Hot Chocolate

Life has been crazy busy lately, but I wanted to share this quick & easy recipe.

I am unable to drink coffee at all.  Aside from the caffeine, it's just too acidic for my body.  I really do miss it.  I was one of those rare people who drank it for the taste, rather than the caffeine.  I almost always drank decaf anyways due to my heart murmur & it's caffeine sensitivity.

I do drink a lot of herbal teas & other caffeine free teas, but sometimes I want a rich & hearty hot drink, more like coffee.  And I sure do love chocolate........

I've been searching for a quick & easy home made hot chocolate recipe that I actually like.  It seems like it would be easy enough to find, but I kept trying different recipes & wasn't satisfied with any of them.

Granted, we probably all have a different opinion on what we're looking for in our hot chocolate.  I wanted it to be rich & more chocolatey than sweet.  After giving up searching for recipes I just started playing around on my own & managed to come up with this!  It really does fit the bill for me.

8 oz (1 Cup) milk (I use whole milk, but any milk of your choice should work)
1/4 Cup chocolate chips (I use Rice Dream brand, they are gluten & dairy free)
1 Tablespoon Vanilla extract (I make my own-so easy to do & I know it's gluten free)
1-2 teaspoons gelatin (I use Vital Proteins brand)

I own a Vitamix blender so I like to put all of this into the blender jar & set it on the "Soup" setting & let it go.  The gelatin gives it such a great frothy, creamy texture & is a great protein boost as well.

If you don't own a Vitamix you can certainly put this into a pan on the stove & melt the chocolate that way.

Enjoy!!  :)