Get your chocolate fix, superfood style…

Get your chocolate fix, superfood style…

If, like us, you’re a massive chocoholic, you may be wondering how you can get all the goodness you need while enjoying your favourite snack. The good news is that with the variety of cacao products available, it’s perfectly possible to eat chocolate and enhance your health and wellness.

Raw cacao beans, although an acquired taste, are definitely worth trying, just for their health benefits. They are categorised as a superfood because they contain so many antioxidants and micronutrients. Cacao beans help you to feel more energised, support your immune system and can do wonders for your hair, teeth, nails and skin. 

If you fancy trying something different with your cacao beans, we recommend toasting the beans in a pan. After they’ve popped, you can put the shells in a cup and pour over hot water to make cacao tea – it’s absolutely delicious! For those who prefer a rich hot chocolate, take the shelled beans and grind them into a paste before adding hot nut milk or water, along with vanilla and some natural sweetener.

Your preference may be to have something closer to the chocolate you know and love instead but without the refined sugar and dairy. If that’s the case, then you could try making your own organic raw chocolate blocks. Using coconut oil, raw cacao powder, raw cacao butter, and coconut palm sugar you can create your own version of chocolate heaven, it will taste great and you'll benefit from the wide range of nutrients that raw cacao provides. You could even try adding your own flavours, from banana powder or goji berry powder to dried mulberries and pumpkin seeds.  

We really love adding blueberry powder and hulled hemp seeds, the flavour combo works really well and comes with the added benefit of the protein, omega 3 and antioxidants found in these special ingredients.

Hopefully that gives you some good ideas but if you’re a chocoholic on a superfood mission and you’ve got any recommendations, we’d love to hear from you!

The Breakfast Dilemma

The Breakfast Dilemma   

For years now, since I left home  and started living on my own really (and that’s 10 years now), my morning have started the same every day. With an indecision, a dilemma, a quandary...what should I have for breakfast?

I’m sure I’m not alone in my breakfast struggle. My appetite first thing in the morning isn’t large, but also I can’t hold off until lunchtime. I want something healthy, light, fairly quick and delicious of course. Bread leaves me bloated and I don’t want all the sugar that cereals contain.

In the last year however I have discovered some amazing breakfasts that suit my lifestyle, are super healthy, are easy to make and taste great.

So here are a few of my absolute fave’s…

Chia Pudding

A new favourite with a number of the healthy cook books this is so simple to make and you can alter the flavour  depending on what goodies you’ve got in your cupboard to go with it. I love mixing it up between coconut and cacao powder, summer berries or  warm spices (cinnamon, ginger etc). Simply soak 1 tbs of chia seeds in 3 tbs nut milk of your choice. Leave for 15/20 minutes to gelatinise then mix with fruit, nuts, seeds and super food powders to taste.

Breakfast Bars

There are great because you can make a batch to last you all week. Not restricted to being bar shaped, I tend to go for pattie style squashed balls ;)

The base ingredients for these are rolled oats, flax seeds and chia seeds. Blend 1 cup oats in the food processor to make a crumble/flour texture. Mix this in a big bowl with 2 cups oats, ½ cup flax seeds, 2 tsp cinnamon and 1 cup dried fruits. I love mixing figs, apricots, dates, goji berries and mulberries.

In a separate bowl make a chia gel (soak chia’s for 15 mins,  1 tbs chia to 3 tbs water). Once gelatinous add to the food processor with ½ cup apple sauce and ½ cup raw agave or pure maple  syrup.

Once blended add this to the big bowl and stir all ingredients together well. Mold in to equal balls and squish in to pattie shapes. Bake in the oven for 20 mins on 180 and store in a air tight container. Yummy!!

Berry Smoothie

The perfect choice for those with very little appetite in the mornings, a really easy drinkable brekkie that you can cram  full of nutrients and super food powders.

Best made fresh every morning this recipe is for a big vitamix style blender so adapt if using a 1 cup blender.

Add all ingredients to the blender and pulse until smooth…

1 handful strawberries

1 handful Raspberries

1 handful blueberries

1 banana

1 pint coconut milk (or almond/hemp milk)

2 tbs maca powder

1 tsp maqui/acai powder

1 tbs lucuma powder

3 medjool dates

½ lemon squeezed

Since discovering the variety of healthy breakfasts available, my mornings have been revolutionised. So why not start the day by giving your body what it needs, a blast of vitamins, minerals and fibre. there are tonnes of other amazing breakfasts you can try, from home made raw granola to fruit salad. More recipes to come, make sure you give us a thumbs up if you found this useful.

Enjoy!

By Sophia Harvey