Category Archives: Chocolate

Breakfast to Go

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IMG_0928We all love fast food.  Many times we NEED fast food.  We have a deadline, a place to be, an important reason to be there, but not enough time for eating our healthy breakfast.

It is time to think differently.  What can I make that is fast, nutritious, good for me AND will travel well? Chia porridge to go.  I wrote about chia porridge previously, this is an expansion. Choose your favorite flavors and personalize it!  The great thing about Chia porridge is that the chia seeds need about 15 minutes of soaking to expand, so it can travel with you and get better on the way! I made this chia porridge to go for my husband to take with him for his early morning appointment:

  • 1/2 Tablespoon chia seeds
  • water to cover
  • 1/2 Cup or so of homemade kefir
  • 1/4 Cup hemp seeds
  • 1 Tbl raw cacao powder
  • 1 Tbl raw maca powder
  • nuts, raisins, seeds
  • 1/2 Tbl honey
  • chopped pear
  • chopped strawberry

For those who are more hard-core you could add a few veggies (celery, cucumber, kale) and omit some fruit.  Others might want to top their chia porridge with homemade granola or add different fruits. The hemp gives you the energy and will sustain you so you don’t feel hungry.  The chia is a great source of omega 3s. The maca powder is optional, but gives a great boost. We’re all at different stages of our journey, but I think most people will be able to find some way to modify this concept in a way they can enjoy it.  If you decide to have eggs for breakfast, you could always have a bowl of chia porridge for lunch!

Other chia ideas here

and here

Coconut Oil

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coconutHere are 13 Evidence Based Medicinal Properties of Coconut Oil to help motivate you to eat it!  There are a minimum of 13 scientific studies that show the value of coconut oil, and the reason I encourage those I love to eat raw chocolate with coconut oil!

Sayer Ji from GreenMedInfo has compiled this list with all the references if you are the type of person who likes to read all the background research!

I’d rather go make some more raw chocolate!

 

Chocolate Binge

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G U I L T   F R E E ! ! !

You know the adage, if it sounds too good to be true then it is probably….

But, not in this instance!  Truly this chocolate is good for you!  It will stem your cravings, it will feed your brain, it will send great messages to your metabolism, it might even help you lose weight!  I take no responsibility, but urge you to do your own experimentation!

A lady in front of me at the local grocery store yesterday semi-apologized for hoisting three enormous boxes of a popular beverage aka, canned liquid poison (one of many toxic-liquid-evils widely marketed around the world by those who have a taste for death) onto the check-out conveyor belt.  “One of my few vices,” she said.  Out of the blue, because I had not tried to offer any health education AT ALL – ask my daughter.  I sometimes want to, but in this case I hadn’t even gotten that far.  Then, as she was leaving she says in a very friendly way to the cashier, “But you have to watch chocolate because it makes your clothes shrink!”  I’m sure you’ve heard that before.  It took me awhile, and then I thought out loud “Not raw chocolate!  If you eat raw chocolate your clothes get baggy.  In fact, you might even need to buy new clothes because you may drop a size or two!”  At least, that’s what happened to me!

IMG_0914So here is yet another way to roll up the raw chocolate, courtesy of my client who liked my ideas and then experimented a bit more!

  1. Coconut Oil,
  2. Organic Peanut Butter
  3. Honey
  4. Raw Cacao Powder

Just four ingredients.  Each one has a smaller amount.  So if you start with 2 huge spoons of coconut oil, add 2 spoons of peanut butter, one spoon of honey.  Mix the first three ingredients completely, then add 2 huge spoons of cacao powder, or add the amount to give you the darkness you desire.  The ratio will probably be just less cacao powder to the combined amount of coconut oil and peanut butter. Experiment with the ratios until you get it just like you like it! You could even add more ingredients, but I’m trying to keep it really simple!

Mix or stir well.

Refrigerate briefly to help it get itself together (depends on the temperature in your kitchen).

