This is the time of year when we need a little bit of warming up and in the process, why not get some good nutrition as well.
A few months back and I was feeling a bit run down, on the verge of a cold and I was looking to up the ante for my intake of ginger and ENTER.. The Ultimate Healthy Hot Chocolate recipe!
This recipe is not only tasty, but is an amazing winter warmer and is perfect in the afternoon or evening for an after dinner sweet treat.
Ginger is a bit of an all-round winner when it comes to health benefits. It’s not only got a wonderful pungent and warming flavour that is perfect for this time of year, but it contains two key elements gingerol and shogaol that are key to inhibiting reactions that cause pain, fever and inflammation. Ginger also has a soothing effect on our digestive systems and is known for its abilities to reduce discomfort, stomach pain and nausea, so as far as ingredients go, this one is definitely a winner.
Fresh ginger is easy to incorporate into our diets and is really one of those great foods that we should try and incorporate into our diets as often as possible. Ginger can be sliced and added to hot water with lemon, grated into porridge or added to juices (or hot chocolate recipes!!), smoothies and curries.
Ginger isn’t the only ingredient with health benefits in this recipe and Cacao is another one of my firm favourites. Cacao is a rich source of magnesium and just one cup of The Ultimate Healthy Hot Chocolate provides approximately 120mg of your daily requirement of magnesium. To put that into perspective, the recommended daily intake for males is 420 mg/day and females 320 mg/day so it provides around 20-30% of your needs. Magnesium as mentioned in some of my previous posts is really important for bone structure, prevention of muscle cramps and energy metabolism and as a relaxant can help to improve sleep.
This recipe takes just 10 minutes to make and I hope you love it as much as I do.
The Ultimate Healthy Hot Chocolate Recipe
1.5 cups almond milk
2 tbso cacao powder
1 date
1cm piece of fresh ginger
Method
Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Depending on how good your blender is you may want to grate the ginger first.
Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and using a medium heat until hot. This recipe doesn’t need to boil and is best warmed to your desired temperature.
For more healthy recipes and nutrition tips please visit my website www.amysavagenutrition.com and follow me on Instagram for regular updates at @amysavagenutrition.
