A Recipe for Raw Cacao Bliss // Not Your Sugar Babies Raw Cacao Fudge Balls
It’s time to say sayonara to that pre-packed brownie mix full of chemically produced ingredients and preservatives. BYE GIRL.
These fudgey, chocolatey balls are intensely addictive, insanely easy to make, and super satisfying for sugar-affectionados, minus ANY added sugar! They’re all raw, totally vegan, dairy free, gluten free, with no refined sugars.
We swear these will be your new go-to.
INGREDIENTS
> 1 cup dates, pits removed
> ½ cup nuts (We used a blend of raw almonds and cashews.)
> 2 tbsp of raw cacao
> ½ tsp of coconut oil
> ½ tsp of vanilla extract
> ⅛ tsp of sea salt
> ¼ c. unsweetened coconut flakes, chopped
> ½ of our Coconut Crunch Chocolate Bar, finely chopped
Yields 10 one inch balls.
PREPARATION
Blend all ingredients - except coconut flakes and NYSM chocolate - in food processor (we used a Magic Bullet) until a sticky dough forms. In a bowl, knead coconut flakes and chopped chocolate bar into the mixture. Roll into balls. And presto, finito!
Tip: We like to keep these babies in the freezer. The dates keeps them soft and the coolness makes these treats even more satisfying!
If you try this recipe, feel free to have a little fun and use your creativity! Try oats, sunflower seeds, bits of chopped dried mango or ginger. Take your favorite flavors and run with it. We’d love to hear what worked for you!
A Recipe for Dad // Frozen Mocha-Coco Latte Pop!
This magical frozen treat is the complete opposite of Breakfast in Bed. It's full of the things that make dads into superheros!
Chocolate! BANG! Espresso! KAPOW! Cashews! BOOM!
Easy to make and free of refined sugar, dairy, and gluten, this treat is sure to get Dad movin' & groovin', zippin' & zoomin' all weekend long!
INGREDIENTS
> 1.5 cups raw cashews
> 1/4 cup cacao butter (Do not substitute!)
> 4 shots of good espresso (We used Chillmark Coffee Co. Organic Espresso Roast. Alternatively, you could use 1/2 cup of coffee.)
> 1 tsp fine espresso grind
> 1 tsp vanilla
> 1/2 cup maple syrup
> 1/4 cup olive oil
> 1/2 cup cacao nibs (optional)
> 2 oz raw chocolate (We used Pure & Simple Chocolate Bar.)
PREPARATION
1. Soak the cashews in hot water for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, melt cacao butter on low.
3. Make the 4 shots of espresso.
4. Combine cashews, cacao butter, espresso shots, vanilla, maple syrup, and olive oil in blender. Blend on high speed.
5. Mix in the 1 tsp of espresso grinds. If using cacao nibs mix in as well.
5. Pour into molds and freeze for 4-6 hours.
6. When ready to serve, melt Pure & Simple chocolate on low. Drizzle with spoon over the frozen coffee pops.
7. Enjoy your superhero strength!
Loving Lately
A couple new discoveries and a couple classics, here’s what we’re lovin’ lately!
BEAUTY: Essential oil as fragrance. High end perfumes can cost up to $60 per oz! Instead try an essential oil like Rose, Lavender, or Eucalyptus. A few drops on your your neck and wrists will last all day. It’s all natural and much less expensive than traditional perfume. Plus, essential oil scents are very soothing and relaxing. Available at your local health food store!
BOOK: “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up”. Marie Kondo, organization expert, shares her strategies on de-cluttering your home and how it will change your life. The premise is simple: keep only the things that spark joy!
NOT-SO-GUILTY PLEASURE: NYSM Ginger Pomegranate Chocolate. Not to toot our own horn but… actually, let’s toot it. This stuff is kind of blowing our minds it's so yummy. So many magical ingredients that will have you brain and body buzzing. We can't get enough!
NEW START-UP: Art of Organics is BirchBox NOT on steroids. All-natural beauty products delivered to your door with a monthly subscription. DREAMY. And founded by a woman? Even dreamier!
Gearing Up for RENEWAL in 2015 with Homemade SHRUBS & SCRUBS!!!
To Make: Combine all ingredients except apple cider vinegar in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Once a simmer is reached, lower heat and continue to simmer for an additional 10 mins. Remove from heat and let cool. Pour mixture into a quart-sized glass jar and add 1 C of cider vinegar. Shake and let sit at room temperature for 2 days. To use, simply strain the mixture and enjoy!
Make Merry with Holiday MOCKTAILS!!!
