Recipes For Longevity - Part 5 - Chocolate - Celebrate Cinco de Mayo With A Native American Food!

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Chocolate is a Native American food used for hundreds of generations as a health tonic by the upper-classes of the Mayan and Atzec peoples of Mexico, and it was especially reserved for the Aztec Emperor; I believe that judicious use of the right kinds of chocolate can be a worthwhile addition to a diabetic diet plan, to help as it contains a natural anti-oxidant for cardiovascular health, other substances for blood sugar control, and is a Joyful addition to an otherwise strict diet, if only a small amount is used.After all, chocolate’s botanical name, “theobroma”, means “food of the gods”, and the Aztecs and Mayans used to prepare it as a spicy drink of roasted beans called “chocolatl”.

PHOTO: Raw Chocolate Nibs www.naked-chocolate.com

I believe that it is essential for everyone, especially diabetics, to understand how to use the right amount of all real, healing foods AND that no healing food should be eliminated unless it interacts unfavorably with some needed medication an individual takes e.g. this sometimes happens with grapefruit.

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Karen Schroeder, MS, RD says:

“Recent scientific research has hinted that chocolate may not be as sinful as traditionally believed.

Take antioxidants , for example, which prevent cellular damage in the body and subsequently help decrease the risk for various chronic conditions. Dark chocolate contains relatively high levels of antioxidant flavanols and proanthocyanidins. These substances fight dangerous free radicals, and also may help to relax blood vessels, improve blood sugar control, and help prevent blood clots.

But chocolate is by no means a “health food;” its antioxidants are delivered in a high-calorie, high-fat, fiber-free package. Fruits and vegetables also supply antioxidants but with virtually no fat, very few calories, a significant dose of fiber , and other healthful nutrients.“
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Now, the next thing to highlight is that Big Business is generally only making available more healthy forms of chocolate very recently, and that MOST COMMERCIAL CHOCOLATE IS STILL NOT A HEALTHY OPTION.

So, what do you need to know about finding healthy chocolate? Well, firstly, it must be Dark Chocolate. Milk Chocolate does NOT count!

Chocolate is naturally bitter, and so it is important to understand how to titrate it to the minimum sweetness acceptable to your palate, and to use only a low glycemic sweetener to flavor it. Eating raw chocolate, without any sweetening, would be unpleasant. I am only including recipes using agave, a natural Mexican sweetener from the blue agave cactus, and agave has a good, low glycemic index profile — it’s way better than using “sugar” or syrups from other sources.

However, please bear in mind that “chocolate” is tagged on pH food charts as an acidic food (maybe only as a usual-type chocolate bar — loaded with sugar and dairy); as I said, chocolate is naturally bitter and I think most bitter foods are more likely to have alkaloids, so that is what makes me think that chocolate in its natural, raw form is not acidic. Dr. Robert O. Young, PhD, expert in pH food, says agave nectar is also acidic pH, so in the recipes below, it will be wise to use these chocolate - agave recipes with an otherwise alkaline food meal. Goji and Hemp are also pH acidic foods. You can see my Titles Archive for alkaline food charts.

The Swiss eat double the amount of chocolate that Americans do and Americans eat about 11 pounds of chocolate a year, but most of it is not in a healthy, helpful form. Try to find organic raw chocolate powder, raw cacao, raw chocolate nibs (photo above; they look like little triangles) or only buy dark, organic chocolate that is about 70% cocoa butter / chocolate.

Raw foodists would always keep the full nutritive value of chocolate by not heating it, and I have included these recipes, as: 1) you will receive the most benefit from them 2) they are unusual recipes and 3) you can learn to think about chocolate in a new way, that may help you be more interested in creating your own new choices.

The following are recipes created by well-known raw foodists David Wolfe and Shazzie at www.naked-chocolate.com/recipes  .

