Peppermint Mocha: Our Latest Obsession
In looking over past Prescribe Nutrition blogs I’ve come to realize a few things.
- We love beverages. This includes coffee. We (ok, I) seem to talk about it a lot.
- We love upgrading beverages, to make the ones that are not so great, great again. Like coffee creamer. Or creating super powerhouses, like our fight the cold elixir. Or our round-up of best morning elixirs. Or healthy hot chocolate. Or DIY ruby chai Latte. Ok, you get the picture.
So in the spirit of keeping up what we’re really, really into, today we bring you our latest love – our DIY peppermint mocha recipe. It packs in all the comfort and deliciousness of this coffeehouse fave, but without all the crap. You may ask, “Why, what’s the problem with a regular peppermint mocha from a cafe, Megan? Why do you have to ruin everything?” And I will answer, “It’s true my friend I do often rain all over your parade of fun things, but I feel like you should understand why you may want to avoid these types of indulgences.”
Hidden Ingredients
If you walk into a Starbucks or similar type of coffee house and order yourself the latest winter beverage craze, you will likely find some or all of these ingredients in your “cup o’ joe”:
- High fructose corn syrup
- Excessive sugars in addition to the above (54 grams of sugar in a grande mocha at S-bucks). Um, no.
- Artificial flavors
- Carrageenan – linked to gastrointestinal inflammation, stomach pain, and cancer
- Preservatives & sulfites (can contribute to allergies and DNA damage)
- Non-organic coffee – has one of the highest pesticide residues of crops globally
This isn’t touching on the quality of the milk they use (non-organic, GMO fed cows). The non-dairy alternatives often have their own laundry list of ingredients. And don’t forget the optional whip cream because apparently, we need more sugar (I know, I’m the worst).
But I love peppermint mochas too! I love coffee. I love cocoa. I LOVE mint. Like I’d eat toothpaste when I was little, but I digress. So what’s a girl to do? Well, it’s easy. You can get all the frothy goodness of a mocha in the pleasure of your own home. Instead of creating a milk-based latte, we use a good ol’ fashioned cup of coffee, add in some major healthy fats (that actually help keep you full longer), some smarter sweeteners and ingredients that will create the most heavenly beverage so you’ll never want to bother with the crappy version. Without further ado:
Peppermint Mocha Recipe
- 1 cup of brewed coffee, piping hot
- 1.5 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon raw cacao or unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup or coconut sugar, or more to taste
- 1 scoop collagen powder (optional)
- Few drops of peppermint extract
- Place all items in a blender (yep, blender!) and blend on high for 15 seconds. Note you don’t want to over blend as you’ll lose too much heat from the coffee.
- Pour the frothy goodness in your favorite mug. Sit, enjoy.
Let us know if you like it!
Originally posted 2018-10-31 09:53:51.
