Eat sugar......Stay Skinny?

                 CLICK HERE:  How to make this tasty treat!
 
Who doesn't love hot chocolate? Personally, I CHERISH IT!!! Why does this matter? A majority of people who are trying to lose weight abstain from large amounts of sugar, processed flours, and fried foods. What if you could have a healthy go to which tasted amazing? I FOUND IT! I feel like I hit the jackpot as my sweet tooth is nothing short of a miniature devil always on my left shoulder. You know that feeling when you have been good all day and its 11pm and that day old cookie pops into your brain? This is the moment where many people have a difficult time. So I'm going to give you my favorite secret hot chocolate recipe..........

Amazonian Hot Chocolate Recipe:

1. 8-10oz of Almond Milk
2. 3 Tablespoons of Raw, Cold Processed, organic, Cocoa Powder (no, not the Hershey kind)
3. 1 large tablespoon of Raw, organic, unfiltered honey
4. 1 packet of Stevia (optional for sweetness)
5. 1 Teaspoon of cinnamon (optional if you like this spice)

A bunch of you are probably thinking, doesn't honey have sugar? How many times can I drink this? This has to be too good to be true? Lets explore some of the health benefits in some of the ingredients!!!

 Raw Honey: 

"Raw honey has anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal properties. It promotes body and digestive health, is a powerful antioxidant, strengthens the immune system, eliminates allergies, and is an excellent remedy for skin wounds and all types of infections" (naturalnews.com).

"Researchers report honey can sometimes be safely used by diabetics, but these individuals should always consult a doctor before including honey in their diet" (sfgate.com).

Raw Cocoa Powder:

"The US Department of Agriculture/Journal of the American Chemical Society has released data on high ORAC value foods per 100 grams compared to unprocessed raw cocoa (28,000): dark chocolate (13,210), prunes (5,770), blueberries (2,400), kale (1,770), and broccoli (890).  According to the USDA, the average American gets 1200 ORAC value/day in their diet. They go on further to say that Americans should strive to get between 3000-5000 ORAC value/day. One tablespoon of cocoa powder which is about 5g has an approximate ORAC value of 1400, which gives you almost half of what you need" (Teta, 2011) 

 "It turns out that all the bad things commonly attributed to non-raw chocolate bars, such as cavities, weight gain and diabetes, are actually caused by the dairy, sugar and others fillers added to the dark chocolate. Health benefits of chocolate when it is in the form of raw cacao beans, butter, nibs and/or the powder include; weight loss (because of its high chromium and coumarin content), prevention of cavities (theobromine actually kills streptococci mutans one of the strains of bacteria that cause tooth decay) and regulation of blood sugar which is beneficial for diabetes (chromium can naturally regulate blood sugar)" (Kilgour, 2009).

WOW! It makes a whole lot more sense now as to why you should include this scrumptious drink in your daily routine!!There are a few things I would like to caution you on and these would be: 

• Do not give raw honey or cocoa to young children 
• It is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT you buy raw, organic, cocoa and honey 
• Only use honey about 1-2x a week to sweeten your drink, otherwise use Stevia (we still want to limit the amount of fructose in the diet to promote fat loss)
• Remember everything in moderation 
• Cocoa powder can cause some people to stay awake and others they fall right asleep (like me), be sure to test your tolerance 

So be sure to check out my YouTube video today on how I make this incredible concoction! I hope this makes your winter a lot warmer, cozier, and full of sweetness! Nature definitely knows how to satisfy!

YOUTUBE.COM/C/THEFITNEZAMAZON1