Makes 4 cups
Frozen hot chocolate, like fried ice cream, really does a number on us left brainers. We analyze and over-analyze to make sense of this apparent contradiction. Not until we let our tastebuds take over do we then realize such analyses are unnecessary. It’s decadent, it’s rich, it’s delicious. Who cares if it’s an anomaly.
Chocolate is a gift from the gods. No, really, it is a gift from Central and South America and was regarded by the great Maya and Aztec as a favored bitter drink valuable enough to be their currency. It was the Swedes who coined it “theobroma”, food of the gods, in Greek.¹ There are many wonderful things about cacao or cocoa. It is anti-inflammatory and it’s got delicious flavonoids that seem to have chemo-protective effects.² It’s also high on the anti-oxidant list, boasting around 3-4 more times than green tea. (The darker the chocolate, the better!) As for minerals, chocolate grants us copper (important for heart health and iron absorption), magnesium, potassium, and iron.³ All these goodies contribute to cardiovascular health, lowered hypertension, and increased blood flow (read, lowered risk of plaque build-up). Oh, it was also widely considered an aphrodisiac and overall makes us feel good, happy, giddy even. Good thing chocolate got around!
The caveat is, don’t OD on it! Quantity destroys quality in anything! There is still theobromine (caffeine relative) in chocolate which can be irritating to the GI tract, cause anxiety or insomnia and hyperactivity in kiddies.
One last note; spontaneous acts of love have been known to occur after consumption of this elixir. Have fun with that!
You’ll need:
1 can organic coconut milk (whole fat)
1 cinnamon stick
2 T organic (fair trade preferable) cacao powder
2 T maple syrup
1 bar (approx 3 oz.) organic, fair trade dark chocolate (I had 73%), roughly broken
5-6 ice cubes
Ground cinnamon, for garnish
To make:
1. Heat coconut milk and cinnamon stick in a saucepan over low heat until the edges start to bubble. Stir in cacao powder and agave nectar and let the edges begin to bubble again. Remove cinnamon stick.
2. Place dark chocolate bar in a separate bowl and pour hot coconut/cacao mix over chocolate to melt. Stir well. Let cool. (Or if you have time, you can let it cool and then refrigerate for up to 1 day.)*
3. In a blender, add hot chocolate and ice cubes and blend until frothy. Serve with coconut cream and some ground cinnamon.
4. Enjoy!
*If you put hot chocolate in the fridge, it will thicken quite a bit. It’s like a ganache. Simply scrape into the blender and add water (coconut water would be ideal) to the consistency you want. Go slow so that it doesn’t become too thin.
¹ Rebecca Wood, The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia
² Rebecca Katz, The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen