Is Easter Really an Excuse to Eat Chocolate?

By Julie Mitsios from Conscious Choice

It’s that time of year where everyone goes insane about chocolate – why chocolate for Easter I ask?

Well Easter is the symbol for re-birth. The eggs and the rabbits represent this. In some countries, like Greece for example, it is a tradition that the eggs are dyed red to represent the blood of Christ but here they use real eggs – so how did chocolate eggs come about.

I am guessing this is just a commercial invention, one which we are now hooked on.

So my question to you is how will you make your Easter healthier?

How about a raw chocolate alternative. Making your own raw chocolate is easier than you might think. It comes down to three basic ingredients: raw cacao butter, raw cacao powder and a sweetener. My preferred sweetner for this is Xylitol and no its not a nasty chemical sweetner, in fact Xylitol comes from a birch tree. It looks exactly like sugar but that is where the similarities end. Whilst Xylitol is just as sweet as sugar it has about 40% fewer calories and 75% fewer carbs. Most importantly it has a GI of just 7 therefore won’t raise your blood sugar levels like regular sugar so is the perfect sweetner for anyone concerned about there blood sugar including diabetics.

So here is the secret recipe to make your own liquid chocolate which will be perfect for using for chocolate eggs, moulds, making chocolate bark or even for dipping:

Ingredients:

½ Cup Cacao butter
¼ Cup Coconut oil
1/3 cup Xylitol, powdered or coconut sugar
¾ Cup Cacao powder
Pinch Celtic salt

Variations: Add a different superfood or different spices such as cinnamon, star anise, vanilla or use any of the Culinary extracts mint, raspberry, vanilla, banana etc.. all cold pressed extracts from Medicine flower available from: www.conscious-choice.com

Method:

1. Place the coconut oil, cacao butter and cacao powder in a blender and blend till smooth
2. Add your variations and either set in chocolate moulds, chocolate cups, or use for dipping
3. Place in the freezer to set for approx 20 min to set
4.  These are best stored in the fridge and will last approx 2 weeks.

Leisa