The Chocolate Foodie Phenomenon
Truffles & fudge; bars, chips,and barks.
Ice creams & puddings; elixirs, milks, & smoothies.
Pies, brownies, cakes, clusters, & cookies.
Powder's and paste; butters, nibs, and beans.
Not to mention the taste, of chocolate covered everything!
Strawberries, cherries, almonds, figs & ginger.
Blueberries, cranberries, peanuts, pretzels & raisins.
And all the spices! Cayenne, vanilla, cinnamon, sassafras.
Sweetened with honey, agave, molasses.

The list goes on and on...

Today chocolate is available in every imaginable form. I love it. And it also seems so blatantly ridiculous when that many forms of chocolate are organized into a mega-list as I have done above. I mean really? Surely as a human species we could gather ourselves together a little bit, each day eating less and less chocolate and giving more and more of our energy to something that fulfills us on a deeper level--a soul level. Surfing, painting, gardening. Serving humanity in some way. Right?

Okay cool, I've honored the discerning albeit often cynical part of myself. Don't take me too seriously on that one. Maybe your soul calling is to make chocolate? If it is, I honor that. I really love you for that. Really.

Now we can hone in on the reality of the matter, which is that chocolate is really awesome. No matter the form, I'm a big fan. And an avid user. I opt first for the chocolate smoothie, or the chocolate covered blueberry. Or the chocolate blueberry smoothie.

I can buy raw, organic cacao powder from Bali in bulk at Briarpatch, the local Grass Valley Co-Op (in Northern California, one can often buy amazing food-stuffs at local grocery stores, as the informed-consumer demand is consistent & high, allowing for things like bulk cacao powder to be not just cost effective but often profitable). I love the taste, and the feeling. I don't enjoy being over-stimulated, which can definitely happen if I over-consume ye sacred substance. But the silly, giddy, yummy, heart-opening aspects--these I love. I must say very honestly though, sometimes I wonder, am I addicted to chocolate?

Perhaps addicted is a strong way to describe my relationship with chocolate. It's like this: every day I crave it, then I eat it, all the while enjoying it. So you could say that eating is a daily need of mine, and I have consistently chosen healthful forms of cacao as a staple for this daily eating need. For a few a months now at least, and consistently in the past as well. My consumption of chocolate depends on my life situation, which is often in a flux between agrarian arrangements and a more conventional grocery store lifestyle. So depending where I am in that flux, I either eat lots of chocolate, or almost none at all.

I think its also important to differentiate a so-called addiction to raw, bitter cacao and the sugars and various sweeteners that are often paired with cacao in standard chocolate bar forms. Few people today, especially in the Western World, are able to tolerate the bitter taste, so you can probably imagine even less people today crave bitter. I've heard a lot people say that they love chocolate, but they find one piece is never enough, they just can't stop eating it! I'm a little suspicious that this addiction is probably to the sugar, not the cacao itself. So if you count yourself as a chocolate addict, try eating the good stuff without any sugar and see if you still have a mad craving or two. And if you do....

& you feel the chocolate-loving consciousness in your belly begins to dominate you, you might consider starving them out a little bit. Go on a chocolate fast. Re-assert your sovereignty. Then, after you've taken the reigns on your being-ness, without feeling tied to the need for this wonderful food, tell yourself again how cacao has bountiful amounts of anti-oxidants or is often from mineral rich soil, especially if it comes from the South American Rain Forest. And then with this story in mind, you can drink that chocolate smoothie down, knowing fully who's boss, feeling that good feeling that healthy chocolate gives you. Ahhhhh... That's it.

Chocolate Nutrition: The Future of Food?

"Healthy chocolate?", you might be thinking. Yes, I swear it to be true. There is a growing wave of enthusiasm, especially amidst foodies and nutritional experts, that chocolate is good for you. That one could really benefit from eating chocolate.

Can you imagine? Supposedly there is an epidemic of heart-disease sweeping the nation now, and cacao in its raw form especially is known to have high amount of magnesium, a mineral critical to our cardiovascular health. Cacao has also been shown to increase brain power, support healthy bowel movements, build stronger bones, and relax menstrual cramping.
Cacao boasts a complete protein profile (Whoa! Protein!), and has been shown to open up over 300 pathways to detoxification and elimination. Cacao butter helps to rebuild the lining of our nervous system, and also has one of the most unique molecular structures of any known fatty substance. I like to put it in salves, and I've seen unbelievable results with cacao butter and preventing and/or remedying sun burn

And did somebody mention flavanoids? We're talking about ridiculous amounts of flavanoids. Flavanoids! I've already mentioned the anti-oxidant content of cacao, but I don't think I've mentioned that there are those that claim cacao has the single highest anti-oxidant content of any known food substance on the planet. Like utterly blowing away goji berries, mate, acai, green tea, grapes, or whatever else. I imagine a lot of these stats depend on the soil and loving care one gives to the growing process, but remember, a lot of cacao is coming from super-mineral rich Rain Forest soil, so one could definitely expect high levels of anti-oxidant awesomeness from Nature's #1 medicine cabinet.

