Delicious and healthy recipe for Chocolate Fudge

Delicious and healthy recipe for reduced-sugar, nutrient-dense, "Super-Food" peanut-butter Chocolate Fudge

-Takes less than 5 minutes to make
Ideas for lower-calorie, reduced sugar desserts
by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

Today, I have one of my most famous delicous Lean-Body desserts or snacks that always helps to satisfy my sweet tooth while at the same time giving you TONS of quality nutrition.

It's my own special version of a healthy peanut-butter-fudge! We could even call it "superfood-fudge". Everybody RAVES about this recipe, and people that try it almost always can't believe that this could be healthy -- because it tastes so damn good!
In fact, there are NO refined sugars or artificial sweeteners in this fudge recipe, so it is MUCH lower in sugar than any fudge you would ever find at any store. Plus, I make this recipe jam-packed with nutrient-dense additions to satisfy your body's need for micronutrients, but also satisfy your sweet tooth!
If you don't like (or can't eat) nuts or peanut butter, you can simply leave out those ingredients and make a chocolate-only version. Pay attention, because there are specific ingredients that make this a LOT healthier for you than typical fudge.

I will say that this dessert / snack is not low-calorie per se, but it is loaded with quality healthy fats, protein, LOTS of antioxidants, and is relatively low in sugar and total carbohydrates (compared with typical fudge or other desserts), while also containing a decent dose of fiber.
Overall, it's a great snack or dessert that helps curb your appetite, fuel your muscles, loads you up on protective antioxidants, and quells that sweet tooth that often makes you overeat on refined sweets.

Geary's Lean-Body Chocolate Peanut Butter "SuperFood" Fudge Recipe:

• 3/4 cup organic coconut milk (NOT the watered down "light" version which just replaces some of the healthy coconut fat with water...use the real full-fat version)
• 1 bar (3-5 oz. bar works well) of bakers unsweetened chocolate - 100% cacao content (if you can't find 100% cacao bakers chocolate, look for at least 70-80% cocoa content on the label of any dark chocolate bar - to minimize sugar content)
• 4-5 tablespoons of peanut butter or your favorite nut butter (almond butter, cashew butter, pecan butter, and/or macadamia butter, etc)
• 3/4 cup raisins or dried cranberries or goji berries (optional)
• 1/2 cup whole raw almonds or other nuts (optional)
• 1/4 cup raw chopped pecans (optional)
• 1 scoop, about 25 gms of your favorite protein powder (I used my new favorite protein -
  the only raw GRASS-FED whey protein!)
• 3 Tbsp chia seeds, hemp seeds, and/or flax seeds (optional, but adds crazy amounts of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants...plus a nutty taste)
• 2 Tbsp rice bran (usually only available at health food stores)
• 2 Tbsp whole oats or oat bran
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• A little natural stevia powder to sweeten (add a small amount to achieve the sweetness you prefer)
• add a small touch of real maple syrup if you want a more "blended" sweetness flavor (keep the amount small to keep sugar content low)

Note on coconut milk: don't be afraid of the fats in this... coconut fat is mostly medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) that are more readily used for energy and also contain a special fat called Lauric Acid, which is extremely healthy and supports the immune system.
Start by adding the coconut milk (cans of organic coconut milk are available at most health food stores and possibly even your grocery store) and vanilla extract to a small saucepan on VERY low heat -- the lowest heat setting. Break up the extra dark chocolate bar into chunks and add into pot. Add the nut butters and the stevia, and continuously stir until it all melts together into a smooth mixture.
Then add the raisins, nuts, seeds, protein powder, oat bran, and rice bran and stir until fully blended. If the mixture becomes too thick or dry consistency, just add a small amount more coconut milk. If the mixtures seems too wet, keep in mind that it will solidify a good bit once it goes in the fridge.
Spoon/pour the fudge mixture onto some waxed paper in a dish and place in the fridge until it cools and solidifies together (3-4 hours). Cut into squares once firm and place in a closed container or cover with foil in fridge to prevent it from drying out.
Enjoy small squares of this delicious healthy "super-food" fudge for dessert and for small snacks throughout the day. This is about as good as it gets for a healthy yet delicious treat!
Even though this is a healthier dessert idea that's lower in sugar and higher in nutrition than most sweet treats, keep in mind that it is still calorie dense, so keep your portions reasonable. Give this recipe a try and I guarantee that you'll LOVE it... Everybody I know raves to me about this healthy, but delicious fudge recipe!
BTW, feel free to email the link for this page with the special healthy fudge recipe to any friends and family that you think might enjoy it or share this with your facebook friends!

