Day 350: Reality Check Hot Cocoa
With Poly-phe-nols! Fa-la-la-la-la la la la la.
Merry Christmas y’all! I woke up this morning after some lovely sleeping in and decided that it felt like a brunch kind of day. Instead of breakfast I made myself a hot cocoa. It’s something festive that I love but you can’t find it in the wild without a lifetime of added sugar. That is a bummer for me, my nervous system, my skin and anyone who might have to suffer my sugar high. I make a pretty stellar cup of cocoa so I thought I’d share the recipe and give you some reasons to up your cocoa intake this holiday season. Whether you are spending the day without family and feeling a touch disconnected or you are with them right now and they are making you cuckoo f*cking bananas - I want you to know a couple of things.. 1. I totally feel you and I think you’re doing a good job. 2. Chocolate helps. Before you feel tempted to reach for some egg nog or mulled wine - I’d like to remind you that alcohol is a known depressant and will likely cause you to say something shitty at dinner. Chocolate on the other hand has been found to boost serotonin levels due to its tryptophan content. Serotonin is the happiness hormone. It enables your brain and nervous system to communicate with each other. It also helps with sleeping, eating, and digestion - which comes in handy when there is gravy and toasted marshmallows on damn near everything. While we are talking about boosting things.. chocolate stimulates your immune system and we all need a little bit of that right now. That immune boost also improves your complexion and your oral hygiene (so long as your chocolate isn’t paired with a truck load of sugar). Chocolate is also a fantastic source of polyphenols - an antioxidant packed macronutrient found in plants that has been shown to help treat neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and even weight issues. If polyphenols sound familiar to you it’s probably because someone was trying to make a case for wine by saying something like ‘red wine is good for your heart. It’s got poly-blah-blah-nols’…. And that’s true. Wine does have a lot of polyphenols but it is also flammable, inflammatory and can cause you to forget words such as polyphenols. So, I’d say it cancels itself out. Do you want a cup of cocoa yet? Make extra for the fam if there around. It lowers your risk of stroke and can decrease your risk of cancer. It will have your chaotic family feeling calm and content plus everyone will think you’re a gem for bringing them a cup.
Here’s how I take mine.. I call it a Reality Check because the flavor profile is pure and direct since it is not railroaded by a bunch of processed sugar. The mint makes me feel clear, fresh and focused. And the chocolate.. it helps me feel calm and aware of how good life honestly is.
Reality Check Hot Cocoa
this recipe is for one since I am spending the holiday alone. Adjust as needed.
2 cups milk (sippers choice)
2 Sprigs of mint - pull the leaves off the stems
2 pitted medjool dates
1 1/2 Tbl of high quality cocoa powder
2 tsp maple syrup
1 Tbl coconut cream
Heat your milk on the stove (watch it so it doesn’t boil over) let the mint and dates steep in the milk for 5 minutes. Add the cocoa powder and maple syrup then blend all of it - dates and mint leaves too - with an immersion blender (or whatever gadget you use to blend things). Top it off with a dollop of coconut cream. Huzzah!