100% Cacao Bar

Multiple farmers in the area where I live grow cacao and make their own chocolate. One of the farmers sells his chocolate bars at the farmers market. My favorite is the bar made from 100 percent cacao, with no added sugar. The only ingredients are cacao and vanilla.

What cacao is

Cacao is a seed. Cacao seeds grow inside a pod, and the pods grow right on the trunk and branches of a cacao tree.

Inside each pod, the cacao seeds are surrounded by a soft white pulp. The pulp is sweet. I enjoy eating the white pulp.

The seeds are what people use to create chocolate.

From seed to chocolate

The seeds are taken out of the pod, then fermented, dried, and roasted. Next the seeds are cracked open and the shells are removed. The pieces left are called cacao nibs. The nibs are ground into a thick paste, and that paste is made into chocolate.

Most chocolate sold in stores has sugar added, often a lot of sugar, along with milk and other ingredients. A bar made from only cacao can have a stronger bitter taste. I appreciate the nutrients the cacao gives.

What cacao provides your body

Cacao is high in magnesium. Magnesium is a mineral your body uses in many ways. Magnesium powers the pump that returns calcium to storage in your muscle cells so your muscles can relax. Magnesium also switches on hundreds of different enzymes in your body. An enzyme is a substance that causes a change to happen.

Cacao also provides fiber, iron, and protein.

You are welcome to eat chocolate made from two things.

Stacy 🌺

Information in this post comes from my learning and research.

https://youtube.com/shorts/uVM5ANRFuS0?feature=share

I share my experiences and my perspective. Eating and healing look different for everyone. If you are struggling with food or your relationship with your body, please find support. You don’t have to do this alone.