Huge thank you to Taylor of Butter Addict Gone Paleo for guest posting today & sharing this delicious recipe! This is going to be a staple at our house this Christmas, and I know you'll love it too! Almost as much as I love Taylor! Be sure to check out her blog, Butter Addict Gone Paleo. You can also find her on Instagram HERE.
The month of December always puts me in the mood to decorate the tree, listen to Christmas music, hang out by a crackling fireplace (or at least the sounds of one! TIP: the Netflix show “Fireplace For Your Home” is surprisingly great for mood-setting when you do not have access to a real fireplace!) AND drink hot cocoa! There’s just something so cozy and euphoric about Christmastime to me.
If you couldn’t tell, I’m really excited for Christmas! I’m also super excited to be a guest blogger here at Just Jessie B and share a super easy Paleo Crockpot Hot Cocoa with you guys! I’ve followed Jessie for awhile now and love everything that she shares. Her food principles match so perfectly with mine and I’ve loved learning so many lifestyle tips from her! She offers a great look into attainable clean eating, but also safer beauty and living. These things are something that everyone can benefit from learning - but you guys probably know this already! ;) So I was thrilled when she asked me to share something with you all - especially this time of year!
If I’m being honest here, it’s not just the month of December that gets me in this Christmas-y mood...the months of October and November get me pretty excited too! Anyone else always ready for the simple (non-stress-inducing) customs that come with Christmastime?! I could seriously live off of those moments!
Like I stated, hot cocoa is on the brain when the tree goes up and is quite frequently on my mind thereafter. However, since meeting my husband years ago and discovering his dairy intolerance, milk and heavy cream are never in our refrigerator - so I’ve learned to improvise! Around the same time that we learned about this intolerance, Crossfit became a major part of his life, therefore, exposing us to the paleo/whole30 lifestyle that many athletes follow. I quickly dove headfirst into it and haven’t looked back since! It was one of the best decisions that we ever made, and we’ve never felt better!
Surprisingly, it wasn’t hard for me to adapt to the dairy-free lifestyle. I used to be a HUGE cheese & ice cream lover. At any given moment, I could have devoured a big bowl of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream or dipped pretty much anything into some of that highly-processed cheese sauce and been a happy camper. However, I decided to kick the majority of dairy out for a few weeks and a few weeks turned into months, then years. Now, my body rarely craves dairy like it used to. Your body adapts and learns to crave what you nourish it with. When I started putting healthier fats, like nuts and coconut milk into my body instead, I found that to be what my body wanted. CRAZY! I never would have believed a few years ago that this is where I would be, but I’m so glad that I’m here!
I have loved cooking for as long as I can remember. I love to make feel-good comfort foods just like my mom used to make - minus the dairy, gluten, grains, soy, and refined sugars. Hot cocoa is one of those things. Like many of my favorites, it is not typically paleo, nor is it regularly classified among other “health foods.” This is because it’s usually filled with the number one evil in our food groups - SUGAR.
Sugar is not only highly addictive, debilitating, and pervasive, as studies have linked it to hundreds of diseases, but it’s just so freakin’ yummy too. The problem with sugar today is that it most likely is coming from sugar beets or sugar cane and has ZERO nutritional value all the while it’s being consumed in excess. It’s been so processed and refined that all you’re left with is that pure, sweet evil. Not only is it something that you personally add to foods and drinks, it can be deceitfully disguised in so many other foods with words like: fructose, corn syrup, glucose, maltose, sucrose, or dextrose to name a few - all of those are sugar that you may not realize you’re consuming! Check your ingredients. It’s insane! Therefore, even when you eliminate those white granules, the likelihood of you still consuming large amounts of sugar is quite great. This is just one of the reasons switching to the paleo/whole30 (REAL FOOD) lifestyle made perfect sense. I wanted to know exactly what was going into my body.
Now, back to this hot cocoa thing - because let’s be honest, that’s why we are all here! I prefer to control the sweetness level of my drinks - that’s why homemade is usually the way I go! This recipe uses coconut sugar, which is still high in calories, but it actually has a nutritional value, unlike white sugar. Not only is it classified lower on the glycemic index, coconut sugar contains minerals, antioxidants, and fiber - all things your body can USE. All of this is to say, sugar should still be used sparingly, but we all know that hot cocoa is meant to be sweet! So, if you’re going to sweeten something, we should do it a better, REAL way. There is your little science lesson for the day. ha! I believe in knowing why you’re doing something, not just doing it blindly.
So, here’s the “WHY” for why you should make this Paleo Crockpot Hot Cocoa: because it’s delicious and one thing you don’t have to feel guilty about partaking of this holiday season! Because, if we are being honest, everyone will STILL probably feel a little guilty no matter how many times they read some post about how they should go ahead and just treat themselves over the holidays.
This Crockpot Hot Cocoa is so simple and oh-so-creamy! Due to the cashew butter, this hot cocoa has a flavor reminiscent of Nutella that is addicting and deeelicious! It’s dairy-free and super customizable. You can really control every aspect about this recipe. Some people prefer their hot cocoa thick and rich (basically like a drinkable chocolate ganache - haha!) while others prefer it a bit more mellow. My preference tends to fall in between the two. My hot cocoa has got to be super creamy, yet not too heavy, and not too watery. I’m pretty analytical when it comes to things that I consume. I just want everything to be perfectly delicious and worth eating!
This hot cocoa is easy to make, guilt free, and filled with healthy fats that your body will know what to do with - something like that around the holidays?... YES, PLEASE!!
Now, go grab that crockpot - let’s make this hot cocoa!
Servings: 11-12 cups
Cook time: 1-2 hours
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Creamy cashew butter
- 2-3 cups Water (depending on thickness desired - you can always adjust this later!)
- 2 13.5 oz Cans of unsweetened coconut milk
- 6 oz dairy-free chocolate chips*
- ¾ c Coconut sugar (you can add more or less depending on sweetness desired)
- 6 cups Unsweetened almond milk
- 2 tsp Pure vanilla extract
- 1 pinch Himalayan pink salt
Instructions:
- To ensure the creaminess of the hot cocoa, I like to blend the cashew butter with 2-3 cups of water** for 15-30 seconds in a high-powered blender first. I’ve found that some nut butters may be labeled creamy, but still have little pieces of the nut left behind. Blending it with some water helps to make things extra creamy!
- To a crockpot, add the cashew butter/water mixture along with the remaining ingredients. Stir to combine.
- Cook on low for 1-2 hours, whisking together every 30 minutes or so.
- Afterwards, set it to warm while serving.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator. FYI: this makes a tasty chocolate milk the next day!
NOTES:
*You can find lots of brands of dairy-free chocolate chips online or in the health section at your local grocery store! Santa Barbara Chocolate makes great dairy free ones that are sweetened with coconut sugar. You can substitute any chocolate chip/bar, just note that the sugar in the recipe may need to be adjusted more, depending on how sweet or bitter the chocolate may be. I always error on the side of caution and start with less sugar. You can add more if it needs it!
**I usually use 3 cups of water. Use less if you want a richer hot cocoa. Once the cocoa has warmed some, you can whisk in more if desired.
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