Who doesn’t love hot chocolate, especially this time of year? I’ll be honest… I drink superfood hot chocolate ALL YEAR round. Sometimes in the summer they turn into iced elixirs on super hot days. Sometimes I add hot or cold brew coffee for a mocha kick. Yippee!
Real raw cacao powder is nothing like your store bought cocoa mix. Nothing is added. No added sugars. Completely pure, smooth, sweet, MAGIC. You can find raw cacao powder in basically any health food section of a grocery store, food coop, or at online sources like Mountain Rose Herbs or Thrive Market. We work with a direct sourcing superfood company at my restaurant to source either heirloom Arriba Nacional Ecuadorian or Dominican cacao powder. Those are the top two we use. They have similarities, but Dominican is a darker color and they have their own flavor profiles. Just like coffee beans, cacao is sourced all over the globe and each variety and climate has it’s own uniquely beautiful essence.
The chocolate industry (as many big industries) has a dark underbelly, so beyond the purity of ingredients, we like to know that the environment, local communities, and the people growing and processing the plant are being treated and paid well.
For bigger brands I sometimes buy when I’m traveling, Navitas Organics is my go to for many superfoods when I can't find a more direct source or smaller batch producer.
Cacao has SO many benefits, including “powerful antioxidants, as well as many vitamins and minerals such as magnesium, calcium, zinc, surfer, iron, manganese, potassium, and vitamins B!, B2, B3, B5, B9, C, and E. Cacao is used as a mood enhancer, aphrodisiac, and hormone balancer. Raw cacao may also help to prevent heart disease, support a healthy metabolism, improve skin health, increase cognitive function, aid in digestion, and provide the body with healthy fats.” - excerpt from my Healing Tonics cookbook
Now let’s get on with it, because you deserve to have a big warm cozy delicious cup of clean cocoa in your hands ASAP.
This is my number one go-to superfood hot chocolate recipe with an extra kick of peppermint. Because peppermint and chocolate are just so wonderful together. Candy cane dreams. Perfect for the holiday season. Peppermint is also known for its digestive support (among many other benefits) when taken internally - a great way to support digestion after a big holiday feast!
Often times I swap the lucuma powder for maca depending on the flavor profile I’m going for. Other superfoods can 100% be added to this. A few of my favorites are ashwagandha, holy basil, and shilajit.
I love infusing my hot elixirs with certified pure tested grade essential oils like peppermint, lavender, wild orange, cinnamon, cassia, ginger, rose, etc. Another option in lieu of trustworthy essential oils would be brewing tea (use that as your hot water to get the flavor) or using extracts. Please make sure to read my note on safe use of essential oils at the bottom of this page.
Peppermint Hot Chocolate
Yields 16 ounces (1 serving)
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup coconut mylk (or mylk of choice)
1 drop doTERRA peppermint essential oil*
3 tbsp raw cacao powder
1 tsp raw cacao butter, optional - it does make the drink SO nice, thicker, frothier, but not absolutely essential
1 tsp lucuma powder, optional superfood add-on (adds a slight sweetness)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract, optional
1 tbsp maple syrup (or liquid sweetener of choice), optional
1 1/2 cups hot water
DIRECTIONS
Add all ingredients to blender and blend until frothy. You want to let this blend for at least 30-60 seconds on high to melt down the cacao butter.
Pour into your favorite mug and cozy up. Feel your heart expand and enjoy!
*Always start with a less is more mentality when adding essential oils as they are WAY more potent! 1 drop can be too much sometimes - you can dip a toothpick in and give a swirl. You can always add more, but you can’t take it out.
PLEASE DO NOT consume just any old essential oil, they are not all created equal. It is an unregulated industry and many companies use fillers and very questionable hazardous to ingest ingredients. I have been using doTERRA for 5 years now and the only reason I do is because they have 3rd party lab test results of every single batch of oil that you can look up the spec report for online (each bottle has a code that links it to it’s spec report). To learn more about essential oils + safety click here.