You are most welcome, and glad to hear you enjoyed it :) Here are two recipes with some specific measurements that can help to get you started and then you can modify and adapt from there for your needs or creative appeal: 1. Dark chocolate (www.evolvingwellness.com/post/vegan-chocolate-recipe) and 2. White chocolate (www.evolvingwellness.com/post/coconut-white-chocolate).

Benefits of cacoa

Great to hear, thank you, Noel.

You are so welcome and thank you for your nice comment.

Thank you Alvin, I greatly appreciate that kind feedback.

You have chosen an excellent field of study! Holistic approaches allow us to see the "whole" picture - the big picture - and not just isolated parts which lead to incorrect or faulty conclusions. Congratulations and best wishes on your path :)

You are most welcome and I thank you for your nice feedback and comment. And yes indeed, the state of our body and health is a reflection of the state of our diet and lifestyle. Oral health and gum disease is directly connected to both the type of foods that enter our mouth and their effects on the teeth, gums and oral tissues, and also to the quality of the foods that create our body and new cells. Nutrient-deficient diets, those based on processed and refined foods, create all kinds of problems, so the more nutrient-dense you make your diet, the more you will help your body heal and support it most optimally. I offer lots of support for optimal eating here: www.evitaochel.com/post/nourish-your-body Best wishes!

That is really nice to hear :) Thank you very much for your kind comment and best wishes for your continued health.

You are most welcome Donnie, and yes, very simple (and delicious!) indeed :)

Great to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for watching and sharing your comment :)

That is really nice to hear, thank you :)

You are very welcome! Thank you so much for your meaningful feedback and nice comments.

Wonderful to hear, and thank you for your nice comment!

+Michael Irwin You are so super welcome Michael, I am so happy to hear you liked it so much! I was hoping to get it out before the holidays, but amidst other tasks it took longer than expected....all good though, it is here now :) So thank you so much for your comment! Your gratitude and enthusiasm were such a joy to received. And absolutely, there are so many amazing, healthy and delicious ways in which a person can enjoy the various desirable attributes of chocolate, aka cacao. To your best health always!

My pleasure! And thank you for your nice comment :)

Great to hear. Thank you for your feedback.

Thank you so much :) Enjoy!

Thanks for the feedback Rosemary!

My pleasure!

Thanks so much for your feedback Justin. There are many super quick and easy treats you can make, that I have found are a big hit with people and appear very decadent. For example these walnut brownies (with or without the fudge) take minutes to make, store really well, and are super delicious (kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qOBgepdilrzKlps.html). Also, if you have a freezer with enough space for some frozen fruit, especially bananas, you can make people instant n'ice-cream using a Vitamix, like this one (kzfaq.info/get/bejne/l6qEn6Vk0q_Uemw.html) - dairy free, sugar free. The simplest (and one of my faves) is a frozen banana + peanut butter mixture. It is really cost effective, uses easy to get ingredients, and is so rich and delicious. (Will have a video with that demo soon.) Cheers!

Glad you enjoyed it Susan. Thank you for your feedback.

Thank you so much for the feedback :)

Great to hear and thanks for sharing your experience!

Great to hear! Thank you for watching and sharing your comment Lisa.

My pleasure, Cat, and thank you for your feedback.

Hope you enjoyed all these natural cacao goodies :)

My pleasure, and thank you for watching.

You are super welcome, and thank you for your beautiful comment and feedback. Yes, you can enjoy chocolate in a healthy way that actually helps, not hurts, your health :)

You are welcome and thank you for your nice feedback!

You are so very welcome :) And yes, I've put together this recipe for white chocolate that you can experiment with and adjust to your liking: www.evolvingwellness.com/post/coconut-white-chocolate

Hi Jillyjogs, it is a little tougher with granulated sugars of any kind, as they may not dissolve fully and leave some graininess, versus a liquid sweetener. You can try and see if it works for you. As for the hot cacao drink, absolutely. It is in fact one of the best ways to wean oneself off of coffee, as it is a dark, slightly bitter drink, so the resemblance is there for the mind to feel familiar. And yes, you can make it with non-dairy milk, which will make it light and creamy, or half -half hot water to non-dairy milk, etc. Enjoy!

