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The holidays are coming! Do you know what that means??? It’s hot chocolate season!
I’m not going to waste any time talking about how much I love hot chocolate and how cozy it is drinking a mug sitting next to the Christmas Tree with my dog. No one wants to hear about that anyways.
Speaking of mugs though, check out this super cute cozy mug! I love big cozy mugs to drink my tea or hot chocolate in.
With that being said, let’s just get right into the Hot Chocolate!
Swiss Miss is definitely the most common Hot Chocolate, in the US at least. Not even going to lie though…the ingredients in Swiss Miss are gross.
Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate Flavor Hot Chocolate contains Sugar, Corn Syrup, Modified Whey, Cocoa (processed with alkali), Hydrogenated Coconut Oil, Nonfat Milk, Less Than 2% Of Salt, Dipotassium Phosphate, Mono- and Diglycerides, Natural Flavor.
Let’s jump right into these ingredients:
Sugar: Sugar is usually genetically modified, highly processed, bleached, and stripped of nutrients. We all know added sugar causes obesity, but did you know it also increases cardiovascular risk and causes high blood pressure? Everyone should really try and limit their added sugar to less than 25g/day.
Corn Syrup: Corn syrup is also highly processed and genetically modified. Corn syrup is liquid sugar. It’s also contaminated with glyphosate which is a carcinogen.
Modified Whey: Honestly, I have no idea what this ingredient is and I couldn’t find much information on it either. Due to the lack of information I have on it, I personally avoid it as I can’t think of a “modified” ingredient I would eat, but you might know more about it than me!
Hydrogenated Coconut Oil: Hydrogenated Oils are Trans Fats. Trans Fats screw up the balance of good and bad cholesterol in the body. This can cause stroke, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and more.
Dipotassium Phosphate: Dipotassium Phosphate is a food additive that can cause headaches, nausea, vomiting, constipation, and other issues.
Mono- And Diglycerides: Mono- And Diglycerides contain trans fat. We already know why trans fat is bad thanks to the hydrogenated coconut oil above.
Natural Flavor: Natural Flavor is the food industry’s version of fragrance. It is a bunch of ingredients that are undisclosed hiding behind that word. Since we don’t know what is hiding behind Natural Flavors, it’s best to avoid!
Luckily, it’s so easy to make your own healthy hot chocolate! This hot chocolate recipe is so good you wouldn’t even know it’s healthy!
All you’ll need is:
1 tbsp cacao powder (not cocoa powder, but CACAO powder. I’ve listed some health benefits of cacao below.)
1 tbsp REAL maple syrup (not Aunt Jemima’s or Mrs. Butterworths high fructose corn syrup with caramel coloring…yuck!)
1 cup nut milk of choice (I like Elmhurst Milked Almonds or Milked Oats)
Splash of Vanilla Extract (if you want…sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t.)
All you have to do is put the cacao powder, maple syrup, and vanilla extract into a mug, pour boiling nut milk over it, stir and enjoy!
Cacao is literally raw chocolate. It’s super bitter on its own, but it’s the perfect swap for unsweetened cocoa powder in recipes!
Cacao is such a great super food! It’s extremely high in antioxidants and has more antioxidants than green tea or red wine. It also is a great source of magnesium, iron, manganese, and fiber.
Give this hot chocolate recipe a try and let me know how you like it!
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