Hemp hearts and raw chocolate, is there any better combination on the planet? Not likely. Especially when you combine the nutritional profiles of these two superfoods, shazam! Super energy filled nutrient dense healthy fat fuel.
Where there’s chocolate, there are smiles, there is love and joy and sharing (sometimes) so why not make the healthiest chocolate possible?
Hemp hearts are a nutritional powerhouse, they’re the meat inside the seed and have basically no phytates which is the main enzyme inhibitor inherent in nuts and seeds. They have a balanced ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 and are high in protein. These easy to digest little seeds pack a mega nutritional punch. I love sprinkling them all over salads and making hemp butter with them but their addition to chocolate is reminiscent of those crunchy bars that snap crackle and pop when you eat them.
I know in certain states hemp is akin to cocaine and completely illegal. Funny enough as my super medical cannabis advocate man would say ” we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for hemp” which to a certain extent is true. The boats that European explorers sailed to America with the oakum (caulking) made from hemp. A lot of things used to be made from hemp, including the worlds longest standing bridge in France. New technologies are utilizing the strength of hemp to make sustainable eco-friendly building materials that could change the way we build from petroleum based to hemp based.
If you can’t get hemp hearts, you could certainly substitute them for bee pollen, chopped nuts or seeds or sesame seeds. If you can get hemp hearts, eat up, they are one of the most nutritious foods out there.
Raw chocolate has many advantages to conventional heat processed chocolate. As with all raw foods, the enzymes and vitamins are left intact. Raw cacao is high in antioxidants and its main alkaloid theobromine has been used medicinally to treat heart problems as a vasodilator. Why are antioxidants so incredibly important? Because they fight against cell scavenging evil free radicals on a mission to give us cancer and cause inflammation. In a world riddled with nasty pollutants, we’re exposed to free radicals constantly, in various forms. The more high antioxidant foods we consume, the more protection we’ll have against those evil bastards. Raw cacao is one of the richest food sources of antioxidants on the planet. Not too mention raw chocolate is basically the sexiest food ever. Cacao has phenylethylamine (PEA) the same hormone that is released in the brain when we fall in loooooove. Highest concentrations of PEA are present in raw chocolate, along with tryptophan the precursor to serotonin in the brain. Last but not lease, raw cacao is particularly rich in magnesium, a mineral that most of us are lacking (over 80% of people are deficient). Magnesium helps relax the muscles and nervous system, unlike its constrictive calcium counterpart. The two need to be in balance to be effective, yet most of us are consuming far too much elemental calcium and far too little magnesium.
So have I convinced you yet to try this addictively delicious raw black and white hemp chocolate? Here’s the recipe, and don’t worry it makes enough to share! Oh and you can be haphazard like me and make a bark style chocolate or you can use proper moulds but both yield the same amazing taste.
In a double boiler melt coconut butter and transfer to a bowl. Seperately melt cacao butter.
Mix coconut butter, honey,salt + 4 Tbs of cacao butter and cacao powder in a large bowl until thoroughly combined.
In your preferred tray or chocolate mould sprinkle half the hemp seeds and pour the chocolate mixture over them, transfer to the freezer to set for about 20 mins.
Remove from freezer and top with the rest of the cacao butter and hemp seeds, put back in the freezer to set again and enjoy!
This recipe is equivalent to about 4 chocolate bars
This salad is perfect for a spring detox, I don’t know about you but I always feel like cleansing come this time of year.
And not just the body, but everything- the cobwebs and dust bunnies nesting in all corners of the house. The more intensely tangled cobwebs of the mind are trickier to clean out.
This week I opted out of social media, yep, a whole week without crackbook, I wish that wasn’t such a grand accomplishment. It was necessary, the reset, the relenquishment of my attachment to distraction. Multitasking is the absolute best way to accomplish nothing. I always learn this the hard way, for some reason the drive to multitask is hard wired in my brain. Along with the rise of childhood ADD/ADHD there’s also been a significant increase in adult ADD. I blame the endless distractions, the little red notifications that release happy hormones in our brains, the glorification of busy, the emphasis on multitasking supposedly being the key to efficiency. But I also blame myself, because I know better, yet sometimes I still ignore that little voice.
Lesson of the week: just let it go and focus. Focus is the path to success, all those distractions, all the wayward worrisome thoughts, they’re useless.
A note on this recipe, it’s incredibly simple and fresh. The ginger gives a spicy warming feel to the fresh lingering taste of anise from the fennel. Fennel haters aka J actually greatly enjoyed this pairing. The burst of sweet citrus really goes a long way in bringing everything together. Don’t skip the red onion either, it really adds a necessary intensity.