If one is fortunate enough to have eaten a raw bean with its skin still intact, you may have had a healthy dose of Anandamine, the bliss chemical that grants us the "ewww ahhh" feel good experience, found in its highest concentration in the skins of cacao. One could easily be bombarded with a never ending list of amazing benefits that this magical bean so selflessly offers us all. I'd like to keep the focus a little more broad, so if you're still interested in an in-depth look at the health stats of cacao, check out David Wolfe's research on the subject. His book "Naked Chocolate: The Astonishing Truth about the Worlds Greatest Food," is highly enjoyable, and captures wonderfully the role that chocolate consciousness is playing on the planet right now and through all known space and time. Epic. Also, kudos to Mr. Wolfe for his research in the realm of chocolate, as I definitely gleaned a lot of content and inspiration from his work. Nice One!

So chocolate is really actually good for me? Yes, I think so. My buddy Evan Strong who runs and owns my favorite Nevada City restaurant the Fix is an Adaptive-Action snow boarding world champ, has a body like a Greek God, and ate chocolate as a main staple for like 3 years. Need I say more? Of course Evan wasn't eating bars of chocolate before competitions as much as he would have a bag of cacao nibs with some spirulina and spring water. Anyhow, I'm merely taking this opportunity to brag on Evan, a light-worker in the front-lines of cutting-edge, evolutionary culture.

For now, let's examine what is and isn't healthy chocolate so we can really come away with a nice nugget from this here article. If you are buying and eating chocolate that is in any of the forms listed above except for raw cacao powder, nibs, or beans, you are probably not eating healthy chocolate. There are a few savvy foodie hippies now who make amazing chocolate bars or spreads with outstanding ingredients sourced from farmer collectives in the Amazon, which they then pair with all sorts of raw organic this and that's, as well as low glycemic sweeteners and various mineral salts from around the world, in addition to the obligatory "& Love!" at the end of the ingredients list.

Wow! If that's the quality chocolate bar you're eating on a daily bases, you are among the 0.00000002%. Because the vast majority of all chocolate consumed on the planet is not organic, is possibly contributing to a child-labor situation in the Ivory Coast region of Africa that is less than ideal, and is more than likely paired with a highly processed form of sugar that is for all practical purposes no better than poison or various amphetamines, as well as an emulsifier that is literally made of synthethic wax. Literally.

So please, don't be confused. Whole cacao and a few highly intentional chocolate bars could make a great addition to your nutritional paradigm. Other types of chocolate need just this: your honesty & clarity. Don't allow yourself to consume ouch chocolate and think, "Oh yeah, this is really good for me." At least be honest and think, "Oh yeah, this would be good for me if I was eating good chocolate from good soil paired with good ingredients. I need to cut the cord of this habit or replace it with a slightly better one (I am, however, still grateful)." Thank you for honesty, clarity, and parenthetical gratitude. Moving on...

In conclusion, the main point I'd like to make about chocolate in terms of nutrition, (which come to think of it is a reflection on Western culture in general), is that chocolate, though definitely boasting a full profile of healthful benefits, is not a replacement for a back yard garden, farm, or self-reliant food situation. Eating an abundance of freshly grown veggies that one planted and harvested with one's own hands is the healthiest thing you can do in terms of food and your overall wellness. Maybe a cacao bean every now and again would be an important supplement for some, a wee boost of some much needed fill in the _____ with your favorite raw cacao fact.

But chocolate, even super healthy mineral rich raw organic fair trade rain forest alliance certified chocolate, is not a replacement for living directly from the Earth by the sweat of one's own brow. If you aren't living from a garden now, or have perhaps never even eaten straight from a garden (which there are millions who never have, who have perhaps never even thought about it), I highly recommend it. There are many vibrant members of the emerging, global evolutionary culture that offer local workshops and educational services related to gardening and Earth-based living skills. So please, do try putting your hands in the dirt a little bit! And have a bite of chocolate while you do...

Yes indeed, I will say it again, chocolate will not cure modern-man syndrome. But it might help catalyze you towards connecting with the Earth, your Heart, or give you that extra boost of Goodness that is definitely inherent in every bite of what could be the most delicious, nutritious Food on the Planet.