A Healthier Easter-time
Pascale Richy
Eating healthy doesn’t mean you have to miss out on treats. In fact, making your own versions of holiday favorites can be loads of fun and surprisingly delicious when you use quality whole food ingredients and tweak a recipe to make it just right!!!!
The main Easter danger we want to avoid of course is sugar but what we can gain are nutrient dense, medicinal and vitalizing super foods that support not oppose our health goals. Let’s have a look at one of our favorite all time treats… Chocolate!!
From the seeds (beans) of the plant Theobroma cacao, an evergreen of South America, comes the raw substance cACAo that is traditionally refined into cOCOa and used to make chocolate. The many steps of this refining process, including heat, degrade the nutrients and taste of the cacao. Raw cacao however, is only fermented and dried, a process which develops the distinctive flavor and aroma but spares the pharmacopeia of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, that includes magnesium, calcium, zinc, iron, copper, potassium, manganese, B1,2,3,5 & 9, vitamins C & E and anti inflammatory and heart protective flavonoids.
To make your own delicious chocolate which can be molded into any shape with the right equipment, you need only use raw cacao in its powdered form; adding non dairy cacao butter (a natural fat that is also extracted from the cacao bean); a healthy oil such as coconut or macadamia; and a low glycaemic sweetener such as stevia or xylitol or a small amount of medicinal raw honey. For extra taste, texture and healing properties you can add edible essential oils (i.e.: orange), nuts such as almond, hazelnut and macadamia and/or antioxidant rich berries.
Homemade Chocolate Easter Egg Recipe
Ingredients
• 50 g (1/3 cup melted) cacao butter.
• 25 g (2 tablespoons) coconut oil.
• 60 g (1 loose cup) raw cacao powder.
• 1 tablespoon raw local honey.
Directions
1. In a medium sized bowl, heat the cacao butter, coconut oil and honey over a double boiler until completely melted together.
2. Remove from heat and stir through the cacao powder ensuring there are no lumps. Continue to stir for a couple of minutes as the mixture begins to drop in temperature.
3. Spoon approximately one teaspoon of the melted chocolate into each mould. Gently swirl around until all sides are evenly coated.
4. Place in the freezer to set while you make your filling.
5. Raspberry Ripe Filling
Place ½ punnet raspberries, ½ cup desiccated coconut and 2 teaspoons almond or macadamia butter into a food processor and blitz until well combined. Fill the chocolate egg halves when set and place back in the freezer for 20minutes. Then carefully assemble the two halves by placing them together and running your fingers over the seam to melt and join them together. Put back in the freezer for setting and storage.