HEALTHY HOT CHOCOLATE
Cold rainy or snowy days are a perfect time to snuggle up with a warm mug of hot chocolate. This recipe uses dates rather than sugar or maple syrup as the sweetener which makes it even healthier than most of the other plant-based recipes online. It is definitely healthier than the instant hot cocoa products from the store which are made with sugar, corn syrup, oil, thickeners, stabilizing agents and cocoa processed with alkali.
You can find the recipe at : “Aline Made”: Vegan Hot Chocolate.
What's the difference between cacao and cocoa? See the chart at the bottom of the page.
-The tree we get chocolate from is called the Cacao tree.
-Raw products from the cacao beans include cacao nibs and cacao powder.
-Cocoa powder is not raw. Some cocoa products have other ingredients added.
-Some products labeled as cocoa are actually cacao (see picture for Hershey's product)
What I did differently:
-Used homemade plant-based milk (I make almond/oat milk sweetened with dates and vanilla)
-Did not have Medjool dates so used 3 Deglet Noor dates which are smaller and less sweet
-Did not add cinnamon
-Added 1/8 tsp vanilla
-Since I have a high-speed blender, I only simmered for a few minutes
-My version was thick and rich. I like my hot chocolate thinner and less rich so I added more milk.
