The Best Hot Chocolate Ever!

Okay, so I live in Singapore, a country with non-stop 30ºC around the year and humidity that makes your hair decide it wants to look like bird's nest. Still, I'm a fan of chocolate ;) You can find my all-time most popular home-made simple chocolate recipe here. This drink can be enjoyed cold or warm but I actually enjoy it hot on those days when it's pouring heavily and the thunder is just right on top of me (which happens quite often here). That's when I feel GREAT! :D I've always loved thunder. My dad says when I was younger I always wanted to go outside when it's the worst possible weather and just stand there, with a raincoat on, and listen to the nature playing its loudest performance. I can still remember that... 

Anyways, back to Singapore and the recipe! What you need is your favourite milk (I don't recommend anything 'light' because the cacao power will not mix well and.. it just doesn't taste that good :D), 1 tablespoon of cacao powder, cinnamon, honey/agave syrup to sweeten (if your milk isn't sweet already), 1 teaspoon of maca powder (optional) and your favourite mug! Cacao powder includes lots of antioxidants and minerals such as magnesium, nitrogen, zinc and iron that have good effects for example on blood pressure and the immune system and that can help in headache, anemia, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. They don't say chocolate is good for you for nothing! ;)

Finally, a short anecdote. My husband made us two mugs with our pictures on them when we first took time apart. One for me, one for him. I had just been to Singapore for an exchange and had to leave to Finland. We had been dating for two months. But we survived the long distance thanks to skype, watsapp and lots of great memories, just like the ones I get to re-live every time I enjoy my cup of hot chocolate!

Next post will be about something completely other than food, promised ;)

X Ang Moh Chick

Power Popsicles!

I've been graving to make these ever since I came to Singapore! And after I did, I finished a dozen within 24 hours :D Why Power? Because they are packed with vitamin C! Super easy, fast, yummy and healthy, these ice pops are also a great way to make kids eat more fruits! And what's the best - they are COLD! ;)

Here is how you make them: blend any fruits with milk/cream of your choice in a blender and add about 1-2 teaspoon of honey per popsicle. I used honeydew and grapefruit. If you have vanilla extract, that brings extra flavor! Place in molds in the freezer for a couple of hours.

X Ang Moh Chick

Soothing Smoothie for a Stuborn Stomach

Happy Deepavali everyone! And I hope you all had a relaxing and spooky Halloween! 

Here is my easy and fast (the way I like my food) recipe for a Soothing Smoothie, sort of my version of the Finnish 'marjapuuro'. I'm not really one of those people who crave for something refreshing and light for the start of the day. I like heavy and warm breakfasts! However, this smoothie works well as a snack for me and it's also great for a sensitive stomach like mine. You know, one of those days that your tummy is upset, nothing tends to digest or "move", so to speak ;) This smoothie is calming and does wonders to your digestion!

What you need is:

• A handful of frozen papaya cubes
• 1 small frozen banana
• A handful of berries of your choice (I used cranberries)
• A large handful of almonds
• 1 dl of rolled oats
• 1-2 tablespoons of chia seeds
• 1/2 inche ginger
• water/milk
• honey to sweeten

First pulse the frozen papaya and banana cubes, then add in almonds and berries, ginger and liquid. Sweeten with honey. Finally pour the oats and the chia seeds to the mixture. You can either blend them or just mix by hand depending on the structure you want. I like my smoothie to be quite thick and I often spoon it as a 'porridge' :)

Papaya is known as a nature's remedy for constipation. Almonds have good fatty acids and essential vitamins. Chia seeds help the stomach work faster and ginger is great for indigestion. On top of all this the smoothie tastes yummy!

I decorated mine with blackberries and cacao nibs!

If you would like some more pleasure for your eyes, I recommend checking out my fashion blogger friend Jaslin. She has a great style and beautiful photos. She just blogged about her halloween outfit which looks very chic! You can find her blog here.

X Ang Moh Chick

Homemade Chocolate Snack

 

I came up with this recipe in the first place basically looking at the ingredients in my fridge, thinking of what yammy I could make out of them. As I can't eat dairy due to allergies, I wanted to try to make my own chocolate! All you need is unsweetened cacao powder (I used raw cacao powder by Navitas Naturals), oil (olive oil does fine) and honey. I added blueberries to this version, but you can use nuts, almonds, dried fruit... anything to compliment your chocolate. The chocolate is very taste all by itself too. Cacao is a good (and tasty!) source of antioxidants, iron and magnesium. Honey has tons of vitamin C. And everyone knows the health benefits of olive oil, the true superfood. So basically this chocolate is a health bomb! At least I finished mine almost right away ;)

You get about 10 large pieces of chocolate from mixing together 6 tablespoons of cacao powder, 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of honey (taste the dough to add honey if needed). Add cacao or oil until the mixture is firm enough to be formed into pieces.

After the pieces are ready, place them in the freezer for a while. When you take them out, let them warm up a bit before biting, unless of course you want chocolate popcicles! The chocolate is great on a hot day, or with a large cup of cappuchino.

Enjoy! :)

X Ang Moh Chick