✨Immune Boosting Cacao Elixir✨

Cacao beans are godsent. We all know that and we all crave the creamy and grounding taste of chocolate from time to time. For me, it’s become a daily craving, especially as I’m emotionally and physiologically navigating the tricky liminal zone of transitioning from summer to fall. My body thrives in the hot, humid heat of the summer. Summer for me is the embodiment of playfulness and joy. I absolutely adore the ethereal, effervescent light these three months bring into my whole being. As we’re shifting, I’m remembering that the effervescence of summer lives in me and cacao helps me stay connected to the warmth I feel during the season.

I also see life as my kitchen. I go with the flow of the seasons seeking flavours and recipes unique to what I want to experience and get out of life at any moment. I see food both as nourishing physically and emotionally grounding. It’s unhealthy and really impractical to suggest our experience of eating is a neutral and an ‘unemotional’ encounter. Far beyond that, food helps us align or tune our energetic body with our physical health and emotions.

So, what is it about cacao that makes it so desirable? Aside from the taste, which grounds me in a instant, cacao is celebrated in many indigenous cultures throughout the world. It serves as a natural plant-medicine and is used in these ceremonies for the purpose of energy balancing and integration. Cacao ceremonies have been a significant part of many shamanic healing rituals for thousands of years. I find it remarkable how healing this superfood is, and yet, so many people have absolutely no understanding of the strength and importance of why they’re drawn to chocolate or any cacao based recipes.

Some major benefits include:

•Enhanced creativity
•Boosting mood and emotional health – a healing aid in depression and mental illness
•Hormone health, especially for women dealing with PMS symptoms
• Better sleep
•Heart health
•Liver health
•Grounding due to its high mineral content
•Connecting with the wise mind or the higher self
•Wound healing and integration

To learn more about the benefits of cacao and how they’re used ceremonially in shamanic healing and spiritual awakenings, be sure to check this article out:
https://sheroserevolution.com/shanijay/sacred-cacao-ceremony/

I’ve done some research and I’m going to share a brief summary of my finding with you here:
From a scientific perspective, cacao is packed with brain and hormone boosting minerals and nutrients such as magnesium, an essential mineral lacking in today’s food culture. What’s important to note is chronic stress is the number one cause of magnesium deficiency in the population, and especially in women, which can ultimately wreak havoc on the immune system, cause hormonal imbalances, and other health issues such as blood sugar imbalances. Cacao also contains the highest number of flavonoids by weight compared to other foods, as well as a high profile of other essential minerals such as potassium, manganese, copper, iron, phosphorus, zinc, selenium, and calcium respectively.

The brain and mood enhancing benefits of cacao is truly what I’m here for. I always feel a bliss-like sense of comfort and joy when I include this versatile superfood in my diet. Cacao has also helped me with nurturing a more balanced hormonal profile, as it helps regulate cortisol levels, stabilizes insulin levels, and supports a healthy nervous system. Especially having dealt with gut dysbiosis, it is very important to me to include this superfood for its magnesium profile and to also assist in my nervous system regulation, which has lead to the healing of my gut.

To further learn more about the incredible benefits of magnesium check out the following link. It will open your eyes to the significance of this mineral in our diet today: https://hormonesbalance.com/articles/boost-magnesium-levels-to-rebalance-your-hormones/

For culinary use of this incredible plant, let’s quickly look at traditional Mexican cuisine, where cacao beans are used as the main ingredient. You can in fact see many cultures around the world using this superfood as the star ingredient of their recipes.

For more nutritional information, click here: https://draxe.com/nutrition/cacao-nibs/ or https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/cocoa-powder-nutrition-benefits#TOC_TITLE_HDR_3
As always, if you’re interested you can always seek the guidance of a healthcare professional or do your own research on the matter.

Below you’ll find my recipe to this simple and comforting drink. It’s packed with immune and brain boosting antioxidants from MCT oil, collagen powder, cacao, and coconut/nut milk and a personal favourite superfood Chaga mushroom powder that acts as an immune modulator, especially perfect for the current state of the world. What you’ll need are hot water and a whisk or electric frother. 

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons organic cacao powder 
• 2 tablespoons organic and gum-free coconut cream or 3 tablespoons pure almond milk

*Note: you could use any other nut milk of your choice – I personally like and tolerate these well. If you have nut sensitivity you could omit almond milk and go for coconut cream

• ½ teaspoon pure organic vanilla extract 
• 1 tablespoon monk-fruit sweetener or 1/2 tablespoon pure, dark maple syrup 
• A few drops pure, liquid stevia extract – if you prefer this over any other sweetener
• 1 teaspoon organic Chaga mushroom powder 
• 2 tablespoons collagen powder 
• 1 teaspoon MCT oil if trying for the first time – otherwise 1 full tablespoon
• 1 cup of hot water 
• 2 tablespoons almond milk or nut-milk of your choice
• 1/6 teaspoon Sea salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 

Instructions: 

1• Mix the dry ingredients well 
2• Add a bit of hot water and mix the dry ingredients well until you reach a velvety paste
3• Add the remaining hot water as well as nut milk of your choice 
4• Use frother to mix and blend all the dry and wet ingredients until you have a well-blended mixture for serving.

Voilà! I really hope this recipe serves you and brings you comfort.

All my love,
Behnaz