Recipe of the Week: "Frozen Hot Chocolate"

WELCOME TO SUMMER! Yup - it's summer today so have something Summer today. Maybe you put on your flip flops, or how about some pink nail polish? Maybe a cookout or a summer salad? How about a big glass of lemonade or other summer drink?  Speaking of summer drinks.....

We have some Starbucks around here but we have Dunkin Donuts EVERYWHERE. You can find one within about 10 minutes driving in any direction you travel and their ads are on every few minutes and frankly, I like their prices and their drinks better than the other brand.  Well lately they have a commercial for Frozen Hot Chocolate - sounds like an oxymoron doesn't it.  Well, I looked up the nutritional information for their drink and here is what I found - a small has 95 Carbs and  430 Calories. Now I don't count calories and I don't drink a small so I looked up a large. Are you ready? 860 Calories and 190 Carbs!!! OUCH! When I'm hot and want something cold like this to drink, I would get the large (after all I get the large ice tea).

Needles to say, I have never bought one of these and instead decided to create my own low carb version. Ready to join me?  Here is what you need:

1 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk

3 Tablespoons Un-sweetened cocoa

1/3 cup Heavy Cream

2-3 teaspoons Sugar Free Syrup ( I used there chocolate flavor)

Whipped Cream

6 Ice cubes.

Put it all (except the whipped cream)  in a blender and set it on high and let it all mix including the ice cubes. Poor into a tall glass and top with whipped cream. I got 2 of these glasses full and still had a little left in the bottom of the blender.  

OK so here is the carb count for all of this - ready? 2 - that's right, 2 carbs for 2 tall glasses of "Frozen Hot Chocolate". Since I've never had the Dunkin Donuts version, I really don't know how the taste compares but looking at their ingredients, I don't want to try it either. I really liked this and if you change up the sugar free syrup you can change out the drink.

Use Vanilla syrup and have a Frozen Vanilla Hot Chocolate

Use Caramel syrup and have a Frozen Caramel Hot Chocolate

Use Raspberry syrup and have a Frozen Raspberry Hot Chocolate

You get the idea right? Any how it costs less, all the ingredients I found at my local stores. Easy to make, no lines, no waiting and no tipping -unless you like to tip of course.  

Oh the extra left at the bottom of the blender?  I added coffee to it and got a Frozen Dunkaccino; something Dunkin' Donuts doesn't even offer but their small hot Dunkachino has 35 carbs and my frozen large has less than 1!!!!  

If you want to look up the nutritional value for yourself, here is the link to Dunkin Donuts