Jackie's Homemade Healthy Hot Chocolate (Cocoa) Recipe

You in the mood for a cup of delicious, rich hot chocolate that is guilt-free and actually healthy for you? The marshmallow is homemade, too. You could easily make this dairy-free, just use straight water instead of milk or oat milk. I used unrefined sugar in this recipe. I haven't bought hot chocolate for years, with the exception of when we were camping as a special treat. I'm so excited to be able to have hot chocolate in the house again. It is so easy to make! I choose not to have a microwave in our home, so these are stove top instructions. Very easy and a lot healthier for you.

Homemade Healthy Hot Chocolate (Cocoa) Recipe:

1/3 to 1/2 cup of sucanat (unrefined sugar) OR 1/4 cup of Slim Sweet (an all natural low glycemic sugar from the Lo Ho fruit). Can adjust sweetness to taste.

1/3 to 1/2 cup cocoa powder (more if you like it darker)

1 pinch salt

1/2 cup water

4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. In a medium sauce pan, stir water, natural sugar (sucanat or Slim Sweet), cocoa, vanilla and salt. Stir, bringing to a boil. This will not take very long.

2. Slowly pour in milk (I always use raw). Stir until smooth and hot but not boiling. 

3. Divide into 4 cups. How easy was that? Add a homemade marshmallow if desired. 

For pre-mixed hot chocolate:

Mix the following ingredients together and store in a Mason jar or air tight container: 

2 cup sucanat

 2 cup cocoa powder

2 tsp salt

(This pre-mix makes 20 servings)

Just add vanilla and milk or water and follow instructions above. You could use *powdered milk in this mix, but it is not at all healthy for you, so to me it is worth the little bit of extra time it takes to heat the fresh milk. For a dairy-free option, you could substitute with oat milk.

So, sit back and relax and enjoy a cup of guilt-free cocoa as the days get colder. Happy Fall!

*According to Nourishing Traditions:

Not only is powdered milk devoid of all enzyme content (just like any pasteurized milk), commerical dehydration methods oxidize cholesterol in powdered milk, making it harmful to the arteries. High temp drying also creates large quantities of cross-linked proteins and nitrate compounds, which are potent carcinogens as well as free glutamic acid which is toxic to the nervous system.