Per serving: 218 calories; 1 g fat; 8 g protein; 46 g carbohydrates; 687 mg potassium; 273 mg calcium

" This hot cocoa mix can be stored in an airtight container for three months. It uses two unusual ingredients: White chocolate chips give the cocoa a soft, creamy texture and escalate the chocolate flavor; and the cornstarch in the confectioners’ sugar (an ingredient manufacturers add to prevent clumping) helps thicken the cocoa. "

“A summer in the South wouldn’t be quite right without sweetened iced tea, but making iced tea can be easier said than done. It’s all too easy to turn the tea unpalatably bitter through oversteeping. How do you make perfectly smooth sweet iced tea? Here’s what we discovered:

Test Kitchen Discoveries

• Skip the heat. Steep a large quantity of tea bags in room temperature water for a strong-flavored brew without the bitterness.
• Sweeten the tea with simple syrup instead of granulated sugar to ensure that the sugar fully dissolves into the tea. Simple syrup is just equal parts water and sugar heated long enough to dissolve the sugar.
• Flavor the syrup with lime zest and add cranberry juice for a unique iced tea."

This homemade hot cocoa is lower in sugar (and carbohydrates) than other recipes. It can be made with soy milk. Try flavoring it with cinnamon for a little change.