Does anyone have a recipe for a health herbal type of hot cocoa?
Evening. I make a drink for myself and my husband each night that's a relaxing-mushroom-medicinal-hot-cocoa. And my kids would like a little something too, especially now that the weather is getting colder and the herbal sleepy tea is not tempting all of them.
But I don't want to just give them a bunch of sugar before bed. I know I've seen some herbal hot cocoa recipes out there however, all my herbal/cookbooks are still packed because we're still working on renovations to the house. And those are the only places I can think of where I may have seen a recipe.
Do any of you have any recipes? Or know where I might find one, like on a site, blog, etc.? I would love a recipe that was the tastiness of hot cocoa but was medicinal as well possibly helping to relax, help boost immunity, etc.
Answers
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@JennyT Upstate South Carolina The mushroom cocoa that I use (Harmonic Arts product), has palm sugar (aka coconut sugar) as the sweetener which is much lower on the glycemic scale than other sugars. Depending on the reference source, palm sugar is only at 35 on the scale whereas other sugars are twice that. So that will help cut down on sugar spikes before bed. I'm sure there are other companies that use palm sugar as well as the one I use.
So if you were going to make a blend yourself: Cocoa powder, mushroom blend (available on its own from most companies that sell mushroom chocolate or other mushroom beverages), palm sugar and milk (or plant mylk, oat mylk would be calming/stress reducing). A bit of vanilla would help with adding sweetness. There are herbs that you could heat/infuse along with the milk. Lavender would be calming and would be a good blend with chocolate (maybe, if you like lavender). Chamomile is helpful for bedtime. Peppermint & chocolate (yum). Star anise has a nice flavour or a cinnamon stick or a couple of cardamom pods. There are many combinations you could use based on the taste buds of your kids. Then just strain out the herbs as you pour the milk into your chocolate blend.
When I am making hubby's morning chocolate, I also had some pine pollen extract (cause he is at an age where extra testosterone is beneficial), cinnamon (to help balance blood sugars) and a tiny pinch of cayenne to help with circulation (I add cayenne to almost everything).
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Mountain Rose Herbs has several hot chocolate recipes on their blog site. Just type in hot chocolate in the blog sear on the right side of the page.
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@vickeym The Hot Dandelion Cocoa looks like a good one. I'm going to have to try that.
Their recipe for Herbal Cacao-ffee looks interesting.
This one is more about supporting the liver but it has cacao nibs in it along with dried orange peel. I think dried orange peel would be excellent in a hot chocolate beverage.
This recipe was done in a podcast with Rosalee de la Foret. Again, liver support but I think it would be a great hot chocolate blend. It lists raw sugar for the sweetener but you could substitute palm sugar, maple syrup or honey.
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This a perfect, @torey! Just what I was hoping for, a basic recipe that I can customize.😘
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Maybe this is where I saw the recipe and not just in one of my books. This is great. Thanks, @vickeym😘.
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I bet this is another place I saw a recipe, @torey . 🤦 You guys are just awesome! Thanks so much.♥️
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@JennyT Upstate South Carolina Hot Cacao
Buttermilk, or Low-fat (No Dextrose) Evaporated Milk 1cup
Unsweetened Cocoa powder 1Tablespoon
Cardamom seeds 1/4 teaspoon
Nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon
Cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon
Heat the liquid, add each of the dry ingredients, stir, drink. Stir. Drink. Repeat
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@JennyT Upstate South Carolina I think you could add astragalus to infuse in the milk. Its a very sweet tasting herb (at least to my tastes) so that would help cut down on the sweetener that you add. And its an adaptogen to boot.
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I make up a mixture of cocao, carob and other powders and when I make the drink, I add vanilla stevia to it.
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Thank you! I've been thinking I should look for this very thing, and you have saved me lots of work. I gave away some really good cocoa mix packets when I found my blood sugar was high, and I do so miss hot chocolate on a winter evening!
