Raw & Vegan - hot chocolate...

I know..I know!!!  from salty to sweet, but some weeks that is just how it goes.... If I can not be in the sunshine Puerto Rico or the hot springs of California yet my little cup o love will tide me over... AND Raw chocolate actually has some good health benefits, including a boatload of antioxidants.

Now, I know what else you are thinking -  raw food and drink are by definition, not allowed to be hot, that doesn’t mean that you can’t still make a warm drink to thaw out your icy fingers. 

If you don’t care much about 100% raw but are enjoying a healthier version of the ol' standard, you can heat it up to your preference.

The Mylk (serves 2):

• small handful of nuts (ie: almond cashew or hazelnut)
• 1 cup of filtered water *This is to make the nut milk, alternatively you can just use a cup of nut milk you have on hand

The goods

• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 tbsp raw cacao nibs OR 3 tbsp raw cacao powder
• 2 tbsp grade B maple syrup (Grade B has more minerals! add onlyto taste)
• 2 cups filtered water

What to do:

• If you are using cacao nibs, you’ll have to grind them into a fine powder. We use a coffee bean grinder, but a regular ol’ mortar and pestle would do the trick. Whatever you have on hand, but it has to be a very fine powder.
• Mix the nuts and the water in your blender (skip this and the next step if you already have nut milk on hand).
• Filter the nut milk in a nut milk bag (I use a clean mesh paint strainer - but cheese clothin will also do! If you skip this step, your drink will be grainy and not as enjoyable)
• Pour the nut milk back into the blender & add the cacao powder, vanilla, & maple syrup. Blend on high.
• Meanwhile, heat up the filtered water in a kettle or on the stove. You can better control the temperature by doing it on the stove.
• Pour your nut mylk cacao mixture into two cups, they should be about 1/3 to 1/2 full. No more than 1/2 or you won’t get very warm chocolate. It might take once or twice before you get the measurement right for your cups.
• Fill the cups with your now warm or hot filtered water, whatever your preference. Remember you are mixing a room temperature liquid with the hot water, so it’s not going to be as hot as if you just boiled the kettle.
• The benefit is that it’s still nice and warm, and you don’t have to wait 5 minutes for it to cool off before you can drink it. And you are going to be drinking up all those delicious antioxidants while they are still useable.
• Make sure to stir with a spoon before drinking.

Tip** If you just can’t seem to get the measurement right and are always coming out with not enough or too much cacao mixture before you add the hot water, try starting out by measuring your nut milk in the cups. Pour the right amount of nut milk into the cups, and only use this to make the cacao mix. It takes all the guesswork out of it.