French Hot Chocolate

It's just after New Years.

And, I know what you're thinking.  2016 is the year of the "NEW ME."  In fact, the new YOU is probably still nursing that hand cramp from furiously scribbling out new resolutions for your radical life makeover.  Now that we're a couple days into January, you've probably already had to scrap a couple of those goals, or transfer them to your "NEW ME 2017" list.

If it sounds like I'm being cynical, believe me, I'm not.  I'm a huge supporter of goal-setting.  I have already shared with you some of my biggest resolutions for this year.  And, for the most part, I'm doing good.  I mean, I've already cheated on my diet.  I've done hardly any of the workouts I wanted to, blaming it on the sudden change in weather from "where is the snow?" to "where is the sun?"  I haven't drank nearly as much water as I promised myself I would, and drank way more coffee than I said I would.  I'm human.  You're human.  It happens.

I've pinpointed some areas in my life that are contributing to my poor performance thus far.  Primarily, my problem is my job.  A night-shift career wreaks havoc on your body, constantly messing up your eating schedule, sleeping schedule, and ultimately, I believe, your metabolism.  There's also the emotional stress of caring for others.  Some days, it's a good, "healthy" stress and other times, it's a very, very unhealthy level of stress.  It's the kind of stress that makes you crave something like this Paris-style hot chocolate because nothing sounds better than waking up from a deep day nap to enjoy a big hot cup of extra-rich goodness.

I'm sorry, kind of.

I don't mean to tempt you away from your health goals.  It's just... look at this hot chocolate.  It's so rich and chocolate-y, it's like drinking a melted bar of the world's tastiest chocolate candy bar. It's thicker and more concentrated than normal hot cocoa, so it's not something that I'd chug to keep warm at a football game in the fall or something like that.  It's a cup that needs to be savored, and sipped slowly while wrapping yourself in a blanket by the fire and read a book you've been dying to pick up, or maybe tucking yourself in to watch one of your favorite movies on a stormy winter night.

I definitely couldn't drink this every night, especially if I want to stay on track with my resolutions, but I think that this is a great way to soothe yourself after a long, hard day and treat yourself for being the big, tough warrior at life that you are!














French Hot Chocolate
(adapted from www.wellplated.com)

1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp espresso powder
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
Whipped cream, for garnish


Whisk whole milk, heavy cream and espresso powder together over medium
heat until it begins to lightly bubble.  Do not let the mixture come
to a full boil.

Remove from heat.

Stir in chocolate, until mixture is homogenous.

Serve with whipped cream.