Personally, I'm a coffee guy, so I have my two cups every morning, my wife on the other hand is a hot chocolate kind of gal. While coffee can be low carb if you exchange the sugar for sweetener, hot chocolate, not so much. Commercially prepared hot chocolate mixes are notoriously high in calories and carbohydrates. For example, Walmart's great value brand of hot chocolate mix contains 30 grams of carbohydrates per serving, definitely a low carbohydrate diet killer. Now there is no way to make hot chocolate carbohydrate free as 100% cocoa contains some net carbohydrates (2 per tablespoon), but we can create a low carbohydrate hot chocolate mix that is compatible with our low carbohydrate high fat (LCHF) lifestyle, and keep the chocolate lover in your home happy.
In this article, I
am going to show you how to make your own diabetic friendly, LCHF hot chocolate mix so
that you and your family can still enjoy the pleasure of drinking hot
chocolate without it wrecking your low carbohydrate goals or raising your blood sugars. A cup of
hot chocolate made with this recipe using 2 teaspoons of out LCHF hot
chocolate mix only contains 2 grams of carbohydrates, and if you use
a whole tablespoon, it only has 2.58 grams. Now that's what I call
low carbohydrate diabetic friendly deliciousness.
LCHF Hot Chocolate
Mix
This hot chocolate
mix is quick and easy to make and is quite delicious. What you have
to keep in mind when making this mix is that the 8 ounce container of
Nestle Toll House cocoa that I use has more volume than one 8 ounce
cup. Rather the container is 8 ounces by weight not volume, by volume
it is approximately 2.8 cups. To simplify, the ratio of cocoa to
Splenda in this recipe should be (1:1), that's equal parts per volume
of cocoa to Splenda. So if you want to make a smaller batch of this
recipe, say two cups total, then use one cup (per volume) of each
ingredient (cocoa and Splenda) and decrease the salt to 1/3 teaspoon.
1 8 ounce container
cocoa (45 tablespoons)
1 8 ounce container
of Splenda (45 Tablespoons)
1 teaspoon salt
Take the 8 ounce (by
weight) container of Toll House 100% cocoa and dump it into a large
plastic or glass container, then take the empty cocoa container and
fill it with Splenda low-calorie sweetener and add the Splenda to the
container along with the salt and shake the container until it is
throughly mixed. Now it is ready to use, it's that simple.
To make hot
chocolate, add 2 to 3 teaspoons (3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon) of the
hot chocolate mix to your mug, then add 2 tablespoons of heavy
whipping cream and then pour in the hot water, stir with a spoon and
enjoy.
Chef's Note: Adding
salt to your hot chocolate mix sounds kind of crazy, but adding a
small amount of salt helps to cut the bitterness of cocoa just as it
does with coffee. In addition, it is said to “smooths out the stale
taste of tank-stored water”. I am not sure about that as we have a
fresh water well here on the homestead. The amount of salt in this
recipe isn’t really enough to taste, but it does the trick in
countering the bitterness of the cocoa. “Surprisingly, salt
suppresses bitterness better than sugar” (Chang, 2009).
Total Recipe Hot
Chocolate Mix (about 90 tablespoons)
Calories – 945,
protein 45 grams, fat 22.5 grams, carbohydrates 157.5 grams
1 Tablespoon –
Calories 10.5, protein 0.5 grams, fat 0.25 grams, carbohydrates 1.75
grams
1 Teaspoon –
Calories 3.5, protein 0.16 grams, fat 0.08 grams, carbohydrates 0.58
grams
Prepared LCHF Hot
Chocolate (8oz Cup) 2 teaspoons mix, and 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Per Serving –
Calories 109, protein 0.94 grams, fat 11.3 grams, carbohydrates 2
grams
Prepared LCHF Hot
Chocolate (8oz Cup) 1 tablespoon mix, and 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Per Serving –
Calories 113, protein 1.1 grams, fat 11.5 grams, carbohydrates 2.58
grams
So what happens if
you do not want to make a whole batch of hot chocolate mix and you
only want one cup? Simply take 1 teaspoon of cocoa and mix it with 1
teaspoon of splenda add the heavy cream and then the hot water, stir
and enjoy. The nutritional values are the same as this recipe is one
part cocoa and 1 part splenda.
Brand Comparison
So how does this
LCHF recipe compare with those hot chocolate mixes that you find on
your supermarket shelves? I think you will surprised how many
carbohydrates (primarily from sugar) that many of these mixes
contain. I have listed the three most popular brands of hot chocolate
mixes found at my local Walmart along side the homemade LCHF hot
chocolate mix. Take a quick look at the numbers and you can see just
how bad these pre-made mixes are for you. Like any good LCHF recipe
we have traded the carbohydrates for good fats, in this case heavy
cream as opposed to highly processed milk solids found in commercial
mixes.
LCHF Hot Chocolate
(2 teaspoons LCHF Hot Chocolate mix, and 2 tablespoons heavy cream)
Per Serving –
Calories 109, protein 0.94 grams, fat 11.3 grams, carbohydrates 2
grams
Great Value Hot
Chocolate
1 Serving –
Calories 140, protein 2 grams, fat 1.5 grams, carbohydrates 30 grams
Nestle Hot Chocolate
1 Packet –
Calories 80, protein 0.6 grams, fat 3 grams, carbohydrates 14.2 grams
Swiss Miss Classic
Hot Chocolate
1 Packet –
Calories 90, protein 1 grams, fat 2 grams, carbohydrates 16 grams
Even the no-sugar
added varieties contain more carbohydrates than our homemade LCHF hot
chocolate mix. Swiss Miss no-added sugar still contains 10 grams of
carbohydrates and the Nestle 5 grams of carbohydrates compared to the
2 grams of carbohydrates in the homemade mix made with 2 teaspoons of
hot chocolate mix and 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. That's almost 5
times more carbs for the Swiss Miss, and more than double the carbs
for the Nestle.
