Spiced Hot Chocolate Mix

Ingredients

*** 2 cups Organic Sugar (Adjust to what kind of sweetener you choose to use.) or OMIT

*** 2 cups raw, organic cacao powder 

*** 1/2 tablespoon Sea Salt

*** 2 teaspoons Cinnamon

*** 1 teaspoon Cayenne (you can use less if you don't like hot spices)

*** 1/2 to 1 teaspoon Ginger powder

Optional spices: ground anise, ground clove, ground turmeric, etc. 

The above ingredients are for the mix. You'll also need milk or a good milk substitute like unsweetened almond milk or other.

To Make a Cup of Spiced Hot Chocolate:

For one 8 ounce cup of milk, use 2 tablespoons of the cocoa mix---give or take to taste. 

If you have a microwave oven, you could use one to heat the milk, if you like. Then add the cocoa and stir well.

However, I do not have a microwave oven, so what I did was pour my milk into a small sauce pan and heat gently until just barely starting to simmer. You don't want to burn it---so don't get it into a full boil. I added the cocoa directly to the sauce pan and stirred while the almond milk was heating. 

You can use regular milk, a milk substitute, or if you’re a cream lover, you can add some of this too!

Pour into a cup and enjoy! 

You can add whipped cream, marshmallows, or any other additions for extra deliciousness!

This recipe is from Healing Harvest Homestead ~ Heidi Villegas.

• Warming & Soothing: Heating the beverage on the stove aligns with the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) principle of avoiding cold/raw foods to protect your "digestive fire" (Spleen Qi).
• Gut-Friendly Tweaks: If you are following the anti-parasite or gut-healing protocols, you can easily adapt this recipe by using unsweetened almond or coconut milk (avoiding conventional dairy), sweetening it with a gut-safe option like a tiny dash of pure stevia or monk fruit (instead of sugar/marshmallows), and ensuring your cocoa mix is rich in gut-soothing spices like cinnamon and ginger!