Endometriosis diet friendly chocolate



Benefits of cacao and chocolate for endometriosis


If you are trying to follow to the diet to help endometriosis, you may have read that chocolate is recommended to leave out of your diet.


Why is that.........

Commercial chocolate contains sugar, milk solids, more milk if its milk chocolate, lecithin (probably from soy), flavourings and preservatives. Lots of bad ingredients that may trigger problems with the symptoms of endometriosis.

However, the basic ingredient in chocolate production is cacao which is actually very good for you – who would have thought.


Endo friendly cacao recipe

Health benefits of cacao


In the raw state of being uncooked and unprocessed, cacao beans contain a host of health benefits.

Cacao beans are a rich source of various vitamins and minerals. The All-Chocolate website reports ‘that raw cacao beans contain healthy amounts of copper and potassium, both of which help to promote heart health, as well as iron, which carries oxygen throughout your body. Cacao beans also contain calcium and magnesium.’


The good news ........

I stumbled upon a great recipe for home-made chocolate which I adapted a little so it was safe if you are following the diet for endometriosis – so I had to share it with you. The basis of this recipe is built on 3 basic ingredients:


Raw organic cacao – (cacao is the unprocessed beans used to make cocoa) the chocolate part, not to be confused with ordinary cocoa you buy in the supermarket. Being organic is will be free from pesticides.

Coconut oil – the fat/solid component

Stevia – the sweetener - this is used otherwise the chocolate would be bitter. Liquid stevia seems to be better because it is pure and natural.


Do not get concerned about the idea of using coconut oil and thinking it is one of the ’bad’ oils. That information is based on incorrect bad press and mis-information. Coconut oil is actually very good for you in too many ways to go into here, but I will say it is great for the digestive system, and has lots of those healthy properties like being anti-inflammatory and anti-viral.

However, you do need to use organic extra-virgin coconut oil to obtain the best health benefits.

Stevia is used as the sweetener, which is a natural sweetener that does not affect your blood sugar levels. Do not buy stevia from the supermarket, as this is not pure stevia and it actually contains little in the way of real natural stevia and has lots of additives.




endo friendly chocolate recipe

The Recipe: Home-made Endo Safe Chocolate


Ingredients:

  • Raw organic cacao – comes in powder form and can be purchased from many websites
  • Coconut oil – most health shops sell this in jars and is also readily available on the internet
  • Stevia for sweetening
  • Other flavourings of personal choice – like nuts, ground almonds

Method:

  • Take equal amounts of coconut oil and raw cacao – about 3 or 4 tablespoons of each
  • Melt the coconut oil in a dish like a baine marie (use a porcelain bowl in a pan of hot water) it is not necessary to boil the water because coconut oil melts at 25 degrees
  • Once the coconut oil has melted add the cocoa to the oil and mix well
  • Add a little stevia, about a quarter teaspoon – add this to taste because the strength of stevia can differ
  • To provide the equivalent solidity that is found with commercial chocolate, add some ‘fibre’/bulking agent, and one good method is to add grated coconut, this gives it a bit more bite. You will need about one large tablespoon. You can use dried grated coconut or fresh coconut.

You can add all sorts of nice things - small pieces of chopped dates, chopped up nuts. This is the stage where you can experiment by adding your favourite flavourings. 

You can also add a few drops of edible orange oil essence for a nice orange flavour .... or how about adding a few drops of CBD oil to get the pain relief benefits!

When you're done, pour your mixture into small dishes or ice cube trays. Put the mixture in the refrigerator. When the coconut oil is completely set it is ready to eat. The chocolate will melt when out of the refrigerator, because coconut oil has a low melting point, so keep it in the fridge.

This recipe can also be used to make chocolate sauce in the runny state – yummy!

Enjoy ........

Carolyn


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