Sipping Sundays in Snowland - hot chocolate with an energy boost for dreary winter afternoons

What did you say that ingredient was? Organic lucuma? And what were those other ones? Organic mesquite and guarana?  Isn't mesquite a smoke flavour? Maybe I shouldn't be drinking this afterall....

That's right folks, it is Sipping Sunday again!  That is my new name for a winter afternoon weekend hot chocolate treat.  I seem to always be making or tasting a new hot chocolate on Sunday afternoon's this winter, so I thought I'd give this weekly ceremony an actual name. This week I decided to try a powdered hot chocolate made by Essential Living Foods from Santa Monica, California. I bought it at a chocolate event last Fall and haven't gotten around to opening the package yet. But today seemed like the right day to try it.

So back to the strange ingredients in this chocolate drink mix. It is advertised as a "stimulating superfood" with "energy boosting guarana". So, not knowing what guarana is, I thought I would look it up. According to Wikipedia, studies have shown that it can make you feel full for longer, and it has positive antioxidant effects.  Wikipedia also says that guarana contains about twice the caffeine found in coffee beans, "about 2–4.5% caffeine in guarana seeds compared to 1–2% for coffee beans". Oops. I guess I should have looked that up before I drank it a huge cup of it, since I am pregnant and supposed to be minimizing my caffeine intake! I guess one day of of too much caffeine isn't too bad, but I should be more careful from now on. Now I am a little worried about what Wikipedia will say about the other strange ingredients in this hot chocolate.

Lucuma aparently has high levels of carotene, vitamin B3 and other B vitamins, according to Wikipedia. It has the flavour of maple and sweet potato and it is most commonly used as a flavouring in ice cream products.

Wikipedia also says that mesquite adds a sweet and nutty taste and in powdered form, it is high in calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron and zinc and the amino acid lysine.

So combined with organic cocoa powder, I can see how lucuma, mesquite and guarana make a tasty and healthy energy drink.  And tasty it was.  Although it was not a sweet hot chocolate that most people are accustomed to, it was slightly nutty and had a rich cocoa flavour. Overall, I liked it. It is perfect for a day when you do not want something sweet, but you still want something chocolaty.

I topped my hot chocolate today with some frozen whipped cream (freezing it prevents me from having to whip a new batch every time I want to top a cup of hot cocoa) and shavings of the remaining piece of a Valor milk chocolate bar.  Yum!

Also, I should mention that this chocolate drink mix need not be enjoyed hot, it can also be enjoyed cold and with or without milk (use water or soy for a vegan version of this drink!).

Here are the full details on this product:


Stimulating Superfood Chocolate Drink Mix with Energy Boosting Guarana, Organic, 312g (11oz)
Made by Essential Living Foods
http://www.essentiallivingfoods.com/
Ingredients: organic coconut sugar, organic raw cacao powder, organic lucuma, organic mesquite, organic guarana, organic vanilla, himalayan sea salt. Manufactured in a facility that processes tree nuts.