Chocolate is all about the heart chakra for me. The idea of chocolate encompasses sharing, friendship and love. Nurturing of the self and of your loved ones. The symbology of chocolate as a gift to give those you care most about, those who you have a special “heart” connection with, goes back a long, long time. In this day in age there are many corrupt practices taking place around us, influencing many aspects of our lives, and even influencing the foods that we consume. I am so pleased with this new cacao powder, not just because it’s chocolate, totally delicious and a pure and utter super food for all super beings, but because it is a truly Conscious food. Conscious right down to the method of cultivation and farming, to harvesting, to the treatment of those that grow and sell this food. Basically, something i can embrace wholly, which is very important to me!

Firstly i’d like to say a few words about why i believe raw organic cacao is an important food in todays world. As most of us can attest to, life dishes out a constant flow of challenges on physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels. This is why super foods with super abilities can be so amazing. Cacao can help mineralize us, protect us from free radical damage, and encourage a joyful state of mind. Cacao is well endowed with amino acid tryptophan which helps us feel relaxed and deal more positively with stress. It also contains neurotransmitters dopamine, anandamide and phenylethylamine (or pea) which work in the brain to create feelings of pleasure and well being. The stresses we deal with in today's world can also tax us of our minerals. Cacao is very rich in minerals like zinc, magnesium, sulphur, iron, and chromium (among others), which many people are lacking in their diets. The antioxidant activity in cacao is exceptional, RAW cacao even more so! It surpasses berries, green leafy vegetables, and green tea. Also many people don’t realize that cacao contains very high levels of vitamin c to protect us, enhance our immune systems, and re-build healthy collagen and tissues. The flavonoids in cacao protect our actual physical hearts and vascular system. So the heart benefits go beyond the emotions and feelings we experience.

The cacao beans used to make this powder grow wild in the lush jungles of Bali. When the harvest season arrives it is the actual local people and villagers that harvest the cacao and are payed fair wages for their labour. The beans undergo a natural fermentation underneath organic banana leaves, and are then washed thoroughly, sun dried and peeled by hand. These are old trees with roots that reach deep into mineral rich volcanic soil! Amazing. The process by which the beans are ground down, separating the oil from the protein and fiber never reaches above 120° F, and usually remains around 113° F.

The flavor of this cacao powder is rich, complex and only mildly bitter. It tastes very fresh, like it was just ground. I can taste the purity, this is REAL raw chocolate powder. The texture is light and fluffy, and it blends exceptionally well in recipes. The yumminess of this powder alone inspires me to start making my own chocolate, which i’ve never actually done before, but i am feeling a calling. I can’t wait to try the Bali cacao butter made from the same beans! Don’t be limited to use this amazing food in desserts only, try adding a dash to savory soup recipes like a chili or mexican inspired vegetable soup with spicy peppers and cumin. I find that when combined with spices and veggies in a tomato-based soup it not only adds an amazing complexity of flavor but also helps thicken the texture as well.

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By: Erika Henson

The process of preserving food with sulphur dioxide is intended to provide a longer shelf life, kill harmful bacteria that might grow on vegetation and foods, and help food products maintain a certain visual appearance; however, it's also considered one of the top six air pollutants. Sulphur dioxide occurs naturally in volcanic gases, in some dissolved waters of warm springs, and is a result of coal, fuel, and gas combustion. It is not confined to a specific area as it travels long distances in a short amount of time. It is produced industrially as a bleach alternative, a reducing agent, and for sulfites (preservation). As it has no role in humans or mammalian biology, when introduced it inhibits specific nerve signals, restricts lung performance, and is a direct allergen - over 65% of asthmatic children sensitive to SO2 (World Health Organization, 1999), and negatively affects over 70% of children with behavioral problems.
 
