Rose and Shatavari Infused Hot Chocolate for Valentine's Day!

Dear Friends,

Happy Valentine's weekend to you! I am writing this today as I look out the window to a beautiful and sparkly snow that carpets the earth.

I am certainly not a winter girl by any means but I do enjoy watching the snow fall. It is so peaceful and tranquil to watch, as well as magical and romantic.

The winter is a time of year to gather around a warm fire and enjoy the coziness and slowness of this season, as well as enjoying our loved ones and practicing more self care.

For this Valentine's Day and season of love, I made up an extra special hot chocolate recipe infused with 2 herbs that encourage love, devotion, vitality, and that open the heart.

This hot chocolate is made with raw cacao instead of cocoa. Both cocoa and cacao look and taste similar but cacao is raw and unprocessed, unlike cocoa that is usually processed with high heat with sugar along with other questionable ingredients added. You can usually find raw cacao powder in any health food store and most grocery stores as well.

Of course I had to add in roses somehow to this recipe. If you've been reading my blogs for some time now, you'll know that I have a strong love for roses.

Roses are used internally for opening and nourishing the heart…it is a beautiful heart remedy for the opening and healing properties of a broken and grief stricken heart. Roses are also used as a nervine…meaning to calm and soothe anxiety and nervousness, especially of the heart, and to uplift the emotions and senses. I believe we can all use this in our world today…allowing our hearts to be more open to love and to be able to freely express love. We can all use a little bit of rose medicine.

I also added in Shatavari to this special chocolate. Shatavari has a nourishing and grounding effect on the body. It is translated as “having one hundred roots” and also referred to as meaning “having 100 husbands” or “she who possesses one hundred husbands.” It is also known as the "Queen of Herbs."

Shatavari has been used for centuries in Ayurveda to support the reproductive system, particularly for females. It is also used as a supportive aid for the digestive system and the blood. It is traditionally used as a rejuvenative tonic for the female reproductive system, for all ages, and helps to gracefully transition through the natural phases of life. This herb is helpful for men too that have a hot “pitta” constitution.

This herbal infused hot chocolate will be a treat for you and your loved ones. This drink is a wonderful way to give yourself some extra love and an extra hug!

To make this, you will need:

2 cups of milk (I used full fat coconut milk but you may use the milk you prefer)

1 cup organic rose petals

2 TBSP raw cacao powder

2 tsp organic Shatavari powder- you may order this from www.mountainroseherbs.com

2 TBSP of Rose water or hydrosol (optional for a stronger rose flavor)

raw floral honey of your choice, or monk fruit sweetener or stevia

*I used about 2 tsp of raw honey per cup, but you may add the sweetener of your choice to your preferred sweetness

For an extra special and exotic touch, I used my rose infused honey that I made this summer with our wild roses. This is so easy to make if you would like to make it this summer. You will need to have unsprayed and pesticide free roses. Do not use roses that have been sprayed in any way.

Fill a glass jar 1/2-3/4 full with your rose petals and pour raw honey over and fill to top of jar. Place lid on jar and let steep for 6-8 weeks. I place my jar upside down every week and then the next week I place it right side up again. This encourages the honey to fully distribute through the petals throughout the steeping time.

After the steeping time, you may strain the petals from the honey or you can leave the petals in the honey, as I prefer. The petals add an extra chewiness to the honey and it tastes like sweet floral nectar from heaven...it's so wonderful! I love to use this honey in the winter to remind myself of my roses that bloomed in the summer  and that blessed me with this delicious treat! I have a short video below to show you the honey.

Directions:

Pour your milk into a pot and heat to a simmer. When milk is simmering, add the rose petals and place the lid on top. Lightly simmer for only 5 minutes.

*Keeping the lid on the pot will help to prevent the volatile oils of the roses from escaping into the atmosphere.

Keep the lid on the pot and take off heat. Let the roses steep in the hot milk for 2-3 hours. This will encourage the oils, flavor, and color of the rose petals to fully steep into the milk.

Strain the roses from the hot milk after 2-3 hours and take the strained rose milk and place back into pot. Add the Cacao and Shatavari powders, whisking well to fully diffuse the powders into the milk. Heat to your preference and add the sweetener of your choice, and rose water, if using. Pour into a special mug or glass and sip slowly, savoring the goodness.

Bon Appetit!

If you would like to read my past Valentine's Day posts for more special recipes and ideas, please check out the links below:

https://beautifulhealingjourney.com/recipes/rose-chocolate-love-hearts

https://beautifulhealingjourney.com/recipes/wild-hawthorn-and-rose-healing-heart-elixir

https://beautifulhealingjourney.com/recipes/quail-and-rose-petal-sauce

https://beautifulhealingjourney.com/updates/58

https://beautifulhealingjourney.com/updates/13

Sending hugs, love, and blessings to you this Valentine's!

Warmly,

Rhonda