Unrefined Organic Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is a delicious tasting medium chain fatty acid. One of coconut oil’s star assets is called lauric acid. Coconut oil contains about fifty percent of the stuff, making it the most abundant natural source available. Unlike other saturated fats, these fatty acids do not circulate in the bloodstream, but are sent directly to the liver where they are immediately converted into energy, so the body uses the fat in coconut oil to produce energy, rather than to be stored as fat.
Raw Honey
Ancient Egyptians farmed honey 3,000 years ago and considered bees the symbol of sacred femininity. Raw honey is the concentrated nectar of flowers that comes straight from the extractor; it is unheated, pure, unpasteurized, and unprocessed. An alkaline forming food, raw honey has the most nutritional value of all honey and contains amylase, an enzyme concentrated in flower pollen which helps predigest starchy foods. Because raw honey hasn’t been heated or processed it still contains the phytonutrients found in resins from the hive. As far as being a sweetener, it is composed of two simple sugars: glucose and fructose, which are absorbed differently than sugar, thus causing a slower, more gradual rise in blood sugar. This ordinary household sweetener truly is an extraordinary superfood.
Sprouted Organic Almonds
We use raw, organic almonds and soak them overnight in pure water, initiating germination. This helps reduce enzyme inhibitors that make all nuts hard to digest. After soaking, the almonds are rinsed in a mild salt bath using non-iodized sea salt, and dehydrated at 114° until they reach the perfect crunchiness. During this sprouting process they become more alkaline, more nutrient available, and easier to digest due the removal of that enzyme-inhibiting substance in their skin called phytic acid, and our body is able to reap the full benefits from these heart healthy, body loving nutrients.
Organic Raw Cacao Powder
Our utter and complete surrender to chocolate goes back thousands of years. Both the Mayan and Aztec used cacao in their royal and religious events, presenting cacao seeds as offerings to the gods and serving chocolate drinks during sacred ceremonies. Cacao powder is a product of the cacao bean, which is botanically the seed of the fruit of the cacao tree. The cacao seed is in a fleshy, berry-like fruit, also known as the cacao pod. Raw Cacao powder is made by mechanically pressing the liquor to expel most of the cacao butter from the bean, leaving a solid cake, which is then ground into cacao powder. This powder is where the vast majority of the chocolate flavor and the polyphenol antioxidants reside. Raw cacao powder has as a distinct flavor profile much closer to the fresh bean: fruity, acidic and earthy.
Himalayan Pink Salt
We chose this salt for its flavor and texture characteristics, and for its ability to highlight and celebrate all the other ingredients in our bars with such pizazz! Himalayan crystal salt comes from a 250-million-year-old mine that was once a large ocean in the East Karakoram range of the Himalayan Mountains. What’s not to love?!
Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
We use organic, unsweetened, shredded coconut as a nut-free alternative for several of our bars. We love coconut, and use the oil in every single one of our bars. Shredded coconut is high in protein, fiber, iron, and zinc. Although the fat content is high, most are medium chain fatty acids, or MCFA’s. Benefits associated with MCFA’s include an increase in HDL cholesterol (that’s the good kind, folks), providing an immediate source of energy, increasing satiety, and increasing metabolic rate. Furthermore, the MCFAs in coconut, namely, lauric acid, caprylic acid, and capric acid are antimicrobial, antiviral and antifungal. In addition to these benefits, phenolic compounds in coconut act as antioxidants. MCFAs have been used to improve memory in Alzheimer’s patients as well as uncontrolled seizures in children. Plus–it just tastes so darn good, and pairs superbly with chocolate. And you all know how much we love chocolate.
Organic Alkalized Cocoa Powder
Cacao powder has been newly recognized as a superfood in its own right. It is literally a powerhouse of nutrients, including carbohydrates, protein, free form amino acids, essential fats and fatty acids, and minerals. Its high levels of bioflavonoids make it one of the richest food sources of antioxidants on earth. Our alkalized cocoa is obtained from the grinding of Non-GMO, sound and ripe previously-cleaned, shelled, roasted organic cocoa beans. This Dutch process, or alkalizing, reduces acidity and bitterness, darkens the cocoa and gives it a a richer, silkier flavor.