Hot Chocolate

One of my favourite hot drinks is a hot chocolate. I have it most days without guilt as it’s free of any sweetener. Cosy, comforting, and warm. And I’m a sucker for raw cacao powder. Sometimes I think I eat my body weight in it.

Luckily raw cacao powder is the fourth most nutrient-dense food on the planet according to the Mat Lalonde scale of nutrient density – super high in phenols and anti oxidants. Yay! Because it is uplifting it is also a healthy swap for a coffee (without the jagged nervousness and heart-racing anxiety) and I personally have used it in this manner to circuit-break a coffee addiction as have many of the my health coaching clients. 

I make my hot chocolate in numerous ways depending on the amount of richness I crave. So instead of listing different ingredients I set out my recipe below in terms of a formula (much like my smoothie recipe) as that’s how my brain works:

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Ingredients

—  Liquid base: 1 cup full fat milk, coconut milk, almond milk or boiling water (or combo of one or more). If I’m after something light I’ll go for boiling water, if I want something more substantial and satiating I’ll go for full fat milk. 

— Raw cacao powder: ½-1 tablespoon depending of taste.

— Optional protein booster: 1 tablespoon Collagen Hydrosolate and/or Gelatin Powder which you can purchase direct from GelPro Australia here or here respectively or from our retail store Broth Bar & Larder.  I discuss the virtues and differences between Collagen Hydrosolate and Gelatin Powder in my online bone broth workshop. The former provides additional osteo skeletal report and support for hair skin and nails, whereas the latter is more about gut healing and sealing. So if you need support in these areas, consider adding these in. Both products are tasteless and dissolve in hot liquid (collagen also dissolves in cold liquid but gelatin only dissolves in hot liquid). 

— Optional fat bomb: ½ - 1 tablespoon cream, Brain Octane, MCT oil, virgin coconut oil, grass fed butter, or 1 egg yolk, or 2 raw cacao butter buttons. Good to add a fat bomb in if your liquid base is simply water. These traditional fats makes your hot choccy more nourishing and satiating. 

— Optional flavour bomb: these add not only flavour but also therapeutic benefits:

• A drop of Young Living essential oils such as cinnamon bark (my fav!), orange, tangerine, citrus fresh, peppermint (very uplifting), cardamom, or Vanilla. To read why I exclusively use Young Living essential oils and how to purchase them please click here.

• 1/2-1 teaspoon of medicinal mushrooms. Reputable brands include Masons Mushrooms by Superfeast or Lilium Love

• A sprinkling of chilli flakes (with a drop of Young Living orange essential oil for a choc orange hot choc).

Directions

If making with boiling water, place everything (other than essential oils) in a blender and process until mixed. If making with milk, then place everything (other than essential oils) in a small saucepan and gently heat (do not boil!) and blend with stick blender. Add in any essential oil. Pour into a cup and dust with raw cacao powder if desired.

Sip slowly and enjoy!

thermomix version

If making with boiling water, place everything (other than essential oils) in a blender and process until mixed. If making with milk, then place everything (other than essential oils) in a small saucepan and gently heat (do not boil!) and blend with stick blender. If making with Thermomix, heat at 60-70 degrees, for a few minutes on speed 4.

Add in any essential oils at the end of heating. Pour into a cup and dust with raw cacao powder if desired.

2 home-made supercharged drinks: Watermelon Gelatin Drink & Sauerkraut Spritzer

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My brain ticks over thinking of more ways to get bone broth and sauerkraut juice into my kids. Bone broths and lacto-fermenrted foods and beverages are particularly beneficial for infants and children, athletes, pregnant and nursing mothers, or anyone who has a compromised immune or digestive system. Traditional societies the world over consumed these foods on a regular if not daily basis but they seem to have fallen by the wayside in our modern, convenience-oriented, diets. I've written previously about the numerous health benefits of bone broths here and how to incorporate them into your diet (including smoothies!) here . I've also written about the numerous benefits of probiotic-rich lacto-fermented foods here and here.

So now I share 2 simple, delicious and refreshing drink recipes incorporating these nutrient-rich ingredients. My kids and friends have been thoroughly enjoying these drinks over these warm months to cool down (completely ignorant of the nutrient-dense/ probiotic-rich ingredients they are consuming!). If its a struggle to get your kids consuming bone broth or sauerkraut, these ideas might be just the ticket for getting these nourishing foods into them. They might sound strange, but trust me- they are delicious!

Watermelon Gelatin Drink

The addition of cold gelatinous beef broth to a drink gives it a more sweet caramel-like flavour with a moussey texture. Who would have thought? No one will even know that it contains beef broth!

