Skip to main content

Easy Healthy Dark Chocolate Truffles

Most of us eat chocolate for our taste bud pleasure, but there are actually many wonderful benefits to eating chocolate. The type of chocolate you are eating is very important. Health benefits lie in the cocoa itself, so the higher the cocoa content the better.

Probably the most health-promoting way to include cocoa into your diet is to use 100% cocoa powder. Lacking the sugar content of chocolate it will certainly not be as sweet but it is the way to get the most cocoa content.

In this way those who choose not to eat sugar can enjoy the health benefits. Unsweetened cocoa powder can be drunk as hot chocolate or added to smoothies.



It is generally recommended that chocolate eaten for health benefits should have a minimum cocoa content of 70%. Fine dark chocolate bars will list the cocoa content clearly on the front label.
The commercial milk chocolate is not going to produce the health benefits of rich dark chocolate. I always look for organic chocolate that has been certified fair trade as well.
Cocoa is often touted as an aphrodisiac and scientific studies show this to be true. One reason for this may be because it increases the amount of serotonin in the brain, helping to improve mood, sleep and other regulatory functions. Furthermore, cocoa is nutrient dense, including amounts of calcium, magnesium and potassium, folic acid, B2, and B6.  Being well nourished and in a good mood can open the door to amorous activities.

The following recipe attempts to use only small amounts of sugar and also incorporates other herbs into the mix. There are really so many possibilities for making your own herbal truffles. I hope this recipe gets you started on your own chocolate adventure.
Herbal Dark Chocolate Truffles
For this recipe you will need…








Begin by chopping or pounding the chocolate into pea size pieces. Place this into a medium sized bowl along with the vanilla, powdered cinnamon and nutmeg.
Warm the cream (or coconut milk) slowly until just before it starts to simmer. Pour this immediately into the bowl with chocolate.
Let this stand for one minute and then stir with a whisk until the chocolate is melted and it has a smooth consistency.
Note: Most of the time, when I make these, this process works great. One or two times I didn't make the chocolate pieces small enough and it didn't fully melt with the cream. When this happened I placed the chocolate in a double boiler and heated it slowly until the chocolate melted.
Once you have the truffle sauce it needs to cool to a semi-hard consistency. I don’t have a foolproof method for this. I suggest keeping it in the fridge or freezer and checking it frequently. It needs to be soft enough to form into a ball, yet hard enough to roll without falling apart.
Once the desired consistency is reached you can start rolling. Scoop the mixture into bite sized pieces and, using clean hands, roll into a ball.
Once they are all rolled I suggest rolling them in a powder. I think it’s nice to have a variety of powders within a single batch. I suggest playing around with the following…
Variations
Many powdered herbs can be used in this recipe. Ginger, cayenne, rose are just a few ideas.
Orange zest – can be added to the truffles themselves or even used to roll the truffles in.
Coconut – to roll the truffles in.
Baking extracts come in all sorts of flavors and can be added here (mint, coffee, orange, etc)

You can infuse a variety of herbs into the warmed cream to impart different flavors.


Earl Grey – Heat the cream and add a few teabags of earl grey. Let sit for five minutes, remove tea bags, heat the cream again and then proceed as per normal. You may need to add a bit more cream to this.
Lavender – add 2 teaspoons of lavender to the warmed cream. Let sit five minutes, strain off the lavender, reheat and then proceed.
As you can see this is just the beginning of finding your own favorite truffle recipe.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Home Remedies For Warts

Warts are small benign growths on the skin, caused by a variety of related, slow-acting viruses HPV (human papilloma virus). There are at least sixty known types of HPV. Warts may appear singly or in clusters. We will talk about three types of warts: Common warts, Plantar warts, and genital warts. Common warts can be found anywhere on the body, but are most common on the hands, fingers elbows, forearms, knees, face, and the skin around the nails. Most often, they occur on skin that is expose to constant friction, trauma, or abrasion. They can also occur on the larynx (the voice box) and cause hoarseness. Common warts may be flat or raised , dry or moist, and have a rough and pitted surface that is either the same color as or slightly darker than the surrounding skin. They can be as small as a pinhead or as large as small bean. Highly contagious, the virus that causes common warts is acquired through breaks in the skin.   Common warts can spread if they picked, trimm...
276 comments
Read more

Zhan Zhuang - Foundation of Internal Martial Arts

I found another good article on my favorite topic. Zhan Zhuang  - foundation of Internal Martial Arts by Karel Koskuba Most Internal Martial Arts use some form of standing practice as foundation training (and  Taijiquan  is no exception in this regard).  These standing exercises are usually called  Zhan Zhuang   (pole standing); sometimes they are called  'Standing Qigong'.   The  standing exercises  are supposed to relax and help you   'accumulate Qi'.  I n this article I shall try to outline my theory that should explain, from western perspective, why these exercises are so important both for Internal Martial Arts and Qigong , how this western view correlates with the traditional  Qi   view and give training advice on how to practice them. In writing this article I have drawn upon my experience from Taijiquan, Yiquan and information from medical postural rehabilitation research and sport...
21 comments
Read more

Qigong for Strengthening the Kidneys

In  Chinese Medicine,  as in reality, there is no way to separate the mind and the body.   The most pronounced emotion related to Kidney Deficiency is fear . This type of imbalance would be marked with unfounded fear and anxiety during everyday life rather than fear relating to true danger.  Unchecked, it can manifest as infertility, sexual dysfunction , menopause,  prostate  problems, i mpaired immunity, chronic inflammation, high blood pressure, heart irregularities and  anxiety. Adrenal glands sit on top of the kidneys and produce adrenaline that participates in the body’s fight/flight/freeze response and cortisol that stimulates stress. Long-term adrenaline and cortisol over production, partly brought on by chronic fear , can lead to adrenal burnout and chronic fatigue. The kidney meridian  st arts at the underside center of the foot. It moves to the inside of the foot and circles the ankle. Then it moves up the insi...
38 comments
Read more