I’m showing my vintage with today’s post title. (If you’re lost, help is at hand thanks to Fred and Ginger.)
Whether cacao or cacao, it tastes just as good to most of us once processed and melded with other ingredients to create one of our favourite foods: chocolate. If you’re with me among the 70% of Australians who eat it regularly, you might still be in a bit of a state of shock to find we each consume 6 kg per year.
So it pays to make sure you’re eating the best kind!
Theobroma cacao — the cacao tree — produces a fruit whose seeds are called cacao beans. These beans are dried then ground so the natural butters can be removed, leaving the cacao powder behind.
Packed with over 11 times the antioxidants of blueberries, cacao is also a rich source of disease-fighting flavonoids and minerals including potassium, iron, zinc and magnesium.
Research shows that regular consumers of cacao in powder drinks or dark chocolate have lower blood pressure than those who don’t. This could be due to its levels of procyanidins, which have shown direct benefits on arterial function in blood vessels.
It’s thought that cacao encourages serotonin production and so helps calm nerves. The Swiss might have a vested interest in promoting the health benefits of chocolate but their researchers found eating dark chocolate made with cacao reduced anxiety, alleviated stress and increased alertness among study participants.
As with everything in life, balance is the key. All these glowing attributes aren’t an excuse to live on dark chocolate instead of greens — unless you’re getting over a broken heart. (And even then, one day is enough. Two, tops.)
Choosing dark organic chocolate with minimal extras added is the obvious choice. As is looking for chocolate from Fairtrade sources and small growers who put love and care into what they do.
And if you’d rather go straight to the source, pick up some high quality cacao powder from your favourite health store, fire up the food processor and in 5 minutes, you’ll have your very own chocolate supply.
Chocolate Coconut Patties
Makes 8 – 10, keeps up to a week in an airtight container in the fridge
- 200g raw almonds
- 40g sunflower seeds
- 40g pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- 30g chia seeds
- 25g raw organic fair trade cacao powder
- 20g dessicated coconut (plus extra for coating)
- 10 fresh pitted dates
- 1 tbsp organic agave nectar/syrup (Young Living has a fine one)
- 2 tbsp unhulled tahini
- 60mL unsweetened apple juice or Young Living NingXia Red®
- Optional: 1-2 drops of Young Living peppermint, orange or tangerine essential oil* (extra to taste — a little goes a long way)
This will also connect you up with The Good Oil Team for our personal support and coaching. We'd love to help you on your journey to vibrant well-being the natural way!
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Blitz the almonds in your food processor until roughly ground.
Add the dates and remaining dry ingredients, blend again.
Add the agave and tahini, blend until well combined.
Keep the motor running and slowly add the juice until the mix forms a thick consistency. If including the essential oils, add them to the juice before you do this.
With slightly damp hands (makes it easier), roll a tablespoon of the mixture into a ball, flatten lightly into a patty, coat in coconut, repeat until done.
* IMPORTANT CAUTION: Young Living essential oils are the only ones we would ever consider for ingestion. And only those which state on the bottle they can be used that way. Why? Because Young Living sets the standard for purity and authenticity – essential to the safe ingestion of essential oils appropriate for such use. Young Living carefully monitors the production of its oils from beginning to end through its unique Seed to Seal® process, ensuring the purity of each essential oil and protecting nature’s living energy in every bottle.
