Totally Guiltless Chocolate Superfood Treats

Totally Guiltless Chocolate Superfood Treats

Chocolate is a weakness for many of us, myself included. In the past we would indulge carefully, or not carefully but with a twinge of guilt. At last we can put that behind us. It has been proven that chocolate is actually a longevity food.

Recently I watched a David Wolfe video on You Tube where he mentioned a lady in France who was an advanced centenarian (122 years old!) Anyway, it seems she didn't do anything remarkable for her health except for the following – she ate at 2 1/2 pounds of chocolate every week. Not milk chocolate or any of the overly sugary varieties. She ate bitter unsweetened Baker's chocolate.

It turns out that raw chocolate from the raw cacao bean is the healthiest for your body. Raw chocolate scores higher on the ORAC ( a measurement of a food's antioxidant potential/ content) ratings than red wine, green tea or blueberries. It also contains a very high amount of essential minerals like magnesium and calcium, to name but a few. It has its share of neurotransmitters that create feelings of well being like dopamine and anandamide and the molecule PEA which is associated with joy.

Chocolate can help to suppress appetite, so is useful for weight loss. It has received a bad rap in the past because it is so often mixed with ingredients that aren't the best ever for your health like dairy and refined sugar, and it is these two culprits to which most people have such negative reactions including weight gain, mood swings and skin breakouts.

Well below are 2 wonderful chocolate treats that are made from raw cacao and mixed with good oils (like coconut oil and cacao butter) and superfoods like bee pollen and maca. I know I have yet to talk about the benefits of these other foods, but I promise to address those in future blogs. I have also used alternatives to sweeten, like lucuma powder (dehyradrated and powdered fruit that is extremely high in beta carotene), carob powder, coconut crème and agave. Some of these things we don't traditionally think of as sweet, but they do have a natural sweetness to them that enhances your sweet dishes while still adding nutrition and not ricocheting your blood sugar levels.

So enough with the background talk. Here are the recipes.

Guiltless Chocolate Fudge
These are all approximate measures. The key is to make it taste good so don't get to obsessed about the quantities. Just sort of stay within these ratios and adjust according to your own taste and availability of ingredients.

1 - 1 ½ cups cacao nibs ground to a powder in a blender or coffee grinder
1 cup of cacao powder
1 cup of lucuma powder
1 cup of carob powder
1 cup of coconut crème (Artisana, Vivapura, Wilderness Family Naturals or soak 1 cup of coconut flakes overnight and then blend to as fine a cream as possible with a high speed blender)
1 cup coconut oil
1cup melted cacao butter (optional but a really nice touch)
1 tablespoon vanilla powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons agave, powdered stevia or xylitol to sweeten.
Use a double boiler or 2 bowls (a larger one with piping hot water and the smaller one placed inside it to melt ingredients.

Melt the cacao butter, coconut oil and coconut crème together until sufficiently melted. Add all the powders to the melted oil mixture and stir until well mixed.

At this point add your vanilla powder and extract, then add your sweetener one tablespoon at a time until it tastes sufficiently sweet for you. You should not have to add very much because the coconut, carob and lucuma are also sweet.

Pour mixture into one or several glass/ pyrex serving dish, to the depth that you prefer.

You can layer with your favorite chopped nuts, goji berries or coconut flakes, if desired or you can sprinkle those on top.

Place dish(es) in the fridge until hardened. Cut into chunks and serve, or store in a container between sheets of wax paper.

This is a great alternative to candy to have around the house for whenever your sweet tooth attacks. It also makes a popular treat for potlucks and parties. (By the way, coconut oil is also quite slimming)

Raw Superfood Hot Chocolate
(for 2)

3 Tablespoons raw cacao powder
1 tablespoon carob powder
½ tablespoon raw vanilla powder
3 tablespoons bee pollen
2 tablespoons agave or raw honey
(or you could use a few drops of stevia extract or 1 tablespoon of xylitol)
1 ½ tablespoons maca
1 small chunk of cacao butter OR 2 tablespoons hempseeds
2 cups of warm – hot herbal tea or warm nut/ coconut mylk

(my favorite teas for this recipe are reishi, rooibos, rose, tulsi, mint, green tea
also, you can easily make coconut milk by blending coconut flakes or dessicated coconut with water and straining.)

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until creamy. Serve and enjoy. This is such a heart opening drink and is a perfect pick me up before creative work or connecting with your mate or children. It is also a great winter time party drink. You could also make this cold by using ice tea or adding ice cubes to the final product. Feel free to add other superfoods or super herbs to this, like a ¼ teaspoon of ginseng, cordyceps or two opened capsules of mixed (or just your favorite) medicinal mushrooms)

Above all, have fun with your guiltless chocolate treats and let me know how it turns out for you.