Glad you liked it! And thank you so much for your nice feedback :)

@@Healthytarian You are welcome. I had actually placed an order from Amazon for a few gadgets after watching another youtube video and canceled my order after watching yours, so Thank you!

@@UARELOVE1010 My sincere pleasure :)

You are very welcome.

Nice to hear, Linda. Thanks for sharing.

Glad it was helpful! Thank you :)

Great to hear, and thank you for sharing your commentary.

Glad you enjoyed it!

You are most welcome!

It is quite fun, and delicious, indeed :) Thanks for watching and sharing your comment.

Thank you so much.

Hi Alpana, these chocolates are shelf-stable and can be shipped as long as the temperatures are cooler. Otherwise, in very warm or hot temperatures they are prone to melting. I have shipped some to family or friends, but only during the cooler fall and winter months. Thank you for your feedback.

+sandi ortega My pleasure, and thank you for your comment!

Hi Stephen, thank you so much for the nice feedback. With regards to consumption, cacao beans, much like coffee beans, are quite medicinal and potent in their chemical structure, and this is the main reason why we don't want to overdo either. When it comes to the plant kingdom, some plants act strongly like foods and small medicines (i.e. most fruits and vegetables), some plants are about half-half food-medicine (i.e. most leafy greens and herbs), and some act strongly like medicines and should not be used as "foods" (implying daily, regular, or high quantity use). If we apply it to a simple example, it would be like taking a drug on a regular basis. It is one thing if and when we need it, but quite another to use indiscriminately. In the case of cacao, there are many compounds to consider and understand their potential side effects. For example, the effects of high amounts of theobromine, as well as many of the alkaloids that cacao contains. It can have mild to strongly toxic effects, and be stressful to the liver. It can also be over-stimulating for the system as a whole, and be hard on the cardiac system and adrenal glands. Although you will get people out there sharing all kinds of things about cacao and promoting eating lots of it, that is the same thinking as what we see with coffee and the results of the latter are obvious all around us in society. When we abuse a food that is meant to be a medicine, we experience more of its negative, rather positive benefits. In the end, something I am passionate about teaching is that we have to respect nature. Today we are so disconnected from nature and all the plants and fungi, and either fear them or abuse them. When we learn to strike a wise balance, then we get the best results. So with cacao, a little goes a long way :)

Thank you kindly Thomas!

Glad you enjoyed it, Mark. Thank you!

Wonderful to hear Te. Thanks for your comment.

Thank you for your kind feedback :)

Thank you very much for your kind feedback.

Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed the video :)

You are very welcome and thank you for watching. Your method of making a "hot coco" drink is very common and as far we we currently know there is no problem in doing that. Most of the ancient usage of cacao was also done with hot water. The more important thing to make this drink as healthy as possible is to use the least refined sweetener. So if you are using white or brown sugar, it would be more healthful to switch to unrefined cane sugar or use date sugar, etc.

Thank you for sharing your experience with chocolate!

Thank you kindly, Vinni.

Thank you!

+royg7 My pleasure!

Thank you for your comment, Clive.

Cacao beans are great, but if you want to make your own cacao nibs, not chocolate as I share in this video. Sure, you can powder them, but they will not likely be ideal for the chocolate, as the bean includes the cacao butter, and then you'd be mixing it with more cacao butter, which is the oils of the beans. The raw cacao powder and cacao butter are extracted from the cacao bean, and then when you bring them together, they make chocolate in the manner we are most used to.

Thank you for your feedback, Nancy. I am not sure what you mean by "chocolate camp"? And where you can buy pure cacao powder or nibs will all depend on where in the world you live. If you are in a country where Amazon is available, then that is usually the easiest place to source these. Otherwise, all natural health food stores will have some form of pure cacao products. And if you live in a country where cacao is grown, it will be present in local stores and markets.

If the diabetic person can consume sugar alcohols (most can and this is what a lot of diabetic foods include), then xylitol would be the best replacement. It tastes and looks like sugar, but is not sugar and does not digest anything like sugar. You can find it at natural health food stores and online easily if you live anywhere in North America.

Thank you for the suggestion, Grace.

