Did you know that with raw chocolate you can actually nourish your body and keep your hormones in check? Yep. It’s true! So go ahead and give in to that craving!
Everyone has food cravings. It’s part of life. But how we deal with them is everything. I can teach you how to handle those pesky food cravings in my unique program 4 step process to overcome emotional eating.
Raw Chocolate Contains Antioxidants
So how can chocolate be part of a healthy diet you ask? It all comes down to your selection. Dark chocolate is loaded with antioxidants, especially of a particular type known as flavonols. These flavonols protect the body from disease-causing oxidation.
Dark chocolate has a higher percentage of cocoa solids, and therefore more health-boosting flavonols than lighter chocolates. While milk chocolate is very high in processed sugar and unhealthy fats. This makes it lower in health-promoting flavonols.
How can you tell how healthy your chocolate is? Just check the label for the amount of cacao solids. The higher the better! Also, using my sugar-free chocolate recipe will ensure that the chocolate you eat is the healthy kind.
Get in the Mood with Food
Another great thing about chocolate is that it can really put you in the mood. A good mood that is! This is fantastic for those of us who feel a bit of the blues over the winter. Hooray. And its cheaper than a beach vacation.
Chocolate is a stimulant and mood elevator. This is because it contains serotonin and phenylethylamine, or PEA. Both of these chemicals are found naturally in the human brain and have been shown to uplift moods and emotions. Also, PEA is naturally released by your brain when you’re in love! PEA promotes the production of the neurotransmitter dopamine.
As a result, feelings of well-being, joy, and pleasure are enhanced. This is especially relevant for those of us who struggle with anxiety or the winter blues. Most often in the dreary month of February! For some helpful tips on how to reduce anxiety, click here.
Benefits to your heart health too!
One other amazing reason to eat dark chocolate, in case you needed one…is that it is heart healthy! Dark chocolate contains L-arginine which has been shown to lower blood pressure, reduce the buildup of plaque in the arteries and increase blood flow through the heart and the entire body. Just one more reason to try my sugar-free chocolate recipe!
But Stephanie, you say, can I really eat CHOCOLATE and be healthy?!
Absolutely! In my free and private community, I show women just like you (who love chocolate) how to keep their hormones in check with a variety of tips and topics. So, providing you are choosing the best quality chocolate you can find, your hormones won’t suffer for the indulgence. Promise. Mmmm. Delicious, silky, smooth raw chocolate. Now that I have your attention…try this recipe!
Sugar-Free Chocolate Recipe
Raw Chocolate
A delicious treat for you or someone else you love.
Ingredients
- 120 grams cacao/cocoa butter (about 1 cup of cacao butter chunks)
- 1/2 cup raw unsweetened pure cacao powder
- 1 tsp stevia glycerine free liquid + 1/3 cup of powdered eryhtriol OR 1/4 cup pure maple syrup or honey (Optional all together and I encourage you to use less as possible)
- pinch of fine grain sea salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 vanilla pod
Instructions
- Gently melt the cacao butter in a pot over the lowest heat setting
- Whisk all other ingredients into the pot.
- Pour into 12 silicone cups Alternatively, you can use paper liners (they will stick a tiny bit but will still peel off) or line a baking sheet with parchment paper and drop spoonfuls all over the paper. Plastic chocolate molds may stick. Or poor on a parchment paper lined baking sheet to make bark.
- Freeze for 30 minutes or until firm. Pop chocolate out of the cups and enjoy immediately. Store in the fridge or freezer until ready to use.
Notes
Possible flavouring ideas
- Nut butter cups (using the Immune Boosting Cup process)
- Coconut butter cups (using the Immune Boosting Cup process)
- Nut chocolate: Chop nuts and blend in the raw chocolate mixture.
- Rock sea salt
- Stuffed the cups with berries such as strawberries, raspberries, blueberry, etc.