How To Make A Decadent Dairy- And Sugar-Free Raw Hot Chocolate

Image credit: Instagram @josephineskriver

“I first met Ricardo when I interviewed him for a Vogue story and I’ve been training with him ever since. By adopting some of his suggestions – like minimizing dairy, sugar, and processed foods, and incorporating as much raw food as possible into my diet, I feel better than I ever have. This “hot” chocolate is not exactly steaming as it’s gently warmed in the blender, but it’s such a delicious option for chilly nights when you crave something sweet and indulgent post-dinner. I love that it’s dairy- and sugar-free and you don’t have to heat anything in the microwave or on the stovetop. It’s also jam-packed with antioxidants to protect your cells from ageing and skin-loving vitamins and minerals.

‘Raw cacao is one of the strongest antioxidants around – it’s stronger than acai,  macqui, blueberries, and most superfoods!’ says Ricardo. ‘It’s the mother of all beauty foods – it’s high in iron (great for hair growth) and magnesium which helps put your body into an alkaline state. It also contains nuts that are also rich in magnesium and contain vitamin E which is great for the skin,’ he says, adding that he gets the models he trains to have three tablespoons of raw cacao a day when he’s getting them primed for fashion week.

Happy blending!”

Ingredients

Ricardo recommends using organic ingredients where possible. You can find them at organic stores such as Honest to Goodness.

• ¼ cup of hazelnuts
• ¼ cup of brazil nuts
• ¼ cup of almonds
• ¼ cup of macadamias
• 1 tablespoon of raw mesquite powder
• 1 tablespoon of raw cacao powder
• ¼ teaspoon of raw vanilla powder
• ½ teaspoon of cinnamon powder
• 1 tablespoon of raw coconut oil
• 3 tablespoons of raw honey
• 2 cups of raw coconut water.

Recipe

1. Blend all the ingredients in a high speed blender, such as a Vitamix, for 2 minutes.

2. Serve it straight away. Makes three servings.

Hot tips:

If you don’t have a high speed blender to really pulverise the nuts properly, instead you can use any nut milk and raw cacao powder, or 2tbsp of nut butter with some water.

If you keep this recipe in the fridge it makes an amazing chocolate sauce.

This recipe is taken from Ricardo’s book The Rawfit Diet. Holding shot from Instagram @linaose