FYI - you can also get healthy organic snack bars for quick bites on the road or at the office (and they have chocolate peanut butter flavor too!) at my good friends site at Prograde:
Healthy organic snack bars (peanut butter, almond butter, or spirulina)
Enjoy!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Author - The Truth about Six Pack Abs

You might also like this related Article:

Healthy Raw Snacks and Treats

Chlorophyll from Raw Food

"Chlorophyll, the healer, is at once powerful and bland - devastating to germ, yet gentle to wounded body tissues. Exactly how it works is still Nature's secret; (but) to the layman, at least, the phenomenon seems like green magic." H.E. Kirchner, M.D.




Chlorophyll from Raw Food

by Roxanne Vick

"When you are green inside, you are clean inside", holds a lot of truth. This missing element in many people's lives would cause all vegetation to die, and subsequently, all animals and man. Without chlorophyll, plants would not be able to take nutrition from the sun, because the process of photosynthesis would not go on. In this article I will explain the benefits of chlorophyll, and why raw foods are the best source for this nutrient. But first, let me review, for those having trouble remembering what chlorophyll is.

Chlorophyll is the green pigment found in plants, that enables them to take nutrition from the air, sun, and water, and make them "living", raw foods. This green pigment covers up any carotene pigment in the plant. Chlorophyll is more than just a pigment, obviously, but the pigments tell-tale green color is a great indication if what we are going to eat, or juice, has this most essential element.

There have been many studies on the benefits of chlorophyll. It is fascinating to me that the chlorophyll pigment, is almost identical to our blood pigments! The biggest difference is that the chlorophyll pigments center atom is magnesium, while our bloods center atom is iron. Think of it! The element that causes plants to be able to convert light into energy, is almost identical to our blood pigment. Thus the nickname: "green blood". This is why chlorophyll is so good for our blood! With undiseased blood, most diseases are impossible.

It stands to reason that since chlorophyll is a natural deodorant, that animals that eat grass should have sweet breath. It is implied here that they don't, but being the city girl that I am, I will just have to take others' word for this. However, there was a study done by a veterinarian, Dr. Maurice E. Serling. He gave his canine patients in his veterinary hospital doses of chlorophyll, and banished all halitosis and body odor after six hours! When the tablets were discontinued, the odors resumed, and when they were started again, the odors left again!

There are many benefits of chlorophyll, really too many to list in detail in this article, since it has been used to fight many different diseases, but I hope to give you a basic understanding of a few of its benefits. They are: purification of the blood, liver, constipation and gas corrector, emphysema, abcesses of the liver and kidney, kidney stones, and it has also been shown to be an excellent topical for infections and burns! Chlorophyll contains properties that break down carbon dioxide, and release oxygen, which kills bacteria. Amazingly, it has also been used by professionals in deep surgical wounds! Its absence of toxicity, and promotion of repair tissue/skin, and soothing qualities makes it a miracle antiseptic, and it is my belief that if it could be patented, it would be, along with the air we breathe. (Thank goodness that's not so!)

The raw foods that contain chlorophyll are: green leafy vegetables of all kinds, green olives, romaine lettuce, sea vegetables, broccoli, green peas, leeks, bell peppers, wheatgrass juice, and barleygreen (juice). Spinach is the top salad green for chlorophyll, bar none. It has been shown that cooking changes the chlorophyll, but the results are inconclusive to how it affects us. It results in the magnesium atom in the center, though, being replaced with hydrogen; and chlorophyll being absent after 20 minutes of boiling. Even though green vegetables are full of chlorophyll, many who are really sick do not absorb this chlorophyll due to the sad shape their colon is in; so the raw foods should be juiced, since the lack of fiber in the juice causes the chlorophyll to be absorbed in a matter of minutes!

