Healthy Gift Ideas

If you’re like many people, you’re still working on picking out the perfect holiday gifts for your family and friends. Here are some gift ideas they’ll appreciate for their uniqueness and health appeal. The recipe below for Three Ways Hot Cocoa Mix also makes a perfect gift, placed in a decorative glass container and paired with a few festive mugs. Wishing you all a healthy, joyful holiday season!

Three-Ways Hot Cocoa Mix

This delicious hot cocoa mix is the perfect beverage to warm you up on one of our cold wintery days!  And what makes it even better, is that cocoa contains antioxidants, chemicals that have been shown to fight cancer, heart disease and aging. According to researchers at Cornell University, they found the antioxidants in cocoa were almost 2 times stronger than red wine, 2-3 times stronger than green tea, and 4-5 times stronger than black tea.  So sip and enjoy!

1 cup instant nonfat dry milk powder
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 cup dried egg whites
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. ground clove
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
6” cinnamon sticks (optional) for garnish
Black tea bags
In a mixing bowl, vigorously whisk together the dry milk powder, sugar, cocoa, egg white powder, cinnamon, allspice, clove, ginger, and black pepper, making sure all the tiny clumps are broken up. Spoon the mixture into a jar, and seal tightly.

This mix is intended to be used with 1 percent milk to make hot chocolate, or a tea bag for making chai. If giving this mix as a gift, include instructions for using 1 to 2 teaspoons, according to taste, per serving.

Makes 2 1/2 cups mix.

For chai, brew one tea bag in a cup or mug of hot milk. Remove the tea bag and stir in the mix. Add a cinnamon stick as a stirrer, if desired.

For hot chocolate, place the mix in a mug and gradually stir in hot milk. Add a cinnamon stick as a stirrer, if desired, or 2-3 drops of vanilla extract, or 1 drop of almond extract.

For hot mocha, mix 1/4 teaspoon instant espresso into the Hot Chocolate.
Per serving of hot chocolate: 112 calories, 3 g. total fat (2 g. saturated fat), 24 g. carbohydrate, 8 g. protein, less than 1 g. dietary fiber, 129 mg. sodium.
Source: American Institute for Cancer Research, www.aicr.org