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Confessions of a Chocolate Shake Addict

July 11, 2021 by Tasha Hackett Leave a Comment

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Hey, it’s Tasha. Remember me? I’m Laura’s friend. The one who fell off the cliff and didn’t die. I homeschool a few kids and eat chocolate, AND I DRINK IT. Eating paleo took a turn for the better once I discovered some amazing chocolate tricks, but today is the day for the confessions of a paleo chocolate shake addict.

Chocolate Shake Confessions:

I drink a chocolate shake every day. Sometimes more than one.
Secretly, not so secretly anymore, I am happy a few of my kids don’t like my chocolate shakes—more for me.
16 oz of cacao powder barely lasts me one month = that means I eat approximately 3 Tablespoons a day.
Once, mid-shake preparation, I was ravenous. Hungry, grumpy, starving. The cacao powder was not where it was supposed to be. I searched frantically through the cupboards to no avail. Mean Tasha came out. I yelled across the house to my husband and kids, “WHO MOVED THE CHOCOLATE STUFF??” No one answered Crazy Mama. Climbed up on the counter and searched the top shelf while yelling at my family that there was a crisis upon us. Turns out, the almost empty bag was found behind the Blentec. Right where I’d left it I’m sure.
No, I’m not misspelling Cocoa. Cacao is a real thing.

Cacao vs. Cocoa?

Cacao is the name of the tree that grows pods with beans that are harvested and roasted like coffee to make cocoa powder and chocolate. But—woah—if you don’t roast the beans, it’s called cacao instead of cocoa. Unroasted beans are raw and contain significantly higher levels of minerals, fiber, and even some protein. So that’s what I chose to eat. Please check out the Subscribe & Save options available for Organic Cacao Powder.

Paleo Chocolate Shake RecipeYum

Clearly, Laura’s salad-drinking habits are commendable. But, another confession: I’m not a grown-up enough human to submit myself to such torture. What I meant to say is that Laura is a super human blessed by the Almighty with taste buds of steel. Hmm. Okay, how about this: I’m so deeply in love with chocolate shakes and I see no reason to give them up.

Sorry. The recipe(s).

I mostly make it the same every day, but has been evolving over the year. Therefore, I will give you two recipes. The first is when you only have 30 seconds to spare. The second is when you have 2 minutes.

Quick Fix Chocolate Shake

8 oz. coconut milk
2 Tablespoons cacao or cocoa powder
2 pinches salt
1/2—1 teaspoon Super Sweet from THM or stevia/blend sweetener of choice
Large handful of spinach
3 cubes ice
Blend until smooth
Drink

The above smoothie has approximately 4 grams of protein and 92 calories. It is enough to satisfy a chocolate craving and sweet tooth. If you want to trick your mouth into thinking you’re having a treat, and you’re in a hurry, give it a try. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of nutrients in the spinach, cacao, and coconut milk, but I wouldn’t recommend replacing a meal with this shake. Unless you’re planning to starve yourself to death, which I highly discourage.

Paleo Chocolate Shake with more stuff…

8 oz. coconut milk
2 Tablespoons cacao or cocoa powder
2 pinches salt
1/2—1 teaspoon Super Sweet from THM or stevia/blend sweetener of choice
2 Tablespoons integral collagen (paleo friendly dairy/soy-free protein)
half of a banana (sliced and frozen is nice)
1/2 cup frozen fruit (blueberries or sweet cherries are good options)
1 Tablespoon almond butter
Large handful spinach
3 cubes of ice
Blend until smooth
Drink in secret or make double to share with all the toddlers

This is the shake I drink daily. If we’re heading out and I’m not sure if there’s going to be paleo food for me, then I make a shake. Sometimes I drink with breakfast, or later in the day if I’m hungry and there’s no food in front of me. The full recipe is approximately 320 calories and 17 grams of protein.

What do you eat everyday?! Does it make you ask happy as this shake makes me? If not… maybe you should make this shake instead.