Sulphur dioxide is used as a common sulphite that is added to dried fruit, fruit juices, fruit, breakfast cereals, and many processed snacks including cookies, soft drinks, meat, cereal bars, muesli bars, yogurt, ice cream, candy, frozen french fries, bread, margarine, and gluten-free flours. It is also used in the process of making wine, even wines that say "no sulphites," and is found in ingredients like vinegar, corn syrup, corn starch, maltodextrin, potato starch and flakes, beet sugar, bottled lemon juice flavor and dressings, and glucose syrup. Checking food labels for sulphites, sulphur dioxide, and numbers in the range E220-228 is helpful; however, companies are only required to list sulphites as an ingredient when the amount is above 10 mg/liter or 10 ppm. This can be confusing when the specific ingredients used contain sulphites even though little to no sulphites are added independently.

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Spirulina is one of the most fascinating and useful foods on the planet. It is just intuitive to me that the food at the base of a food chain would have some incredible potency. On the land it is grass, and incredibly nutrition-packed plant with the ability to absorb every known mineral that is present in the ground which it grows. In the world of water it is algae, a one celled plant which harvests sunlight and is an absolute powerhouse of energy and life force. It is also common sense that a food or medicine which has been used for centuries by ancient cultures must have some serious benefits.

Spirulina is a blue-green algae that basically contains all of the necessary elements and nutrients to support life. It has all 8 essential amino acids making it a wonderful way of getting a highly absorbable form of complete protein. It is actually 65% protein which s higher than soy, legumes, even animal protein. What a great way to increase your raw protein without also increasing your fats through nuts and seeds.

Spirulina nourishes the body with high levels of vitamins E, A and K, as well as a full panel of B-vitamins. The mineral content is also exceptionally high, and unlike synthetic mineral supplements they are very bioavailable in spirulina. The nutrients are accompanied by other aturally occurring enzymes and co-factors which are easy for the body to recognize, absorb, and utilize.

This blue green algae is also full of antioxidants which include xanthophyll phytopigments. The deeply pigmented spirulina is rich in a  ompound called phycocyanin. This blue pigmented polypeptide actually helps build our blood by effecting our stem cells found in bone marrow. This is especially useful for people undergoing radiation therapy where the marrow becomes damaged. It is also extremely rich in chlorophyll, is alkalinizing, has anti-viral benefits, boosts the immune system, and helps feed our beneficial bacteria living in the intestinal tract.

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I must start by saying that i don’t think i could imagine my life without this blender! I love it that much. It was my first big raw lifestyle appliance investment that I purchased about 6 years ago and i still use it numerous times throughout the day.

I’ve been around a lot of blenders in my time through my various experience in raw kitchens. I will say that nothing compares to the KTEC’s ability to create textures that are out of this world smooth and decadent. Of course this blender does smoothies, soups and sauces amazingly well, but i’ve always been most impressed with the pie fillings that i’ve made. One of my favorite raw pies is lemon cheezecake with a pureed berry topping, and when i made this for my family they couldn’t believe that it was both raw and completely dairy free. They were also amazed that it contained such simple and healthy ingredients. I owe it completely to this blender. Any recipe blended with a high oil content food like a nut, seed, coconut oil/meat, cacao butter, or avocado will come out completely silky smooth.Ii also love making cacao/herbal elixirs with this blender, using warm herbal teas, nut mylks, superfoods, herbal powders, green powders, spices, etc., because if you blend for long enough you will get a frothy texture almost like a latte. Perfect for a cozy winter morning or afternoon!

The reason this blender works so well is partly the sheer power behind the motor (13 AMP, 3 peak horsepower) but also the way the blade spins pulling contents from the outside inward and down, kind of like a whirlpool motion. Many blenders push contents to the sides of the container, making a plunger necessary, or causing you to have to scrape the sides with a spatula and re-blend. No need for that with the Blendtec/KTEC Champ! It has what the company calls “Smart-Touch Tec-nology™” cycles that allow you to push one button and get the perfect texture for a specific recipe. I’ve found that the custom speed button works best for me. Sometimes i’ll pulse it a few time to get things mixed up and then press and hold until it reaches the speed i desire, and then just let it blend away. Most things i blend on the highest speed, although i’ve also made more textured foods like pesto or nut pate in this blender using the pulse button only.

