Healthy Hot Chocolate Recipe (Kid-Friendly!) (2024)
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It’s the perfect time to start curling up with a good book and a cup of hot cocoa. However, I often find that typical hot chocolate feels a bit overly sweet and heavy—particularly for my kids! After trying a ton of boxed options, I decided to develop my own kid-friendly healthy hot chocolate recipe.
I’m happy to say this one is a hit! It’s absolutely child-approved and a recipe my own four children ask for all winter long. Even better? It has just four ingredients!
I will note that this recipe is refined sugar free and dairy free. Because of this, it’s not as rich and chocolatey as some people may prefer. I find it’s the perfect amount of sweetness for children or those who are working on health goals, however!
Easy Hot Cocoa Recipe for Kids
If you haven’t made hot chocolate from scratch before, I’ve got great news: it’s not complicated! In fact, this healthy hot chocolate is so simple to make that it’s almost as quick as the store-bought packets!
In my home, a warm mug of hot cocoa is pretty much a necessity this time of year. Especially forkids, because hot cocoa is a very good motivator to stay outside longer.
You know when they want to come in after 10 minutes, and you’ve spent 15 minutes bundling them up? Just offer them hot cocoa if they stay outside a little longer. It works (almost) every time.
Ingredients
I have to be careful about what I feed my kids (and myself) because we all have food sensitivities. That means we can’t buy the store-bought hot cocoa packets, which are loaded with high fructose corn syrup and other ingredients I can’t pronounce.
So this year, when my children started asking for hot cocoa, I decided to create our own healthy hot cocoa recipe. I’ve come up with a few variations, but this particular version is a favorite with my kids.
In fact, they’ve told me it tastes just as good, if not better, than the old “store stuff.” (Score!)
Here are the four simple ingredients in this homemade hot cocoa recipe:
Cocoa powder – I use cacao powder myself,but you can use baking cocoa too. Cacao powder is more bitter, so you may need to increase the sweetener slightly if you go this route.
Okay, let’s walk through how to whip up a batch of hot chocolate in just minutes.
Grab a small saucepan, and use it to heat the almond milk. Next, whisk in the cocoa powder, honey, and vanilla extract.
Make sure to whisk it well, so there are no lumps.
Alternatively, you can carefully pour it into a blender (or use an immersion blender). Just don’t burn yourself! Blend or whisk until it’s nice and frothy, then pour into a mug and serve.
See how simple that is?
Variations + More Hot Chocolate Recipes
Peppermint hot chocolate: Add a few drops of peppermint extract while you are whisking.
Creamy hot chocolate: Top with a dollop of your favorite whipped cream (use a non-dairy one if you want to keep this recipe dairy-free).
Peanut butter hot chocolate: Yes, I have an entire recipe showing you how you can make a peanut butter hot chocolate!
Want even more ideas? Check out this post with the
Pop, coffee, energy or sport drinks, fruit punches, hot chocolate, sweetened milks and tea are not recommended for children even if water is added. These drinks are high in sugar and/or caffeine and are not suitable for toddlers or children of any age.
Unsweetened cocoa powder (or cacao powder, which is raw chocolate powder) Honey or maple syrup to sweeten it up (use a natural sweetener so you can control the quality and amount of sugar) Vanilla extract to give it a rich, gourmet flavor.
Extra-small chunks Almond Butter Crunch were the most popular toppings of choice. Chocolate chips, finely chopped nuts, crushed graham crackers, and candy cane pieces, also make great options!
The moderate consumption of cocoa in children helps to promote positive emotions and provides energy. This energy helps them stay active, learn better, and increase their creativity.
One envelope of Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate flavour has 23g of added sugar in it, which is nearly 6 teaspoons. That's about the maximum amount of added sugar recommended by Public Health England for kids ages 7-10 for the entire day and more than is suggested for 4-6 year olds.
4. Hot chocolate. A small hot chocolate from a high street coffee shop can contain nearly five teaspoons (20g) of sugar. These extra calories can cause weight gain, increasing your risk of heart disease.
Unlike the other options, a packet of Swiss Miss hot chocolate with mini marshmallows contains only 146 calories. That's around 200 less than Panera, Starbucks, and Dunkin Donuts' hot chocolates. Plus, each packet has only 17.8 grams of sugar. ... Without all these additions, Swiss Miss makes a much healthier product.
If you are mindful of your overall intake of added sugars and calories and choose a hot chocolate that is lower in sugar and fat, enjoying it regularly can be part of a healthy lifestyle. Opting for skimmed or plant-based milk versions with little to no added sugars is a sensible choice for daily consumption.
One cup of hot chocolate made from a powdered mix provides 6 grams of fat, 9 grams of protein, 2.5 grams of fiber, and some minerals. It's still much more nutritious than black coffee or tea, which contain no calories at all.
Christopher Cocoa Super Kids Cocoa Health and Nutrition Drink, No Sugar Vegan, 100g x 2 (For Kids and Adults). Add one spoon to hot milk. Add sugar as per taste. Add ice and blend for cold.
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD): Cocoa might make the symptoms of GERD worse. Glaucoma: Cocoa contains caffeine. The caffeine in cocoa increases pressure in the eye and should be used cautiously in people with glaucoma. High blood pressure: Cocoa contains caffeine.
Heart conditions: Cocoa contains caffeine. The caffeine in cocoa might cause irregular heartbeat in some people and should be used cautiously in people with heart conditions. Diabetes: Cocoa seems to be able to raise blood sugar levels and might interfere with blood sugar control in people with diabetes.
It is believed that the hot chocolate drink was first made by the Mayan people about 2,000 years ago. Another cocoa drink was made by the Aztecs by 1400 AD/CE. The drink became popular in Europe after being brought from Mexico into the New World, and has changed a lot since then.
Cocoa and warm milk both contain high levels of a substance known as tryptophan. Tryptophan is a wonderful amino acid for sleep because it promotes the creation of serotonin, the neurotransmitter mentioned above.
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