Hot Chocolate Rant
So today I was outside working out in the wintery Seattle weather. It was a beautiful day, and it felt really good to be outside. I ran from my house to a local swimming pool about 5 miles away; did a swimming workout; then ran back home. My treat for my return was going to be a big mug of hot cocoa.
When I finally got home, I pulled out the canister of hot cocoa mix only to find it nearly empty! Yikes, I had been thinking about my warm mug of yumminess for the past 3 hours, and now there was none! I was so disappointed by this that I headed straight to the store to get a new can of mix.
This is where my rant begins. Next time you are in the store, check out the label on the popular brands of hot cocoa mix where you just add hot water and stir. There are several brands: Swiss Miss, Nestle, Carnation and the cheap store brand. What do they all have in common? TRANS FATS! Yes, they have tons of them – every brand I have checked. The ONLY one I have found that does not (we are talking the brands where you add hot water only) is Equal Exchange Hot Cocoa Mix - which is super hard to find, but very good and has no trans fats!
So, if you are like me and you have been outside working out hard in the cold weather, and you are craving a warm mug of hot chocolate deliciousness, the last thing you want to do is to fill your veins with trans fats. When I ran out of mix, I headed to the store to buy more. What did I come home with? Ingredients to make my own mix – which delays my mug-o-cocoa even more. But that’s ok, because now I know the stuff is good for me and I can chug away.
Here is the recipe I use:
- 6 1/2 cups powdered milk
- 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
You just mix it all up in a bowl and then store in an airtight container. You might need to adjust the ingredients to suit your own taste. Most of the recipes I have found call for powdered non-dairy creamer – the culprit for the trans fats, so beware, but if you can find a non-transfat non-dairy creamer add 1/2 cup of that as well.
Marshmellows are optional. Whip cream? never!
Do you have a favorite Cocoa recipe? If so, please share!