Ann Wigmore has an unforgettable personal testimony of how she overcame gangrene in her leg. She was told she had to have her leg amputated, or she would die. She absolutely refused, even though her parents, and the Doctor were angry with her. She was basically left alone, and describes hours of solitude outside; since she couldn't get around very easily, she ate grass! She believes the wheatgrass juice cured her, thus her entrance into that industry. The Bible does say that the herbs are for the healing of the nations, and given Ann Wigmore's testimony, and scores of others, I think that it is safe to say that the chlorophyll in these herbs is definitely a factor!

In conclusion, raw foods remain the best way to consume chlorophyll, with juicing your vegetables or drinking wheatgrass or barleygreen being the best. It is possible to lightly steam vegetables, and still get some chlorophyll, but it is not ideal, because of the changed atom structure, and the unknown consequences of doing so.

As the mother of 9 children, Roxanne Vick has long been interested in health and nutrition, for survival's sake! She also enjoys gardening, hiking and reading. For some delicious recipes high in chlorophyll, check out her raw food recipe books at: http://www.myrawfooddietrecipes.com/

Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com/

(End of Article)

I found this article in the blog Raw Food

Consult your doctor before using any health treatment — including herbal supplements and natural remedies — and tell your doctor if you have a serious medical condition or are taking any medications. The information presented here is for educational purposes only and is in no way intented as substitute for medical counseling.

Resources:

- More information about Wheat Grass: http://www.evergreenjuices.com/

- You can get various Wheat Grass products at Kalyx.com or at Sunfood.com, for example a Drink Mix containing this Greens Blend: barley grass, alfalfa sprouts, broccoli sprouts, radish sprouts, oat grass, wheat grass, alfalfa juice conc., and this Vegetable Blend: broccoli flower, cabbage leaf, carrot root, collard greens, tomato fruit, mustard greens, kale leaf, spinach leaf.

- I especially recommend Sun Is Shining - Green Superfood (raw, organic & wildcrafted ingredients), a wonderful Green Superfood supplement I personally use every day!

Vegan, Vegetarian, Macrobiotic ... What's the Difference?

Vegan, Vegetarian, Macrobiotic ... What's the Difference?

:: By Sally Kneidel and Sara Kate Kneidel

-->
So, you’re vegetarian and you don’t eat eggs,but your brother’s a vegetarian and he eats fish. And your best friend, she doesn’t even drink milk, but your neighbor calls herself vegetarian, even though you saw her eat chicken the other day. What’s going on? The truth is, being a vegetarian can mean lots of different things. Everyone has a different definition of what they do and don’t want to eat. Fortunately, if you want to be more specific, there are a number of useful terms. Let’s break it down.

Vegetarian
This is a general term. About 5 percent of the current U.S. population considers themselves to be vegetarian, although a number of varying dietary habits fall into this category. Usually this term refers to someone who doesn’t eat any kind of meat, including beef, pork, chicken, turkey, and seafood. However, there are many people who don’t quite match this description, but still use this label. These include …

Pollo-Vegetarian
This is someone who follows a mostly vegetarian diet but is known to eat the occasional McChicken sandwich or nibble at some turkey jerky. In reality, birds are meat, so this isn’t really a form of vegetarianism, but lots of people who call themselves vegetarians do indulge in a bit of chicken every so often.

Pesco-Vegetarian
Again, this is someone who follows a mostly vegetarian diet but who does eat a little meat—in this case, seafood. For some reason, lots of people don’t seem to count aquatic creatures as animals. This is often for health reasons: fish is a healthier choice than pork or beef, for instance. Other people choose to eat fish because it doesn’t affect land use as much as raising livestock does. However, overharvesting and polluting our seas and lakes is a significant environmental concern. Nonetheless, this is a popular diet, although, like pollo-vegetarianism, it’s not technically vegetarian.

