When I was a kid, I loved chocolate milk. At my elementary school there would be special lunches once a month when we’d get to choose between pizza and sushi for food, and plain milk or chocolate milk for a drink. I always chose chocolate milk. It came in a plastic cup with a sealed tin foil lid. So you’d break the tin foil with a straw and then drink up the sweet nectar inside, and all was well because life was simple back then. Now life is overwhelmingly complicated but chocolate milk is still amazing. I just make it myself and don’t use dairy (leave cow milk to the baby cows). Everything I remember about chocolate milk, everything I loved about it—it’s all in this vegan recipe. —EvE
SERVES 4
4 cups (945 ml) water
1 heaping tbsp (8 g) cacao powder
1 heaping tbsp (7 g) carob powder
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp vanilla powder
¼ cup (45 g) pitted dates
¼ cup (42 g) raw almonds (preferably soaked in water overnight, then rinsed)
½ tsp reishi mushroom powder (optional)
Pinch of Himalayan salt
Blend everything together until very smooth. Adjust it according to taste: add more dates, nuts, cacao, etc. Strain through a cheesecloth or nut milk bag. Then I like to let mine sit in the fridge to chill (in a covered jar).
Note: If you don’t have a cheesecloth or a nut milk bag, use 3 tablespoons (34 g) almond butter (or any nut or seed butter) instead of almonds. You can use vanilla extract instead of vanilla powder. You can use any sweetener instead of dates (e.g., maple syrup, agave nectar or coconut sugar).