Christmas is coming and chocolate plays a big part of the Christmas holiday. This can be attested by the fact that the average survival time for a chocolate box in a hospital ward was 51minutes last Christmas (1). Ireland (Europe) is a small country with approximately 6 million people however, households there consume 5 million boxes of chocolate during the Christmas holiday (2). The rest of the world follows suit. According to the Washington post, the world’s chocolate consumption surpassed production in 2012 (3).
Unfortunately, most of the chocolate sold is globally is made from processed dairy, white sugar, preservatives and additives. In addition, the average normal milk chocolate contains 10% of the ‘’main’’ ingredient cacao which is one of the most nutritious foods on the face of earth. Therefore, eating this kind of regular milk chocolate leads to several health issues as we know. (4, 5, 6, 7)
However, if we talk about real chocolate made out of healthy ingredients, it’s completely another story. (8, 9, 10, 11) Dark or white chocolate made at home can give you and your whole family lots of nutrients, vitamins and minerals boosting the metabolism, weight loss, immunity, energy levels and even skin health without side-effects. Here’s what you need;
1.) A small pot and nice looking Christmas molds for putting your healthy magic liquid.
2.) The base ingredients are coconut or cacao butter. You can mix the two.
3.) The second base is the actual cacao in the form of powder or nibs. You can also cut pieces from solid cacao mass to make it melt easier.
4.) Adding texture and taste: Adding various nuts (e.g. cashews, Brazil nuts, hazel nuts, almonds) crushed into your chocolate will give great nutty flavor. Also, dried fruits are favorite chocolate ingredients for many people.
5.) Add flavor with many herbs and extracts (e.g. vanilla, mint, cinnamon).
6.) Sweeten it up with organic, unpasteurized honey, agave extract or maple syrup.
7.) Last step: Add a pinch of unrefined sea/mountain salt to make your chocolate perfect!
Instructions couldn’t be easier. Just put your stove at the lightest heat so you don’t cook all the nutrients away. Add the bases first and then the rest of the ingredients using your imagination. Put the liquid into the molds and into the freezer for 15-20 minutes and there you have it. It’s a half an hour process.
So, forget counting calories and start making your secret and healthy Christmas chocolates and have a happy time with your family when doing it.
Happy holidays!
Teijo Vienola is a writer for Kikulife, focusing on functional health. He is helping people Thrive by providing information on natural nutrition and functional exercise.
More entries by Teijo:
Recovery Challenge, Back to Basics
References:
1.) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3898580/
2.) http://www.thejournal.ie/recycling-christmas-1236282-Dec2013/
4.) http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/106/4/523.full
5.) http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/health-effects-of-sugar
6.) http://www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g6015
7.) http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1769138
8.) http://www.neurology.org/content/early/2012/08/29/WNL.0b013e31826aacfa.abstract
9.) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22895979
10.) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167527312016658
11.) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763413001681
