Warm up without the sugar by making this ultra-warming vegan, paleo superfood hot cocoa mix!

Confession: My morning ritual typically consists of cups and cups of coffee made in my French press, mixed with creamy coconut milk straight from the can. It’s delicious. It’s what gets me out of bed most days. But, sometimes you need to change things up a bit, and sometimes that extra cup of coffee is one cup too many. Here at work we have a basket full of those ultra sweet hot cocoa mixes; you know, the kind that are always unsatisfying and a little too sweet, but you drink them anyway, crunching the accompanying freeze-dried marshmallows between your teeth. Their chocolate-y siren song is especially strong on cold winter mornings and afternoons, snowflakes drifting from the sky, bitter wind whipping, stinging eyes and cheeks. Those packets are all well and good, but the thought that there has to be something better always seems to cross my mind while indulging in one.

Inspiration struck recently when I came across freeze dried coconut milk in the aisle of my local natural foods store. This stuff is a game changer, whether you’re traveling, headed to a diner that you know won’t have a dairy alternative, or dreaming of a homemade healthy hot chocolate mix. Mixed up with mood-boosting maca and antioxidant-rich raw cacao, mineral-packed cocoa powder and warming spices, this is the perfect slightly sweet drink to warm you up on a cold day and makes an ideal unique Thanksgiving hostess gift or holiday present.

Ingredients:

1 cup cocoa powder

1 cup coconut milk powder

1/4 cup coconut, maple sugar, or dry sweetener of choice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

4 tbsp raw cacao

2 tbsp maca powder

Seeds from 1 vanilla bean

Pinch of Himalayan pink salt

Combine all ingredients in a jar and shake to combine. You may need to break the coconut milk up with a fork, as it tends to clump. This also makes the perfect holiday gift and looks beautiful with the ingredients layered.

To make: Add two tablespoons of cocoa mix to a mug and pour in about 1 1/2 cups boiling water. Stir to combine. Depending on your preference, you may want to add more cocoa mix or sweetener.

Short on time? You can always pick up a jar of our organic pre-made hot chocolate mix, found here!

+ What’s your morning ritual?

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