Janny-Friendly Recipe: Mocha (or Hot Chocolate)

In my last Confessions for a Tuesday, I mentioned the part of my health journey has been to temporarily give up sugar. One of the hardest parts of this decision has been my morning coffee routine. I used to enjoy it from home with 1-2 teaspoons of sugar, or (even better) from Caribou as a sugar-laden mocha. Naturally, both options had to go.

I needed a "Janny-friendly" alternative. I call it Janny-friendly, rather than diabetic-friendly or sugar-free, because while this fits into my personal diet choices, it may not fit into yours. That's something you'll need to decide for yourself.

This recipe is so simple, yet so good. I didn't discover it until a few weeks after I'd given up sugar, so for me it's sweet enough on its own, but your tastes may be different. My mom, who hasn't given up sugar, likes it as it is.

The Recipe

Ingredients:

• Unsweetened cocoa powder (Trader Joe's has an organic option for under $3)
• Your choice of one of the following:
• Milk
• Half and half
• Heavy cream
• Coffee

That's it! You can heat the milk/cream in the microwave or on the stove, then add the cocoa powder to taste. (The powder mixes better when the base is heated.)

1/2 cup milk or 2-4 tablespoons of cream mixed with 1 teaspoon cocoa powder is a good ratio for me. The amount of coffee I add depends how strong it is, but it's usually less than half a cup.

To turn this into hot chocolate, just omit the coffee. Sometimes I add more cocoa powder—up to a tablespoon—to increase the chocolatey flavor and use a full cup of milk.

It usually ends up being under or around 100 calories, with relatively few carbs (there are fewer carbs in cream than in skim milk but more calories).