More on the Superfood Series – Cacao (raw chocolate) is #2!

I was jumping up and down when I read that CHOCOLATE was David Wolfe’s second superfood!!  This shouldn’t be too hard after all!  All chocolate is made from cacao beans.

The cacao bean has always been and will always be Nature’s number-one weight loss and high-energy food.  Cacao beans are probably the best-kept secret in the entire history of food.

This is AWESOME!! The only caveat is that cacao mixed with refined cane sugar actually draws minerals OUT of the body, causes blood sugar disorders, and lowers the medicinal content of the cacao beans.

Good news though – you can still get your chocolate fix without the refined cane sugar found in most chocolate bars!

Health Benefits of Cacao

• Contains the highest concentration of antioxidants of ANY FOOD IN THE WORLD (by weight, cacao has more antioxidants than red wine, blueberries, acai, pomegranates, and goji berries COMBINED!!)
• Also contains the highest concentration of magnesium (heart health and brainpower)
• Iron – has 314% RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) in 1 ounce serving of cacao
• Cacao is a rich source of Chromium, Manganese, Zinc, Copper, Vitamin C, Omega 6 fatty acids, Tryptophan, Serotonin, and Fiber

Here’s how to purchase REAL cacao beans at the store (Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, etc. have them)

1. Buy raw cacao beans (nibs) – you can sprinkle these on dessert or frozen yogurt.  You can also mix them with goji berries, hempseed, almonds, etc. to make a trail mix.
2. Get cacao powder (not cocoa powder) – you can put this in your smoothie or morning coffee.
3. Cacao butter – you can make all sorts of desserts with cacao butter.

CACAO RECIPES

COCAO COCONUT MACAROONS

2 cups dried unsweetened coconut
¼ cup mint leaves
½ cup almonds
¼ cup maple syrup (not raw but used in many raw food recipes)
¼ cup agave
¼ cup coconut oil, melted

Cacao Coating
½ cup cacao
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup agave
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
½ teaspoon vanilla pinch salt

Place mint leaves and almonds in a food processor. (Use pre-soaked, dehydrated almonds). Process until finely ground. Whisk together maple syrup, agave and coconut oil. Mix together coconut, almond mint mixture and agave mixture. Take a tablespoon and dip into hot water, pack with mixture and then turn out onto mesh dehydrator sheet. Dehydrate for 6+ hours or until desired dryness is achieved. You can start the dehydration at 140° for the first hour, then reduce to 115°. Cool.

Whisk all ingredients together.  Dip macaroons into cacao mixture and chill. You can let the cacao mixture cool a little before dipping for a thicker coating.

CACAO WALNUT FUDGE

Almond Butter
2 cups almonds

Place almonds in a food processor. Process, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. It will take anywhere from 6 to 12 minutes for the butter to form. You will go through a few stages, first a coarse meal, second it will ball up, third it will start to spread out and finally, after the correct amount of time, you will see the oils have released and the butter is shiny. Be patient. The butter heats up but never gets over 100 degrees. Makes 1 cup of almond butter.

Cacao Walnut Fudge
1 cup almond butter
½ cup cacao powder
¼ cup agave
½ cup walnuts, chopped.

Mix together almond butter, cacao powder and agave. It is easiest to to this with your hand. Once it is well combined, mix in the walnuts. You can put this in an 8 x 8 pan or use a mold.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

PEARS WITH PISTACHIO CREAM AND CACAO

Pistachio Cream
½ cup raw pistachios, soaked overnight, drained, rinsed
½ cup raw cashews, soaked overnight, drained, rinsed
½ cup coconut oil, melted
2 tablespoons agave
1 teaspoon vanilla

Remove any skins that might remain on the pistachios after soaking.  Place all ingredients in high-speed blender, blend until smooth.  Refrigerate until firm.

Chocolate Ganache
¼ cup cacao powder
¼ cup agave
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

Whisk all ingredients together to make the ganache.

Assembly
2 pears
¼ cup pistachios, chopped
pistachio cream
ganache

Cut and core pears.  Place on plate and spoon pistacho cream into pears.  Top with ganache and chopped pistachios.

Serves 4

Have you cooked with cacao before?  Please feel free to post some ideas below!!

 

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