Healthy Ayurvedic Chocolate Dessert Recipes

Happy Valentine’s Day!

While writing this, I can barely contain my excitement because I’m soooooooo passionate about this topic.

Here’s the Ayurvedic low down on CHOCOLATE…

1. In its raw form – as in raw cacao or cacao nibs – it’s bitter – a taste that encourages healthy elimination.
2. Its energy is warming. It can really light a fire in your belly and even help you digest a heavy meal. Have you ever noticed how an after-dinner dark chocolate can help you feel a little lighter?
3. It’s a stimulant, an aphrodisiac, and has soothing and sedating properties. In fact, when you’re looking for a brain boost, look no farther. Chocolate stimulates neurotransmitters in your brain that help you feel blissful, loving, and smart.
4. In its raw form, it’s packed with nutrition, including antioxidants and the anti-stress mineral we all need more of – magnesium.
5. Chocolate is both rajasic (stimulating) and tamasic (dulling). It increases all 3 doshas and, when used in the right amount and without excess, it can help turn around depression.
6. Quality Matters. When it comes to chocolate, it’s the QUALITY of ingredients that make or break how health-giving it is for you. Most chocolate is prepared with white sugar, which doesn’t do anyone any good. And some people just can’t tolerate it – they break out in skin rashes or worse. In that case, carob powder is your friend – and a highly nutritive substitute for chocolate.

I wrote out a couple time-tested recipes to share with you today – ones that show off chocolate’s more beneficial side due to the stellar ingredients featured alongside chocolate in it’s whole, raw form – cacao.

And, if you want to taste for yourself how incredible raw chocolate can be, explore a few of my personal favorite brands! Here are their links and what I love about each one.

Coracao – Their truffles. All of them. And their Berkeley Bars! I will say no more…

Elements Truffles – I discovered this Ayurveda Inspired Artisinal Chocolate company when I went to visit my friend and colleague Divya Alter (at her NYC Ayurvedic restaurant, Divya’s Kitchen!) Elements Truffles is made by one of Divya’s Ayurvedic cooking students. Their chocolate is pure heaven and made from raw honey – which they manage to keep at low temperatures to preserve the enzymes and health benefits. Listen to some of their Ayurveda inspired flavors… Raspberry with Beetroot (this one is probably my fave. Divya’s, too). Sea salt with Turmeric. Maple Toffee Crunch with Moringa. Ginger with Black Pepper Infusion. WOW.

Chocalatl– They run with the concept of food as medicine by making a bunch of herb-infused varieties. What I really love about this brand is their adorable, compostable packaging that reminds you to “Give Thanks for Chocolate” when you open it up.

Lulu’s – Its graceful simplicity, high-integrity ingredients, and that the woman behind it is a super high-vibration healing mama! I haven’t gotten to try them yet myself, but I heard she has a new line of micro-dose cannabis chocolate which I can’t wait to try. And her truffles are to die for, too.

RAD Chocolate– My newest discovery. I love it because it’s vegan, organic, small batch, made with maple sugar, California based, and, of course, RAD (with the same name as my RAD Cleanse seasonal detox programs!) Here’s what it says on their label: “Good for the heart. Even the broken one. Improves memory retention to never forget what good chocolate should taste like.”

When I come up with chocolate recipes, I aim to make them rich and special – a true experience of the senses. I add touches that makes them easy to digest and beneficial for the body in a big way.

Dude, Where’s My Fudge?

Preparation Time: 40 minutes, including set time

Yield: 12 ounces or about 16 squares

This recipe is named for a phrase I literally spoke aloud after making these for the first time. I couldn’t believe how fast they were gone! OMG… so good.

1/2 Cup Cashews, Ground

1/4 Cup Vanilla or Ginger Granola, gluten-free or not

1/4 Cup Raw Cacao Nibs

2 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder

3 Tablespoons Raw Cacao Powder

Pinch of Good Salt

1/2 Cup Maple Syrup or Raw Agave

1/4 Cup Raw Cacao Butter, melted

1/4 Cup Coconut Butter, softened

1 teaspoon Vanilla

Using a food processor, grind the cashews first. Pour the ground cashews into a medium-sized bowl and stir in the remaining dry ingredients. Set aside.

Melt and soften the raw cacao butter and coconut butter respectively. Using the food processor again, combine the wet ingredients until smooth. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until everything is well incorporated.

Spread the fudge batter into a greased glass casserole dish or spoon it into greased molded candy squares (coconut oil works great). Chill in the freezer until firm, at least 20 minutes.

Cinnamon Black Bean Brownies

Preparation Time: 50 minutes

Yield: About 16 brownies

These brownies are the bomb!!! So rich, gooey, and delicious! Because of their pure ingredients, they even have clout to boast that they’re high protein, gluten-free, and easy to digest.

It’s super fun to enhance them energetically – and flavor-wise – with Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade essential oils like peppermint, grapefruit, wild orange, lavender, or even rosemary. I use cinnamon in February because – being an aphrodisiac – cinnamon is the ultimate choice when making these babies around Valentine’s Day.

Although I don’t normally cook essential oils (due to their volatility and gaseous nature), it really works in this recipe. Try it and see for yourself!

1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 large eggs or the equivalent of 2 eggs using egg replacer (I love Ener-G brand)

1/4 cup raw cacao powder

2/3 cup brown rice syrup or coconut nectar

1/3 cup coconut oil or ghee

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of good quality, mineral-rich salt (like Celtic sea salt)

2 to 4 drops Cinnamon essential oil

1 cup dark chocolate chipshere

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Place all the ingredients, except for the chocolate chips, in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Pour the batter into a large bowl and stir the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into a greased 8×8-inch pan and top with 1/4 cup chocolate chips. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

You can try my other yummy healthy dessert recipe here!

Enjoy!

Love, Talya

P.S. Where I live in Santa Cruz, the press is very good to me. Check out this article where they featured my cooking class “Everything Chocolate” and my thoughts on chocolate as medicine for the mind, mouth, and heart.