Paleo Chocolate Shake

Save Print

Author: Tasha

Recipe type: snack

Ingredients

8 oz. coconut milk
2 Tablespoons cacao or cocoa powder
2 pinches salt
½—1 teaspoon Super Sweet from THM or stevia/blend sweetener of choice
2 Tablespoons integral collagen (paleo friendly dairy/soy-free protein)
half of a banana (sliced and frozen is nice)
½ cup frozen fruit (blueberries or sweet cherries are good options)
1 Tablespoon almond butter
Large handful spinach
3 cubes of ice

Instructions

Blend until smooth
Drink in secret or make double to share with all the toddlers

Tasha Hackett is a friend of Laura and author of the Christian Romance, Bluebird on the Prairie; available wherever books are sold and from her website, www.TashaHackett.com. She spends most of her time (drinking chocolate shakes) with four chatty children and an incredibly supportive husband. They give her the kind of love people write books about.

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36 Favorite Low Sugar Chocolate Recipes

June 19, 2018 by Laura 1 Comment

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Summer is my favorite season. And chocolate is one of my favorite food groups. So to celebrate summer, I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite low sugar chocolate recipes!

Don’t let the “low sugar” thing fool you. These recipes are all sweetened naturally and sweetened just enough to satisfy.

14 Recipes That Include Chocolate Chips

My favorite chocolate chips are soy free Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips. The following recipes are low in sugar, but then of course, the chocolate chips add a bit more sugar. Still, we can feel good about feeding these chocolate recipes to our families!

22 Recipes that Include Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

This is my favorite Organic Unsweetened Cocoa Powder. Many of the following recipes do not include any sugar at all as they are sweetened with liquid stevia (a naturally sweet herb). If your family doesn’t like stevia, feel free to sub your sweetener/sugar of choice.

What are your favorite chocolate recipes?

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All Chocolate, All the Time, All Less Than $1.00

May 24, 2016 by Laura 1 Comment

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I think we should have a chocolate themed “Less than $1.00” day – wouldn’t you agree?

$1.00 or Less Recipes, Crafts, Gift Ideas, and more!

Chocolate for breakfastYum

I’ll start us off with a breakfast (or snack) recipe that tastes quite a bit like a specialty store-bought granola, but costs much less. This Dark Chocolate Almond Granola is our family’s favorite of all granola options. It costs less than $1.00 per serving!

Tip: Want to make granola this summer, but prefer to leave the oven off as much as possible to avoid heating up the house? Make it with this 5-Minute Stove-Top Granola Making Method. I kind of like cheating and making granola this way. Be sure to wait and add the chocolate pieces after you’ve removed it from the stove. Come to think of it, you could just stir them right in to make a chocolate coating all over the granola. No one would complain, right?

dark_chocolate_almond_granola

Make your own Chocolate Milk Mix!

Follow the recipe for Homemade Chocolate Syrup and not only will you be avoiding high fructose corn syrup, it’ll cost you less than $1.00 for the whole batch. You’ll notice that I wrote that recipe before I began cutting down the sugar quantities in my recipes. Feel free to experiment with using less sugar. I’m sure it will still taste great!

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

Here’s another variety of chocolate milk mix you might enjoy: Homemade Nesquik! Again, that entire mix can be made for about $1.00. :)

Make Your Own Nesquik

Make your own Frappe

Save a bundle by avoiding the coffee shop and making yourself a Chocolate Frappe at home. A big glass of this definitely costs less than $1.00. You can make this as sweet or as “barely sweet” as you like. I use stevia, but you can use sugar if you prefer.

Healthy Homemade Chocolate Frappe

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups?

Yep. These Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups aren’t necessarily low in sugar, but they are made with healthier ingredients. I only make these every once in a while as a special treat – and they fit the theme because they are less than $1.00!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

See the other “less than $1.00” ideas I shared this week here and here. More “less than $1.00” ideas coming up tomorrow!

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Chocolate Cheesecake Dessert

February 3, 2015 by Laura 14 Comments

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Not that you have to wait until Valentine’s Day to make this, but just in case you’re starting to think about hearts and chocolate and treats with the ones you love – I thought you might be interested in this recipe. You should probably make one now, then another early next week, then another on Valentine’s Day. Or would that be considered cheesecake overkill? (Is there such a thing?)

Remember this Chocolate Cheesecake Pie recipe I shared about this time last year? Here’s another similar idea using stevia to lightly sweeten. I also used my Shortbread recipe for the crust this time since I’ve discovered what a great, buttery crust it makes. It does not get any easier than this! (Here are Pumpkin Pie Bars with shortbread crust and Pumpkin Cheesecake with the same crust. Told you I love it.)