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I am loving the trend these days for raw chocolate bars to contain medicinal herbs. This is one of my favorite companies for raw chocolate (Oh, I have others too!) I love these bars because they are actually more like a truffle than a chocolate bar. They are thicker, contain a soft slightly chewy filling surrounded by a substantial amount of decadent, melt in your mouth dark raw vegan organic chocolate. The company is Earth Source Organics which is based in sunny San Diego. Each ingredient is of the highest quality, and is chosen for being an amazing superfood, not just for flavor or texture purposes. All ingredients are raw, organic and vegan. There are 4 different flavors of chocolate bars which all contain cacao butter, cacao powder, vanilla bean and Himalayan pink crystal salt. The filling ingredients vary a bit from bar to bar.

 maca Bar

My number 1 favorite flavor is the maca Bar. I am a huge maca fan, I love the flavor of this powerful root all on it’s own. I have been using it consistently as a healing and balancing food in my diet for years now. For well rounded hormonal support and adrenal support it is my number 1 choice. Combined with raw chocolate there is a definite alchemy both in health benefits, the way it makes you feel, and surely in flavor. The inside of this bar is a perfectly sweet combination of maca root, mesquite pod meal, bahri dates, golden Hunza raisons, coconut oil and agave nectar. Even while being dark chocolate it has no bitterness. It has the perfect level of sweetness, and I can even taste the Himalayan pink crystal salt which lends really well to the flavor and ties everything together. It may be this ingredient that adds a subtle salt crystal crunch to each bite. I could eat this one everyday and I don’t think I’d ever get tired of it.

Acai Bar

The acai berry is the highest known berry in antioxidants, containing twice  the levels of blueberries. The filling of this chocolate bar is a chewy blend of freeze dried acai, agave nectar, yacon syrup and coconut oil. 90% of acai fruit is actually seeds, so the filling of this bar has a little bit of a gritty texture. The berries are slightly tart, so this Righteously Raw flavor wouldn’t be for someone wanting a purely sweet chocolate experience. However, it is by far the highest of the 4 flavors in vitamin c and antioxidant levels, and offers a unique combination of flavors that will inspire and delight a more adventurous raw chocolate lover.

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I love all things coconut. Young thai coconuts, mature brown coconuts, coconut oil, and in both savory foods and sweets. I truly think it is an amazing and healing food!  Coconut is definitely a beauty food as well, one that can be used inside of the body and outside of the body as nourishment for the skin and hair. Coconut oil is by far one of the healthiest oils a person can consume with it’s high levels of anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial lauric, capric and caprylic acids.

Coconut oil consists of mainly medium chain triglyceride fatty acids, the majority being lauric acid, which assimilate very well and are easy for the body to burn as energy. In fact it is this fatty acid that is found in mothers milk, and has been shown to boost the metabolism and support the immune system. This fatty acid profile is rare in the plant world, as most plant oils contain the more delicate and heat sensitive polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.

Also the medium chain saturated fatty acids in coconut make it the most stable oil to heat during cooking because it stays relatively stable and doesn’t turn easily into an oxidative free radical mess. Artisana made it easier than ever to get a whole food form of coconut in your daily diet. This butter is amazing because it can be used just like a nut butter, as a spread, blended into smoothies, soups, or desserts or just eaten plain. Like coconut oil it changes texture depending on the temperature, so in cold environments it will be harder and you’ll have to use a bit more force to get it out of the jar.

I like to break pieces off and eat as a snack, or crumbled as a topping to fruit smoothies and puddings. I even like it on my green smoothies along with hemp seeds and walnut pieces. Alone it has a mildly sweet, totally rich coconutty flavor. I haven’t tried it in any savory recipes, but I would imagine it would be amazing in a coconut thai soup with warming spices, ginger and lemongrass. It seems as though organic nut butters, especially almond, are getting more and more expensive these days, which to be honest was one of the main reasons i initially tried Artisana’s coconut butter. It is actually less expensive.

I am so thankful to have a whole food form of unrefined, cold processed coconut in my diet that contains all of the coconut not just the oil. And I don’t have to crack into a coconut myself! 

Review by our very own Anna Hays.

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I have always been a huge MSM fan, having taken it off and on internally for nearly 7 years. I also love skin care, so i was thrilled to try this MSM lotion. Now that it’s winter i couldn’t ask for a better time to have it on hand to help keep my skin moisturized in the harsh cold. The first thing i love about this lotion is the light weight texture and how it leaves the skin feeling quenched and dewy but not greasy.

