Cacao Energy Clusters

These little clusters are packed with nutrient dense ingredients: flax seeds (high in omega 3’s, good kind fat), cacao powder (powerful antioxidant, god for fighting free radicals), maca powder (good for energy) amongst several other amazing ingredients.

This recipe kinda just happened. I had made a lot of sprouted buckwheat when prepping for making raw granola, and didn’t feel like really putting anything fancy together so just threw a bunch of ingredients in the bowl, thinking I was going to be making another granola. Before putting it in the dehydrator I tasted it and it tasted so good I immediately wrote down what I had used in order to not forget! When it came out, instead of being a granola, it was more of an energy cluster. Not only because it stuck together in convenient clusters, but also because the flavor was so rich that I don’t think I could actually eat a whole bowl of it. A few clusters was enough. I packed some for a hike and my daughter wanted some for her school snack. I am so happy I wrote down the ingredients so I can make this again.

So here it is. Another kitchen happy “accident” 🙂

Ingredients:

• 3 cups sprouted buckwheat, or buckwheat that has soaked for at least 8 hours, then rinsed really well
• 1 cup oats
• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• 2 TBS mesquite powder
• 2 TBS maca powder
• 1/4 cacao powder
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/8 tsp salt

Steps:

• mix everything together in a bowl, adding the wet ingredients last
• spread on a dehydrator sheet, tapping it down to make it more compact
• dehydrate at 115* for about 12 hours or until dry and crispy
• store in an airtight container for weeks! (Although ours lasted barely a week)

If making this in the oven, put it on the lowest setting for about an hour, try it and keep checking every 10 minutes until fully done.

Fudge Squares

Ooooooohhhhhmmmgosh. Creamy. Rich. Melt in your mouth goodness. This has got to be one of my most favorite chocolate recipes I have created so far. And I make ALOT of chocolate creations. It is no secret I love chocolate, and I absolutely LOVE fudge. It is actually because of my utter love for chocolate and most things sweet that I started making my own desserts and treats. There is no way I would be able to maintain the level of health I believe to be necessary to live the life I want, if I were to indulge in the commercial sugar laden, often dairy filled, sometimes chemically induced sweets I find at the store, every time a craving hit me. Instead I use all natural, organic, mostly raw ingredients to provide not only the highest level of nutrients to my body but also to provide the most flavorful indulgences. The only bad thing about using such wholesome ingredients in my recipes is that I don’t usually feel too bad if I eat way too many. And let’s face it, too much of a good thing, well eventually does become too much. Anyways, right now is not the time to talk about how to slow down eating such amazing delicious goodness, right now is the time to share one of the fastest ways to get your sweet fix while still loving your body. Given you don’t eat the whole batch at once, and every day. But you might have to try doing that at least once. Just to try.

Ingredients:

• 6-8 soft medjool dates
• 1/4 cup raw cacao powder
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup coconut butter
• 1 large ripe banana (if you are not a fan of banana you could omit this, but the texture will be somewhat affected)
• dash of salt

Steps:

• melt the coconut butter and oil together, either in a double boiler, or in a pot on the stove. If doing this last method, heat the pot first, put your coconut products in it and leave the flame on low for maybe a minute and turn off and stir to get the oils melted. You do not want to cook them, just melts them and having them in a hot pot will be enough.
• put everything in a food processor and blend until nice and smooth and rich
• poor in a 8X8 dish, lined with parchment paper
• set in the fridge for 30 minutes or in the freezer for 10
• cut in small squares and keep in the fridge

Home made Chocolate Chunks (or chips)

I like to use chocolate in a lot of things. And although I do buy dark chocolate chips, sometimes grain sweetened chocolate chips, for baking, I prefer to use my own if I have some. I try to keep some of my home made stuff handy for ice creams, raw desserts, granola bars, smoothies, etc… I like doing this, not only because it is cheaper, but also because it is refined sugar free and I can choose how dark or fruity or nutty, i want the chocolate to be. Here is a very simple recipe that I tweak every now and then depending on what I am going for.

Ingredients:

• 3 oz or 85 gr of raw cacao butter
• 2 1/2 oz or 70 gr of raw cacao powder
• 2 1/2 TBS agave nectar

Steps:

• In a double boiler melt the cacao butter
• turn off the heat and add the cacao powder and agave and whisk well
• pour in a shallow dish with some parchment paper and set in the freezer for about20-30 minutes
• pull out and cut into desired pieces
• store in a container in the fridge until ready to use
• easy right?!

Gianduja Chocolate

Fudge-y, rich, nutty and decadent, this chocolate reminds me of my childhood. Growing up my parents didn’t usually keep sweets in the house, we would go across the way to my grandma’s house who had a cupboard with a nice stash of treats for us every time we came over. And one of them were gianduja chocolates. They came in a bar shape, “lingots” in french, wrapped in gold paper with the word gianduja written on it. I loved these little gold treats. My grandma, a true Cordon Blue, always had nicer taste in food, and same went for the sweets she got us. We didn’t get the typical french kid candy, Haribo and Kinder, we got Lindt and Werthers, and yes, gianduja 🙂

This recipe is not mine. My sister in law found it and passed it on to me. You can imagine my excitement when I saw the words Gianduja and then realized that this recipe was raw and free of refined sugars. A healthy alternative to one of my childhood favorites that still tastes amazing?? Heck yeah! I couldn’t wait to try this. Thank you Viviana for finding this recipe 🙂

As usual, it’s hard for me to stick entirely to a recipe, no matter how great it originally is 😉 I barely tweaked this one, mainly because of what I had on hand but also because it called for twice the sweetener that I chose to put in.

If you have all the ingredients, this is so easy to make for full fudgey chocolate satisfaction.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw cacao butter, melted
• 2 tsp pure vanilla powder
• 1 tsp hazelnut extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 raw cup honey
• 1 cup raw cacao powder
• 1/2 cup raw hazelnut butter
• 1 cup roughly chopped hazelnuts

Steps:

• In a double boiler melt the cacao butter
• add that to your blender with the vanilla and hazelnut extract
• blend well
• add all other ingredients except for nuts
• blend
• pour in a bowl with hazelnuts, mix well
• lightly grease a 9 inch pan with coconut oil
• pour chocolate
• put in fridge to set for about 20-30 minutes
• cut in desired shape
• try not to eat it all in one sitting