Chocolate Addict

About a few weeks after we started eating clean I ran out of Hershey's Chocolate Syrup.  Now, I don't eat this all the time, but on occasion I like some chocolate milk or a little syrup on my ice cream.  And I have been known to... eat it by the spoonful from time to tome.  Yeah.  Ok.  Hello, my name is Kristin and I'm addicted to chocolate!  I also munch on chocolate chips.  I keep them in the freezer so I can get my fix whenever I need it.  Or you know, actually make cookies once in a while.

So back to my syrup.  Have you seen what's in that stuff?  This site has a great explanation of the ingredients.  High Fructose Corn Syrup, emulsifiers, preservatives... suffice it to say, I was not interested in buying more chocolate syrup.  But could we live without it?  Probably.  Did I want to?  Definitely NO.  Solution:  make my own!

The recipe is simple: Only 4 ingredients.

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 2/3 cup organic cane sugar
1 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine the cocoa, sugar, and water in a sauce pan.  Bring to boil for about a minute then turn the burner off.  Add in vanilla.  You're done!  Store in the refrigerator.  I'm not sure how long it lasts but we went through ours in about a month and it was still good.  I just put it back in the Hershey's bottle.  My family actually likes the taste better.

One of my favorite ways to eat chocolate syrup.  Frozen sliced bananas.  Yum!

Chocolate Shell Ice Cream Topping

Another great recipe I have played with is a homemade "magic shell" topping.  If you've never had this stuff before, it's the kind of chocolate that hardens when poured onto ice cream creating a candy chocolate shell.  So yummy.  It's soooo easy to make too.

All you need is some coconut oil and chocolate chips.  Check out the recipe HERE.  I reduced the recipe by a lot so I only made enough for one use.  But you can store this chocolate in your fridge and then take it out and heat it a little before each use if you want to keep a bunch on hand.  We don't eat it often enough for me to justify keeping it in the fridge.  

Try doing 2 tbsp of chocolate chips and 3/4 tsp coconut oil.  Melt in the microwave and let sit for a few minutes.  Drizzle on your ice cream.  

So what are you waiting for?  Get your chocolate fix!