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Roll out onto a plate (pre-cool the plate in the freezer in warm weather) like a snake, or roll into balls.

Refrigerate or freeze to harden.  Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer and have a slice when you are craving a treat!

Hide all evidence, or else the next time you have a craving you are going to find your family has completely consumed it!  But hey, it’s good for them too!  So I guess it’s time to make some more!

More raw chocolate ideas here and here and here…  Just for a taste!

I’m on a chocolate journey!  Where has your chocolate journey taken you?

 

 

Thoughts about Food

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Instead of cooking, how about food preparation?

Instead of rigidly following a recipe, what about having a look at the real food available to you and saying, “how can I combine these foods to make something delicious?”

If you bake so you can have “treats” or snacks, what other foods could you begin to enjoy that would be a treat or snack?

Make a list of all the foods you love that are good for you and figure out creative ways to recombine them!

The possibilities are endless. Share your great ideas with others.  Our creativity can be contagious.  We need to

get out of the ruts we’ve formed for ourselves.

One client shared a new adaptation of some of my raw chocolate ideas:  mix organic peanut butter, raw cacao powder and honey. Roll it into a snake formation (like when we make play dough snakes with our kids).  Store it in the fridge and cut off a piece as needed for your super delicious, nutritious snack!  My adaptation would be to add come coconut oil to that mixture!  Play with it.  Make it your own.  Be creative.  Think differently!

Healthy Snack

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nuts

We all know that Snack Attack feeling!

My friend shared this great idea with me.  Whenever you feel hungry – like you want some sort of a sweet treat, mix together equal parts:

  • goji berries
  • cocoa nibs
  • raisins
  • Brazilian nuts
  • sunflower seeds
  • pumpkin seeds

in a big glass jar, shake and grab a handful – or two (maximum is two!)  And your cravings will be gone!

I’m sure you could try different ingredients, like walnuts (brain food), cashews, almonds, coconut flakes, cranberries, whole cacao beans, etc.  But since my friend is such a great researcher, I think she might have specific reasons for each of her selections!

I like to do a mix something like this for my husband to keep in his briefcase so he’s not tempted to have processed food snacks at the office!  It’s also great to have a mix like this on long road trips. If I’m driving I always like a constant supply of snacks to help me keep awake and paying attention!

 

Super Breakfast

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Chia porridgeI’m not sure if that picture looks really really appetizing, but it is delicious AND amazingly nutritious!  My friend Simela motivated me to experiment even more with

the idea of “Chia Porridge”

I decided to have Chia Porridge for lunch.  It is super easy to make.  But you and the kids might prefer to have it for breakfast! I’m giving you the quantities for one serving, to make more just use a bit more of everything!

  • 1 Tablespoon chia seeds
  • water to cover the seeds

Allow the chia seeds to sit for 10-15 minutes and they will soak up the water and become gelatinous!  So do that first while you are collecting all the other ingredients and chopping whatever you like.  Or, make yourself a cup of tea!

  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp cacao powder (optional)
  • 1 tsp lucuma powder (optional)
  • raisins
  • cacao nibs
  • honey
  • yogurt, kefir or nut milk of your choice

I also added cashews, almonds, frozen blueberries, 1 chopped frozen strawberry, 1/2 chopped banana, dried coconut, goji berries, hemp seed and chopped celery (you can never get enough celery and I love crunchy things – and I was having this for lunch, and they do put celery in a Waldorf salad!).

IMG_0900Here is a breakfast version I made for my husband: chia, goji, water, cinnamon, cacao, macs, honey, chopped apple, 2 chopped strawberries, blueberries, coconut, hemp, yogurt, kefir and a tad of homemade granola.

So, get creative and try it!  Stock your kitchen with healthy nutritiously dense items and then dream up new ways of combining them!  Let me know what you discovery in your experimentation!

 

 

 

Chocolate Bar in a Jar

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My hope is that this simple recipe will be made and enjoyed by my grandchildren for years and years!

