Raw Cacao versus Processed Cocoa
You say “COCOA”, I say “CACAO”. Same thing? Not exactly.
Cacao is chocolate in it’s purest form. Cacao beans are found in fleshy, oval shaped pods on cacao trees. Once harvested, the beans are fermented and dried. Cacao is raw, unprocessed and contains no sugar, additives, or preservatives. It has not been exposed to heat and is loaded with antioxidants and other nutrients like iron and magnesium.
Cocoa is the processed version of cacao. Cocoa powder has been roasted at high temperatures and usually contains sugar and preservatives. The roasting process, which reduces the natural bitterness, is thought to destroy the intense nutritional benefits in raw cacao.
While raw cacao and processed cocoa offer some of the same benefits, cacao is more nutritionally dense since it’s less processed. Same goes for most of the other fruits & veggies in your diet - the closer they are to their purest form, the more nutrients they contain!
What can raw cacao do for you:
- Boosts mood (thanks to anandamide)
- Improves brain function (thanks to magnesium)
- Promotes a healthy heart, reducing risk of cancer (thanks to antioxidants)
- Balances blood sugar levels (thanks to chromium)
- Improves metabolism (thanks to B vitamins)
Not Your Sugar Mamas chocolate is FULL of the good stuff: organic raw cacao, organic raw cacao butter, all non-GMO, and gluten and dairy free. So... what are you waiting for!?
Coffee addiction?
Is anybody else addicted to coffee right now? I'm not saying that coffee is bad by any means, for some people it is medicinal. For me, I tend to go overboard and ignore the signs from my body to stop drinking it. I have pretty big mood swings, strong cravings for sugar and don't seem to cope with stress as well. So I've decided to take a break from drinking it and see what happens. In case any of you are in the same boat, I wanted to share my coffee alternative with you, my Energizing Morning Smoothie. I put some of the most energizing foods around in this smoothie and it gives me a nice clean, long lasting energy buzz. Here's the recipe and let me know what you think and how you feel!
Energizing Morning Smoothie:
1 cup milk of your choice ( I like to make my own almond milk but not required)
1/2 frozen banana
1 T hemp seeds (GREAT source of Omega 3's, brain function)
1 T chia seeds (optional)
1 T Be Cozy or plain Raw Cacao
1 T Maca (GREAT for energy and hormone balancing)
1 T cacao nibs (ENERGY + Antioxidants)
1/2 t cinnamon (Balance blood sugar, fight depression)
Handful of ice for thickness
Blend and drink up!
Shelf stable treats now available!
We’ve got shelf stable treats for you guys! Pictured here are our seashell chocolates with different types of delicious nuts on the inside, we have “turtles” (a personal favorite) and ginger chia chocolate cups. We have different types of bark and of course our always delicious baked goods. We are very excited to offer you guys shelf stable treats so that you don’t have to worry about them melting on these hot summer days. When you come to our stores you have the option now of getting an assorted box of chocolates, a perfect gift! Come check them out and let us know what you think. We want to incorporate as many local ingredients as we can into our new truffles so if you have any suggestions be sure to let us know. See you soon!
New chocolate bar in the works!
There has been a lot of creative action in the kitchen this
week. So many new developments. Julianna is working on some new delicious raw
treats for the store, check out her bark pictured on the left. It is SO
amazing. I have been playing with new chocolate bar flavors as well, I have a
ginger pomegranate bar sweetened with maple syrup that a lot of people have
said is their favorite bar so far! Stay tuned for that one. Yesterday I played
around with a coconut almond flavor sweetened with coconut nectar. I am playing
with new sweeteners in an attempt to move away from agave because of all the
controversy. Although we trust our source and of course only use raw agave, we
want to provide more options for you all in case you’ve made the choice to shy
away from agave. I’m loving the maple syrup and coconut nectar, they are super
sweet and delicious. Today I’m going to play with a SPICY flavor so I’m really
excited to see how that turns out. But if you guys have any suggestions on what
you’d like to see in a new flavor please let us know and share below!! And of
course, come by the factory to taste test :)
Cacao as a mineral supplement?
Ahoy fellow humans! In pondering over today’s newsletter
topic, I thought to myself, “Have I ever dedicated an entire blog to just
cacao??” No I have not. And if I have please send me the link and remind me. Why
not learn even more about the food and inspiration behind starting Not Your
Sugar Mamas? In my eyes, cacao is the king of all superfoods. It is such a
complex and beautiful food. I remember the first time I ate raw cacao, my whole
world changed. I felt jazzed in a way that only raw cacao can make you feel. I
couldn’t believe that I had been consuming chocolate that was processed my
whole life. To process cacao is just plain offensive if you ask me. Taking away
the beauty and the nutritious offerings that it has to offer is just blasphemy!
My favorite cacao advocate is a man named David Wolfe. His enthusiasm and
knowledge of cacao is contagious, so I thought I would share with you a video
from David talking about cacao. The man really knows how to do the food justice
in a way that no one else can. So please enjoy the following video and share
your thoughts/experiences of eating raw cacao below! Have the best week ever.
Click here to watch the video and learn more about cacao and it's amazing-ness!
Bennett
Do you feel the need to cleanse?
This time of year I always get the urge to cleanse. I feel
like the idea of cleansing can either be really exciting for people or it can
cause anxiety and overwhelm. I encourage you to not be overwhelmed by the idea.
Simply put a cleanse is just an intentional simplification of your diet. It
gives your body a chance to rejuvenate when we simplify or lighten the load of
what we are consuming. When we give our digestion a break our body has more
energy to focus on deeper processes of cell rejuvenation, invigorating us on a
deeper level. Some people like to do juice fasts, some people like to eat raw
fruits and veggies for a week or a cleanse can be as simple as choosing one
food group, like meat for example, and excluding meat from your diet from a
week or however long you choose. Personally I am choosing to exclude meat,
dairy, wheat, sugars and alcohol from my diet for the next week. I will be
drinking green smoothies and juices and eating a whole foods meal like quinoa,
kale, veggies and beans once a day.
I always feel so much more energized and clear after I cleanse. I feel like it really helps get my creative juices flowing and helps me develop more focus. Some people choose to simply drink more water in a given day to help cleanse. I think any awareness you bring to making your diet a little healthier and a little cleaner is better than nothing.
Amazing transformations can happen when you cleanse. I’ll give you an extreme but attainable example. I saw a documentary this weekend at the Chilmark Film Festival called “May I Be Frank.” The film was about an Italian man from Brooklyn named Frank. He weighed close to 300 pounds, had hepatitis C, was on a slew of medications and was very depressed amongst many health concerns. As fate would have it he ended up at an organic, raw vegan café in San Francisco while on a trip. They have a “question of the day” at this particular restaurant and this day the waiter asked Frank “what is one thing you want to do before you die?” Frank answered that he wanted to fall in love one more time before he died but he was scared that he never would because no one would love him because he didn’t even love himself. After getting to know the staff they decided to make a film on Frank to document the change from his typical S.A.D. (standard American diet) to a clean, raw vegan diet. To make a really long story short, Frank lost about 150 pounds, cleared up his hepitatis C, mended all of his broken relationships with family by clearing up his anger, fell in love with his current, smoking hot wife, and tours the world educating people on health and reminding people that anything is possible. Sometimes all it takes is a little change in our routine to help us gain perspective on the areas of our lives that need more attention. I encourage you to bring a little more attention to eating a little cleaner and lighter this week in celebration of Spring, the perfect time for renewal. Have you ever cleansed before? If so, please share your experiences. If this is your first time please share your feelings on the topic below!
Bennett
