Real Food Chai Hot Chocolate {Nourishing}

Real Food Chai Hot Chocolate is the perfect warming drink on a cold day. This hot, creamy, nourishing drink is protein-rich, fragrant, sweet and slightly spicy with hints of cardamom, cinnamon, fennel, ginger and more. 

Real Food Chai Hot Chocolate is one of the most delicious warming drinks!

Who doesn’t love hot chocolate? I know I love me some real food hot chocolate and can’t get enough of it during the colder months. It’s been a favorite of mine since I was a little girl.

There’s something so special about hot chocolate, it’s nostalgic in a way. For most people, it brings back very special memories and feels so comforting.

Now I love it the classic way, but it’s extra special with the additional flavors of chai. Real Food Chai Hot Chocolate is absolutely heavenly!

Making your own Real Food Chai Hot Chocolate is so easy to do! 

For this recipe I use similar spices to the ones that are in my homemade immune-boosting chai tea. I LOVE that chai tea so much, but I wanted a couple additional spices for this hot chocolate – cardamom and star anise.

I truly love the flavor of cardamom. It’s such a special spice with strong, aromatic hints of citrus, herbs and spice. It’s so lovely and especially delicious in chai hot chocolate {and tea too!}.

Star anise tends to be pretty bold in flavor, that’s why I only recommend using a broken half of the star anise pod. Of course, you don’t have to use it at all if you don’t care for the licorice and anise flavor. It adds a nice background flavor, but it’s totally optional.

These spices, along with cinnamon, fennel seeds, cloves, black pepper, astragalus root and fresh ginger slowly steep in warm milk to create the chai flavor base. This beautiful fragrant hot milk gets added to a blender with cocoa, raw honey or maple syrup, vanilla, a little bit of sea salt and GRASS-FED GELATIN.

Why Add Grass-fed Gelatin to Chai Hot Chocolate?

When I’m not using grass-fed collagen {because I use it daily} and when I want a foamy “marshmallowy” top on my hot drinks, I use grass-fed gelatin for an extra protein and nourishing boost. Don’t worry, it does not alter the flavor, but, the gelatin-rich foam will taste reminiscent of marshmallows. So yummy!

Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body and plays a key role in numerous bodily functions. Gelatin is basically the same thing, but the cooked version of collagen. It’s known for supporting gut health and digestion, helping to build and restore muscle, support skin, bone and joint health and so much more (source).

Not all gelatins are created equal though. I only support products or companies that fit my standards for health, quality and sourcing. I only recommend using quality grass-fed gelatin. Knowing the source and where the gelatin comes from is very important to me.

I can’t say enough good things about Perfect Supplements. They truly care about the quality of their natural supplements and products. Perfect Supplements Bovine Gelatin is 100% pesticide and hormone free, sourced exclusively from Brazilian pasture raised {grass-fed} cows, non-GMO, lab tested with proof of purity, and high protein {98%}. It’s perfect for making homemade marshmallows, homemade gummies, custard, fudge, pies, “jello” and more.

BONUS: I want to share my Recipes to Nourish Perfect Supplements 10% OFF coupon code with you! Just follow the link here and enter NOURISH10 at checkout for 10% off your entire order.

But let’s get to the recipe because this one is so good and perfect for the colder months.

Chai Hot Chocolate is so tasty and a must make for the holidays! Grab a couple mugs of this deliciousness and and get cozy by the fire with someone you love. 

Real Food Chai Hot Chocolate

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Real Food Chai Hot Chocolate

Prep 15 mins

Cook 10 mins

Total 25 mins

Author Emily Sunwell-Vidaurri - http://www.recipestonourish.com

Yield 2 servings

Real Food Chai Hot Chocolate is the perfect warming drink on a cold day. This hot, creamy, nourishing drink is protein-rich, fragrant, sweet and slightly spicy with hints of cardamom, cinnamon, fennel, ginger and more. 

Ingredients

• 3 cups raw/grass-fed/organic milk or full-fat coconut milk
• 1/2 inch fresh ginger chunk, peeled and finely grated
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 1/2 tsp fennel seed
• 1/2 tsp whole cloves
• 5 cardamom pods, gently smashed
• 2 black peppercorns - optional
• 1/2 star anise - optional
• 1 astragalus root strip
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder or cacao powder
• 2 tbsp raw honey or organic maple syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch Celtic sea salt
• 2 tbsp grass-fed gelatin (<-- this is the only brand I use and recommend)

Instructions

1. Add your milk of choice to a medium-size saucepan. Add the ginger, cinnamon stick, fennel seeds, cloves, cardamom pods, peppercorns, broken piece of star anise and astragalus root. Place a lid on saucepan and heat over very low heat for 10 minutes until the milk is hot and steaming and the spices are fragrant. Remove from heat and strain through a fine mesh strainer into a blender.
2. Add the cocoa or cacao, sweetener of choice, vanilla extract, sea salt and gelatin (in that order) to the blender. Immediately blend for at least 25 seconds until the chai hot chocolate is fully incorporated and a frothy foam is on top.
3. Pour into mugs and enjoy immediately.

Notes

Bonus Nourishing Add-In: Add 1 tablespoon grass-fed ghee or grass-fed butter for a nice healthy, nutrient-dense boost. Add this to the blender when you add all of the other ingredients. It blends up beautifully with all of the other ingredients. Alternatively, you can use a whisk until the butter/ghee becomes fully incorporated and frothy.

Courses Beverages

Cuisine American

Are you on Pinterest? I pin lots of yummy real food recipes + more there. I have a board just for Gluten Free Treats + Beverage Recipes too. Come follow along. 

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