Ingredients:

• 700ml of seedless watermelon juice (blend the flesh AND the juice. If your watermelon has seeds you will need to remove them first)

• 300ml of cold gelatinous beef broth (fat removed from the surface - store in freezer and use to fry meat)

• Wedges of lime, lemon or lemonades (the latter is a fruit that is a hybrid cross of lemons and oranges) (optional)

• Ice cubes (preferably form filtered water) (optional)

• Stick of celery or fennel (optional)

Directions:

Combine watermelon and beef stock in a large jug and blend with hand help blender. Pour into glasses. Add other ingredients if desired and enjoy! Makes 4 glasses.

This drink can be consumed daily assuming you do not have any adverse reactions to fruit sugars. While my family and I consume bone broths daily (in morning smoothies and as part of the evening meal), I prefer to limit fruit intake due to the fructose content of fruit (fruit sugar is still sugar!). If I was offering this to my children I would not offer them any other fruit for that day as the volume of watermelon is more than enough. I sometimes offer a bottle of this drink to my children for afternoon tea (with a chunk of raw cheese). This is also a great non-alcoholic option for guests.

Note that everything other than the beef broth and watermelon is optional and added mostly for aesthetics which often entices children. I am amazed at how much more volume my children will drink if I simply throw in some icecubes, a fennel stick, a lemon wedge and a straw (I know appreciate why those little drink umbrellas were invented!). If your children will drink straight watermelon and beef broth without the extra “bells and whistles” then that’s an easier option!

Instead of watermelon, experiment with other seasonal fruit (eg mango, pineapple). Be sure to blend the flesh AND the juice of the fruit so you are eating wholefoods (the way nature intended) – consuming fruit juice alone without the flesh will result in a huge fructose hit (followed by insulin release) resulting in undesirable fluctuations in blood sugar and fat gain. The protein in the beef gelatin will aid in slowing down the release of the fruit sugars.

Sauerkraut Spritzer

This drink was invented as a means of using up surplus juice after making sauerkraut. Using it as a vinegar substitute in salad dressing is one option. Here's another:

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Ingredients:

• Sauerkraut juice (strained off from making sauerkraut) (allow 1/2 cup juice per person)

• Wedges of lime, lemon or lemonades (the latter is a fruit that is a hybrid cross of lemons and oranges) (optional)

• Ice cubes (preferably form filtered water) (optional)

• Stick of celery or fennel (optional)

• Sparkling mineral water (1/4 cup per person) (optional)

Directions:

Combine ingredients in a glass and enjoy!

The natural active yeasts in the sauerkraut juice produced from the fermentation process give the juice a naturally fizzy/effervescent taste. This drink can be consumed daily assuming you do not have any adverse reactions to lacto-fermented foods. This is also a great non-alcoholic option for guests.

Note that everything other than the sauerkraut juice is optional and added mostly for aesthetics. My children love all the extra "trimmings". I add  sparkling mineral water only if having guests over and usually wouldn't offer it to children.

Instead of or in addition to mineral water you could add watermelon juice or some other seasonal fruit (eg mango, pineapple). Be sure to blend the flesh AND the juice of the fruit for the reasons I outlined above in the Watermelon Jelly Drink.

If you try these drinks out I'd love to hear how you and your family enjoy them.

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As an aside, and to remind me of nature's divinity- I found this perfectly heart-shaped delicate leaf in Centennial Park last week when frolicking in the grass with my kids. "That's what Mother Nature's dress is made out of" my 5 year old daughter said when she saw it. And her comment reminded us of our own divinity...

frozen banana and berry smoothies

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I often get asked what I put in my morning smoothies. Here's what I'm doing this summer: - 1 banana (a good use of overripe bananas is to peel them and freeze them in between baking sheets in a container. Pop one out whenever you need) - a handful of frozen berries or 1/2 tablespoon of raw cacao powder and 1/2 tsp vanilla bean powder - 1 cup home made kefir (Turkish yogurt) (or full fat yogurt if you have no kefir) - 1 tablespoon cold /frozen beef stock - yes I try to incorporate gelatinous bone broth into as many things as I can...click here to read more about that  (trust me, you won't taste it at all...) - 1/2 tablespoon of coconut oil (I like Aclara Health or Nuis) (optional)

Blend with hand held blender until smooth. A winner with kids (big ones too!).

I team this with pastured eggs on steamed buttered greens with sides of avocado and sauerkraut (and my obligatory macchiato).  If in a rush, make the smoothie a complete meal by adding a couple of raw egg yolks (do not add raw the whites- to find out why click here). If you need to be out the door super early, throw the smoothie ingredients altogether the night before and just blend in the morning. No excuses for leaving the house on an empty stomach!

Variations: add coconut water instead of milk, try fresh mango instead of berries or banana.

my morning macchiato