Peppermint Hot Chocolate

Let's. Get. Festive.

Mint and Chocolate - Meant to be

Squeaken squorken squaaarrgggg! – ‘Merry Christmas’ in Elf.

Yes, I speaks Elf.

Hi guys, hope everyone is enjoying the Christmas run-up and is not panicking over the fact that there is just not enough time to get everything done! Seriously, it’s the 9^th already and I haven’t even found the time to write out my Christmas cards let alone shake my belly like a bowl full of jelly! 

I have however managed to utilize my slithers of spare time wisely and have indeed initiated phase 1 of operation 'Make Everything Merry' by putting up the Christmas decorations for the grandparents. What I did not realize was that this task would end up being the seasonal equivalent of a Bush tucker trial. Firstly, I had to crawl around inside of the garage roof both hoping that I didn’t fall through the boards, all the time avoiding spiders large enough to warrant their own post code; before rummaging through dust-encrusted (en-dusted) boxes chock full of ANACONDAS (grotty tinsel), SCORPIONS (holly made out of plastic) and whatever in the name of Rudolph this is…

It sees you whilst you're sleeping...

What the hell is it and what does it want?! My final deductions concluded it to be the offspring of an estranged love affair between Father Christmas and a diseased munchkin. Either that or it was left by Krampus because someone in the Bungalow hasn't been very good this year...

...must be Nan, she's getting to be a bit of a handful at 75 you know. 

I also found a fugly fairy who I haven’t taken a liking to. She's called Fiona and I reckon that she’s right up herself – well she's up the tree at least, so she must be pompous to some degree otherwise she wouldn't always be looking down on everyone. 

#NightmareBeforeChristmas

 After all this new-found festive terror I decided that some time outside of the newly decorated bungalow may be in order and luckily enough for me my good friend Amy not long after invited me to go to a Christmas market in Billericay over the weekend. Even though the weather was set to look more drab than Simon Cowell’s personality, I knew that a Christmas market would ensure my spirits would be at their peak, plus any chance to get away from Fiona I was most definitely taking. So come Sunday, adorned in an extremely loud Christmas jumper featuring a three-dimensional penguin (to errr... ensure that I didn't get lost in the crowds) I took to the market the way Wallace and Gromit take to cheese. 

Despite getting a teeny, tiny bit soggy during our venture, we fully embraced the holiday vibe and were quickly warmed up with some hog roast rolls and mulled wine (double win). Amy opted for a bailey’s laced hot chocolate instead of the wine because she lives her life like she gives a damn, which is all well and good but the sight, smell (and cheeky taste) of said hot chocolate unsurprisingly managed to spark up a craving in me and I knew that at some point this meant I was going to have to face it head on. You see, to deny my inner fat child his chocolate is a very dangerous move; you wouldn’t slip into a mankini made of sausage meat and twerk in front of a Polar Bear would you? Well truth be told,  despite being horrifically maimed you would more likely survive such an encounter than if you were to withhold chocolate from me during one of my cravings.  I gots to haves the cocoa!!!

As we get nearer to Christmas, I am finding myself eating a lot more chocolate… quite a lot more. Heck, I’m starting every day with chocolate from my advent calendar before breakfast anyway, so why not go a little mad. Tis the season of a little indulgence is it not? (God, please agree!). However, as I'm trying to be a bit healthier when not eating out and as the hot chocolate powder that my grandparents buy regularly contains a freaky 18g of sugar per serving (plus a ton of added crap) I decided to concoct a lighter option that wouldn’t give me the dreaded post-high crash but would still fulfill my deepest, darkest chocolate wishes.

Enter Peppermint Hot Cocoa...

 

Maybe not the most glamorous of hot-chocolate pictures on the internet but trust me, whilst this cocoa is humble in appearance, it packs an amazingly rich, creamy and chocolatey taste which carries an uplifting fresh undertone of peppermint to help warm up your insides and perk up your mood. It's all the luxury of hot cocoa with none of the guilt so enjoy this 'Ho co-coa' (yes, I typed it) and let yourself sink into the silky festive spirit :) .

Peppermint Hot Cocoa

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1 cup almond milk (or milk of choice)
2 tsp cocoa powder ( the unsweetened variety - just plain cocoa powder - cacao is also acceptable)
Sweetener to taste - 1/2 tsp truvia was enough for me but go by how you like your cocoa. Honey, maple syrup, agave, raw stevia, xylitol and coconut sugar are some other great sweetener options.
Few drops peppermint extract
Optional: 1-2 tbsp boiling water

Instructions:

Add the almond milk into a pan over a low heat and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally to ensure the milk doesn't get scolded. This takes roughly 5-10 minutes. 

Once simmering nicely, I like to stir the cocoa powder into 1-2 tbsp boiling water before adding into the milk as I think it helps blend in better but feel free to just chuck in the powder and whisk it all up. 

After a few minutes more add in a few drops of peppermint extract and your sweetener and whisk again for a minute or so. 

Remove from the heat, pour into a mug that makes you want squeal like one of Dr Zeus' Whos and enjoy somewhere very cosy e.g. The airing cupboard.