Abuelita Chocolate - Low Carb Style

For some reason my mom only made her homemade  Hershey's Cocoa when it was raining. She would send my dad to go and pick us up at school, she didn't trust the bus driver to drive us when it was raining and the roads were slick.

We would come in, cold and wet and smell the cinnamony goodness of her cocoa. It was so thick and creamy and delicious. It hit the spot on a cold day. She would serve it in a bowl instead of a cup and we would sip it slowly with a spoon, that's how thick and delicious it was! Mmmmm!

I have only found one product that is almost as good as the one my mom made. It's Abuelita Hot Chocolate, and while you can make it from scratch with chocolate blocks, I love that they make it in an instant. But alas...the carb count is a killer! Each envelope has 19 net carbs. When you are trying to stay within 20 to 24 carbs per day, then having this is out of the question. 

Today I was lucky enough to find a lower-carb hot chocolate. I found this recipe at Radical Geekery. The Radical Geek calls it Hot 'Cocoa'nut Milk and she uses coconut milk, water, vanilla extract, cocoa powder and maple syrup.

I tweaked it a bit to bring the carb count down. I used Goya Coconut Milk, Water, Vanilla Extract, Hershey's Cocoa Powder, granulated Splenda for sweetness and cinnamon to help make it as good as my mommy's. 

I went ahead and used the whole can of coconut milk and did the math to figure out how much of each product to use and I have to say, it's wasn't bad. Not as good as my mom's, not as good as Abuelita, but definitely hearty and heart-warming. I drank a small cup and then poured the rest into a container and I'm going to keep it in the fridge so I can warm up a little bit whenever I have the urge. I may also try to add it to coffee as I love chocolatey tasting coffee. 

Here's the nutrition facts. As you can see it's still 9.2 net carbs, but that's certainly much more doable when you're counting carbs and just crave a sweet treat. And as cold as it has been here lately this really hits the spot!

Speaking of loving chocolate in my coffee, I found this great product. It's Nestle's Coffee-mate sugar Free Creamy Chocolate. 

The best thing about this product is that it only has 1 carb per teaspoon!! I put 3 teaspoons in my coffee each morning.

You can also find sugar-free Hazelnut and French Vanilla and Vanilla Caramel. They need to invent a Raspberry Vanilla and a Dulce de Leche, Ohhhh and a Creme Brulee! That would be heavenly. I've kind of been wondering what it would taste like if you whipped this up with heavy whipping cream? Hmmm, might have to try that one.

What's your favorite winter drink? Tea, Cocoa, a hot toddy?