Cleaning out the fridge to make space for fresh stuff is a dreaded task in my books. I avoid it at all costs, but then again, if there’s fried rice at the end of the rainbow its not so bad.
This post is a loose recipe as what you have in your fridge is likely different from what I have in mine.
But I wanted to outline some essential basics when it comes to making the perfect friend rice every time.
1. Heat
The common assumption with fried rice is that you want to use really high heat. This isn’t the case. If we do this, everything turns into a sticky sad mess. Cleaning burnt rice from our pans is something to avoid at all costs. Instead, starting with a generous amount of oil or fat and going slow and steady will win the race.
2. Flavour
Rice is a sponge so we want to make sure there’s plenty of tasty yummies for it to soak up before adding it to the mix. The basic flavour base that I like to use is a hearty amount of flavourful fat, some chopped bacon and sausage or coconut oil, an onion finely chopped, 3-4 garlic cloves finely chopped, an inch piece of ginger, finely chopped,carrots,celery and some sort of hot pepper. For this version I had a chipotle, very non traditional but still utterly delicious. You could try adding other things too, green onions, cumin seeds, masala, lemongrass…To deglaze the pan I like to use rice wine vinegar, infused vinegar or tamari but water works in a pinch. Just a few Tbs and then we can add the rice.
3. Rice to Vegetable ratio
Make a big pot of jasmine rice. For the best rice, cook it in chicken or vegetable stock with plenty of sea salt, this small step makes for big flavour. The amount of rice will be at your discretion, don’t put too much or it’ll be bland. Next is the addition of leafy fast cooking vegetables like swiss chard and kale, added last minute they cook a bit but still maintain their vibrance.
4. Egg
There are two types of people- those who mix the egg into the rice and those who like a fried egg on top of their rice. I happen to be of the latter category, but J is a mixer. For mixing the egg with the rice I crack however many (usually one per person) into a bowl and whip it with a bit of oil. On medium-low heat pour the egg over the rice, tilt the pan around and cover for a few minutes. This just give the egg a chance to get nice and golden crispy on the bottom of the pan without sticking. After a few minutes, mix it all around, sometimes I like to add some raw cheddar (I know, I’m such a traditionalist) cover again and let it get even more crispy.
5. Extras
The fun part of fried rice are the extra goodies, we love to eat it with some fermented homemade sauerkraut or kimchi. Toasting some seeds or nuts for a topping is a great textural addition. Sesame seeds, a drizzle of hoisin, sunshine sauce , miso, toasted seaweed, fresh mango…endless possibilities.
There you have it, the perfect clean out the fridge fried rice, different every single time but always delicious. Take your time, I know it’s supposed to be a fast meal but slowing down just a bit makes it extra good and filled with crispy crackly bits of egg, rice, flavour and good veggies!
Vegetables rock. They never get boring, truly there must be millions of variations to get your veg in. While I’m starting to feel the itch for fresh spring veg, I’m also still ever so enamoured with hardy winter varieties. These roasted root veggies have all the flavour of stuffing without the bread. Perfect with roast chicken or turkey, you could even mix them up and throw them in the roasting pan with your bird.
There’s a little sage bush right outside my house, its starting to spring back to life and I’m enjoying the bounty of fresh sage. Crispy friend sage is sinfully delicious, but it also adds a certain aromatic lingering presence to all things hearty and roasted.
I hope you all had a great weekend, mine was jam packed with birthday cake and love as my little baby Mav turned 1. Such a big day, hard to believe it was just one year ago he came into our lives and made life so much more joyous. Being a mom has been such a trip. Did you fall into the parent role naturally? Or does it take time for everyone? It took awhile before I even thought of myself as a mother, there’s so much to learn and I’m sure it’s endless. Now I’m starting embrace this fairly new role, I am now the one who makes birthday cakes (delicious paleo ones) and kisses sore knees. About that cake, I really wanted to share it with you. Admittedly I am a terrible party planner but I ace the catering side of things. Perhaps I’ll make the cake again just so that we can photograph it and share the recipe, it was sooooooo perfect!
All cake aside, we’re talking root veg. This Roasted Balsamic Sage Root Vegetable Stuffing is about to become your new best friend.
Wow today is one those brilliant sun ray filled, first purple crocus blossoms of spring kind of days. A worthy day for the most easy and tasty little tostadas on the porch for lunch.