Hello Allan. It sounds like you bought a block of "cacao paste". Cacao comes in many forms, including powder form and paste form. Cacao nibs are quite different, they are just the cacao bean broken down into smaller pieces.

That is great!

Not at all. Cacao butter and coconut oil are two very different substances and act very different, especially when it comes to making proper chocolates.

Thank you for that great feedback. As for raw cacao, it is more fat-soluble, as it dissolves smoothly in the cacao butter (a fat), but it mixes very well if you make a "hot coco" drink with water, though it will not fully dissolve in water.

Thank you very much 🙂

You are very welcome!

+Ann I am not really a proponent of the "one food fix" ideology that is very common today. All disease stems from and is helped by a variety of lifestyle factors. With respect to gout, it would be of more value for the person to focus on the overall quality of their diet (especially removing meats, processed foods, and alcohol) and focusing on a highly-quality, nutrient-dense, acid-alkaline balanced diet based on whole, plant foods. (Chronic acidity from foods, unmanaged stress/emotions and other lifestyle factors plays a big role in gout.) And so in addition to this, the mental and emotional state of being must also be addressed. In the case of gout, as any similar condition (arthritis), it is valuable to examine our approach to life in terms of how "rigid" vs "flexible" we are in our thinking and actions, as well as addressing unresolved anger and "inflaming" emotions. But with regards to cacao specifically, it has potent anti-inflammatory benefits, which may help with gout. It also has valuable vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that can be helpful as well. In general, chocolate and cacao are acidic, but upon digestion, some regard cacao as more alkaline forming. So in the end, as always, our body will be the best authority as to whether something will work for us or not. It doesn't hurt to try in this case, and see what, if any, effect(s) may be experienced. As to the melting method: at the beginning I started with the double boiling method, and later moved to the lowest heat setting as I found it produced the same result for me (slow, gentle melting). What I've learned will be the big determining factor here will be the type of stove we have. With an electric stove, we can get away with the lowest setting, with gas stoves not so much (they tend to produce a higher heat even on low and one that is harder to control due to the presence of the open flame).

You are good 👍and❤😊 videos thank you love it

Hi Diane, I actually do not use any cacao paste to make my chocolates. I use solely cacao butter with cacao powder. I have never actually (yet) weighed the amount of the cacao butter, as I eye how big of a chunk or chunks I want to use for the amount it will melt into (about half a cup), and then I stir in about 3 to 4 heaping tablespoons of coconut powder. (I modify as needed by taste, before I pour into my molds.) So far I only have an exact by weight recipe for my white chocolate, which you can find here: www.evolvingwellness.com/post/coconut-white-chocolate

I now read about it and found that the shell may be high on heavy metals. I will stop eating the beans with the shell I guess.

It will all depend on the quality of the cacao bean and your preference. Either way, one must be cautious with all parts of the cacao bean, as it is more of a medicinal food.

Not really, as the foundation of chocolate is the *cacao* (both the butter and powder or paste). As I mentioned to a previous viewer who asked the same, you can try using *coconut butter* (not oil), but it will not produce the same texture (hardness and smoothness) of chocolate; it will be more softer, like a fudge. My advice, therefore, is to always focus on eating wholesome plant foods that are most native to your area and easiest for you to get, and not stress or go out of your way to get things that aren't. There are many amazing whole plant food treats that can be made without depending on chocolate.

@@Healthytarian couldn't agree more, thank you so much for the reply 💚

@@shaikhashaikha3457 My pleasure :)

My pleasure.

Hi Pamela. Nibs are not going to work to make the kind of chocolates I show and describe in this video. To make chocolate, you need to buy the cacao butter and cacao powder separately and combine them. Nibs are best for sprinkling onto meals, such as adding to oatmeal bowls or smoothie bowls. They can also be blended as part of smoothies, to make chocolate smoothies. But again, to make "real chocolate" you need different cacao ingredients, as per the video.

Cacao is not the kind of substance that one "should" eat every day. A little here and there is good, but everyday may not be ideal or desirable for many people. Everyday foods that one should depend on primarily should be fruits, vegetables, legumes/beans, and whole grains. Things like cacao, as I share in the video are more medicinal and an "accessory" to one's diet, not part of the main foundation.

