The Perfect Hot Beverage for a Cold, Snowy Day

Hot chocolate in a mug on a table with winter decor

It turned out to be a bit of a winter wonderland today. It was only the second official snowy day of the season – but it was quite beautiful to see the city blanketed in a coating of snow this afternoon. Even if it only lasted for a little while.

It’s days like today that remind me of snow days of my youth – where my siblings and I would spend a few hours outside playing in the snow until we were nearly frozen. At the point of our faces turning red from the cold, we would head inside and would be greeted by our mother welcoming us back in to the warmth with mugs of hot chocolate. Back in the day, the hot chocolate was typically a Swiss Miss packet with marshmallows that would slowly melt (if we didn’t pick them out and eat them first). Those were the days!

In my adult years, I haven’t consumed hot chocolate as often – mostly because most commercial mixes are so darn sugary and probably because I tend to crave more caffeinated hot drinks like coffee and tea these days. However, I am so excited to have found a new healthy hot chocolate mix that has clean and organic ingredients, features adaptogens in the form of mushrooms and is so easy to make. You just add water!

Introducing Laird Superfood Hot Chocolate

A photo of Laird Superfood Hot Chocolate packaging

Laird Superfood is an amazing wellbeing brand that is probably most famous for their healthy alternatives to coffee creamers. (I still have to try their coffee creamers as well as their other amazing products.) The brand, co-founded by elite surfer and health entrepreneur Laird Hamilton, first emerged about five years ago and has expanded significantly especially over the past few years. Laird Superfood products are now showing up everywhere – Costco, Walmart, Amazon, REI, Whole Foods, Kroger, and even at my local health food stores.

I first heard about the brand while watching the host of one of my favorite YouTube channels for healthy shopping ideas, FlavCity, rave about the Laird Superfood Coffee Creamer in Costco. Following the video, I googled the brand and landed on their official website. I was captivated by the brand’s story and broad portfolio of products. I decided to purchase the Laird Superfood Hot Chocolate on the spot that day. I must have been craving chocolate.

Top Notch Clean Ingredients

When my Laird Superfood Hot Chocolate arrived a few days later, I was immediately impressed by the plant-based hot cocoa ingredients – which do not contain any fillers, additives, can sugar or artificial ingredients, colors, sweeteners or chemicals. It’s also dairy free, gluten free, vegan, soy free and non-GMO. Which means it works for just about any diet around.

And all but one of the ingredients are organic. Here is the full nutritional profile of the product:

Functional Mushrooms Add to the Nutritional Profile

Many of us are not strangers to functional mushrooms – as they are popping up in many products on the store shelves and in our pantries. Adaptogenic mushrooms (Chaga, Reishi. Lion’s Mane, Maitake, etc.) have been used for centuries to support overall wellbeing. And these and other functional mushrooms are in many of the other products that I consume including Four Sigmatic Coffee and Rebbl protein drinks.

Laird Superfoods have added Reishi, Chaga and Maitake to the hot chocolate powder – which definitely elevates the nutritional profile. For more information about the benefits of these adaptogenic mushrooms, click here. And if you are curious, you can’t actually taste mushrooms in the mix. They blend in perfectly with the cacao, coconut milk and cinnamon flavors.

Just Add Water or Milk

It can’t be any simpler. All you need to do is add 3 1/2 tablespoons of the Laird Superfood Hot Chocolate powder to a mug with 8 ounces of hot water or your milk of choice. (When I use milk with this hot chocolate powder, I use unsweetened almond milk.) It’s equally as delicious with water or almond milk.

After I add the powder to the hot water/milk, I use a handheld mixer to create a frothy, delicious beverage. I use a simple frother like this one: click here. You can also use a spoon or small wisk if you don’t own a handheld mixer/frother.

My Review

I give Laird Superfood Hot Chocolate 5 of 5 stars. It is not too rich, but definitely satisfies any craving for hot chocolate. I love the brand’s commitment to only using the best ingredients without any added fillers , cane sugar, or junk. I feel good about consuming this beverage and with no guilt- which definitely is not the case with other hot chocolate beverages. The powder is a bit pricey ($10.95 for 8 ounces) but it will likely last a long time as it is not something that you will indulge in every day. Now, with this product in my pantry, I am super excited for the next cold, snowy day to make a fresh mug of this amazing stuff.

