The Cacao Dilemma ..... includes some simple Cacao recipes!
I felt compelled to write a blog post on cacao, having read and heard so much about raw chocolate.
My reason for getting attracted to it recently was that After 5 months of being on wheat free/dairy free/sugar free 80% of the time, I was still getting chocolate cravings! I'd kept on with my dried figs and fresh fruit on all sweet cravings, but chocolate just has that smooth, velvety texture that it couldn't help but creep back into my imagination.
I had heard mostly good things about Cacao and only one negative, so I decided to buy some Cacao powder. I had been feeling really tired one day after my workout as I was about to come on my period. I was looking for something I could take that could balance out my hormones. So I made a Cacao, hemp seed, lucuma, banana, manuka honey and water smoothie. I've got to say that it was powerful stuff! whoa! You definitely can have too much of it! I listened to my body for the next few hours and noticed a significant improvement in my energy levels. By the evening I felt back to my usual self. My Conclusion - what a fab pick me up! I think this is due to the high content of magnesium in cacao which is what most women start lacking during the time of their period.
5 days later I had a cacao, lucuma, manuka and soya *warm* mug of chocolate. It was good!
5 days after that I had a water, cacao 1tbsp, hemp 2 tbsp, lucuma 1 tsp, mace had tsp, banana, melon smoothie :0) :0)
2 days later I tried this mousse: water, cacao 1 tbsp, 1 avocado, 1 banana, 1 tbsp hemp seeds, 1 tsp lucuma, half tsp maca - YUM! Oh this one is SO recommended!
A few weeks later I was looking online and for some reason everyone seemed to be talking about how cacao is this amazing health food and how it can cure illnesses. For me, it seemed like something good, but I couldn't see how having a cacao smoothie over a spirulina smoothie (for example) could be just as beneficial for my health. Something didn't seem right. So I decided to call up some nutritionist friends and ask their opinions. I was speaking to one particular nutritionist friend and he was saying that cacao can stimulate the adrenals and thus some people can have a hyperactive response to consuming it.
One month later I had been considering this cacao dilemma and in the process wanting to experiment with some new superfoods. So I bought some wheatgrass powder and barleygrass powder. In 2007 I had experimented with growing wheatgrass, but didn't keep it up for any length of time due to the technicalities of growing it. Instead of using cacao when I came on my period, I decided to use spirulina, wheatgrass and barleygrass in my morning water based smoothie. 2 days before I was due on, I was feeling my typical energy slump, so I made this smoothie. That evening, I had so much energy that I went for an extra workout! I never usually work out on that particular evening, but I just felt driven to do so! It was really amazing. This was the turning point for me, I realised that simply eating more superfoods is all you need to do to keep your energy levels up.
Now that its been nearly a year since I've been consuming superfoods on a daily basis, I can say that without a doubt, superfoods have massively contributed to my consistent energy levels and wellbeing.
Since then I have still made my own raw chocolates and cacao based smoothies. Cacao is obviously a million times better for you than the 'chocolate' that is sold on the mass market as it contains no dairy and no sugar. So if you want guilt-free chocolate, then this is the only way to go! Food is both nutritional and social isn't it? So its fun to have fun with it and not be so serious all the time. Once you've got into the swing of your new way of life (for me it was 90 days no wheat no dairy no sugar) its great to live by the 80/20 rule - eat the high nutrition based foods and foods you grow yourself 80% of the time, and then enjoy the odd glass of wine, raw chocolates etc, 20% of the time.
If you haven't read it already, here's my 6 month update: http://createyourtruelife.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/6-months-on-detox-lifestyle.html
My One year update is coming shortly!
Thanks for reading, till next time,
Much love,
Leona x
Helping you to live your most authentic life
http://www.createyourtruelife.com
