Let the new year bring out the best in you
My 3 favorite hot beverages for staying warm in the cold
To start off our new year right I thought it would be nice to begin with some hot beverages to warm us from the cold weather, and cold season. I’ve also gave a link to a tea guide video that will help to give you a lot of good ideas to add to your hot beverage this year.
Homemade thick rich, healthy hot cacao
It’s important to remember that everything here is to taste, so I’m going to give you the basics, and the rest is you playing around and having fun in the kitchen! I used to love letting my daughter help when she was little and letting her add in her own special ingredients! The recipe here will make two good size cups, but once you get the hang of it you can increase as needed.
Ingredients:
- 2-3 tbsp butter, coconut oil, ghee, or any mix of these (I personally love doing almost all of mine with coconut oil, and just a little ghee for flavor)
- 2-5 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla (you can also add in a little peppermint oil/flavor, or raspberry, hazelnut, almond etc.) have fun 🙂
- 1/4-1/2 c sweetener (less if using traditional sugar, but you may need a little more if using maple syrup, coconut sugar, monk fruit etc. just make sure you’re tasting it until it’s to your own liking)
- 3-5 c liquid (milk, nutmilk or nut creamer, or you can even just use water. The amount of liquid here is also to your liking. I like my cocoa thick and dark chocolatey, so I use less sugar and liquid in mine)
- a pinch of salt (I prefer pink Himalayan)
- pinch of cinnamon (optional)
We’re going to start by putting our fat or oil into a pan on a medium low heat, just until everything is melted. Next you’re going to add in your cocoa powder (you want it to have enough fat in comparison that you still have a liquid chocolate). stir for a few seconds letting the cocoa momentarily cook in the oils, then pour vanilla or flavoring in (it will sizzle a bit, that’s just the alcohols and water cooking off). After that you’re going to add your sweetener, milk or liquid, pinch of cinnamon (optional) and a pinch of salt. Bring pan of ingredients almost to a boil on high heat stirring frequently until everything is melted together off the bottom of the pan. At this point taste and make sure everything is to your liking, adding more sweetener or liquid. That’s it!! Top with coco whip, whipped cream, marshmallows, a pinch of cinnamon, whatever you want, and enjoy! You can also use the link below to watch a video of me making this hot cocoa of my facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/100082996081478/videos/1362915408631659
Homemade Spiced Chai
This recipe will make enough for 2-3 cups. You will want to mix all ingredients together inside a tea infuser (if you’re using tea bags, you can tear them open and dump tea into infuser)
- 2-3 large pinches or tea bags black tea
- 1-2 tsp ginger
- 1-2 tsp sweet cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp star anise
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg (optional)
- 1/8 tsp cardamom
- 1/8 tsp clove
You can use either whole or powdered for most of your spices here, and remember most importantly play with it and taste it till you get it to your liking! Brew for 3-5 minutes then you can add in sweetener of choice (I like maple syrup or coconut sugar), and creamer of choice.
Immune Boost Brew
This recipe will brew one small pot of tea. I recommend using a fully enclosed infuser.
These ingredients are great in the winter, whenever I’m feeling a little bogged down or like my bodies fighting something off, I’ll brew a pot of this to start my day right! Please note that I do use green and white tea in this which has caffeine, but you can always brew this with caffeine-free herbs like Italian seasoning, sage, raspberry or blackberry leaf, dandelion leaf etc..
- 2 good pinch or teaspoons of white peony tea (if in a bag, rip it open and dump into infuser)
- 4 good pinches of gunpowder green tea or sencha green
- 1/2 tsp sweet cinnamon powder
- 1/2 tsp fresh or powder ginger
- 1/2 tsp fresh or powder turmeric
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp dried echinacea
- 1/4-1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried elderberries
- 1 tsp dried rose hips
You can steep this tea as long as you want and add some raw honey for sweetness as well as added immune boosting properties that will also help soothe a sore throat!!