Healthy Holiday Hot Cocoa

by Tuja Wellness

Shiver me timbers! ‘Tis the season of warding off those winter chills and we wanna help.

First up, a well-loved and time-tested hot cocoa recipe from one of our health-conscious City Connectors. Erin is one of our on-the-ground wellness warriors in Vancouver, BC.

“I was gifted this hot cocoa recipe over 10 years ago by a sailor off the coast of Bella Bella, BC.

Yup, a sailor.

During my travels and work as a wildlife biologist, I found myself aboard a 30 ft sailboat with a crew of 8 setting sail to survey BC’s north coast for wolves. We sailed from Bella Bella to the Alaskan panhandle stopping to comb the islands of the outer coastline for signs of the elusive rainforest wolf.

Our captain was an eccentric and youthful french Canadian man with a zest for life like no other. This man literally lived on the sea, earning his living as a diver and charter sailboat captain – he even built the boat we lived on for 6 weeks himself. During cold rainy evenings he’d whip up the best hot cocoa EVER. This was before using nut milk was chic and you couldn’t find a shred of organic produce in the grocery store. I remember thinking, wow, this is soooo simple, so delicious and it’s actually healthy! I figured coming from a man in his 40s, who looked about 20, you can’t go wrong. The recipe stuck.

So go ahead, indulge in this dreamy hot beverage as much as you like. My recommendations for ingredients:Pacific Organic Almond Milk, Organic Traditions raw cacao and maca, Camino Amigo fairtrade and organic cocoa, and last but not least, some good ol’ Canadian maple syrup. (To make it more festive replace the maca with a drop of peppermint essential oil) Peace and clean-eating to you!”