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Ooo, thanks for this new recipe, @SuperC! Can't wait to try it. 😊
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Astragalus is sweet? That's good to know. I do know the licorice root is sweet and has some medicinal benefits so I was considering using some of that. But I didn't realize that astragalus was sweet too, so thanks for letting me know, @torey. 😁
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I'm glad my question has helped you too, @Linda Bittle. Enjoy. 😋☕️
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Does anyone know any cautionary reasons not to use any of these herbs when making hot chocolate for 2 & 4 year olds? I understand that anyone can have reactions to almost any kind of food but I'm curious about the things that really young kids just shouldn't have until they're older. Just trying to save some time researching some of the items. Thanks!
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@JennyT Upstate South Carolina I make my own chai latte from scratch & last year decided to do something with organic Cacao. So I’ve come up with this mix. 1 heaped tblsp cacao, 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 heaped teaspoon turmeric + a crack of pepper, 1 tblsp of astragalus powder, 1tblsp ashwaghanda powder & a good dollop of honey. Mix everything with a splash of hot water & then add 500mls of heated oat milk. Good for 2 people.
My reasoning for the above ingredients. To create a bedtime soothing drink that helps get you to sleep & packs a healthy punch.
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@Elizabeth Moeller Welcome to TGN's forum! Please give us a general idea where you are from in our Introductions section. It's always fun to know where other members call home and it cab help members connect with members in a more tangible way.
You asked a very good question and it is important to be aware of dosages and cautions, even when herbs are in foods and not given specifically as medicine. I do have some experience with herbs & kids, but am not an herbalist & I haven't had an opportunity to read through all of the awesome recipes listed above, so I am not the best one to give an idea of the safety of the recipes above when giving these beverages to children. @torey would most likely be the best one to help give you an idea.
Torey, would you mind listing each herb with cautions (and kid cautions) in a post below? I think this is a great idea, especially when we all know kids can down hot chocolate like candy! Mine do...
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Thanks, @JodieDownUnder, I've got another great option to try. That's exactly what I'm looking for "helping you sleep and packs a healthy punch." 😊
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For all of you contributing, thanks so much. This recipe was in my email this morning, thought I'd share it with you all. 😁
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Welcome to the forum @Elizabeth Moeller.
Almost all of the herbs listed above would be safe for children. Chamomile, lavender and peppermint are all considered safe "children's" herbs. Cardamom is safe for children as is astragalus. Dried orange peel is OK but I'd make sure my source was organic. They put some pretty nasty things on non-organic oranges.
Some, such as cinnamon and nutmeg, are in food amounts for flavouring, not therapeutic doses.
Ashwagandha is safe but children might not like the flavour. Dandelion is safe but if your child has loose stools you should avoid it. Burdock is safe for children.
Star anise has some conflicting information about its safety in young children. I would probably avoid putting star anise in a beverage for children under 1. Of course, we shouldn't really be giving hot chocolate to babes under 1, anyhow.
Licorice has cautions with use for those with high blood pressure. Children aren't likely to have HBP but adults with HBP might want to avoid it.
Turmeric should be avoided by those with gallstones.
I wouldn't put pine pollen in beverages for children of any age. Its more of a tonic for older people. Kids probably won't like cayenne although it is in a very small amount; hardly detectable.
As to dosages, things like chamomile, peppermint or astragalus that are being infused in the milk, can be used in smaller amounts than for adults. The usual adult tea would be 1 tsp of herb to 1 cup of water. Just adjust that down to half or even less for young children.
I think I got it all. Hope that helps.
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I didn't mention the medicinal mushrooms.
I can't find any contraindications for them other than if you have high blood pressure and are on meds, you should monitor you BP as the mushrooms can help lower BP.
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Thank you so much for all the great information. I can't wait to try out variations of the hot chocolate recipes on my granddaughters this weekend. I'm from the Fox River Valley area of Wisconsin.
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I'm going to have to try some of these recipes! I wonder if my family will notice the cayenne pepper? 🤔
Welcome to the forums @Elizabeth Moeller!
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Here is another spicy hot chocolate recipe from the people at Pepperscale.
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Ooo, I like the idea of a little spicy kick, thanks @torey. 😊
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