Pomegranate For Lunch
'Tis the season for pomegranate and my body has definitely been craving it. I love this juicy, superfruit. I used to be deterred by the process of pulling out all the pomegranate seeds but now I thoroughly enjoy it. It gives me a chance to handle the food and contemplate what a perfect whole food it is and how lucky I am to be eating it. It's one of the highest antioxidant fruits, great for lowering blood pressure and is thought to help relieve depression. I'll take it! On a salad, in a smoothie, in a chocolate bar, whole....any way I can get it! I made a delicious lunch today with pomegranate and can't help but share it, it was so beautiful and yummy! Here it is:
1 cup steamed broccoli
1 cup chickpeas, rinsed
2 tbs pomegranate seeds
2 tbs hemp seeds
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Sea salt
Place the broccoli in a pot and steam it for 5-7 minutes. Meanwhile, drain your canned (organic if possible) chickpeas and place about a cup of that into a bowl. When broccoli is done (you can easily pierce a knife through the stems) place in bowl with chickpeas. Sprinkle pomegranate and hemp seeds and drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar to your liking. Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt on top. Voila! This meal will leave you feeling nourished and satisfied I hope. If you want to get really crazy, sprinkle some cacao nibs on there too! Let me know how it turns out!
Big News! Packaging Improvements & new look!
We've had a lot of exciting things happening over her over the passed few months and are so excited to finally be sharing it with you!!
First, Ky is having a baby! Nicknamed the "Sugar Baby" she is 7.5 months pregnant and due in September!
Second, we've revamped our packaging and logo and much more! This change has come for many reasons. First, it is way more efficient on the production end, way more eco-friendly, and much easier to understand! A big thanks goes out to all the Grocery Buyers and Customers who have helped us with this improvement through surveys and direct feedback. So many have helped us get to this stage, and we are SO GRATEFUL! So here we go - giving birth to the NEW and IMPROVED NYSM packaging!
5 REFRIGERATED BARS + 3 SHELF STABLE BARS = 6 SHELF STABLE BARS ONLY: We understand it has been confusing with our line of refrigerated chocolate bars and then our shelf stable bars. Our most loyal customers even called us to tell us that our bars had accidently been put on the shelf, hehe. It was just too confusing for both buyers and store owners. So what we did, is we took our 3 most popular refrigerated flavors, and turned them into shelf stable bars (We took out the coconut butter, which made them need refrigeration). They have been taste tested and approved by our most dedicated fans, and ourselves (our biggest critics) and they are DELICIOUS. Can’t wait for you to try the “new” flavors. The three original shelf stable bars (Be Rich, Be Crunchy, Be Sappy) remain unchanged and Lavender Sea Salt, Rose & Maca, and Pure & Simple are based off of the refrigerated bars Be Local, Be Sexy, and Be Original.
BE RICH –> SALTED CARAMEL: With the new packaging, we clearly define what the flavor is. Some customers were confused by what the flavor profile was, and our most common question at in-store demos was, what’s the flavor? Be Rich is what we called it, but Salted Caramel is really what it is. So we made that change! All recipes from Sappy, Rich, and Crunchy have stayed the same! Rose & Maca, Lavender Sea Salt, and Pure & Simple are recreations of our refrigerated bars Be Sexy, Be Local, and Be Original. Our feedback so far has told us that this change makes it easier to read and choose the flavor profile they are looking for!
SQUARE –> RECTANGLE: We went from Square to Rectangle. The second most popular question we got was, “what is it?" The shape is a little deceiving. Plus, this bar is SO much easier to wrap and uses half the packaging as our old packaging.
OVERALL DESIGN: reflects what our bar is – A SUPERFOOD chocolate bar, handmade with so much love on Martha’s Vineyard. This isn’t your average run of the line “candy” bar. Its packed with the most nutrient dense, high quality ingredients on the planet. There are HEALTH BENEFITS in EVERY SINGLE INGREDIENT, and we preserve these in our low temperature production process. So we hope the new packaging helps convey the powers of this immune boosting, antioxidant rich, treat yourself GOOD bar. This information cannot be saved for the back, so we put it on the front!
IN-STORE CASES: Haven’t we all been waiting for these? We will actually have beautiful boxes that come with twelve bars neatly packed. We are getting it together, I know... EXCITING!!
Its a BOX! Or an in-store display case??
Its Both!!
WEIGHT: Has actually stayed the same. However, we found out that the bars we were selling at two.two ounces were in fact 3.0 ounces. So we’ve been giving away .08 ounces of chocolate per bar (and more in the BE RICH bar). So we’ve corrected this and will have all bars weigh the actual weight of two.two. If you think its smaller, it may seem that way, but its actually just the correct weight.
PRICE: Will stay the same until further notice! Our goal is to get our price down with these new processes, but for the time being, all prices remain the same, and they will probably go down, not up! Thanks to efficiency.
THANK YOU: To so many of our customers who have been patient with us through our growing pains, and have given us many of these suggestions throughout the years. You also helped us extremely by taking our survey and just being awesome. So thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!
FAQ:
Q: Will you still have the refrigerated bars?
A: We have a few left in stock - and in our stores. But we have officially discontinued the Refrigerated Bars!
Q: What about the other products?
A: We will sell our Smoothie Mixes and Energy Balls until we are out of stock - then they will be discontinued! One day we might bring them back but right now we are becoming really efficient with our chocolate bars! Don't worry though, we love you guys so much, that when they are officially done - we will release the recipes :)
Q: The cookies?
A: Will remain until further notice!