It’s the time of year for cozying up in your favorite frumpy sweatshirt, tossing some logs on the fire and contemplating just how committed you are to your resolutions. When you’re ready to oust those pesky annual to-dos in style, we’ve got a favorite hot cocoa recipe to share with you. Don’t worry, this is a guilt-free space. No reason to feel bad about polishing off the new diet with this age-old liquid goodness. It’s good for the environment after all…more on that later.
The Best Hot Cocoa Recipe
There’s so many hot chocolate recipes: keto, dairy-free, dark chocolate, white chocolate, vegan, the list is endless. Here is one of our favorite hot cocoa recipes (hint: it’s none of those in the previous list): Creamy Hot Cocoa Recipe.
Like most recipes, this is just starting point; get crazy with it…spike it with Irish cream, throw in a few extra marshmallows, top if off with a dash of cinnamon and hang a candy cane or two over the edge for panache. Don’t just make it delish, make it Insta-worthy!
The Circular Economy: Hot Cocoa
Hot cocoa being good for the environment is more about how we approach the millions of pounds of by-products with the makers of our favorite foods. Many sustainably-minded hot cocoa connoisseurs may think that reducing landfill-bound food waste is the ultimate goal. That is certainly part of it, but giving that food waste a higher purpose by returning it safely to the food chain as high-quality, nutritious animal feed and pet food ingredients is what we call the circular economy model. That is the ultimate goal. In addition to reducing food waste, we turn what was once an environmental problem into products that feed the animals that, in turn, feed us.
- Cocoa – What do the country’s most popular beverage companies do with their cocoa powder by-products? They work with GFS to repurpose the chocolatey powder into tasty, nutritious ingredients for piglet and calf diets. In 2021, GFS managed more than 4 million pounds of cocoa powder.
- Marshmallows – Excess marshmallow products can be reintroduced into the food chain as an energy source for animal diets. GFS manages 4.5 million pounds of the fluffy white stuff.
Want to learn more about the circular economy model? Check out the Hot Dog Days of Summer.
Raise a Mug to Sustainable Food Systems
This winter season, however and wherever you choose to enjoy the liquid gold that is hot cocoa, raise a mug to the food manufacturers that are committed to responsible food waste disposal systems. Together, we can improve the environment and sustain the global food source — including the global hot cocoa source — one mug at a time.
