It's One of Those Hot Cocoa Days - Try This Amazing Hot Chocolate with Truvia

Here in Alabama, it is rainy, dreary and gray - or what I like to call a Hot Chocolate Day. Nothing turns a chilly, bleak day into a cozy afternoon like a cup of rich, delicious hot cocoa and I have the perfect recipe that I've been wanting to test. Two weeks ago, I started a SOYS (Swap Out Your Sweetener)Challenge - I swapped out my artificial sweeteners for all natural Truvia. There were many reasons for my decision but this post is about my delicious, hot dark chocolate recipe that I whipped up this rainy afternoon. Instead of the usual 1/2 cup of sugar, I used 3 Tbsp + 3/4 tsp of Truvia. Here is the recipe and for more about Truvia, you can go to their website or MapTruvia.com

This is a decadent treat but to cut down on the calories a little, you can do like I did and cut the recipe in half, then share your yummy drink. So instead of a cup each, we had about a 1/2 cup each which is plenty when you have a drink that is so rich and thick.

 I don't really measure when I make my Hot Chocolate (I just pour in the milk and a dash of cornstarch and so on) so I found a recipe on about.com that was very similar. It is for Spanish Hot Chocolate - Chocolate Caliente. It is exactly the same as the recipe I used today except that it has specific measurements.  I did make an adjustment on the original recipe by substituting Truvia in place of sugar.  The only other thing I do differently is I smash the bakers chocolate into pieces before I put it into the pan to melt. I HIGHLY recommend this recipe- it is delicious with Truvia! 

• 2 8-ounce cups whole milk
• 3 ounces (3 squares) baking chocolate
• 3Tbsp. Truvia or 8-12 packets of Truvia You can adjust according to how sweet you want your cocoa
• 1/2 tsp. cornstarch

Pour the milk into a medium saucepan and add the cornstarch. Whisk to dissolve the cornstarch. Once the cornstarch is dissolved, heat the milk on medium heat just until it boils, then remove from heat. Add the chocolate squares immediately and begin stirring until the chocolate is completely melted. If the milk cools off too fast, place the pan back on the stove on low heat to melt the chocolate.

If you are using baking chocolate, which is unsweetened, pour the sugar into the chocolate milk mixture and stir until thoroughly dissolved.

Place the pan back on the stove on medium low heat, stirring slowly, but constantly. (Do not cook the mixture over high heat because it may cause lumping.) Taste the chocolate for sweetness and add more sugar if necessary. The mixture should thicken quickly. As soon as you see it thicken, remove the pan from the heat so the cornstarch will not thin. Ladle immediately into cups and serve piping hot.

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Truvia for 30 days: I'm Taking a SOYS(Swap Out Your Sweetener) Challenge

I have swapped out my normal sweeteners in exchange for Truvia. In my quest for a healthier lifestyle, I've decided to try Truvia™ natural sweetener, a zero-calorie sweetener made with the best tasting part of the stevia plant. By swapping my sweetener to Truvia, I am eliminating the artificial chemicals that I'd been ingesting with the use of aspartame, saccharin and sucralose. I have been using artificial sweeteners for many years. When we found out my dad had diabetes, the whole family switched to Diet Sodas and saccharin or aspartame, and more recently, sucralose. Just the names of the artificial sweeteners sound scary.  I have learned that the chemicals in these artificial sweeteners could possibly be causing permanent damage to my body. It is terrifying to think that I've been poisoning myself all these years with something I thought was a healthy alternative to sugar.   Things to Know About Truvia:

  Truvia™ natural sweetener is refreshingly uncomplicated. Sprinkle it on your grapefruit. Spoon it in your coffee. It won't end up on your conscience or your thighs.
One packet of Truvia™ natural sweetener provides the same sweetness as two teaspoons of sugar. Truvia™ natural sweetener is a great alternative for people with diabetes. It is also kosher certified.
I wanted to take part in this challenge for many reasons. One being that I recently made a commitment to improve my overall quality of life. This includes making improvements to my health, appearance, relationships, home and many other areas of my life. I thought that a perfect way to start this challenge would be to stop ingesting all the artificial sweeteners and add some natural goodness to my diet. I would love to eliminate artificial additives from my diet altogether eventually. This is a great place to start! Another reason is to eliminate artifcial additives from my diet and replace them with all natural alternatives, like Truvia.I have been using Truvia for 6 days now. I use it in my coffee, hot tea, on my fruit - anywhere I would have normally used sugar or artificial sweetener. This includes baking. While I haven't created any fantastic treats, I did use Truvia to make sweetened whipped cream and strawberries last night. Delicious! The strawberries and cream were such a wonderful dessert and I only had to use a little bit of Truvia to make it perfectly sweet. There are some amazing recipes on Recipes on Truvia's website. I plan to take full advantage of these delicious desserts later on in the week. Especially the cheesecake recipe! Sample Truvia: Try a Sample of Truvia at the maptruvia.com site by clicking the "Sharing is Sexy" Twitter button directly below this post, type #maptruvia at the end of your tweet, then submit. Post the link to your tweet on the form for a sample request at maptruvia.com - Hope that didn't sound too complicated! Just 1.Tweet this link, include #maptruvia at end of the tweet 2. Copy the link from the tweet you just shared 3. Post the link to the tweet at the Free Truvia Sample site! VERY EASY!I can't wait to share my experiences with the Swap Out Your Sweetener Challenge. I will be sure to post the recipes I try and will also let you know how the dishes taste. So far, I am extremely pleased with this challenge. Truvia couldn't taste better and the fact that it has 0 calories just makes all this so much sweeter! The real benefit though is that I have removed potentially hazardous, artificial chemicals from my diet and replaced them with something all natural and healthy. Join me on my challenge or just try Truvia and let me know what you think!!!

Disclosure: I received Free 40-ct carton of individual packets and one spoonables container of Truvia for the purposes of this challenge but this has not influenced my opinions in any way.

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