It’s no secret to anyone I know; I am no fan of sugary or fake sugary (diet) sodas. In fact, my family members, friends and twitter followers are likely growing weary of my regular tweeting and lecturing on the topic.

I gave up sugary and diet sodas about 10 years ago. The truth of the matter is that soda and I were growing apart for a long time before that. My initial “a-ha” moment about the potential dangers of soda came to me when I was just out of college. While at my first post-college job, I received a forwarded chain message about 50 unknown uses for Coca Cola. (Remember those forwarded chain emails that people would clog your email with 24/7; thankfully, that trend fizzled.)

I don’t remember who sent me the email about the uses of Coca Cola, but the more I scrolled through the list, the more mortified I became. Coca Cola was not only the refreshing beverage that I had come to know and love – it included chemicals that were capable of bleaching a toilet, removing oil stains from a garage floor, dissolving a tooth, stripping paint off metal furniture and more. Ick! In case you’re curious, here’s a similar list:

50+ Uses for Coca Cola

A Slow Goodbye

You would think that forwarded email would be enough to end my relationship with Coca Cola (and soda in general) once and for all; but it was not. Soda was a tough habit to break. It took a few more years and lots more articles and research on the topic before I said goodbye for (mostly) good.

I haven’t really thought about soda much in the last 10 years. On a few EXTREMELY rare occasions, mostly at parties or when it was the only option available wherever I was, I have splurged and sipped on a glass of Sprite or Ginger Ale. Soda is just not worth my time or energy overall any more, though. I have become content with the many other safer and healthier beverage choices out there. (See some healthier options below.)

Soda is Not Just Unhealthy…It’s Dangerous

Scientists and physicians have long studied the effects of regular soda consumption. For years, we were warned about the high sugar content of regular soda and the dangers of the artificial sweeteners in diet soda. Soda has been linked to everything from obesity to diabetes. Some of the latest research is even more troubling, linking soda consumption to higher rates of stroke, tooth decay and reduced bone density.

Consider the soda facts and research: It’s downright shocking that one 12 oz. can of Coca Cola includes almost 40g of sugar! A 20 oz. bottle of Mountain Dew contains 77g of sugar. Diet soda is often branded as the healthier soda option. While diet soda does not contain sugar, the artificial sweeteners have been linked to weight gain and increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, large waist circumference and elevated glucose). Check out the research for yourself:

Stop Drinking Soda

Risks of Diet Soda

Soft Drinks and Disease

Not to Fret…Better Options Are Here

Nobody can deny that soda provides the ultimate thirst refreshment; however, I’ve found a few fizzy beverage options that come pretty darn close to a satisfying glass of soda but without the health red flags. Here goes:

1) Plain Old Seltzer or Mineral Water

It may be the obvious substitute but chilled seltzer or mineral water is almost as refreshing as soda – without the sugar or artificial sweeteners. If you are buying seltzer from a store, just make sure you steer clear of the options with added flavors or other additives. If you want to make your own seltzer, SodaStream is a great option; just avoid any of the SodaStream flavorings which are riddled with sugar or sweeteners.

2) Seltzer with a Twist

My sister enlightened me to the art of doctoring up a seltzer. Here are a few things that you can add to seltzer to immediately up the flavor ante:

Fresh lemon or lime juice (or both)
Cucumber slices
Fresh ginger slices
A half teaspoon of vanilla or almond extract
Sliced strawberries, raspberries and grapes… in fact, why not make a pitcher of seltzer and make a seltzer sangria!

3) Sparkling Kombucha

Kombucha, which is fermented tea with a culture of yeast and bacteria, is an acquired taste for some. I’ve heard it compared to skunked beer, vinegar and much worse (if you could imagine). I actually found a sparkling kombucha that is mild and refreshing: Raw & Organic Live Kombucha – Sparkling Ginger. It’s much healthier than soda (about ¼ of the sugar) and contains billions of live probiotics in one bottle. Plus, the founder’s personal story is inspiring – as he was on a quest to create a healthy and tasty kombucha following the death of his sister to cancer. If you have shied away from kombucha in the past, give this one a try.

4) Sparkling Herbal Tea

Make your regular tea a bit more exciting by adding some sparkling water. Simply brew your favorite herbal tea (my favorites include ginger, chamomile and mint), chill and add sparkling water. Enjoy!