❤️✨The Antioxidant & Nutrition Power of my Coconut-Raw Chocolate Protein Smoothie!💚😊

A Raw Coconut-Chocolate Smoothie a Day, 
keeps your energies awake!!!

Eating close to nature is the wisest nutritional decision we can make!

This Coconut-Raw Chocolate Protein Smoothie is a COMPLETE meal!

It really replaces a Lunch or Dinner! It’s one of my favorites breakfasts along with the Green Smoothies! 

Ingredients:

1. A whole young coconut (from Sprouts or Wholefoods. You can buy in quantities in the L A Wholesale Produce Market)
2. One table spoon of Raw Chocolate/Cacao Powder (Costco or Amazon)
3. One tablespoon of Flax Seed meal (I buy the raw organic seeds in Wholefoods and make the powder with my Vitamix blender)
4. One medium spoon of Chis Seeds
5. Two medium spoons of Help Protein (Costco or Amazon)

   Optional

6. A medium spoon of Coconut Oil
7. Extra Coconut water when it’s needed, when the Young Coconut has little water and the Coconut meat is too thick.

Add more Coconut water if it’s too thick

Summary of Some Properties/Benefits of Raw Chocolate/Cacao Powder

• 40 Times the Antioxidants of Blueberries 
  (neutralizes free radicals)
• Highest Plant-Based Source of Iron
• Full of Magnesium for a Healthy Heart & Brain
• More Calcium Than Cow’s Milk
• A Natural Mood Elevator and Anti-Depressant
• Lowers blood pressure & improve circulation
• Promotes cardiovascular function & health
• Improves digestion
• Enhances physical and mental well-being

---

Here are 8 health benefits of coconut water.

---

Benefits of Raw Cacao:

Raw chocolate contains many important vitamins and minerals including:

• Magnesium, and other essential minerals including calcium, sulfur, zinc, iron, copper, potassium, and manganese
• Polyphenols called flavonoids, with antioxidant properties
• Essential heart-healthy fat: oleic acid a monounsaturated fat
• Protein
• The cacao bean is full of antioxidants, fat, carbohydrates, protein,
• Polyphenols like flavanoids cacao nutritionthat are antioxidants,
• Minerals like calcium, magnesium, sulfur, copper, iron, zinc and potassium,
• Fiber
• Vitamins E, B2, B1, B5, B3 and B9.

Five BENEFITS OF RAW ORGANIC CACAO

1.  40 Times the Antioxidants of Blueberries

Raw Organic Cacao has over 40 times the antioxidants of blueberries.  Yes 40 times!  It has an amazing ORAC score of 98,000 per 100g, vs blueberries at a mere 2,400.  ORAC scores measure the ability of antioxidants to absorb free radicals (that come from pollution and toxins in our environment), which cause cell and tissue damage and can lead to diseases such as cancer.

2.  Highest Plant-Based Source of Iron

On a plant-based/vegan diet and looking for iron?  The search is over!  Cacao is the highest plant-based source of iron known to man, at a whopping 7.3mg per 100g.  This compares to beef and lamb at 2.5mg, and spinach at 3.6mg.  Note the iron in cacao is non-heme (as is all plant-based iron), so to get the maximum benefits you’ll want to combine it with some vitamin C. Think oranges, kiwifruit, superfoods like gubinge or camu camu (which have 40x more vitamin C than oranges), or try out my Choc Orange Smoothie recipe for a Jaffa-tasting throwback.

3.  Full of Magnesium for a Healthy Heart & Brain

Raw Organic Cacao is also one of the highest plant-based sources of magnesium, the most deficient mineral in the Western world.  Magnesium is important for a healthy heart, and helps turn glucose into energy enabling your brain to work with laser-sharp clarity and focus.  The reason why you might turn to a bar of chocolate during an all-nighter at your desk!

4.  More Calcium Than Cow’s Milk

Raw Organic Cacao has more calcium than cow’s milk would you believe, at 160mg per 100g vs only 125mg per 100ml of milk.  Time to switch out the trim latte for a couple of squares of dairy free raw chocolate.

5.  A Natural Mood Elevator and Anti-Depressant

Cacao is a great source of four scientifically proven bliss chemicals – serotonin, tryptophan, tyrosine and phenylethylamine.  These neurotransmitters are associated with cosy feelings of wellbeing, happiness, and can even alleviate depression.  A natural, healthy, delicious (and legal) way to get your happy buzz on.

---

More Benefits of Raw Cacao! and Coconut Meat!

These nutrients found in raw chocolate have been linked to a number of health benefits:

1) Raw chocolate can lower blood pressure & improve circulation

Flavanols, theobromine, and other components found in cacao may lower blood pressure and enhance circulation by promoting dilation, strength, and health of blood vessels

2) Raw chocolate can promote cardiovascular function & health

The antioxidant power of flavonoids and essential minerals and vitamins found in cacao can support healthy heart functioning⁵ by lowering blood pressure, improving blood flow, lowering LDL cholesterol, and reducing plaque buildup on artery walls.⁶

3) Raw chocolate can Neutralize free radicals

High levels of antioxidants protect the body from a buildup of free radicals from sun exposure, pollution, cigarette smoking, etc., which may damage healthy body tissue giving rise to cancer and cardiovascular disease.

4) Raw Chocolate can improve digestion

A sufficient amount of fiber delivered with each serving of cacao supports digestion while cacao stimulates the body’s production of digestive enzymes.

5) Raw chocolate can enhance physical and mental well-being

There are many components of cacao including alkaloids, proteins, beta-carotene, leucine, linoleic, lipase, lysine, and theobromine, that all work together to improve physical and mental health.  For example, theombromine helps to stimulate the central nervous system, relax smooth muscles, and dilate blood vessels, giving the body a boost of energy; “bliss” chemicals found in cacao help to increase circulation and availability of serotonin and other neurotransmitters in brain, improving mood and combating depression.

---

Coconut Meat Benefits!

Dietary Fiber Content

A 1-cup serving of raw coconut has over 7 grams of dietary fiber per serving. Dietary fiber makes your stools bulkier and softer, helping you pass waste through your digestive system more easily. A diet high in fiber can reduce the risk of or treat constipation, hemorrhoids and diverticulosis. The dietary reference intake for dietary fiber is between 21 and 38 grams per day for adults. In general, the American diet is low in dietary fiber.

Benefits of Coconut Fats

Young coconut meat is rich in medium-chain fatty acids. Although these are saturated fats, your body processes them differently from other saturated fats, such as animal fats. An article published in the “Ceylon Medical Journal” in 2006 stated that medium-chain fatty acids, such as those found in coconuts, are used directly by the body as fuel, not broken down and absorbed like other saturated fats. The scientists concluded that coconut fats are widely misunderstood in the scientific community, and further research into potential benefits is called for.

Nutritional Profile of Young Coconut Meat

Raw young coconut meat has 283 calories per serving, with over 37 grams of water per 1-cup serving. A 1-cup serving has 26.8 grams of total fat, over 12 grams of carbohydrate and almost 5 grams of sugars. Raw coconut meat can sometimes be purchased frozen in Asian or specialty grocers, or it can be harvested directly from a halved, green coconut.

Vitamin and Mineral Content

Like coconut water, young coconut meat is a source of potassium and sodium, with 285 and 16 milligrams, respectively, per 1-cup serving. Balanced sodium and potassium levels help keep your blood pressure at a healthy level. Coconut meat is also a source of a number of B vitamins, including folate, with 21 micrograms per 1-cup serving. B vitamins help your body make energy from food and assist in the production of red blood cells.