Yummy Superfoods: Spotlight on Cacao Nibs!

If you haven’t discovered the Live Superfoods website yet, today is *your* day! What is a “Superfood”? It’s a nutrient-dense food that ramps up your health at the cell level like you can’t believe.

Superfoods range from powders to actual foods. Be sure to check out the big variety of superfood powders at Live Superfoods–our favorite so far is Mesquite with its amazing claims for diabetics. Plus, it happens to be delicious sprinkled on yogurt, or added to smoothies and hot drinks!  Camu Camu powder is said to be highly effective against depression, containing between 30 and 60 times as much vitamin C as an orange!

Goji berries, bee pollen and wheat grasses are some other superfoods our family has tried and fallen in love with. And this is just the tip of the superfood iceberg. Today, I want to tell you about raw cacao nibs!

Raw Cacao Nibs

Chocolate is made from cacao beans…need I say more? But unlike processed chocolate, raw cacao nibs (broken up cacao beans) are rich in nutrients, and full of health benefits. You won’t believe all the ways they are good for you, so go to the link below and read up!

A snippet from the Live Superfoods website on Raw Cacao Nibs:

Cacao has more antioxidant flavonoids than any food tested so far, including blueberries, red wine, and black and green teas. In fact, it has up to four times the quantity of antioxidants found in green tea!

Cacao is LOADED with magnesium and just might be the number one source of magnesium of any food. Could this be why women crave chocolate before or during their menstrual period? Magnesium balances brain chemistry, builds strong bones, and is associated with creating more happiness. Magnesium is the most deficient major mineral on the Standard American Diet (SAD) – over 80% of Americans are chronically deficient in magnesium.

But what do you do with Raw Cacao Nibs?

We love our nibs mixed in with a little raw honey and coconut butter, and goji berries if we have them. You won’t find a healthier, more palate pleasing, melt in your mouth treat to replace that candy bar fix.  Sometimes we mix it up and freeze it in candy molds, and then just pop them out of the molds, bag them up and store them in the freezer.

(I think I’m going to go pull one out for a snack this minute!)

Here’s another fab recipe. I first tried Agave at the homeschool convention this spring. WOW. Delicious stuff, with the same consistency as honey, but more expensive!

Raw Almond Butter Cups from Everyday Raw by Matthew Kenney

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond butter
• 1.5 cups agave (divided)
• 2 cups coconut oil (divided)
• 1/2 tablespoon sea salt
• 1 cup cacao nibs
• parchment paper
• a baking sheet with sides

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, mix the almond butter, 1/2 cup of agave, 1/2 cup of coconut oil and sea salt. Set aside until ready to use (not in refrigerator).
2. In a blender, blend cacao nibs, 1 cup agave, 1.5 cups coconut oil until smooth.
3. Spread 1/2 of the cacao mixture from Step 2 onto a parchment lined baking sheet with “walls” to create a thin layer. Place in freezer for 15 minutes or until it firms up.
4. Remove from freezer and spread almond butter mixture from Step 1 over the hardened cacao mixture.
5. Spread remaining cacao mixture over the top of the spread almond mixture and put the pan back into the freezer until its firm.
6. Remove from freezer and turn out the mixture from the pan onto the cutting board. Remove parchment paper and cut up the firmed up mixture into small piece. Voila! Almond butter cups!
7. Be sure to store these in the fridge or freezer.

Yield: about 1.5 quarts.

For my previous post on nut butters, including Almond Butter, go here!

Last but not least…I’m able to order our raw cacao nibs from Frontier through our local co-op. My coffee grinder handily spins some of them into a powder so my oldest daughter (braces) can enjoy them, too.  We’re totally devoted fans!