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Can we just talk about chocolate for a minute? It is the holiday season, lots of chocolate will be flowing in our mugs and on our tables. Is it good for us or bad for us ? What is the healthiest chocolate? Why does chocolate make us happy and especially women feel cravings for chocolate before and during menstruation?
When I was a little girl, chocolate kisses were in the candy cupboard. Yes, we had a glass encased cupboard full of jars and decorative serving bowls, covered and uncovered, full of candy. There were chocolate, hard candies, nougats, lollipops, candy bars....
I never loitered there, even though it was there every day, for us kids to see and ask for. Maybe because it was apparent and in abundance, it became part of the tapestry of my home.
Raw chocolate is a superfood by itself. When cacao pods are opened and the nibs are removed, fermented and dried, it is very bitter, but the texture of creamy fattiness leaves a luxurious mouth feel. The health benefits of raw chocolate or nibs are that it has antioxidants, good fats, and vitamins and minerals. The fat allows the body to absorb these nutrients. We get reactions in the body that are pleasing too, the pleasure hormones are released.
When raw cacao beans are roasted, sugars and oils are added, sometimes milk to make milk chocolate, a lot of the nutrients are destroyed.
The cheaper chocolate candies in the stores are mixed with soy lecithin, high fructose corn syrup, wax, and other artificial and chemical additives. They still taste yummy, but they do nothing positive for our bodies and lives.
I recommend buying the most expensive raw chocolate bars or nibs you can afford. I make my own chocolates with the unsweetened variety by heating it on a low flame and adding my own cocoa butter, ghee, coconut oil, raw cream (for my own milk chocolate variety), raw shredded coconut, raw nuts and seeds. Add Lakanto or Xyla for a healthy sugar substitute.
If buying store made raw chocolates, look for ones made with stevia, xylitol, luo han gao, or coconut crystals as sweeteners. They are the lowest on the glycemic index.
Enjoy your chocolate this holiday season!
Blessings,
KJ Landis
Click here to buy my book!
When I was a little girl, chocolate kisses were in the candy cupboard. Yes, we had a glass encased cupboard full of jars and decorative serving bowls, covered and uncovered, full of candy. There were chocolate, hard candies, nougats, lollipops, candy bars....
I never loitered there, even though it was there every day, for us kids to see and ask for. Maybe because it was apparent and in abundance, it became part of the tapestry of my home.
Raw chocolate is a superfood by itself. When cacao pods are opened and the nibs are removed, fermented and dried, it is very bitter, but the texture of creamy fattiness leaves a luxurious mouth feel. The health benefits of raw chocolate or nibs are that it has antioxidants, good fats, and vitamins and minerals. The fat allows the body to absorb these nutrients. We get reactions in the body that are pleasing too, the pleasure hormones are released.
When raw cacao beans are roasted, sugars and oils are added, sometimes milk to make milk chocolate, a lot of the nutrients are destroyed.
The cheaper chocolate candies in the stores are mixed with soy lecithin, high fructose corn syrup, wax, and other artificial and chemical additives. They still taste yummy, but they do nothing positive for our bodies and lives.
I recommend buying the most expensive raw chocolate bars or nibs you can afford. I make my own chocolates with the unsweetened variety by heating it on a low flame and adding my own cocoa butter, ghee, coconut oil, raw cream (for my own milk chocolate variety), raw shredded coconut, raw nuts and seeds. Add Lakanto or Xyla for a healthy sugar substitute.
If buying store made raw chocolates, look for ones made with stevia, xylitol, luo han gao, or coconut crystals as sweeteners. They are the lowest on the glycemic index.
Enjoy your chocolate this holiday season!
Blessings,
KJ Landis
Click here to buy my book!
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