Plan: (Maintenance)
Serving information: Each recipe makes 2 servings.
Hot cocoa is such a treat and definitely satisfying enough to keep you from turning to other unhealthy, high-glycemic snacks in the evening. As with any treat, you do need to assess how often you drink it. While some may be able to have a cup of cocoa in the evenings and still lose weight, others may find that it is more fuel for their body to burn, so that their body doesn’t have to turn to fat for more fuel. If you are a person who is off plan because you snack every evening, this is a good compromise for you – even if you don’t lose as much weight as you would following the plan alone.
There are a couple of recipes to choose from here, with variations. While adding more whipping (heavy) cream makes for a richer, more decadent hot cocoa, it’s also more expensive, so you can choose. It’s the extra fat in the whipping cream that lends to more richness and a creamy texture. (Dr. Cindy prefers Recipe #2.)
We are more prone to suggest liquid stevia or monkfruit drops as your sweetener over Swerve, erythritol, xylitol or Lakanto erythritol-monkfruit blend. Sugar alcohols are okay in small doses in recipes or to be used in the occasional dessert, but to eat it by the tablespoon every day (or often) can start creating more sugar cravings. Plus, some can experience stomach or digestive upset with these products, especially with ongoing use in larger amounts. Give your tastebuds the chance to adapt to stevia or monkfruit, and they will.
