Monthly Archives: July 2014

Healthy Raw Chocolate Chip Cookies

raw choco zuchini cookie

  • 1 C Pureed Zucchini
  • 1/3 C Agave*
  • 1/2 C Coconut Butter
  • 1 C Raw Oat Flour*
  • 1.5 C Raw Flaked Oats*
  • 1/2 C Raw Cacao Powder
  • 1/2 t Cinnamon
  • 1/2 C Chopped Walnuts (optional)
  • 1/2 C Cacao Nibs (see above)

Combine zucchini puree (simply puree zucchini in your food processor), agave and coconut butter in food processor. Blend well. Mix together oat flour, cacao, and cinnamon. Stir in wet mixture. Combine well. Stir in oats, optional walnuts and optional cacao nibs. Mix well. Press into cookie shapes and dehydrate for 30 minutes at 140, reduce heat and dehydrate for 4-5 more hours at 115. Don’t worry about the higher heat to start, the food temp doesn’t go above 115 and it reduces your dehydration time.

Benefits of Chocolate – is it a Superfood?

Chocolate – The World’s Most Powerful Antioxidant???

This metabolic rock star is what gives chocolate its melt-in-your mouth, satisfying quality.  Infused with relaxing minerals like magnesium and potassium, cacao butter ALSO has the antioxidants epicatechin and resveratrol that cools the inflammation that makes you fat, especially around your belly.

And it’s loaded with super-healthy fats like oleic acid (same as in olive oil), that keep your appetite DOWN and your energy UP and saturated fats like palmitic acid that strengthen your brain and heart.

SHOCKER: the cacao bean contains THE highest antioxidant power of any food in the world – 10 x more than blueberries and 20 x more than spinach.

Keep in mind though that if you eat the cacao bean in its raw state – you may think this is not chocolate!!! It is very bitter, high in fiber, and no sugar has been added.  So the candy chocolate you buy in a store is NOT a super food and is very unhealthy because it full of sugar and highly processed. The higher the cacao percentage the higher the antioxidant capacity. So maybe start eating 60% chocolate instead of milk chocolate and later work your way up to 85% chocolate. Ideally you can make you own raw chocolate which would be healthiest and you can add healthier sweetener such as raw honey or coconut sugar which has a very low Glygemic index or erythritol which has no calories.

Some research suggests that dark chocolate may lower blood pressure, improve cognitive function in elderly people with mental impairment, increase the beneficial HDL, protects LDL from oxidation, and lowers cardiovascular death. Very Powerful benefits.

I add raw cacao powder to my smoothies and make a delicious almond chocolate pea protein smoothie. Good for the muscles, brain, heart, and soul. =)