Easy Chocolate Cheesecake DessertYum

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Liquid stevia to taste (I use 30-40 drops)
2 cups heavy whipping cream
Baked and cooled Shortbread Crust

Cream together softened cream cheese, cocoa powder, vanilla, and stevia. Set aside. Whip cream until soft peaks form. Fold in cream cheese mixture until smooth. (I actually throw all ingredients together in my BlendTec and let it do all the work of whipping and blending at the same time.) Spread mixture over cooled Shortbread Crust. Cover and chill for about two hours until set. Makes about 18 servings.

Easy Chocolate Cheesecake Dessert

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Vanilla Pudding, Chocolate Pudding, and Warm Vanilla Soother ~ Share Your Story

October 1, 2014 by Laura 5 Comments

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I love hearing your stories about how you’re using the recipes you find here at Heavenly Homemakers! Please take pictures and send them to me along with your stories so that I can share them with readers here for everyone to enjoy. :)

I’m sharing two stories today since the recipes are quite similar. We’re going with a pudding theme today. Delicious comfort food in a bowl…or a mug.

From Erika:

I love your pudding recipes! They are so delicious and so much better than boxed instant pudding. I was never much a fan of pudding in general until I made your vanilla recipe. Great stuff! I attached a photo of our desert tonight: Layered Heavenly Homemakers vanilla and chocolate puddings with crushed oreos on top. The oreos aren’t exactly wholesome, real food so just look past that part! :)

pudding story

Oreos? I don’t see any oreos. That dessert looks beautiful though! ;) My boys saw this picture, and what do you think they’re asking for now? I may just have to give in and make this. :)

Now for the warm, drinkable version of this pudding recipe, here’s a story of how Meredith served Warm Vanilla Soother to her family:

Hi Laura !! After a 2 a.m. tummy trouble tea party with a tremendously talkative two year old and waking to a dark drizzly Seattle morning, we decided that the warm vanilla soother would be the perfect start to our day !! I enlisted my favorite 3 1/2 year old to do the stirring :) I decided to try adding a bittle lit of imitation rum extract to try to make it a warm eggnog soother. We couldn’t really taste it but it was fun to experiment :) It was a hit ! Some of us really REALLY got into it.

Thanks again for another amazing recipe !! Meredith

soother story 1
This brings back memories of my little boys climbing on a chair to help me stir. {happy sigh}

soother story 2

I have yet to make Warm Vanilla Soother this fall. I am now very inspired to whip it up.
(Read: I’m totally hungry for it after seeing all the pudding and soother pictures.)

soother story 3

She is soooo sweet!

soother story 4

Could her grin be any bigger? I think she likes it, Mom.

You guys have no idea how thrilled I am to get a glimpse into your lives. Thank you for honoring me by sending your pictures and stories. Keep ’em coming! Send me your stories!

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Chocolate Whipped Cream – Perfect For Your Coffee

May 15, 2014 by Laura 15 Comments

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I was so excited about putting my Chocolate Whipped Cream on strawberries that I never thought to put some in my coffee. Thankfully, I have smart friends.

Earlier this week, I had 11 other women in my home for Bunco. (It was time for this Mama of boys to get some girl time!). I served BLT Wraps, veggies with Homemade Ranch Dip, chips and salsa, and Chocolate Whipped Cream on Strawberries. It was all simple to prepare and serve, which made it perfect for a fun night in with the ladies.

While many of us were enjoying bowls of strawberries with Chocolate Whipped Cream, one of my friends took her full coffee cup over and scooped in some of the chocolaty goodness. It didn’t take long for several of the rest of us to follow her lead. Before I knew it, I was brewing another pot of coffee and making another triple batch of Chocolate Whipped Cream. Mmmmm, so good.

Here, so that you can drop whatever you’re doing and run make this, is the recipe once again:

Chocolate Whipped Cream for CoffeeYum

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 rounded Tablespoon cocoa powder
Liquid stevia to taste (we used about 10 drops)

In a bowl, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Add cocoa and stevia, and whip again for a few seconds until ingredients are mixed well. Serve on top of sliced strawberries…or coffee!

