Given my foodie tendencies you might suspect my hot chocolate is of the gourmet persuasion. While I won’t claim this is never the case, more often than not my hot chocolate is of the blue can persuasion. And it’s usually the “no sugar added” variety to boot.
While I know there are many folks who don’t do artificial sweeteners, I am not one of them. I am the child (and grandchild, both sides!) of a dentist; I grew up on this stuff and have lived to tell the tale. I was disappointed when Swiss Miss started to use Splenda instead of NutraSweet, but I still prefer the taste of the no sugar added cocoa mix to the regular kind. Also, one serving is only about 50 calories and has 30% of the US RDA of calcium.
The super-processed big agriculture nature of instant hot chocolate mix does nag at me a little. I’m thinking I’d like to try making my own from organic powdered milk though I’ll likely still use a sugar substitute. Hey, I’m a Gemini, I’m allowed to contradict myself regularly.
Whether you go with a mix or do the real milk thing, hot chocolate is fun to fancy up. Beyond the traditional marshmallows (see, I’m not anti-sugar) it’s likely you have a few things in your pantry that taste really good in your cocoa. One of the easiest add-ins is cinnamon, a cheater-version of Mexican hot chocolate. A little ground cinnamon goes a long ways, and it works best if you add it to the cocoa before pouring the liquid in. A small zest of orange rind in the bottom of the cup is a nice treat, and if you happen to have peppermint extract, adding a tiny drop plus some vanilla will make candy cane hot cocoa.
Now I’m going to check on the snow piling up outside…I think I’m finally ready for winter!
7 responses so far ↓
Jen // November 29, 2007 at 6:04 am |
How much snow did you get? We have hardly any.
mizinformation // November 29, 2007 at 6:34 am |
yeah, I woke up all excited but I still see grass poking through.
saucygrrl // November 30, 2007 at 10:56 am |
You know what’s also good? A drop or two of almond extract. It’s like drinking a chocolate covered cherry… (works best with thick homemade kind though)
mizinformation // November 30, 2007 at 11:31 am |
ooh, I have almond extract…sounds like a good substitute for (i.e. distraction from) marzipan ritter sport bars…mmm.
Steph // December 1, 2007 at 9:30 am |
Wow, you got snow. We’re still waiting.
I don’t think I ever really realized that both of your grandfathers were dentists. How did I miss that?
mizinformation // December 1, 2007 at 9:32 am |
I dunno–they actually went to dental school together (cue twilight zone music….)
Hot chocolate weather and I dream of Mexico « Travels With Snacks // November 22, 2008 at 10:49 pm |
[...] this evening it was definitely time for a hot drink. I know this time last year I was singing the virtues of Swiss Miss but tonight I was in the mood for something a little more substantial. I broke out the last box of [...]