Simple Hot Cocoa Recipe

My sister has been making hot cocoa as a treat for us in the evenings! We love drinking it while watching Christmas movies. It’s made from only a few real food ingredients. It will fully satisfy your chocolate cravings, and it’s a perfect dessert for this time of year. We make it on the stove top, and it only takes a few minutes. This recipe is a much healthier alternative to powered cocoa mix or using the microwave.

Ingredients:

½ cup sucanat or rapadura (or brown sugar)

¼ cup (pure/unsweetened) cocoa powder

A pinch of salt

1/3 cup hot water

4 cups whole milk

¾ tsp. vanilla extract

Mix sugar, cocoa and salt in saucepan; stir in water. (The cocoa mixture doesn’t mix well with the cold milk. That’s why the water is added first.) Stir over medium heat for about 2 minutes until mixture is hot. Add milk and stir until the cocoa is hot (do not let it boil). Remove from heat and add vanilla. Makes 4-6 servings (depending on how big your mugs are ;).

Instead of marshmallows, sprinkle ground cinnamon on top. Enjoy! 

This post is linked to Frugally Sustainable and Raising Homemakers. 

Delicious Holiday Eggnog

It’s Christmas time!

One of the best (and worst) things about the month of December is all the delicious holiday treats and desserts. Eggnog is one of those special desserts my family enjoys during this time of year.

I have a great recipe for delicious eggnog that is not bad for you.

But first, for the sake of a little extra motivation…

Pick up a jug of eggnog next time you’re at the grocery store, and read the ingredients… Yikes!

Now, after you spent five minutes trying to pronounce those ingredients, put that jug of eggnog back on the shelf! Go home and try this simple recipe.

Delicious Holiday Eggnog:

Soft custard:

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1/3 cup sucanat or rapadura (or brown sugar)

Pinch of salt

2½ cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

            Ground cinnamon

Mix eggs, sugar and salt in saucepan. Gradually stir in milk. Cook over low heat 15 to 20 minutes, stirring constantly (Note: you have to stir the whole time or custard might become lumpy). Once mixture is thick enough to coat a metal spoon, remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Let cool and serve warm, or refrigerate for about 2 hours and serve cold. 

Soft Custard 

Whipped cream:

1 cup cream

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Prepare Soft Custard (above).

Just before serving, beat cream, powdered sugar and vanilla in small bowl until stiff. Gently stir 1 cup of the whipped cream into custard.

Mixing whipped cream into custard

Top individual cups of eggnog with remaining whipped cream. Sprinkle on cinnamon. Serve and enjoy! 

We made this eggnog tonight and it was SO good! The flavor of homemade eggnog is very mild compared to eggnog from the store. You can also experiment with this recipe. My recipe book suggests adding nutmeg, rum, or coffee to the eggnog. Mixing a cup of coffee in with the batch of eggnog is a combination I love! 

--Corryn

Do you know about the dangers of genetically modified foods?

Seeds of Deception
by Jeffrey M. Smith

Do you know that non-organic fruits and vegetables sold at the grocery store have a good chance of being genetically modified? As well as vegetable oils, and packaged goods?

Almost all corn and soy (among other things) in the U.S. are now genetically modified. None of these GMO foods are labeled. This gives us no way of knowing if the foods we’re buying were created in a laboratory.

What are GMOs? This quote is taken from the Non-GMO Shopping Guide: “Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are made by forcing genes from one species, such as bacteria, viruses, animals, or humans, into the DNA of a food crop or animal to introduce a new trait.”

Many animals avoid eating GMO foods when given a choice. There have been several tests to see the effect of GMO foods on lab rats. They all ended up getting sick and dying, or becoming infertile.

One of the scariest things about GMO crops is that they cross-pollinate, by wind and other natural means, with normal crops. This contaminates the normal crops and turns them into GMOs.

Please read these 10 Reasons to Avoid GMOs from the Institute for Responsible Technology. Genetically modified foods are dangerous to our health and environment. 

You can also sign this petition for requiring GMO foods to be labeled: Label my Food! If protestors in Europe were able to get their foods labeled, we can do it here too.

Don’t allow yourself and your family to be deceived. We live in the day and age where we buy most of our food from the grocery store from only a few giant corporations… Remember, just because it looks like food doesn’t mean it is. Buy organic when you can, and look for non-GMO seals on foods.

Wishing you health and discernment!

--Corryn