Lacto-Ovo-Vegetarian
This person eats no meat, including seafood, but does eat dairy products and eggs. Most lacto-ovo-vegetarians follow this basic rule: if you have to kill the animal to get the product, then don’t eat it. Therefore, milk is okay, but gelatin, which is made from horse hooves, is not.

Lacto-Vegetarian
This person eats no meat or eggs but does eat dairy products. Dairy products include cows’ milk and any food you can make from cows’ milk, such as ice cream, yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, butter, and so on. Other animal products, such as goat cheese, are also included.

Ovo-Vegetarian
A person on this diet eats no meat and no dairy products but does eat eggs. This isn’t too common. (The lives of hens that provide table eggs are at least as miserable as chickens raised for meat, and eggs are no healthier in our diets than meat, so it’s little wonder there are few ovo-vegetarians.)

Vegan
About 1 percent of the U.S. population follows a vegan (pronounced “VEE-gun”) diet. This excludes all meat, eggs, and dairy products, and usually any other food produced by animals, such as honey. A strict vegan also avoids products that may seem innocent, such as refined sugar (white table sugar), because animal bones are used to process it. Many vegans also refuse to use nonedible animal products, such as leather, silk, wool, feathers, and so on. This can get really complicated. For example, did you know that camera film isn’t vegan? Gelatin is used to manufacture it. Or that some lotions contain lanolin, which comes from wool? Strict vegans have to be very well informed.

Macrobiotic
A follower of the macrobiotic diet is mainly vegetarian, but this diet sometimes includes seafood. All other meat products are excluded,as well as eggs and dairy products. Basically, this diet focuses on eating local and seasonal foods that balance each other in harmonic ways. Some people follow this diet as a philosophy of life and others follow it for health reasons.

Fruitarian
A fruitarian is a person who eats only fruits and vegetables, often including beans, nuts, and grains, usually raw. It is important that these things are taken from the plant withoutkilling it.

Raw or Living Food Diet
A person who follows this diet eats only raw foods. The concern is that heating foods above 116°F destroys important enzymes that help with digestion. This person also believes that cooking diminishes the vitamin and mineral content of the food.

Hurray for all types of vegetarians! All of these choices can be healthy—some more than others—but it is important to be well informed about the health benefits and risks of any diet that you choose to follow. Although people often feel strongly that their choice is the best and may be critical of others, the reality is that cutting your meat consumption in any way is a positive step. Reducing the amount of meat in your diet benefits your health, promotes animal wellbeing, and helps the planet support the growing human population.

From Veggie Revolution: Smart Choices for a Healthy Body and a Healthy Planet' by Sally Kneidel and Sara Kate Kneidel. © 2005 Fulcrum Publishing.

(End of Article)

Source: This is an article from GAIAM Community.

Gaiam.com is a health-conscious, environmentally responsible lifestyle company whose goal is to bring LOHAS to the mainstream. The Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) concept is centered on the idea that our own health and happiness is connected to the health of our planet. Taking a holistic approach to our content and product selection, we encourage wholesome lifestyle choices with healthy, green products for your home and body.

Related Video:
More-Ganics: Get More Organics In Your Diet
Essential Tips for Healthy Eating

Related Articles:
Celebrity Planet: Nicole Kidman Grows Produce...And Her Family
Eating Healthy & Organic on the Go





More Vegetarian Books

Related Ebooks:

How To Do The Raw Food Diet With Joy

Vegetarian Recipe: The Chinese Way

Quick Easy Chinese Vegetarian Cooking

Vegetarian Secrets Exposed ...

Natural Healing Recipes

Let them grow your own organic food for you!

Here is something very interesting that I just found on a fellow APsense member\'s blog, Ginny Williams:


I wanted to share this immediately!


It is an awesome opportunity for everybody interested in Organic Food, especially Vegetarians and Vegans.


It is in pre-launch now and you can pre-register for your own organic acre . It will be situated on a farm in Oregon.


Read what they say:


My Organic Acres is like nothing you\'ve ever seen before.

You will lease and have access to your own 240/120 square foot Organic Garden 24/7 from the comfort of your own living room through the magic of the computer.

You will tell your own personal gardener what favorite products you wish to plant. The only thing you will miss is that pungent compost odor that wafts through your garden.