I cant stand the feeling of heaviness and greasiness that many moisturizers leave, which is why i’ve stayed away from them in the past. I also love the fact that its non-scented, which is perfect for sensitive folks, or those wanting the therapeutic effects of an MSM creme without having to wear a particular scent along with it.  I notice that when i use this lotion regularly, i have better circulation in my skin, a rosiness, almost as if the blood was circulating better up to the surface of my skin for a healthy glow.

I love the fact that there is absolutely nothing artificial or from chemical origin in this product. The creamy consistency is from coconut fatty acids and sweet almond oil. There is aloe vera and calendula flower extract which perfectly compliments the MSM’s ability to heal and soothe the skin. It is enriched with vitamins A, D3, and E. Lastly the only preservatives you’ll find in this lotion are grapefruit seed extract and tea tree oil, both of which have healthy skin benefits of their own. This lotion perfectly compliments any internal MSM supplementation, especially if you are working on clearing skin of blemishes, healing any scarring, or working on any inflammatory skin conditions because you will be flooding the skin with MSM on an internal and external level.

MSM originates in the ocean, and through rainfall it ends up in our fruits and vegetables that grow from the ground. Unfortunately most of us are deficient in this mineral because MSM is damaged through heat, processing, storage and in the preparation of our foods. It is highly bio-available sulphur, which is a mineral that strengthens and adds density, thickness and resiliency to our hair, nails and  skin. Approximately 1/2 of the bodies total MSM levels reside in our muscles, skin and bones. MSM is amazing for the healing of damaged skin and in the smoothing/prevention of wrinkles. This makes sense because when there is a MSM/sulphur deficiency in the body, new cells replacing old/dying cells will be hardened and inflexible, whereas if there is an abundance of MSM/sulphur the new cells will be resilient and flexible, the ultimate in anti-wrinkling and anti-scarring! MSM also helps clear the blood of free radicals and foreign proteins making it amazing for those suffering from allergies both internally and externally. Similar to Essential Fatty Acids, MSM makes the cell wall more permeable, enabling wastes to make a hasty exit and nutrients to flow into the cell easily.

The list of benefits goes on an on with MSM, basically everyone can benefit from taking MSM and using it externally on the skin!  Our cells are constantly replacing themselves, the process never stops until the day we die, so having the proper building blocks there including MSM is vital if you want to look and feel amazing. I think it’s true that everyone on a health-oriented path strives to look as good on the outside as they feel on the inside. We all want our outer features, skin included, to look vibrant and glow with health and radiance! MSM is one of those things that is so vital in the repairative powers of our connective tissues and organs, the largest being our skin. So get glowing with this amazing MSM lotion !

Review by Anna Hays

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Everyone needs to visit the Leafy Greens Cafe in the St. Petersburg, Florida area. It's a great place to take your cooked food friends as well as the seasoned raw foodist. I went with a friend of mine who hasn't tried any kind of gourmet raw foods and she loved every dish!

The ambiance was very soothing and the music that was playing was relaxing. The cafe has a small raw food pantry section where you can purchase products like nut butters, cacao powder, and some handy kitchen tools. The inside seating of the cafe is small but cozy. The tables were covered with fine white table clothes and fresh flowers.
 

I wanted to order everything on the menu because it all looked so good but we settled on a some of the most popular items. We started off with a chocolate smoothie drink and a mango sunburst iced tea. The chocolate drink reminded me of a pudding and the iced tea had a hint of mango taste and was very refreshing.

We moved onto the Asian Salad which consisted of a variety of crispy and juicy veggies including cabbage, bok choy, celery, snow peas and topped off with mung bean sprouts. It was served with a spicy ginger-tahini dressing that was incredibly tasty. The only thing that would make the salad have a little more Asian flair is something like spicy crushed cashews or wild jungle peanuts. It had black sesame seeds on it though which I guess is good enough. All in all the salad had a perfect balance of textures and flavors and the half portion was easily enough for 2-3 people.