@@Healthytarian Dr. William Li, scientist, researcher, medical Dr , best selling author who has impacted over 30 disease treatments with his studies says two cups of hot Cacoa drinks per day. after two months you have large health heart benefits

Let me understand this.... you came here to ask me if a person "should have cacao everyday" and when I give you an answer that is based in logic and the laws of nature, and not based on money and sales, like many of these "celebrity doctors" and the misleading information they preach, you come back and tell me that some guy says it is because he has some more letters after his name that make him sound more trustworthy to you. Wow, how unfortunate what has happened to people today. Please re-consider next time before you comment to not waste people's time to answer you if you are just trying to promote or push other agendas.

@Healthytarian wow, you are really rude. Dr Li is not selling Cacao. He mentioned no brand od cacao. A study was conducted that he cited. Can you with all your KZfaq expertise cite anything that says you should not take it daily?

Scott, please re-read my reply and notice that I did not say that he is selling cacao. Nothing like that at all. You assumed and implied that, and you also chose to come here to my channel, ask me questions, and when you don't like my answers, you call me rude. Very interesting to observe, and so sad. I have been around long enough in the field of science, health, and nutrition (not "KZfaq expertise" as you try to imply), for over 25 years, and know the patterns and the tactics of these "celebrity doctors". That is the problem that I was trying to explain to you. The celebrity doctor you are referring to is nothing new in the field of "fad diet" books. These types of celebrity docs are all too common and trying to sell a name and status for themselves by trying to get people to buy into their "miraculous health claims" and "fad diets". I have seen too many people's health destroyed by such tactics and by following the advice of such celebrity doctors. So pardon me, if my reply showed some frustration to your reply (not rudeness as you tried to imply) but after all these years it is really sad to see how the same patterns of these "miracle health claims" continue and how easily people fall for their wild and outlandish claims in their desperation to heal themselves or help their health. You do not need any study to prove the health concerns of consuming too much cacao. It is common knowledge to everyone who learns the basic chemistry of cacao. When you learn about its chemical and biological properties, such as the very high oxalate levles, which can be a serious risk factor in high or regular amounts for people with or at risk of kidney disease, you quickly understand why consuming too much cacao is not a good idea. Or when you learn that cacao contains numerous compounds that have stimulating properties, which can be a problem for people with adrenal problems and certain thyroid problems, and even for some anxiety sufferers. Or when you learn the fact that a lot of cacao today has serious heavy metal contamination concerns, which can cause various health risks and problems associated with those. This information is all out there, known for decades, and freely, and widely available for you to find, if this topic interests you further.

That depends on your health status and the amount of the cacao you would use. As I share in the video, cacao is a medicinal food and one should use it with care and awareness, not like a common food. It is not like a fruit or vegetable, which you would want to eat daily. It should be used much more conservatively and I would definitely not use more than a flat teaspoon of pure cacao per drink. Otherwise, you will create a very acidid environment in your body and can increase the risk factors for certain conditions that are aggrevated by cacao's strong medicinal properties.

The whole cacao beans contain the cacao butter and the cacao powder. They will work differently therefore, than the separate cacao powder and cacao butter that is used to make these chocolates. There are many forms of the cacao: cacao beans, cacao nibs, cacao paste, cacao powder, cacao butter, and cacao liqueur, and they all serve slightly different purposes in the chocolate-making process. You can definitely try making it with the ground cacao bean, but you will get a slightly different result that may or may not be to your liking.

@@Healthytarian, Just watch your video , reading some comments now , such a good answer , you are so good and nice :) gracias again , Mau

Hi Donna. Cacao nibs are just crushed cacao beans. Therefore, they are closer to the original whole food and almost not processed at all in any way. You can enjoy them as part of your meals with a little healthier sweetener of your choice, like raw honey, as you mentioned. The chocolate I am making here is a little more processed than the natural cacao nib, however the most natural choice if we want to enjoy a food that is like "common chocolate". So they are essentially two different forms of natural cacao that will give you a chocolate experience.

Thanks for sharing.

