From the kitchen of Jesse Haas, CNS, LN
Humans are always looking for reasons to justify and rationalize their cravings, which is one reason that chocolate continues to be looked at for its aide in balancing blood sugar, preventing heart disease, promoting weight loss and more.
I’m down with that! I am definitely a chocolate lover, so have no qualms with supporting my chocolate habits with scientific evidence.
Cacao – the unprocessed form of chocolate – is a nutrient-dense addition to your pantry staples. My favorite things about cacao include it’s magnesium content for combating stress, anxiety and sleeplessness, and the antioxidant flavonoids. Flavonoids are a class of compounds that help keep our cardiovascular system flexible. If you think of your arteries and veins as hoses and your blood as the water moving through the hose at high pressure, you can easily see how flexibility is key. We want our blood effortlessly circulating throughout our bodies! Use cacao in place of baking chocolate, which has undergone processing that damages many of the phytonutrients that makes cacao so powerful.
Adding a tablespoon of cacao powder to my smoothies has become a habit I feel very good about. Here’s one smoothie formula, that I’m really digging lately. Enjoy!
Makes 1 serving
Ingredients:
Directions:
For a printable PDF, click here
I’m down with that! I am definitely a chocolate lover, so have no qualms with supporting my chocolate habits with scientific evidence.
Cacao – the unprocessed form of chocolate – is a nutrient-dense addition to your pantry staples. My favorite things about cacao include it’s magnesium content for combating stress, anxiety and sleeplessness, and the antioxidant flavonoids. Flavonoids are a class of compounds that help keep our cardiovascular system flexible. If you think of your arteries and veins as hoses and your blood as the water moving through the hose at high pressure, you can easily see how flexibility is key. We want our blood effortlessly circulating throughout our bodies! Use cacao in place of baking chocolate, which has undergone processing that damages many of the phytonutrients that makes cacao so powerful.
Adding a tablespoon of cacao powder to my smoothies has become a habit I feel very good about. Here’s one smoothie formula, that I’m really digging lately. Enjoy!
Makes 1 serving
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup cold press
- 1/4 cup Thai coconut milk
- 2 Tbsp almond butter
- 1-2 Tbsp cacao powder
- 1 frozen banana
- 1/2 cup frozen cauliflower
Directions:
- Place all ingredients in a high-powered blender and blend until smooth.
For a printable PDF, click here
 | Jesse Haas is a heart-centered, licensed functional nutritionist, health coach and co-founder of Wellness Minneapolis. She takes a holistic and personalized approach to her nutrition counseling, helping put the pieces of her client’s health narrative into actionable, sustainable goals. Using health education, culinary education and mind-body medicine she helps her clients transform their health one meal at a time. Schedule a complimentary phone consultation to learn how to use food as medicine to find balance in your own life. |
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