When you start making healthy changes to your diet, you’ll find that you come across all sorts of new and interesting ingredients, ones that you may not have considered before. Before you know it, you’re cooking up a real storm in the kitchen!
Just because you’ve decided to make a few lifestyle changes where your diet is concerned, however, doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy treats every now and again, and if you’re trying to find something to fill the snack cupboard with, what about some organic raw chocolate?
But how can chocolate be healthy, we hear you cry! Well, this particular type of chocolate is made using cacao beans that aren’t roasted, moving away from traditional processes. Instead, the beans are left outside to dry naturally.
It’s thought by some that avoiding the heat from the oven means that more nutrients (vitamin C, magnesium, zinc, iron etc) can be preserved, much like uncooked vegetables.
This kind of chocolate is a great option for people looking to eat clean, as well as anyone with lactose issues, so it’s perfect for anyone out there with a sweet tooth who’s worried about having to give up all their favourite treats in the pursuit of good health.
You could even think about making your own raw chocolate if you’re keen to experiment in the kitchen. It’s relatively easy to do and you can have a great time making different flavours and including all sorts of interesting ingredients, whether you go for mulberries, ginger powder, beetroot powder, matcha… the choice is yours!
All you need is 120g of raw cacao butter, six tablespoons of raw cacao powder, two tablespoons of agave syrup (add a little more if you have a very sweet tooth) and then whatever your optional extras are.
Simply heat the cacao butter in a bain-marie (or a heatproof bowl in a saucepan) of simmering water until it melts. Make sure you don’t overheat the butter – use a food thermometer if you want to be certain.
Add your cacao powder, give it a good mix and then take the bowl off the heat. Add in your agave syrup, followed by the nuts and whatever other extras you went for, and mix well.
Pour your mixture into a chocolate mould or tray of some kind and then chill in the fridge for at least two hours. Once the chocolate has solidified, it’s ready!
It can be hard to snack healthily in between meal times but a little bit of preparation can make consistently clean eating a lot easier. What about devoting a part of your Sunday each week to cooking so you have a few meals in the fridge and some healthy snacks to hand throughout the week, when you may not have enough time to prepare food.