Everything is relative. Healthy compared to what? Healthy in what amount? Healthy as part of what kind of a diet? In general, cacao butter is not something that you want to eat a lot of or eat regularly. It is a high saturated fat food ingredient and should be kept to a minimum. For example, consume it as part of a small chocolate treat from time to time.

Wonderful! Hopefully you can experiment with it to make some of these delicious and healthy chocolate treats :)

Thanks for watching.

There are a lot of inaccuracies in what our history tells us. All too often, stories are passed down inaccurately or blatantly changed in order to suit a certain narrative. For this reason, I always encourage people to think critically and logically. I don't know anyone who can drink 40 cups of any beverage in one day, without having serious digestive issues, even if they are doing a liquid fast, nevermind if they try to combine that with meals during the day. There is only so much space in our stomach, and only so much digestive processing our bodies can do before they start to have issues. The story is that native cultures in Latin America used cacao products to a great degree, but there is no certainty about what that meant in most cases. ALSO, and the biggest thing to keep in mind, is that native cultures respected plants and knew how to work with them for their wellbeing. Currently, modern people are completely disconnected from the wisdom of nature and have no idea what they are doing with their foods or drinks, or how to use medicinal plants. It is one of the reasons why were have a society completely addicted to coffee for a good example, thinking it is a good drink, while they are abusing the substance against themselves. Likewise, even if we knew the exact amount ancient cultures consumed, we cannot get away with consuming the same amounts today for the very reasons I mentioned above. Modern humans are leading extremely unnatural lives that are completely disconnected from the laws of nature and based on a high degree of stress and chaos. Any substance that is a "stimulant" is a bad idea in today's times for people, yet they seem intent of using them and burning themselves out mentally, emotionally, and physically further nonetheless. Cacao has a lot of health benefits, but the quality of the cacao will make all the difference to what it does to our health. Likewise, one has to consider their own health status when considering consuming high amounts of cacao. For example, cacao is very high in oxalates, and if one is at risk for kidney stones or has poor kidney health, then consuming cacao is not a good idea, especially in high amounts or on a regular basis.

@@Healthytarian GODDAMNIT! I'm up to six ounces cacao powder with cayenne pepper and cinnimon mixed into spring water a day dancing around in the kitchen four HOURS like a cartoon character in the middle of a RAVE or something thinking I was MOVING ON UP to this whole FOOD OF THE GODS thing and do. What the HECK am I supposed to do now?

@@braumenheimer9607 If you are serious about that amount, then for the sake of your liver and kidneys, take a break from cacao in your diet altogether. That is an excessive amount to say the least, and anything done in excess never works out to our advantage.

Thanks so much for the feedback Kevin. You can easily get those silicone trays from Amazon here: amzn.to/2Gvh3rs Pretty much any of their worldwide locations will have them. Some home and kitchen stores also now sell various such silicone molds. Cheers!

Hi Suz. Great to hear you have experimented with making your own healthy chocolates. If they are a bit too bitter, you just need to add more maple syrup. Before you pour them into your molds and have them set, taste the liquid chocolate mixture to see if it is to your liking, and adjust maple syrup as needed. As for adding nuts, yes you can. You can add any nut or seed, or even raisins, which will add a lot of natural sweetness to them, or other dried fruit, like chopped date pieces or goji berries. I recommend placing the nuts or dried fruits into the mold, first, and then pouring the chocolate in. This way you know each chocolate has some of them. But you can also stir them into the liquid chocolate mixutre and pour into the molds from there. Just be sure to grab some of them on your spoon as you go, as the nut or fruit pieces will settle to the bottom and not be distributed to all the chocolates evenly. Enjoy!

The less we process our food, the more naturally it behaves. As I share in the video, you just store them in the fridge and enjoy when you like.

Great to hear!

It is unfortunate indeed Norman, but that is the nature of our processed food society. Everything is made to last as long as it can, be as cheap as it can, and be as addictive as it can. This is why it is up to us, individual consumers, to make the best educated choices for ourselves. The good news, as you saw in the video, is that when it comes to chocolate, there is no shortage of enjoying it in healthy and wholesome ways :)

Thank you for sharing that info to expand on this topic.

Thank you for your positive feedback!