Raw Chocolate

Chocolate...Mmmmm.

I admit, I love chocolate.

But it's not exactly on a sugar-free diet. I started being sugar free in early April, and did really well for about a month and then BOOM. One night...all I wanted was chocolate.

All I could think about was chocolate.

So on Mother's day I caved and had a tiny slice of that absolutely decedant layered chocolate cake from Costco that they were serving us in Relief Society. I have to say, as bad as it was for me, it was SOOOOOOOO worth it.

But afterwards, it was right back to being sugar free.

I have recently discovered a healthy way that I can have chocolate, and wanted to share it with everyone. Because honestly, if I like it then it must be good. :)

I stole that photo from my friend Lori-ann's blog because her batch turned out way better than mine - visually speaking. But mine still tasted nummers.

So the secret to this little piece of heaven, is that it is made with 100% RAW cocoa. Well, I actually used cacao (it is basically the same thing). Using cocoa that is raw and uncooked retains all of the antioxidants, the nutrients and benefits that cocoa beans naturally have before going through processing treatments.

To make this, all you need is the following:

I know...I was like what is coconut oil? What is agave nector?

Agave nector (a syrup-y sweetener) comes from a cactus like plant from Mexico and it very low glycemic, so it takes your body much longer to absorb it. And it's completely natural. My friend, who is hypoglycemic (very sugar sensitive) eats it with no side effects.

Coconut oil is just that. The fat from coconuts, which themselves have many benefits for optimal health.

So all you do, is take a few spoonfuls of coconut oil and melt it over very low heat (to retain its nutritious quality). Add cocoa (to your desire), and then agave nector. Stir. Find a dish to pour into and freeze. It doesn't really stay hardened at room temperature, but frozen it is like a hard chocolate bar.

It seriously tastes like dark European chocolate. And it's guilt-free.

The ingredients aren't cheap, but to me it has been worth it to have a little bit of chocolate in my life again. I bought everything from Whole Foods. The Coconut oil was $8.99 for the jar, the raw cacao was $9.99, and the agave nector was $5.99.

Just don't tell your husband how much you spent on your luxury chocolate. But him having a happy wife satisfied by a little bit of heaven should be worth it in some way :)

Oh, and one more thing: raw natural cocoa is more satisfying and potent, so a little goes a long way.