Hot cocoa isn’t just for inner children. It’s for inner potential too.
Winter is HERE, folks. And I am so here for it! For as much as I love deep summer rides, romps in the mountains, camping under the stars, and adventuring from steamy dawn to sultry dusk, I love a season change + all the goodies that come with it – this refined-sugar and dairy-free Date-Coconut Cacao, especially.
The slippy-slidey scrambles on my favorite trails, bundled spins in the plains + backcountry raids on skis. It’s because of the hot that I can enjoy the cold so much – the contrast of the seasons, knowing that in a few months it will be scorching hot again. And, because in these winter months, I make warming up a special occasion. Enter, this homemade date-cacao.
There’s really nothing I would rather drink when I come in from the cold. Just like when I was a little kid, romping for hours making snow caves in the yard, there was nothing that made me feel so cared for as when my mom would hand me a mug of sweet cocoa to sip while my toes thawed. I didn’t leave one ounce of the sugary sludge in the bottom of the cup, as was evidenced by the chocolate mustache on my face.
The inclination of that wee person – to come in from the cold, thaw themselves gently from the inside out – was the best inclination. I hope it goes without saying that if you’re going to push hard, you MUST recover. And that, in fact, the recovery – the taking it easy – is just as important as the pushing hard.
(Shake your head yes so I know you hear me.)
Staying warm through the winter is a matter of survival, but as athletes and active folks, keeping warm is also a matter of peak performance. Our digestive systems are particularly sensitive to the temperature of foods, and cold foods need to be warmed to be broken down adequately in, forcing our already-understressed bodies to work harder to digest and absorb the nutrients within. Drinking warm liquids, especially when they contain restorative carbohydrates is an easy shortcut to recovering from a cold effort (especially, when it’s hot cacao!)
You’ll notice that I’m calling this recipe CACAO instead of COCOA. These are not one and the same. Cocoa becomes cacao when it’s roasted and alkalized. Most chocolate bars are made is made from cocoa, a product of the cacao bean that has been ultra-roasted, reducing its nutrient potency, and combined with sugar and often other ingredients such as milk powder or even stabilizers. Most hot cocoa mixes are made with that ultra-roasted cocoa powder, lots of sugar, and fillers.
CACAO is the raw, unheated version of the cacao bean that still contains all of the potent compounds that help our bodies to reduce inflammation, boost our moods, bolster our digestive and cardiovascular system.
(Sounds like it would be good to boost performance, right?!)
To get all science-y on you for a hot minute: hot cacao (less cocoa but still) is – by design – a brilliant winter warmer. Our bodies work particularly hard in the cold to run/ride/ski and replacing the glucose we burn when we’re romping is crucial to feeling ready to rock the next day. The simple sugars in hot cocoa (and cacao) help us to refuel, and the fat and protein in the milk help the good recovery vibes stick. My friends at Skratch Labs make an amazing Endurance Recovery Mix in luscious chocolate for just this purpose. But, for those wanting to have a cacao mix that isn’t JUST for recovering from sport, say to feed your kiddos when they come in from the cold, to sip on while you read a book instead of romping, or if you’re looking to avoid processed sugars or dairy products, this date-cacao is my go-to.
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