About a year ago I ran into a health issue that forced me to stop drinking coffee. This wasn’t easy to do because I was major addicted, like non-functional-if-haven’t-had-fix addicted. But I had to do what I had to do, so I went cold-turkey. I came up with this recipe, knowing it would somewhat cut the craving and provide much needed energy. It tastes like a sophisticated, indulgent version of your typical hot chocolate, with the perfect richness and sweetness. Try it out if you’re craving chocolate, dessert, or in my case…bravely weaning off of coffee.
My goal was to use only good quality, healthy ingredients. The base of this hot chocolate is raw cacao powder, which is an awesome superfood to include in your diet. It’s not the same as cocoa powder. Raw cacao isn’t processed at high heat levels, which means it retains its natural nutritional benefits. Not only is it delicious, but it provides extremely high levels of antioxidants through flavanols, as well as magnesium, calcium, and iron. It’s known to be anti-inflammatory, give your body energy, increase endorphins, fight free-radicals, support heart health, and more. To that I say, yaaaaaasss!
Yield: approx.16 oz (one large latte cup)
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. raw cacao powder (I love the one by the brand Navitas)
1 cup almond milk
½ cup water
1 tbsp. organic virgin coconut oil
1-2 tbsp. raw honey (My favorite is the Orange Blossom variety by the brand Bloom)
⅛ tsp. organic vanilla extract
pinch of salt
Other Stuff You’ll Need:
small saucepan (the smaller the better)
spoon for mixing
Directions:
- Pour the raw cacao powder, almond milk, water, and coconut oil in the saucepan. Then add the honey, vanilla extract, and salt.
- Place the saucepan on the stove and turn on to medium heat. Stir until the all the ingredients are combined.
- Once done stirring, keep the saucepan on the heat until the mixture begins to slowly simmer and bubble around the edges. Turn the heat off.
- Pour in your favorite mug and enjoy!
Tips:
- Feel free to adjust some of the ingredients to your taste. Sometimes I’ll add more honey if I’m going for something sweeter. I’ll even drizzle it on top at the end.
- You can replace the ½ cup water with almond milk to make it creamier. I find it slightly too heavy with fully almond milk, especially with the richness of the coconut oil and cacao powder.
