Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Naked Chocolate

So, I 've been reading up on the benefits of chocolate. yes folks, that is CHOCOLATE, it actually IS good for you. Not when it is drowned in butterfat and refined white sugar though.

some chocolate raw food guru's wrote a book called Naked Chocolate, (http://naked-chocolate.com/) and it's been very interesting to read up on the chemistry of RAW chocolate. Did you know you can eat raw cacao beans? DId you know they are actually really tasty??
along with my book, i was given a pound of raw organic cacao nibs ( broken up bits of cacao beans). Chocolate bitterness, with all the cocoa butter still in the bean. They are quite tasty, especially as a roasty toasty morning beverage ( Ground up with some roasted chicory, carob, and cinnamon)
And, a late night craving for chocolate can be satisfied by a spoonful of nibs with a little bit of agave nectar on top. Crunchy, chocolatey sweet, without the guilt!!

I might have just become a raw chocolate convert..hershey's be DAMNED!!
I'm not a raw foodist...i like cooked meat and veggies too, but raw chcocolate definately has something going for it.

Chocolate is also chock full of minerals and anti oxidants, and makes a super yummy face mask mixed up with clay, water and a touch of honey. Just dont LICK your face mask off!

Chocolate is high in magnesium, anandamide ( the bliss chemical), phenylethylamine (the love chemical) , anti oxidants ( more than green tea and blueberries), and of course theobromine and caffiene. Next time you have a chocolate fix, try it this way...

2 tbsp Cocoa powder(unsweetened)
2 tbsp carob powder ( carob is high in calcium!)
1 tsp cinnamon
12 oz water or milk ( try almond milk- delicious!!! or even coconut milk would be to die for)
1 tbsp honey ( more or less to taste- i like mine a bit bitter)
and a pinch of cayenne if you like it spicy.

YUMMY!!

Here's a good link to another herbalist's summary of the benefits of chocolate. http://www.fullcircleherbs.com/wp/?p=208
thanks Maria at Full Circle Herbs

2 comments:

Darcey Blue said...

oh i like that bitter chocolatey-ness....
:)

Anonymous said...

Elaine in TX, from the herblist, traded some of the chocolate she makes for some solomon's seal tincture a couple months ago...

Good GOD!

~insanely~ good... She uses raw coconut oil and agave nectar, and one of the sample she sent to me has a bit of banana and blue berries on top... I've not had better. I know she's got a site in the works for it; but I can't seem to find the address...

But it's worth getting some; easier, shipping wise for you, as well, since you're not too far away from TX.

You can made an excellent "chocolate sauce" by warming honey over very low heat, crushing berries in it (I'm partial to blackberries), and then adding cocoa powder to taste...

"The mother of us all, the oldest of us all, Hard, splendid as rock, Let the beauty you love, be what you do. There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the earth"~ Rumi ~