Chocolate Whipped Cream - Perfect For Your Coffee

Now, a few days later, as if I wasn’t already beginning an addiction to putting Chocolate Whipped Cream on my strawberries, now I’m adding it by the huge spoonful(s) to my coffee mug in the morning. Ahhhhmazing. And no guilt. It’s all real food, and there’s no sugar involved.

If you don’t want chocolate, can I interest you in making Peppermint Cream for your coffee? And if you really want a sugar splurge, but you still want real ingredients, how about Homemade Chocolate Caramel Creamer?

Listen everyone – with goodness like this to put in our coffee, why would we ever need to buy coffee creamers that are full of not-so-real ingredients? Why??

So what do you think will be your fav? Chocolate Whipped Cream in coffee…or on strawberries?

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Chocolate Whipped Cream on Strawberries

May 11, 2014 by Laura 20 Comments

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My life has not been the same since I discovered this Chocolate Whipped Cream.

Chocolate Whipped Cream on Strawberries 2

My men ban me from doing any work on Mother’s Day. They take over the kitchen, putting together all the meals in a way that is both hilarious and beautiful to me. Sometimes, I shout instructions from the living room. Other times I offer some quiet advice to help avoid culinary disaster. But they always do a nice job working together, and I’ve found it’s best if I simply walk away and let them do things their way.

Therefore, I needed a Mother’s Day dessert that was easy to make. I needed a Mother’s Day dessert that could be made ahead of time. I needed a Mother’s Day dessert that was low in sugar. And I needed chocolate. Obviously.

There’s nothing like inventing a recipe in my head, then writing it down and handing it to my boys to experiment with. Why give them a tried and true recipe when something else sounds better…inside my head. Right? Bless my boys. They are so used to how I roll in the kitchen, they didn’t even blink when I said, “For dessert, we’re going to try something new.” I’m sure they expected nothing less.

Chocolate Whipped Cream on StrawberriesYum

5.0 from 1 reviews

Chocolate Whipped Cream on Strawberries

Save Print

Author: Laura

Serves: 6

Ingredients

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 rounded Tablespoon cocoa powder
Liquid stevia to taste (we used about 10 drops)
Sliced strawberries

Instructions

In a bowl, whip the cream until soft peaks form.
Add cocoa and stevia, and whip again for a few seconds until ingredients are mixed well.
Serve on top of sliced strawberries.

Everyone loved this dessert! The boys especially loved that I said, “Have as much as you want.” When do I ever say that about dessert? Never. But with this, since it is sweetened with stevia, I felt no need to limit how much they ate. This will be a great breakfast, snack, or dessert that we’ll surely be making over and over.

Now it’s your turn. Make this Chocolate Whipped Cream and sit back and enjoy it guilt free. Oh sweet happiness in a bowl.

What dessert did you request for Mother’s Day?

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How Malachi Made the Most Delicious Chocolate Dipped Pretzels Ever

November 30, 2013 by Laura 17 Comments

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Twas the night before Thanksgiving and Mama was tired.

I’d been cooking off and on for several days, preparing for our big feast. We’d just arrived home after our Wednesday night devotional time with our church family. I was ready to do one final round of dishes and call it a night. Malachi headed to the sink to wash his hands saying, “Now can we finally make my special treats for tomorrow?”

Ah yes, we still needed to make Malachi’s treats. He’d been waiting so patiently. After all, our big box of baking chocolates had come in the mail weeks ago and Mom still hadn’t done anything with it. Imagine the torture everyone had gone through, staring at all the incredible bags of chocolates and not being allowed to do anything with them. (I know, you’re all shocked that I would actually have chocolates in my house and not eat them for weeks. What can I say? I’ve been busy.)

olive nation chocolate

Olive Nation, my favorite source for Vanilla Beans, had sent us a big variety of their baking chocolate disks. I’ve never worked with such high quality chocolate before. Each variety is super wonderful! We simply melted about a cup of disks with a tablespoon of butter on the stovetop, then worked quickly to dip pretzels. The melted chocolate was super smooth and easy to work with.

