Yasmine Zachmeyer // Little Iowa Farm

Is anyone else’s kid obsessed with chocolate milk? My 2 ½ year old will basically only drink flavored milk, and I choose my battles wisely.

Previously, we had strawberry milk as an option until I realized that basically all strawberry syrups contain Red 40… 🫣

The first time my daughter tasted this chocolate milk, she exclaimed, “Yummy!” That is a win in my book. 😁

I’ve been reading ingredient labels for everything recently and quickly realized our beloved chocolate syrup was not so healthy. I knew it wasn’t the best, but I didn’t realize just how yucky it was! See the picture below for the ingredients… 🤢

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So, I had a new mission. I needed to create a yummy alternative to chocolate syrup! In my trial and errors, I learned a lot about the difference of cacao vs. cocoa powder. Here’s a great, in-depth article if you’re interested, but basically, cocoa = bad, cacao = healthy. I knew I wanted to use cacao powder in my recipe, so I went with the Better Body Foods brand.

This recipe is intended to mix with 1/2 gallon of milk at a time. However, if you don’t want to pre-mix, keep it in the fridge, give it a good shake and add to add to a glass of milk as needed.

In our family, we only drink raw milk, so this recipe has not been attempted with store-bought milk. I assume the results will be the same. We give it a good shake (as we usually do with milk) before drinking!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup of HOT water*
• 1/2 cup of cacao powder
• 1/2 cup of sweetener. We do 1/4 c. organic sugar and 1/4 c. maple syrup.

INSTRUCTIONS

• Starting with 1/2 gallon of raw milk, remove around 2 cups or so of milk from your container so it doesn’t overflow.
• In a glass mason jar, add water and microwave until hot, around 1 minute (you want to be able to melt the sugar and cacao)
• Once hot, add cacao, sugar, and maple syrup. Give it a good shake and add to your milk. I whisk mine to combine everything. Shake to incorporate each time before serving.

Alternatively, you could prepare this mixture in a small sauce pan. Add everything and heat enough to combine.