Chocolate is good for you! There, I’ve said it…!
Raw chocolate, made with cacao is so much better for you than processed chocolate and it’s really easy to make.
Cacao (pronounced cak-ow) is the raw form of cocoa and it contains many antioxidants, vitamins and minerals which are normally lost in the processing required to make chocolate. It’s a good source of magnesium, iron and calcium as well as having those mood-lifting properties we all know and love from regular chocolate…
There are lots of recipes online but here is my version, enjoyed at my Yoga and Ayurveda Workshops recently. Poppy seeds are good for digestion and add a little bit of crunch, Spirulina is a natural anti-inflammatory 'superfood' and Lucuma powder is a natural sweetener, full of fibre and known as the "gold of the Incas".
125g Cacao butter
25g Coconut oil
70g Cacao powder
2 tbsp Poppy Seeds
25g Lucuma Powder
1tsp Vanilla extract
5 tbsp Maple syrup
2tbs Spirulina
Pinch of Himalayan salt
Boil some water in a pan and then with the heat turned off, melt the cacao butter and coconut oil in a glass bowl on top.
While this is melting, mix all the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.
When the oil has melted, add the maple syrup and vanilla extract and mix well. (I use a hand whisk.)
Combine the oil/butter mixture with the dry ingredients.
Pour or spoon the combined mixture into a silicone ice cube tray, then put in the freezer for about an hour to set (which feels like forever….).
Once out of the freezer, let it return to room temperature, remove from the ice cube tray and cut into smaller pieces if you like.
It will keep for up to a month in the fridge - but trust me, it will all be eaten way before then!
Try it and let me know how you get on! Feel free to experiment with different added ‘superfoods’, dried fruit, nuts or seeds….
Treat yourself!
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