Chocolate Is Healthy

Not only was this raw vegan chocolate pie a hit at a dinner party, but it even passed the five year old kid taste test.  Impressive!

ireallylikefood shared this fabulous recipe for a chocolate pie made with a mixed nut crust and filled with a pudding-like chocolate mixture that included avocados, cocoa powder, and shredded coconut.  Garnished with fresh fruit, the raw chocolate pie mixture could also work as a delicious cake frosting.

Check out the link below for the full recipe and a step-by-step process with pictures, of how to make this fabulous vegan chocolate pie.

Chocolate Filling for Raw Vegan Chocolate Pie Recipe by ireallylikefood.

Ingredients:

• 3 avocados (stay with me here, the outcome is truly delicious!)
• 1/2 cup of agave (1/2 cup maple syrup)
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2  Tbsp tahini (aka: sesame butter)  (cold pressed coconut butter I had none)
• (3/4 cup raw carob powder I skipped this because I don’t like it)
• 4 Tbsp organic cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut (optional… I added this because i had no coconut butter)
• berries of choice

Directions:

1. Cut your avocados in half

2. Pit your avocados and scoop out the flesh into your food processor along with the vanilla, tahini, shredded coconut and agave. Blend away (a blender also works for this)

3.  Once it is nicely blended add in your cocoa powder and blend.

4. Fill in your pie crust and top with berries

Recipe: “Raw” Chocolate Pie | ireallylikefood.

While there is an increasing number of vegan and fair trade chocolatiers, there are fewer making raw chocolate bars.   It’s an expensive and labor intensive process that leads to very high price tags.

The Village Voice profiled two relatively new raw chocolate bars, both based in Brooklyn, New York.  One is “Bean to Bar” by Jacques Torres.  The other is the lesser-known Mast Brothers who make gorgeously-packaged from-scratch artisan chocolate bars.  We are delighted that attention is being given to the nuances as raw chocolate.  Just as there is tremendous variety within processed dark chocolate bars, raw chocolate bars can vary significantly in flavor and depth.

Here’s where the article netted out:

“Both bars, in other words, offered completely different experiences, and beauty that was very much in the eye of the beholder. The Masts and Torres are doing excellent work, so calling one better than the other based solely upon taste does a disservice both to them and to the highly subjective reactions that chocolate inspires. If you want a more bitter, idiosyncratic bar, you want the Masts. If you want a smoother, more comforting bar, then go for the Torres.”

Battle of the Dishes: Bean to Bar Chocolate Bars From Jacques Torres and Mast Brothers – New York Restaurants and Dining – Fork in the Road.

This is an interesting discussion at The Chocolate Life about whether raw chocolate is healthier (or tastier) than roasted chocolate.   We’ve heard that roasting chocolate destroys some of its nutritional properties, but is that really true?   As far as taste, you wouldn’t eat raw coffee beans, and roasted chocolate can taste better than raw chocolate.

“Recently, at a San Francisco chocolate event, I overheard the people at the Xocai booth telling the public that the heathful anti-oxidants in chocolate are destroyed by roasting, which is clearly not the case when you look at ORAC ratings. However I would be very interested to hear any thoughts on actually how much of a change roasting makes, and any references to studies on this. Raw chocolate has not been cooked past 114 degreesF I believe, does it taste as good?……”

Raw chocolate, how raw is it really? – The Chocolate Life.

There’s still time to offer healthy, organic Halloween chocolate treats, instead of the unnatural processed candy found in the supermarket.

We came across this great roundup of all natural Halloween treats.  Options include fair trade certified chocolate coins from Ghana, Clif Spooky S’mores Energy Bars, organic gluten-free chocolates from Equal Exchange and vegan Bluestocking peanut butter cups.  Any of these will deliver the delights of chocolate, without the additives and preservatives.

6 Healthier Halloween Eco-Treats for Kids (No Tricks, We Promise!) | Inhabitots.

The Washington Post recently asked several nutrition experts what they see as the best ingredients to keep in your kitchen that will have positive long-term health effects.

The list include:

• fresh or frozen blueberries
• broccoli and other dark greens
• quinoa
• sardines
• and of course, cacao!

Here’s why cacao made the list of the most healthy foods to incorporate into your diet.

“You’ll often see dark chocolate turn up on “superfood” lists because it contains blood-pressure-lowering plant phenols and loads of antioxidants. Cacao, or raw chocolate, is even better because it lacks sugar and other additives. Though bitter, the whole beans or nibs can be eaten plain. In its powder form, cacao can be mixed into a smoothie or pancake batter, making it taste much like the guilty pleasure we all know and love.”

Nutrition experts recommend healthful must-haves for your kitchen – washingtonpost.com.