You can substitute raw coconut “butter” (extra-virgin, organic coconut oil) for raw cacao butter in any of the recipes, which makes a firmer chocolate bar due to its higher melting point. These ingredients are available at the very best Health Stores, only, or they are available online; see the links near the recipes at their original page above. This is bulk chocolate and is less expensive than the 70% commercial bar chocolate.
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Superchocolate Goji Berry Lemon Bar

2 cups organic,  dried Tibetan goji berries
2 cups raw cacao nibs
1 teaspoon lemon peel
2 cups grated raw cacao butter

Add everything to a Vita-Mix and blend until smooth. Pour into a mold and refrigerate to set.

Em - I would add some organic hemp seed to raise the protein content.
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David and Shazzie’s Hansel and Gretel Mix

1 cup organic, dried Tibetan goji berries
1 cup raw cacao nibs
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds

Mix everything together in a large bowl. Place the mix in little containers and put them around your house ready for people to discover them with delight, so they have a healthy snack within reach.

Variations: add hemp seeds, sesame seeds, crushed nuts, dried currants, raisins, sultanas apricot chunks, pineapple, mango etc. For extra enzyme action, soak the nuts overnight, rinse, and then dehydrate until the nuts are dried out, again.

For mega nutrients, sprout the seeds before deyhdrating at low temperatures (less than 120F). Make sure all of the dried fruit is organic and unsulphured. Use organic nuts.
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Red Squares

2 cups organic cacao butter, grated
1 cup organic, dried Tibetan goji berries
1/2 cup agave nectar

Blend everything together in a Vita-Mix or food processor until smooth. Then place in some cube-shaped molds. Turn out when set.

Em - I would add some organic hemp seeds to raise the protein content. Hemp is also considered to be pH acidic, according to Dr. Young, as are goji berries.
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http://www.beliefnet.com/story/177/story_17755_1.html

Chocolate Del Diablo
(Serve warm. Makes 4 cups)

1 pint of warm almond milk
4 tablespoons chocolate powder (crushed raw cacao beans or nibs)(or grated 70% bar)
2 tablespoons raw agave nectar
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Pinch each of mace, nutmeg, and cinnamon
Mix all ingredients in a blender and serve immediately.

Em - cinnamon is a healthy spice for diabetics, and as it does reduce blood sugar levels, use it judiciously, with monitoring, if you use it regularly.

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http://www.beliefnet.com/story/177/story_17755_1.html

Raw Organic Strawberry Cacao Smoothie

Blend and serve:
10 oz. raw, organic cashews
1/4 cup raw, organic cacao nibs
(2 ) - 10 oz. bags of organic frozen strawberries or raspberries or blueberries
1/2 cup raw dark agave nectar (or less)
1/2 tsp celtic sea salt
1.5 liter spring water or Evamor alkaline pH spring water
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http://www.beliefnet.com/story/177/story_17755_1.html

Mint and Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Serves 4

4 bananas, peeled, chopped small and frozen overnight
1 teaspoon extra-virgin, organic coconut oil
1 cup broken, dark chocolate pieces - from 70% cacao chocolate bar
4 tablespoons agave nectar
1 cup of fresh mint

The day before you make this, finely chop the mint and add it to the agave so it can marinate overnight. Using a fine cloth, strain the mix when you’re ready to make the ice cream. You can use the discarded mint pulp in another dressing, drink or sauce.

Add the frozen bananas and coconut oil to the food processor and run the machine until the mixture becomes white. You may have to stop and rest your machine as it takes a few minutes. Scrape down the banana from the side walls halfway thru the processing time, and work quickly so the bananas don’t melt, otherwise they won’t turn to white ice cream.

Once the ice cream is made, mix in the chocolate chips and the agave nectar. Refreeze or serve immediately. It can be kept frozen for only 1 week.
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REFERENCES:
http://www.beliefnet.com/healthandhealing/getcontent.aspx?cid=13973

In my Title Archive on the upper Navigation Bar, please check the post about Tibetan Goji Berries and the pH Food Charts

Please remember to look at more articles in the Titles Archive on the Upper Navigation Bar, and you can always write a personal, private note, too, in the box at About Me.

Best to all — Em

 

 

 

(c)2008 Em http://diabetesdietdialogue.wordpress.com
If you wish to quote from or use my article, please respect my copyright, and include my copyright citation and web-address in your article. Thanks.