Superfood Friday: Raw Cacao
- benutritious
- Nov 14, 2014
- 2 min read
Raw Cacao
Cacao is raw chocolate. Raw cacao beans contain possibly the world's most concentrated source of antioxidants found in any food. For all those chocolate lovers, a word of warning before we start, most cocoa powder and commercial chocolate is processed via the "Dutch method" meaning it is subjected to scorching temperatures of up to 150°C with the additional aid of solvents, thus destroying most of the nutrients and antioxidants. Be sure to attain certified organic raw cacao as the temperature will have never been allowed to exceed 40°C thus allowing all the heat-sensitive vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to remain intact.
It is high in many vitamins and minerals, including:
They are also extremely high in magnesium which has been found to be the most common deficient major mineral even following a balanced diet.
For those concerned with not getting enough iron it should be pleasing to know that one small 28 gram serving of raw cacao beans gives 314% of the recommended daily allowance of iron.
And if that is not enough raw cacao beans have an antioxidant (ORAC) score of 95,500. To put that into perspective, that is 14 times more flavonoids (antioxidants) than red wine and 21 times more than green tea.
Cacao has been shown to increase levels of serotonin in the brain (the happy hormone) in part to a substance that cacao contains; phenylethylamine, which helps to elevate mood. It actually contains 4 different neurotransmitters that acts as anti-depressants
Cacao also contains cancer fighting properties due to its high levels of antioxidants
Raw cacao can be purchased in powder, nib, or raw bean form and it is best to source it organically. It can be added to smoothies, desserts or consume the nibs right out of the bag!
Raw Avocado Cacao Mousse
(makes 6 servings)
3/4 cup almond milk (you can make your own to make this recipe fully raw)
3 avocados, stone removed and flesh scooped out of the skin
just over a cup of cacao nibs or powder
1/4 cup agave nectar, or maple syrup (or 2 tsp powdered stevia for sugar-free option)
1.Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender until silky smooth.
2.Pour into glasses and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (overnight delivers the best results.)
Be Nutritious and enjoy!
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