Malachi and I had so much fun together making this simple treat. It didn’t take long at all, and the final results were yummy and fun. Malachi was so excited about his treats that he got up bright and early with me on Thanksgiving morning so he could arrange them on a tray to put on the dessert table. They ended up being a perfect treat a few hours after our meal while everyone was playing games.

malachis_pretzels_2
We thought they’d be fancier (and easier) to just dip half of each pretzel.

malachis_pretzels_1
Malachi and I made three varieties of chocolate dipped pretzels: White Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, and Blond Chocolate. I was excited that making these treats didn’t even make a dent in my chocolate supply – a little goes a long way! I think these will be fun to make again, then bag up to deliver to friends at Christmas. I’m also thinking about making some truffles for gifts.

I was excited to get an email yesterday stating that Olive Nation baking supplies (including chocolates!) are 20% off through December 6. Use the code HOLBAKA at check-out for the discount.

Wow, I love this time of year – and all the great food involved!

Some of the links in the post are my referral links.

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A Nourishing Way to Warm Up

November 19, 2013 by Laura 4 Comments

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warmvanillasoother2sm

Cold? Hungry? Need some energy? I have the magic potion. And there are three variations to the recipe!

Have you tried my Warm Vanilla Soother? It’s the first of the three soothing drink recipes I concocted. Drinking this is like being wrapped in a warm blanket on a cold day, and I always feel nourished and energized afterward.

Once I realized how wonderful the vanilla drink was, of course, I had to try making a chocolate variety. Thus, the Warm Chocolate Soother was born. It’s like drinking a brownie that is warm right out of the oven. (Be careful that you don’t trip on the kids while rushing to make this. Yes, it’s that good. But your kids might need dinner or a diaper change first.)

Last, I created a Warm Pumpkin Soother. It’s a holiday party in a mug. Ahhhhhh…..

So, let’s review. Delicious, satisfying, warm, nourishing, filling, chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. Or pumpkin. Or vanilla. Take your pick.

Which is your favorite?

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Granola

May 8, 2013 by Laura 13 Comments

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pb_choc_granola_3

I’m guessing that many of the greatest recipe “inventions” have happened by accident. Asa (our 15 year old) really didn’t mean to create this wonderful Peanut Butter Chocolate Granola. His real intent was to make No-Bake Cookies for a mission trip fund-raising meal last Sunday. But somehow the liquid ingredients got slightly overcooked, the oats made the mixture way too dry, and no way no how was a cookie going to be formed once it was all said and done. I told him to press his mixture into a 9×13 inch pan and that we’d try cutting them into bars later. While that was a brilliant idea, it didn’t work any better than forming the mixture into cookies. We ended up with peanut butter chocolate oat crumbles instead. Peanut butter chocolate oat crumbles that tasted really, really good. :)

And so – we all just grabbed a bowl and a spoon and had at it. (While planning a different dessert to take to the fund-raising meal.)

I’m calling this “granola” because that’s what it looks and feels like. But I do have a hard time calling this a healthy breakfast or snack. While it is made with real food ingredients, it is still more dessert-like, for sure. In an effort to make this a little less sugary, and a bit more diverse for “stir-in” options, I’ve tweaked the ingredients from the original cookie recipe Asa used. I’m pretty sure it will still taste awesome with less sugar than originally called for in the cookie recipe!

By the way – depending on how you make this, it can be completely dairy free if you wish. :)

Peanut Butter Chocolate GranolaYum

1/2 cup butter or coconut oil
1/2 cup milk or coconut milk
1/2 cup natural peanut butter (we use homemade peanut butter)
1 cup sucanat or 1/2 cup honey
4 Tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup coconut flakes (optional)

Put butter, milk, peanut butter, sucanat, and cocoa into a medium sized saucepan. Cook over medium heat until butter is melted and mixture is smooth. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Allow the mixture to boil for one minute. Remove from heat. Add vanila, oats, and coconut flakes. If the mixture is too liquidy add a few more oats or coconut flakes until you reach desired consistency.

pb_choc_granola_2

Or shucks. If you “mess up” this recipe and the mixture turns out to be nice and smooth instead of crumbly – go ahead and spoon it onto wax paper and make No-Bake Cookies. ;)

UPDATE: If you do find your mixture too wet: Add a few extra oats to soak up the liquid. Then put it on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and baked it at 250° for one hour, stirring occasionally. The granola should get nice and crispy!

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