Swiss Miss No-Sugar
Added Hot Chocolate
1 Packet –
Calories 60, protein 2 grams, fat 1 grams, carbohydrates 10 grams
Nestle No-Sugar
Added Hot Chocolate
1 Packet –
Calories 20, protein 1 gram, fat 0 grams, carbohydrates 5 grams
Nutritional
Information
Because I see so
many LCHF recipes on the internet that do not list the ingredients or
their nutritional value, I have included my numbers so that you can
double check them. Here is a quick run down of how the nutritional
information was figured for this recipe of homemade LCHF hot
chocolate mix.
Nestle Toll House
Cocoa
1 Container (45
tablespoons) Calories – 675, protein 45 grams, fat 22.5 grams,
carbohydrates 90 grams
1 Tablespoon –
Calories 15, protein 1 gram, fat 0.5 grams, carbohydrates 2 grams
Splenda
1 Container (45
tablespoons) Calories 270, protein 0 grams, fat 0 grams,
carbohydrates 67.5
1 Tablespoon –
Calories 6, protein 0 grams, fat 0 grams, carbohydrates 1.5 grams
Total Recipe Hot
Chocolate Mix (90 tablespoons)
Calories – 945,
protein 45 grams, fat 22.5 grams, carbohydrates 157.5 grams
1 Tablespoon –
Calories 10.5, protein 0.5 grams, fat 0.25 grams, carbohydrates 1.75
grams
1 Teaspoon –
Calories 3.5, protein 0.16 grams, fat 0.08 grams, carbohydrates 0.58
grams
Heavy Whipping Cream
1 Tablespoon –
Calories 51, protein 0.31 grams, fat 5.51 grams, carbohydrates 0.42
grams
Cost Analysis
Now, you can use any
brand of cocoa you want in this recipe, the important thing is to
make sure what you are buying is 100% cocoa. We purchase the Nestle
Toll House brand simply because it is the least expensive $2.60 for 8
ounces (that's per weight not volume). One cup of Great Value
low-calorie sweetener (Splenda) weighs 0.9 ounces. It sells for $0.37
per ounce so the cost of the Splenda is $0.33. That makes the total
cost of our homemade LCHF hot chocolate mix $2.93 ($2.60 + $0.33 =
$2.93).
But wait, we are not
done yet as we have to add in the cost of the heavy cream to get the
total cost of our cup of hot chocolate. Great Value heavy cream is
$4.14 per quart or $0.064 per tablespoon, therefore the cost of 2
tablespoons in our prepared hot chocolate is $0.13. This makes our
total cost for one serving of hot chocolate $0.15 if we use 2
teaspoons of the mix, and $0.16 per serving if we use 1 tablespoon of
the mix. The reality is that we do not save any money by making our
own hot chocolate mix, in fact it costs $0.02 more per serving than
the Nestle or Swiss Miss, and is the same cost as the Great Value Hot
Chocolate. A small price to pay in my opinion in order to minimize
the carbohydrate intake and allow me to continue to drink hot
chocolate on a cold winter's morning.
Homemade LCHF Hot
Chocolate Mix $2.93 ($0.021 per 2 teaspoons, $0.032 per 1 tablespoon)
LCHF with heavy
cream ($0.021 + $0.13 = $0.15 per serving with 2 teaspoons of mix)
LCHF with heavy
cream ($0.032 + $0.13 = $0.16 per serving with 1 tablespoon of mix)
Great Value Hot
Chocolate (20 ounce container) $2.48 ($0.16 per serving)
Nestle Hot Chocolate
(27.7 ounce container) $4.98 ($0.13 per serving)
Swiss Miss Classic
Hot Chocolate (30 ct) $4.07 ($0.13 per serving)
The biggest surprise
for me was that Walmart's 'Great Value' brand hot chocolate mix was
not only more expensive than the Nestle or Swiss Miss at $0.16 per
serving, but it has twice the carbohydrates. Not exactly what I would
call a great value!
Conclusion
Yes, you can have
hot chocolate while enjoying a LCHF lifestyle, you just have to make
your own. The great news is that as you have seen making your own
LCHF hot chocolate mix takes less than 5 minutes and you do not have
to bust your food budget to enjoy it. As I mentioned, we use the
less expensive Nestle Toll House cocoa, but you can use any cocoa you
desire. I will be honest I
have tried other more expensive brands of plain 100% cocoa and I
personally cannot taste the difference. But if you like the taste of
dark chocolate, then try one of the 'special dark' blended 100%
cocoa's, just keep in mind they cost a little more, but the
carbohydrate count is the same. As always, if you have found this
information helpful and informative we ask that you share it with
your friends and family. Don't forget to send us a friend request on
our new 'CulinaryYou' Facebook page, or add use to your circle on Google+ so that
you don't miss any of our new articles.
Similar Articles On
Our Blog:
Resources:
No comments:
Post a Comment