Today’s post is about Chocolate and Cacao.
Those people, who know me, know I like my chocolate. I have always claimed that it is good for us and it is. Specifically it’s a raw cacao chocolate has health benefits.
Cacao can refer to any of the food products derived from cacao beans – the seeds or nuts of the cacao tree. These include cacao nibs, cacao butter, cacao paste and most commonly, cacao powder.
This is my favourite chocolate recipe.
Raw Chocolate bar
for (approx.) 200gram block
* 100g Cacao butter
* 50g Cacao powder
* 33g Liquid sweetener (Rice malt, Maple, Agave syrup)
* tiny pinch of Himalayan Pink Salt
Melt butter on a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.
(The original recipe instructs to put the melted butter into a blender or processor with the other ingredients to mix. I think this wastes too much, so I do it differently.)
Once the butter is melted, I then add syrup, cacao powder & salt to the bowl. Take the saucepan off the heat and mix. I use a stick blender to mix the ingredients together while the mix is still in the bowl, over the hot water.
Once mixed, I pour the chocolate into a lined rectangle cake tin with other ingredients such as chopped mint, nuts, dried berries or ginger.
I then put it into the freezer so it’s ready to eat in approx. 20 to 30 min.
Cacao v Cocoa, what’s the difference?
Raw cacao powder is made by cold-pressing un-roasted cacao beans. The process keeps the living enzymes in the cacao and removes the fat (cacao butter).
Cocoa looks the same but it’s not. Cocoa powder is raw cacao that has been roasted at high temperatures. Sadly, as a result, roasting changes the molecular structure of the cocoa bean. This reduces the enzyme content and lowers the overall nutritional value.
Recent studies reveal that 60% and 90% of the original antioxidants in cacao are lost through common “Dutch processing”. Dutch processing was originally developed to reduce the bitterness, darken the colour, and create a more mellow flavour to chocolate
Here are 5 reasons to enjoy Raw Cacao’s chocolatey deliciousness.
- Raw Organic Cacao has over 40 times the antioxidants of blueberries.
- Source of Iron
It is the highest plant-based source of iron known to man, at a whopping 7.3mg per 100g. This compares to beef and lamb at 2.5mg, and spinach at 3.6mg. As the iron in cacao is all plant-based, research revealed that to get the maximum benefits you’ll want to combine it with some vitamin C. Think oranges or kiwifruit.
- Full of Magnesium for a Healthy Heart & Brain
Cacao is among one of the highest plant-based sources of magnesium. Magnesium is important for a healthy heart, and helps turn glucose into energy enabling your brain to work with laser-sharp clarity and focus. The reason why you might turn to a bar of chocolate in the afternoon.
- Loaded with Calcium
Raw Organic Cacao has more calcium than cow’s milk, as much as 160mg per 100g vs only 125mg per 100ml of milk.
Interestingly, research also shows that dairy inhibits the absorption of antioxidants from raw cacao.
and finally
- A Natural Mood Elevator and Anti-Depressant
It is a great source of 4 scientifically proven bliss chemicals – serotonin, dopamine, anandamide and phenylethylamine. These chemicals are associated with feelings of wellbeing, happiness, and as a result, alleviate depression.
See, it is good for you.
Till next post,
Live Clean n Prosper.