I’m thrilled to share my secret for healthier winter drinks. Making a skinny hot chocolate, mocha, or peppermint mocha at home is easy. Warm holiday coffee shop drinks are so alluring. It absolutely feels like Christmas with one of those cups warming your hands. As much as I love those sweet drinks, I have a confession to make… I never. ever. order them. Here’s why: 

A medium peppermint mocha from Starbucks packs 54 grams of sugar. FIFTY FOUR! That’s equivalent to the sugar in more than 5 – FIVE – donuts.  Instead, I order a regular cappuccino and add a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg, and sweeten with stevia. The result is a frothy, holiday spiced, sweet warm drink without the sugar. I’m far from perfect, but small changes like this make a big difference. This week we got a much need winter storm that brought buckets of rain to dought stricken California. While we were cozy inside we decided to make some peppermint hot chocolate. I added a shot of decaf espresso to mine for a homemade healthy peppermint mocha.  If you don’t yet know why sugar is so bad for your health, I  highly recommend the documentary Fed Up. It’s so easy to make a skinny hot chocolate, or skinny peppermint mocha at home with completely natural and organic ingredients. 

All that’s needed to make your skinny and healthy hot chocolate or mocha is your favorite milk (I usually use almond milk), cacao powder, and stevia. To make it pepperminty, add a little peppermint extract. And since this recipe is so guilt-free, I feel like it’s okay to add a dollop of whipped cream. Did you know that cacao has many health benefits? It’s a strong source of antioxidants and heart-healthy flavonoids, and is also thought to have anti-cancer properties. source So chocolate isn’t unhealthy at all… until it has been processed the way we usually find it.