Maple Maca Mocha

Warm creamy beverages are popular in this house. I have a husband who works from a home office and is on his feet in video conferences quite literally all day long. He has Raynaud's Phenomenon, meaning his fingers (and toes) turn white and then blue from even a mild chill. BUT, if he drank hot coffee all day long he would bounce off of the walls. So I like to rotate by making my own tea blends, coffee drinks, warm ciders, and this. Maple Maca Mocha. It is so delicious (and in summer is fantastic iced). 

The main ingredient, Maca, is considered a superfood. It gets that moniker from its adaptogenic properties and the fact that it is super high in minerals, sterols, essential fatty acids, fiber, protein, and amino acids. Maca is a root vegetable which has been used in South America for ages as a food staple and herbal boost for stamina, stress, and energy. If you look at PubMed, you can see many studies have shown that Maca can indeed increase stamina, reduce muscle fatigue after workouts, lower anxiety and depression, and may boost hormonal function and sex drive (woo hoo!).  So not a bad ingredient to add in a frothily delicious drink on a chilly morning!

{ingredients}

3 Tbsp powdered Maca

3 Tbsp cocoa powder (unsweetened)

3 Tbsp maple syrup

3 cups of drinking coconut milk

1 vanilla bean (or 2 tsp vanilla ext)

pinch cinnamon

pinch ginger

optional: 2 shots of espresso, or 2 Tbsp instant espresso powder

{how to}

Warm your coconut milk in a pot on your stove. Add your scraped vanilla bean and whisk to get it all distributed. You can place the whole bean shell into the pot to infuse more vanilla flavor too (just pull it out before serving). Whisk in all the rest of the ingredients. Keep whisking. Keep whisking. Let it warm up on the stove for 5-7 minutes, whisking every minute or so. DO NOT boil. You just want to warm it enough to dissolve the cocoa/maca/spices and get to a nice drinking temperature. Remove from heat. Whisk again and remove your vanilla bean. Taste it. I like mine just like this. My husband likes a little more sweetness, so I add coconut palm sugar to his to taste. 

If you like, zest a little organic orange over the top. 

Drink!

This makes 2 large mugs of Maple Maca Mocha (say that fast three times). 

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Maca is in the Brassicaceae family, so if you have allergies to mustards, crucifers or cabbages, etc. you should probably avoid it.