Start with an empty jar.                                              Put in a big scoop of coconut oil.

 2 coconut oil1 jar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add 2 spoons of all natural peanut butter.  Add two heaped spoons of raw cacao powder.

3 peanut butter

4 cacao powder

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add a generous spoon of honey.                                Add a pinch (or twist) of salt.

5 honey6 salt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mix it all together.                                                       Enjoy.

7 mixing8 eating

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other wonderful ingredients you can add:

  • raisins or other dried fruit (or even fresh berries)
  • seeds or nuts (pumpkin seeds and walnuts are what I chose this time)
  • cacao nibs (for a nice crunch)
  • hemp seeds/hearts (provides sustaining energy)
  • cinnamon (helps with blood sugar metabolism)

You can eat it right away, or you can put it into the fridge to get a little harder.  You can eat it out of the jar with a spoon, or scoop it into a flatter container and cut it into squares when it gets hard.  Whatever choices you make, enjoy it!

Let me know what your favorite version is.  How do you experiment with Chocolate Bar in a Jar?

 

Smoothie for Children

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Girl Cook

One of my favorite activities as a child was “cooking” in my Easy Bake Oven.  I loved independently creating things to eat! Later I received a child’s recipe book with recipes aimed just at me.  I loved reading and following the recipes and sharing my creations with others.

I hope this recipe will be one children will find easy and delicious to make themselves!

 

Ask an adult to help you get these things ready.

Bananas

  • 1 Frozen banana
  • 1 Cup Kefir, plain yogurt or spring water
  • 5 big ice cubes, frozen Kefir cubes, or frozen pineapple chunks
  • 2 Tablespoons Raw Cacao Powder
  • 2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
  • 2 Tablespoons Hemp Seeds
  • 1 Tablespoon Honey

Put them all into a blender.  Put the top on and start it and put it up to high speed. If your blender gets ‘stuck’ add a little more of your liquid.

Optional:  berries, fruit (frozen or fresh), Cacao nibs or beans, coconut

 

Best Chocolate Ever!

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chocolate bowlIn case you haven’t noticed my recipes are not exactly structured, so I thought I would share how I came up with my latest greatest chocolate recipe!

I’m busy working, going about my day.  I suddenly have a desire for something delectable – sweet and gooey, yet nutritiously dense and still good for me!

I go to the kitchen with no prepared plan.  I ask myself ‘what have I got?’  And I start.  This is what happened today….

I took a small bowl out and started adding things. Of course, I didn’t measure anything, I’ve just added approximate quantities!  Use what you feel works for you.

  • 2 Tablespoons of coconut oil with a rich coconut smell. Every brain needs more coconut oil.  It improves cognitive function in everyone!
  • 1 Tablespoons organic FRESHLY ground peanut butter NOW STOCKED AT MY LOCAL KROGER – thank you Kroger!!!
  • ½ Tablespoon honey, local raw organic
  • 1 Tablespoons organic pumpkin seeds now stocked by same Kroger!!
  • 1 Tablespoons roasted cashews also from Kroger
  • 1 Tablespoons of goji berries – because I just read more about their awesome anti-aging properties!  I love goji berries more than ever!
  • 1 Tablespoons hemp seed
  • 1 heaped teaspoon raw cacao powder

Best Choco EverI just spooned it into a smallish bowl and stirred.  No heating, nothing!  Just stirred it all until it was all mixed up and then spooned it into 4 small containers and popped them into the freezer because I decided I would share it with my family!  I was very tempted just to spoon it into my mouth – so they should really be thankful!

Alternatively I was thinking of plopping the whole bowl straight into the freezer to get hard and then spoon it into my mouth a bit later!

Anyway you look at it, it’s an instant chocolate bar worth 5000 times more than the highly processed stuff you can buy sold by large companies that I have been told exploit slave labor.  So it is a labor of love for my body, my taste buds and the welfare of Fair Trade.

Have you ever plunged into the delicious nutritious world of Fair Trade raw cacao?