Hola bromigos, it’s Monday ! Yaye ! … Okay maybe not yay, I’m a working man myself and I know Monday are god’s way of punishing us for questioning his existence. It has to be, since every Monday when I’am sitting at my desk, at work, I question pretty every decision I have made in my life. Well at least I got one thing going on for me, this drink. As I am writing this right now and taking sips from my vegan hot chocolate, all I’m feeling is : mmmm Chocolate.
It’s a total mood booster. Word.
Fermented foods:
Are you a fan of fermented foods ? You know like kimchi, yogurt, cheese, bread, chocolate … Pretty much everyone gets turned off when they hear the word fermented. But here is the deal, so many of our foods are fermented, or went through some fermentation process before they got to present themselves to us.
So when you see a label that say, raw cacao powder or raw whatever, you should take that information with a grain of salt. Cacao beans go through a long fermentation before they are processed into cacao powder, and when you are shopping for good quality cacao powder, there are a few things that you need to look out for.
First thing is, the sugar content. Cacao beans are sour, and don’t have any sugar in them. Therefore, cacao powder should be sugar-free. That’s your first indicator.
Second thing is the fat content. Cacao has high fat content, that’s what makes it so rich and smooth when you make hot chocolate with it.
The fiber content needs to be high as well. Yes ! Cacao beans are high in fiber.
Last but not least is the mineral content. Cacao beans are one of the most mineral dense foods in the world. That’s your best indicator to the quality of what you are buying.
Take a look at this:
100g Cacao powder : 25g of fiber, 460% DRI and 11g of protein.
This is one of the few things a cacao bean contains.
Léa is working on an awesome post about the benefits and uses of cacao and will be sharing it soon on Cheekyhippies.com
Super Hot Chocolate:
I thought I should take it up a notch by adding turmeric, because of all the antioxidant and cancer fighting properties that it has. You know how it goes right ?
Turmeric everyday keeps the doctor away.
At least this time it’s true.
Let me relieve you of your worries, you’re brain is probably going something like this : “I don’t wanna drink turmeric !! Ugh !!” . Don’t worry, you will only be drinking it in theory. The strong presence of cacao makes the turmeric very unoticable. Which is tops in my books.
However, if you want to reap the benefits from turmeric, you have to add a touch of black pepper. The two spice work very well together, and produce a chemical reaction that enhances the benefits of turmeric. If you want to know more about the awesome benefits and uses of turmeric, I strongly encourage you to read this.
Here is another thing chocolate does for you. It boosts brain levels of endorphins as well as serotonin. Endorphins are basically natural opiates. They are the feel good stuff. As for serotonin, it’s a mood-altering chemical on which a lot of antidepressants act. Our levels of endorphins and serotonin are directly related to our mood. Chocolate (The real stuff), is an absolute gift from mother nature, because it helps you and me feel better because of its properties.
Velvety, heart warming and super nutritious hot chocolate. This will become your favorite drink in the world. Just look at it !
No matter how bad your day was, no matter how cold it is outside, no matter how much your kids are driving you crazy, there is one thing you can rely on. Chocolate.
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Recipe:
Vegan Hot Chocolate
Ingredients
- 1/4 Tsp of black pepper
- 1/2 Tsp of Turmeric
- 1/8 Tsp of Salt
- 3-4 Tbsp of Organic Coconut Sugar
- 6 Tbsp of Cacao Powder.
- 2 Cups of non dairy milk of your choice.
Instructions
- Add all your ingredients in a blender and blend until it’s all smooth. The reason you do this is to ensure that you will not have any lumps and that you will have very smooth and foamy drink.
- Place your cocoa mix in a pot and warm it up on medium heat for about 4-5 minutes.
- Pour into 2 mugs and enjoy !
Notes
Cost per Cup: 2 $CA The cost of my recipes is based on the average cost of ingredients I use. It's mostly provided as a guideline for you to understand the true savings you can make when you choose to cook at home.
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