Strawberries go with cream and chocolate so why not strawberry hot chocolate?

In the spirit of the holidays, we decided to spruce up our standard hot chocolate recipe with some healthy and crunchy All Strawberry Crispy Fruit. The crispy Strawberries, along with whipped cream and warm chocolate drink made for a winning combination!

Modern hot chocolate while not considered as healthy as green tea, matcha and other warm beverages, does have its fair share of health benefits. It’s only in recent years that the drink is synonymous with a kid super sweet beverage. Hot chocolate dates back to 500 BC. Mayans drank ground up cocoa seeds mixed with water, cornmeal, and chili peppers for medicinal purposes. Hot chocolate made its way through Europe thanks to Spanish explorer Cortez who Brough cocoa beans back. It became popular in Spain in the 1500s and then in London in the 1700s.

Health benefits of hot chocolate

Chocolate is derived from cocoa, which is the seed of a cocoa tree and has numerous  health benefits. They include antioxidants, which are also found in wine, fruits, vegetables and tea. Antioxidants as explained in 5 Tips for a Healthy Heart can reduce inflammation, lower blood pressure and lead to better cholesterol and help ward off diabetes. This NIH study also points out that cocoa can help with cognitive issues and weight loss.

However, like anything, processing cocoa and adding excess amounts of sugar can erode those health benefits. For instance, adding alkaline to cocoa, which is often done to reduce the bitter flavor, can decrease the content of the antioxidant flavanol content significantly. So your best bet is to make your own cup of hot chocolate (aka hot cocoa) so you can know exactly what ingredients are in it and the amounts of sweeteners. Enjoy our Strawberry Hot Chocolate!

Strawberry Hot Chocolate

–Patty Yeager