Adaptogenic Hot Chocolate—aka Stress-busting Hot Cocoa

Whether you’re trying to cut back on caffeine or want to nourish your mind and body with a superfood-powered drink, this adaptogenic hot chocolate is just what you need. It’s a great focus-boosting morning drink, but it’s also perfect to snuggle up with at the end of your day.

Either way, you’re going to love this stress-reducing adaptogenic hot cocoa, and I’ve made it into a mix to make it oh-so-convenient any time you’ve got a craving. Which, if you’re anything like me, is going to be often.

What is an Adaptogen?

Adaptogens are natural substances (usually herbs, but they can also be roots, plants, and mushrooms) that help balance your body and manage stress. 

I’ve only included a few adaptogens in this hot chocolate recipe. There are a lot more of them and you could of course add as many as you like to this recipe. Just keep in mind that some of them can taste strong.

Adding in a nice amount of cocoa, sweetener, coconut milk and salt totally takes care of that the same way it does for this adaptogenic fudge recipe.

Ingredients and Benefits

• Cocoa Powder
• Coconut Sugar
• Coconut Milk Powder
• Tocos / Rice Bran Solubles – (optional instead of coconut milk powder or as an add-on). Tocos gives lots of creaminess to dairy-free drinks.
• Ashwagandha – Known as a strong adaptogen, ashwagandha really helps your body adapt to stress. There is some discussion of ashwagandha being helpful even for ADHD.
• Maca – Known to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective properties.
• Reishi mushroom – Known as the Queen of Mushrooms, reishi is known for supporting the immune system and blood sugar levels, amongst other things.
• He Shou Wu – He shou wu is said to “build the blood” and be super nourishing. Legend has it that a 58-year-old man apparently took this herb and lived to be 130. He had a son whom he named He Shou Wu. This son also took it, lived to be 160, and had dark hair when he died.
• Lion’s Mane – Lion’s mane is known for many benefits including the potential to regenerate nerves and for being neuroprotective.

Serving Suggestions

You can make this with a coffee substitute or regular coffee instead of water for more of a mocha taste. Add peppermint extract for a fun Christmas-ey taste. Adding vanilla extract or cinnamon sprinkled on top are great options as well.

You can also top with:

• whipped cream or coconut whipped cream
• mini marshmallows
• dairy-free chocolate chips or chunks
• chocolate shavings
• chocolate syrup
• or all of the above!

Recipe Notes

• Neither an immersion blender, a blender, or a high-powered blender is needed, but it will make a smoother drink. I prefer to just stir the mixture to keep cleanup simple.
• Sweetener options: I use stevia extract for this recipe to keep carbs low. I use 1/8 teaspoon stevia extract and then about 5 teaspoons of the mix per cup of cocoa. If using honey or maple syrup, use about 5 teaspoons of the mix and add your sweetener after pouring the hot water and milk into the mix.
• This recipe is very forgiving and versatile. You can use whatever adaptogens you like for this: no need to be exact. Because adaptogens taste strong, you’ll want to add/adjust them little by little. If you add too much, just add more of the other ingredients. Note that he shou wu and ashwagandha are some of the more intense adaptogens as far as taste goes.
• Arsenic in Tocos: There are concerns about tocos having a lot of arsenic because it’s made from brown rice. The brand linked to does testing and states results on their Amazon product page stating that their levels were below .002 ppm in recent testing. Please use your best judgment about using this product, but I will say that rice bran solubles are yummy.

More Healthy Drinks

Vegan Eggnog – no eggs in this lovely sugar-free healthy yummy treat
Dairy-free Sugar-free Hot Chocolate – a great healthier alternative to Swiss Miss
Homemade Cranberry Juice (4 Ways) – skip all the sugar and HFCS of the “cocktails” in the stores
Nourishing Coffee Substitute – a great way to cut back on caffeine while nourishing your liver
Adrenal Cocktail – help your body deal with stress and feel better fast
Turmeric Tea – great for inflammation and for normalizing hormones and menstruation too

I’d love to hear in the comments section what you think about this drink, and if you’ve used adaptogens and how they’ve worked for you.