Raw Foods
Fearless Raw Organic Chocolate
The folks over at Fearless Chocolate sent us over a friendly care package filled with delicious chocolate treats from their latest batch. Fearless organic raw chocolate is just that, unroasted and minimally processed at temperatures below 118 degrees to preserve the antioxidants, minerals and nutrients naturally found in cacao.
It is also better than fair-trade, it’s direct trade. Collaborating directly with family farms in Bahia, Brazil to ensure complete ‘bean-to-bar’ manufacturing straight from the Mata-Atlantic rainforest. Rounding out the green package, it is organic, minimally processed, vegan, gluten-free with no refined sugars, and if that wasn’t enough, they are also Kosher.
Flavors include super-foods and exotic spices such as chia, matcha green tea, ginger and hibiscus. Donating 1% of profits to change-making organizations of your choosing (you can enter your choice on their website, but you do need a batch number from a purchased chocolate bar), they are helping to give back as well.
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What Foods to Buy Organic
I’m preparing to get married in September, and I’ve been working super hard to keep my diet healthy, while still saving money for the wedding. Even if you’re not getting married soon, you’re still probably on a budget with the way the economy is right now, and buying organic food can start to add up when your budget is tight. While it is always a better idea to eat organic food, I realize that sometimes it’s not always an option. After consulting the Environmental Working Group’s lists, and other environmental groups, I’ve compiled a list of fruits and veggies to go organic with, or to bypass if the budget won’t allow. A good rule of thumb is to consider the thickness of the skin. Melons of any type have thick skins and so pesticides have a harder time getting in. Peaches, berries, and other soft skinned fruit however eat the pesticides up like water, and tend to be highest on the pesticide scale.
Don’t forget meats, dairy, and eggs too. While they are sometimes hard to find in organic depending on where you live, they are very important to buy organic, sometimes more important than fruits and vegetables. There are so many pesticides and toxins in what animals are eating, let alone the products themselves.
Foods aren’t the only things that you should be seeking the natural approach for either. If you suffer from allergies or other health issues, environmental toxins may be to blame. It’s a good idea to buy almost anything in your bedroom, organically. You spend (hopefully) 8 hours out of every 24, sleeping in your bedroom. That’s a third of your day, and that doesn’t include other activities that you might do in your bedroom, such as work, or reading! Switching to an organic mattress or pillows might make all the difference in the world.
Healthy Morning Blender Breakfast
Just wanted to share with you my favorite new breakfast treat from the blender. If you are a smoothie fan, give this one a blend, if not, you will be after tasting this!
Roasted Blueberry Banana Breakfast Smoothie
Yeah, sounds a bit funky, but it’s the best way I could explain it. The roasted flax seeds give it a great toasted flavor which mixes really well with the banana. Great way to get your fiber, Omega 3′s and some potassium with a shot of anti-oxidants.
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1 Organic Banana
1 cup Organic frozen blueberries
1/4 cup Roasted Flax Seeds (I usually get them from Trader Joes)
2 cups Organic Soymilk
1/2 cup Organic Vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup of ice
Blend away!
Do you have a favorite smoothie with a bit of a twist? Share it here in the comments section below.
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Fine and Raw Chocolates
Having been converted into a chocolate lover late in life, I was excited to explore new and exotic chocolate flavors. I can say I have eaten the fruit of a freshly picked cacao pod, chewed a raw bean, and grated freshly roasted coco beans into milk to make hot chocolate- so I like to really explore foods right down to their raw form.
Raw foodstuffs are starting to gain more traction as we are trying to get further from preservatives and limit our processed food intake. No one understands this better than Fine and Raw. Handmade in Brooklyn, these chocolates are crafted from raw ingredients using low heat techniques to keep the chocolate’s raw vitality and flavor.
All of the ingredients are organic, and are sourced from a small fairtrade cacao farmers co-op that practices sustainable farming. All packaging is recycled and printed with non-toxic and vegetable based inks. Raw Blue Agave is used to sweeten the bars instead of sugar due to its unique sweet notes and tones, plus it is low glycemic and sweeter than sugar.
They were nice enough to send me a sample pack which included a Lucuma & Vanilla bar, a 78% bar and a 2 pack of bon bons. The first thing I noticed was the packaging. Rough and earthy, the brown craft paper packaging and fact sheet with whimsical two color line art let me know what was in store for me- handcrafted and basic, but also unique and perfected, it all came into focus.
Artisana Organic Raw Cacao Bliss Coconut Butter – CocoNutella
Recommended to me from a friend as a more natural Nutella alternative, but with a coconut instead of hazelnuts, Artisana’s Organic Raw Cacao Bliss Coconut Butter was everything it was hyped up to be, a raw and organic chocolate coconut confection spread that will delight your tastebuds.
If you love chocolate and coconut, then you have to try it. It has the consistency of Nutella, but instead it’s made from raw organic ingredients. It works just well for everything you would use a delicious chocolaty spread for, my favorite is in a crepe with some sliced bananas.
The only ingredients are a blend of organic Coconut Butter, Coconut Oil, Agave, Raw Cacao Powder and Raw Cacao Butter and taste amazing. I bought mine from Amazon, but they are also available from several online stores listed on Premier Organics website.
