Sugar Free Chocolate Milk
With many commercial chocolate milks containing an adult’s day’s worth of sugar per glass, it is well worth making your own at home! This sugar free chocolate milk recipe is delicious, and as you make it time and time again, you can use less and less sweetener until your tastebuds adjust to more chocolate flavour and less over-sweetening!
Did you know that one glass of branded chocolate milk can contain 5 teaspoons (20g) of sugar?! That is almost your entire recommended daily allowance. In one glass!
Although I was never a massive chocolate milk drinker growing up (I preferred hot chocolate), I am a chocoholic by every definition of the word, and now that so many sugar-laden drinks – from fruit juice to coke – are rare treats in our house, I do find summertime drinks difficult.
In the colder months, teas and coffees of various kinds are great sugar-free options (sans syrups of course!), but most of the time in the summer, the last thing I want is a hot drink! And although iced coffees are delicious, sometimes I want something less caffeinated… especially if I’m looking for something I could also give to my children!
And not only is this far healthier in lack of sugar, but if you use raw cacao powder rather than cocoa powder, you are even drinking something packed full of B vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that boasts some pretty remarkable properties.
It was in a moment of frustration at lack of fun cold drinks on a hot day that this was created – I hope it will refresh you as much as it did me! 🙂
PS: My husband’s favourite way to have this is with a teaspoon of rum! I scoffed. Then I tried. And I ate my words. Well… more like drank them… greedily.
Little hands can:
- pretty much make this from scratch – help them with the slightly warm milk, but get them stirring and tasting and even using the microwave buttons to warm the milk
- get them to start with just a tiny bit of sweetener and taste and add as needed – challenge them to see how little they can use and still really enjoy it!
A delicious cool summer drink that is sugar free and completely yummy and refreshing! Easily made vegan and obviously gluten free, this is a drink that is everyone-friendly and incredibly easy!
- 2 tsp cacao powder or cocoa powder
- large pinch of ground cinnamon, (ginger, cardamom or chilli powder are other nice options, or 1 tsp rum if you love your chocolate boozy**!)
- 1-2 tbsp xylitol or 1/2-1 tbsp Natvia, or to taste, optional
- 1/4 cup (80ml) milk or non-dairy milk slightly warmed (about 10 seconds in the microwave should do it)
- 3/4 cup (170ml) cold milk or non-dairy milk
- ice cubes, optional
-
Mix the cacao powder, cinnamon and xylitol or Natvia, if using, in a glass with the slightly warmed milk, and stir until combined (if it struggles to mix properly, put back in the microwave for a few more seconds until it does).
-
Add the other 3/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup at a time, stirring as you go.
-
Taste and add more sweetener if you feel it needs it**, and add ice cubes if using.
*I hope it goes without saying, but if you are making this for your kids, obviously skip the rum!
**I recommend starting with just enough sweetener to make it taste like what you are used to, and then slowly cutting back the sweetener each time you make it until you can have it without any (or with the minimum amount you are happy with)! My daughter and I can now happily have it sweetened with just cinnamon, while my husband and son usually need 1 tsp or so of sweetener in addition still.
Thanks for sharing this. It’s simple and quite good. As we’re avoiding artificial sweeteners as well as added sugar I added some honey to mine. The cinnamon was a nice added touch!
Lovely Bryon. The cinnamon makes it I think! 😉