Jessica Fenton - Raw Chocolate Treats: Healthy Recipes for the Chocolate Lover

Raw Chocolate Treats

Healthy Recipes for the Chocolate Lover

Jessica Fenton

Discover the delicious flavors, health benefits, and versatility of raw chocolate with these easy-to-follow recipes. A tantalizing way to boost anti-oxidants and improve overall health, raw chocolate is becoming an increasingly popular alternative to candy and junk food.

Sugar-free, vegan recipes for drinks, cookies, cakes, candies, desserts, and party food

A comprehensive introduction to raw chocolate, from its history to its abundant nutritional benefits

Illustrated throughout with full-color photographs

Contents

Drinks

Candies

Cookies & Cakes

Desserts

Party Food

My Lifelong Love of Chocolate

I think its fair to say that Ive been mesmerized by chocolate right from the earliest age. I cant put my finger on exactly what it is about the magical brown stuff that reels me in so deeply, almost in a hypnotic way. In fact, even the sound of the word chocolate never fails to make my face light up, and in more recent years it evokes through my senses a nostalgic state of mind.

Theres something so special about chocolate, its no wonder that it effortlessly maintains its luxurious, decadent profile. But whats remarkable is that having started at such a tender age, my relationship with chocolate has since grown healthier by the day.

How I Got into Raw Foods

Its my health-pioneering mother who I have to thank for the journey I embarked on as a young adult to find, research, and then reveal the ultimate truth behind nutrition and the fundamental part it plays in achieving long-term optimum health.

We were the only children at our school to eat organic food. No one around us seemed to know what it was back then in the 1980s, and it was years before the organic food revolution really hit. Teachers and cafeteria ladies alike would try an organic potato chip from our biodegradable bag with a mixture of interest and caution. My mom and dad were not overly well off when we were growing up, but would nevertheless set aside a large part of their household budget to allow for a weekly organic food delivery. Suzanne would appear without fail each week, come rain, snow, or shine, and unpack crates of overpriced, organic versions of popular mainstream foods from her white van. Organic food was proportionately much more expensive than nonorganic at that time, even more so than it is today, simply because there was much less demand for it then.

When I was sixteen, I was diagnosed with mononucleosis, or mono, and within three years I had developed chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Little did I know in my bedridden state that this was the start of my career in natural nutrition. I adopted a vegan diet, free of refined sugars, wheat, and gluten, and then went on to eat a diet abundant in plant-based whole foods in their glorious, natural, raw, enzymatic state. I successfully ridded my body of CFS, at the same time as adding years of vitality to the rest of my life. I went on to run the London Marathon in a little over four hours, in celebration of the fact that I simply could.

Raw Versus Roasted

The chocolate recipes I present in this book differ from those in nearly every other chocolate recipe book in one major respectthey feature only raw chocolate. So what actually is raw chocolate? As the term suggests, its basically chocolate made from unroasted ingredients. Cacao (pronounced cac-cow) originates from the seed of the cacao pod that is fermented like conventional cocoa but has not gone on to be roasted or heat treated above 113F/45C. When cacao remains in its unroasted state, it retains a large proportion of its nutrients, antioxidants, and phytochemicals. In other words, it offers a wide spectrum of health benefits for you and your family to enjoy.

Raw ChocolateA Healthy Luxury for Everyone

We can all benefit from eating raw chocolate in place of roasted chocolate, regardless of what other foods and drinks we consume in our daily diet, because this type of chocolate is truly a luxurious, well-being-enhancing gift from Mother Nature. But if you are looking to achieve improved health and greater energy levels, you can also make a conscious effort to include other plant-base foods in their natural state in your daily diet.

Dedication

For my soul mate: Tom BF Fenton, and our beloved son, Leo Finley. Thank you for such an exciting adventure. Also, huge appreciation to the rest of my family and close friends. Thanks to all those who support me in my ultimate mission of making raw food famous. In particular my adorable mom, whos a superb baby-sitter!

Raw Chocolate

From Bean to Butter

Raw Chocolatea History

Chocolate isnt just a modern-day ingredient found in confectionery bars; it has been an essential food throughout the ages. Its long, rich history dates back to around 2000 BCE, before the ancient Olmec civilization, and cacao bean mixtures were the beverages of choice of the Aztec, Maya, and Inca civilizations. Cacao beans were historically used as money as well as an aphrodisiac ingredient.

It was the Spanish explorer Hernando Corts who introduced cacao beans to Europe in 1519, after having been presented with them when he arrived in Mexico by the Aztecs, who believed him to be their long-awaited god. From chocolates first introduction into Spain, the fascination with chocolate continued to spread throughout Europe, although the treasured cacao beans themselves were kept a secret for another hundred years.

The first chocolate house opened in London in 1657, and it proved to be a favorite meeting place for the elite and wealthy. Nearly a hundred years later, the Swedish naturalist scientist Carolus Linnaeus renamed the European word cocoa to Theobroma cacao, which is Greek for food of the gods.