I never mixed it up according to the directions, rather I scooped a prodigious amount of that delectable powder into the vessel of my choosing. Not good for wellness.
Enter my current version of hot cocoa:
Measure out 12 ounces of unsweetened almond milk. Although, to be honest, I just eyeball the amount of milk that I use.
Pour the milk into a little sauce pan. Use finesse and don't be like me. I usually end up with more than a few splashes of almond milk adorning the top of my stove.
Add 1 (.5 ounce) square of unsweetened chocolate to the milk in the pan.
A Quick Note About Chocolate: For the longest time I used unsweetened cocoa powder in my hot cocoa, as this was what I had on hand. Boy was I a dolt. I am a very frugal person, but when it comes to hot cocoa happiness it is essential to buy the best chocolate that is available and/or you can afford. I used this kind of unsweetened chocolate in my most recent round of daily breakfast cocoa, and all I have to say is, WHOA HAPPY:
Heat the chocolate and milk on medium heat until the chocolate has melted into the milk. Do not let your cocoa boil! Once a lovely shade of melted chocolate brown is achieved, pour your cocoa into your vessel of choice:
Now on to the most controversial aspect of our recipe: The added sweetener. Erythritol and stevia helped me beat my horrid sugar addiction. I used to have to have something with refined sugar in it at each meal. Now I tend to go a few days at a time without craving anything sweet. Like all sugar substitutes, they are not without controversy, and my response here would be, eat what fits your food and health philosophy! In the paleo world a lot of people might use maple syrup, honey, coconut sugar, or agave to sweeten their treats. Sweeten your cocoa in the way that makes you happy!
These are my sweeteners of choice for my cocoa; I truly am sorry if my use of them causes a blood vessel in someone's temple to burst; that is not my intent.
Add 1 TBSP of Erythritol/Stevia Blend
add 1 "doonk" (1/32) of a tsp of stevia
Next we add one of my favorite ingredients. Hydrolyzed Collagen. I LOVE this stuff! My joints love it! My skin loves it! My hair and nails love it! My intestinal tract loves it! I'll stop there. You can read more about the awesomeness of hydrolyzed collagen here: There are brands of marine and bovine sourced collagen. I use this kind:
Add 1 TBSP of this lovely white powder and stir.
Finally, you can add a pinch of whatever salt you enjoy. I love Hawaiian red salt, it finds its way into lots of my food!
While I wait for my cocoa to cool to a non-palate scorching temp, I utilize its other purpose, that of hand warming awesomeness!
Thank you to all that made it this far, and below is a copy of the recipe for folks that scroll through all the pictures and such. I might be known to do such a think upon occasion;)
Generikat's Hot Cocoa
12 Ounces of unsweetend almond milk
1 square of unsweetened chocolate
1 TBSP Erythritol/stevia blend
1/32 of a tsp of stevia extract powder
1 TBSP of hydrolyzed collagen
dash of sea salt (optional)Heat the almond milk and the chocolate in a pot on the stove until the
chocolate is fully melted. Do not let it boil. Remove from heat and
pour your cocoa into a cup. Add your sweetener of choice, collagen, and optional salt. Stir until all additions are dissolved. Sip the chocolate ambrosia in bliss-like state of happiness.
All photos in this post were taken with the author's collagen powder dusted iPhone.
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Thank you!
I have some of that chocolate in my cupboard, but never got round do figuring what to do with unsweetened chocolate (usually just use raw cacao powder).
For my daily smoothies, I usually use homemade cashew milk, raw eggs, Great Lakes collagen hydrolysate (snap), raw cacao powder, maybe 1/2 a frozen banana for a bit of sweet and some other supplements like lemon flavoured cod liver oil, liquid B vits and mineral drops!
I personally don't categorise agave as paleo, as it's dangerously high in fructose, but all good with the rest! Whatever floats your boat.
Hi there! In my smoothies I use unsweetened cacao powder too, but that unsweetened chocolate elevated my hot cocoa to another level of amazing!
I love cashew milk, and we go through a lot of almonds and cashews around here. Your smoothies sound lovely (and familiar :o) Frozen raspberries, strawberries, and okra find their way into a lot of my smoothies. I know the frozen okra might inspire a initial yuck response, but in a chocolate smoothie 1/4-1/2 cup does something nice to the texture, doesn't taste bad, and adds a ton of health benefits. Just have to blend the life out of it, no chunks allowed!
And I hear you on the agave, I personally don't eat it or any other sweetener for that matter with the exception of the two mentioned in my post, but I thought I'd throw it out there for consideration.
Thanks for the comment!
My problem with chocolate is that I tend to get a bit addicted, but seem to be fine with the cacao. I'm being a bit stricter at the moment to break some Xmas patterns, but am keen to try your recipe soon.
We don't have okra in New Zealand - or at least I've never noticed it. We sometimes use avocado for the same purpose.
Nice post! I've finally gotten used to unsweetened cocoa, but any plant based sweetener is good for those who want them.
BTW, love those cups, I bet they stack nice and compact in the cupboard.
Awe, thank you! I've noticed if the quality of the chocolate is good enough that I don't need much in the way of sweetener, but then again there are those days that my sweet tooth roars with need, YAY for plant based sweetener!
The cups are fantastic! They were a gift and came with a chrome holder that they all stack together in. I'm all for space saving and really enjoy them!
I'd like to try this... I love hot cocoa...
Oh, I hope that you do! It's a pretty easy thing to make, and with life being as hectic as it is; I try to keep all of my main recipes as simple and enjoyable as possible. Thank you for the comment, and I hope that you are having a lovely day!