Rolled out the yoga mat, not that I got much of anything done with my little man who likes to chew on the corners. Eek, that’s almost as bad as letting him eat subway bread, right?! Ha. Gross who puts plastic chemicals in bread. Don’t worry I promptly stopped his little fangs from devouring my mat. Then he went straight on to pulling dirt out of the planters, oh children.
These crispy little paleo tostadas can easily be made into a larger paleo tortilla, with a bit more crunch than my other paleo tortilla recipe. Whats nice about this recipe is that it doesn’t use eggs. I don’t know about you but we go through eggs like nobodies business. It was one thing when we had like 40 chickens producing ample amounts but now that we don’t I feel like I took those annoying chickens for granted. Come on though, they would come in our house and we would come home to a rooster on the stove…not cool. Though really it was the dogs fault, he learned how to open the door and then the chickens would come in and clean up (and dirty) the floor. Even still I’m trying to convince J to build a small chicken coop because I miss having fresh free run eggs. I ate a lot of hollandaise when we had those chickens. I’d make a batch with 20 egg yolks every week and good pastured ghee, shazam that was the life.
Anyhow, nowadays the eggs don’t flow in such abundance so I try to limit cakes and coconut flour recipes that call for 10 eggs. Do ya feel me! Paleo is very egg-celent and egg-centric.
Top the tostadas with whatever you have kickin around. We had some leftover grass fed beef so I fried it up with some chipotle, onions and garlic which just hit the spot. Mashed avocado with lemon and garlic is really nice too for a tasty snack. Ah just let your imagination run wild. That’s the beauty of toppable foods like pizza, tortillas, chips, pancakes, people love them because you can get creative. Darn, writing this is making me hungry again…
Combine tapioca,salt and almond flour in a large bowl.
Combine water and oil and mix into flour until fully incorporated.
Drop 1 Tbs of batter into hot frying pan and allow to cook on high for a few minutes each side.
Meanwhile in another frying pan melt some coconut oil or fat, add onions, garlic and chipotle and sauté until soft, add ground beef and cover until cooked.
Top each tostada with some beef, feta,avocado and green onion and enjoy
I lurve pancakes. Especially banana pancakes a la Jack Johnson that fill you right up to the brim with good energy. Yeah, that kind.
Maple syrups great and all but I like my pancakes with berries, and to kick it up a notch, berries and coconut cream with a hint of vanilla. So good.
Today is the day we cut the top off the rug, sew it to the bottom and pretend we made it longer. Yes, daylight savings. It’s still light out at “7” and it definitely brings on the feeling of spring. We went for a sweet hike through the woods along the winding river trail cutting in and out of the suns rays. It was gorgeous and peaceful and fuelled by pancakes, the best fuel.
This is actually the first time Baby Mav ever had pancakes. He loved them! And he singularly plucked each berry and popped it in his mouth with anticipation of the burst of deliciousness. J said that I should make Mav pancakes every day, though I think secretly he just wants pancakes every day. Who doesn’t?
Coconut flour is a delicate creature, it soaks up moisture like nobodies business. That’s why when you go to fry the pancakes make sure you use enough oil or butter, it may seem like too much but its not. At least a tablespoon per 3 pancakes. Which is part of what makes these pancakes so energizing. Also if you’re avoiding sugar, it’s not crucial to add the honey, I think they’re great without it. Hope you all had a fantastic weekend and thanks for reading!
Coconut Flour Banana Pancakes with Berries + Cream
Author: Chantelle
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 2
Ingredients
2 eggs
1 banana, mashed
2 Tbs coconut oil
⅓ C coconut flour
¼ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp baking soda
1 tsp honey
½ tsp vanilla
1 can coconut milk
1 C fresh or frozen mixed berries
2 Tbs coconut oil or ghee for frying
Instructions
In a small saucepan combine berries,vanilla and coconut milk, reserve ½ C coconut milk for pancakes. Heat on medium-low until berries have softened and the milk turns purple.
Combine eggs, banana,coconut oil, honey and remaining coconut milk in a large bowl.
Add coconut flour,salt and baking soda and mix well.
Heat a large cast iron skillet or griddle, melt oil or ghee and drop about 1½ Tbs worth of batter per pancake onto skillet. Cook for about 2 minutes per side until nice and golden.
Serve with warm berries and cream sauce and enjoy!
Hey I'm Chantelle, my alter ego would be a mermaid if I wasn't such a terrible swimmer. I love writing authentically and cooking in my pyjamas. My favourite pastimes include eating avocados, travelling the world and hanging out with a toddler.
