Baby It’s Cold Outside, Bring On The Hot Cocoa!

This cold weather has me wanting all the hot cocoa, hot cider, and hot tea. Snuggles by the fire. Warm fuzzy blankets. You know, all the basic stuff. Part of eating healthy and trying not to eat all the things chocolate and holiday inspired means I’ve been creative with how to enjoy some of the simple pleasures of the season. Hot cocoa being one of the most important.

How do you like your hot cocoa? I’m all about the marshmallows on top, or the whipped cream. Sometimes I’ll add in a little bit of peppermint extract, or throw in a candy cane. Word is adding a little peanut butter is all the rage now. Which I gotta say I think I could get behind because I’m definitely on team peanut butter. When I lived in The Dalles, I would get a peanut butter coffee drink from a little coffee shop. It was a blended drink, but it was definitely the same concept of deliciousness.

My easiest clean “hot cocoa” is pretty simple. It’s basically a hot protein shake. When I make this cocoa, I use unsweetened coconut milk instead of water. You’ve also got to make sure that you actually enjoy your protein shake. There are lots of not so tasty ones out there. One thing to make mention of when doing this is to warm up the milk, then add the protein. Some protein shakes have other things like probiotics that basically die when you cook them.

My other go to method of cocoa also includes a bit of protein. I really enjoy using the Unsweet Protein Milk by Silk. There is an unsweetened vanilla one too. I try to be intentional with everything I eat having a nutritional purpose, other than just calories. The milk has 10 grams of protein per serving which is a pretty good bonus. The cashew milk in this makes it extra creamy which is perfect for cocoa. One of my other preferences is no sugar and because the milk is unsweetened, you’ve got to sweeten up the cocoa powder otherwise it’s pretty bitter. Monk Fruit Sweetener is one of my favorite substitutes because it has zero calories. Combining these two ingredients in my hot cocoa definitely satisfies my sweet tooth, and leaves me feeling guiltless. I hope you enjoy the recipe too!

Print Recipe

Healthier Hot Cocoa

Vegan and sugar-free hot cocoa makes this mama happy, especially when she's craving some chocolate!

Servings

serving

Ingredients

• 1 cup Silk Unsweet Protein Milk
• 1/3 cup water If you make this hot water it takes less time to warm up the milk.
• 2 tbsp Cocoa Powder Try using dark chocolate cocoa powder, or cacao powder, for different flavor profiles.
• 2 tbsp Monk Fruit Sweetener
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract You can skip this ingredient if you find the Vanilla Unsweet Protein Milk.

Servings serving Ingredients 1 cup Silk Unsweet Protein Milk 1/3 cup water If you make this hot water it takes less time to warm up the milk. 2 tbsp Cocoa Powder Try using dark chocolate cocoa powder, or cacao powder, for different flavor profiles. 2 tbsp Monk Fruit Sweetener 1 tsp Vanilla Extract You can skip this ingredient if you find the Vanilla Unsweet Protein Milk.

Instructions

1. Heat the milk and water in a small saucepan.
2. Add all other ingredients into the saucepan and whisk together until disolved.
3. Heat to desired your desired temperature and enjoy.
4. Best drank from your favorite coffee cup, or your most festive cup, of course!