SNOWSMILES TODAY!
The future lies before you, like paths of pure white snow. Â Be careful how you tread it, for every step will show. ~Anonymous
SURPRISE!
Awaking to a winter wonderland in the making before my very eyes, the first thing I thought was, I wish I’d awoken earlier!
There’s nothing like waking up to falling snow, especially the large flakes coming out of the sky this morning. The day is bound to be different as we either stay in snuggled in our slippers, or venture out in boots and woolen socks making our way through a whitened, seemingly pristine, world that can’t help feeling as good as it looks.
We might walk more than usual, taking in the wonder that nature has delivered, a delight free of charge and unequally distributed throughout the city. I hope your snowfall was as beautiful as mine. The President’s State of the Union Address last night was a reality assessment and a vigorous call to optimistic arms. The day after, we awaken to new-fallen snow. Hmmmmm. Coincidence? And a beautiful, soul-warming coincidence it is. Forgive me for being overly perky, but children have no corner on reveling in a snowfall, poetically, psychically or physically.
GOOD IDEA!
What better way to celebrate the second snowfall of the New Year than with a cup of hot cocoa? Not the packaged stuff brimming with unpronounceable chemical additives, but a cup of real cocoa, sweetened with, yes, real sugar. At only 16 calories per teaspoon it’s not as bad for humans as the artificial sweetener conglomerates would have you believe. What is bad are chemicals and other unpronounceable things.
StopBloggingAndCook is to encourage the transition to real food, to begin saying “No!” to the chemical additives that are the essence of Big Food. You can easily tell what is real by the ingredients listed on every package: 100% cocoa, 100% sugar, 100% milk.
The best thing about making a cup of real hot cocoa?  You will taste what mother nature intended when she created cocoa. It’s bitter, did you know that? So you can make it as sweet or as not as you like. If you want less sugar, add less sugar. If you want low-fat milk, or soy milk, or rice milk, choose that. If you want the marshmallow on the top, have it. Using whole milk, you probably won’t even miss the marshmallow. Make it whole, make it real.  Because whole, real food is the right thing to eat.
If using the microwave, heat milk & sugar. Then stir in cocoa to preserve anti-oxidant content of cocoa. It will be more difficult this way, so if you must use the microwave, you must.  Real hot cocoa microwaved, is still better than ingesting the packaged stuff.
Going to work today despite the weather? Cut down on your caffeine intake while making your taste buds smile at work. Make some for your colleagues in the morning meeting and watch the smiles bloom in the conference room.
Now, go have some cocoa!
