Soooo... how did I do with Starbucks in January? Pretty good actually. I spent less than $20 going to Starbucks, which is very good. I limited myself to weekend visits and stayed away on the weekdys. Which is super good!
On the other hand, since I was spending more time working from home, I found that I was craving a hot chocolate in the mornings. I tried a President's Choice powdered hot chocolate which you add to hot milk. Disgusting. So I bought the Starbucks boxed hot chocolate packets. Eight packets to a box... $9/box. Pricey. No doubt about it.
So a few blogs ago, I found a "DIY Starbucks Hot Chocolate" online. It seemed quite simple. Cocoa, sugar, milk, vanilla extract. Cheap too.... For $9, I could get a big tin of pure cocoa powder and make umpteen cups of hot chocolate. Way cheaper.
Yesterday I gave it a whirl. I think I used a bit too much milk but the final product was very drinkable - quite delicious in fact! It did taste a bit sweet to me... and I only used 1.5 tablespoons of sugar instead of the recommended 2 tablespoons. So I will have to tweak the sugar down a bit. That's the beauty of making your own hot chocolate. You can adjust the ingredients to match your personal taste buds! Who knew.
I always thought making hot chocolate from cocoa and milk was a long, drawn out process requiring minutes spent stirring milk on the stove, trying to bring it to a simmer without burning it. Pffft... not required! Just nuke the milk in the microwave. Making a hot chocolate from cocoa, milk and sugar is super easy.
Now... I have to admit... my ultimate goal in kicking Starbucks to the curb (at least on weekdays) was twofold. One, I wanted to reduce the amount of money spent on my "habit". I think I've accomplished that. Two, I wanted to reduce my hot chocolate intake and lose a bit of weight in the process. Not there yet.
My goal for February and March is to gradually reduce my hot chocolate intake on weekdays. Ideally to nothing. I figure my tin of cocoa ($9!) can make 30 cups of hot chocolate. Soooo... that should last me for two months as I slowly wean myself away from the sugar, the caffeine and the ultra-licious "mouth-feel" of hot chocolate. Wish me luck!
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