Chocolate is definitely one of my all time favourite foods, the pure, unadulterated, deliciously good for you chocolate – that is. Today however chocolate is rarely associated with nutritious qualities. This noble bean has been transformed from a nutrient packed power-house into sugar-packed junk food for mass consumption!
As Easter is a time for celebrating history and tradition, here are 4 interesting snippets of chocolate history and the great value of this HERO of nutrient packed foods;
1. A Swedish scientist in the 1700’s thought cacao was so important he named it Theobroma cacao or ‘Cacao, food of the gods’.
2. Cacao beans were so revered by the Mayans & Aztecs that they used them instead of gold for money.
3. When cacao was first bought to Europe in the 1500s it was written, ‘This divine drink builds up resistance and fights fatigue. A cup of this precious drink permits a man to walk a whole day without food
4. The Inca regarded the drink made from these beans as holy, reserved only for high nobility of the empire that once existed in the Andes mountaintops.
How did this happen? A wonderful healing food, so highly revered, now – a fallen hero, forbidden. It’s simple really. Corporations packaged it up into convenience food with added sugar, additives and preservatives, making it indigestible and totally void of nutritional value. So before taking the easy route and buying chocolate to give to loved ones this Easter… I invite you to think again… making chocolate is SUPER easy, add in a dose of love + your precious time and you have the PERFECT gift.
My love of chocolate is very apparent on my website with heaps of simple, delicious and nutritious, gluten free recipes to try in your healing homes this Easter, including;
For 13 wonderful reasons to eat chocolate have a read of this previous post.