You will have an expert gardener assigned to till, plant, hoe, and harvest your crops for you.

You can then choose to sell all or a portion of your crops in our farmers market, have all or a portion of your crops shipped direct to your house for dinner or give all or a portion of your crops to feed the hungry.

All of this will be handled for you by the expert staff at Organic Acres. All of your crops will use only products certified as organic by the USDA and all of your crops will be guaranteed.

Read more and pre-register (no obligation):

My Organic Acres

Even if you will not get your own Organic Acre in the end, you can still do something good by telling as many people as you can about this great opportunity! (You even get paid for doing this.)

To our international readers (outside U.S.):

Unfortunately shipping produce outside the U.S. is not permissible but you certainly can participate in Organic Acres.


While you have the option of leasing a Full or Half Garden, anything you would grow in your garden would need to be sold to the community members through the Farmers Market here in the U.S.


At present your best options would be to join as a Free or Basic member.


You can earn commissions on anyone you\'d bring into your community by giving them your Organic Acres link up to 5 levels deep as a Basic member up, 1 level as a Free member.


I am really jealous on my US colleagues that they can have their own organic garden like this! (I am in Germany). I would jump on this if I were in the US!


My Organic Acres


PS. Since you are reading this you might also be interested in joining my new APSense group Raw Vegan! You are very welcome.

http://www.apsense.com/group/rawvegan

Healthy Raw Snacks and Treats

Would you have thought uncooked snacks and desserts made from raw healthy ingredients could look and taste fantastic? Well, they can!

Read what Carolyn Hansen – Author, Nutrition Expert, Fitness Centre Owner, & National Champion Bodybuilder – has to say about this:

“I was born in New Zealand (which, by the way is a beautiful country that you should take the opportunity to visit if you ever get the chance) and I still live there today, in Whangarei, the northern-most city in the country.

Currently I operate a pair of fitness centers located in the heart of Whangarei city, and I spend a great deal of my time consulting with people in my gyms, and learning about the problems they face trying to stay in shape and maintain the right kind of diet – which, I will admit, always takes a certain element of willpower. Over the years I have learned that the best way to control your calorie intake, and ensure that you are not ruining your health because of poor nutrition is to pay close attention to the kinds of things you tempt yourself with. Why use unhealthy butter, sugar, and processed flour to prepare the foods you eat when you can use equally delicious substitutes that confer none of the ills that the refined foods do?”

If you want to try those “substitutes” get Carolyn Hansen’s FREE Ebook – and enjoy!

No sugar, flour, or butter to be found in these recipes - just raw healthy foods that Hansen likes to call living. No cooking either, which makes preparation a snap. All a mom needs be proficient within the kitchen to keep her kids satisfied is a blender.

PS. I personally love those “Snacks” very much – and I could live on them day in day out! Currently my favourites are the “Coconut Orange Chocolate Squares”.

Here's an article I thought you'd enjoy:
Heidrun Peters

----------------------------------------------

- A Philosophical Outlook On Being a Raw Fooder

The older I get the simpler and more unified life looks to me.

We're all creatures of energy. Everything in our lives, everything around us, everything we experience consists of energy.

To start with, we're made up of energy. Every proton, electron and neutron in our universe - including those that make up our bodies - is made up of three quarks. Quarks are, simply put, just energy. In the microcosmic analysis of it, all we are is a bundle of energy forms.

It's obvious to us that people and animals also have a life energy - something different than molecular energy. The cells of a dead animal don't stop existing, they change (decay, rot), but the life force energy of the animal is gone.

What about plants? In the past two decades scientists have measured the life energy of plants, and define it as biophotonic energy. It's a separate thing from molecular energy and explains how plants can respond to music, voices and love. So plants have a life force energy, just as animals do.

When we interact with others we gain emotional energy. When we interact with love and affection our positive energy is returned to us, increased. But even when we interact with hate, disgust or animosity, our ego gains energy. Negative energy, true, but the ego doesn't care - energy is energy and the ego wants to be fed.

The same is true of our physical bodies. Our bodies gain energy from almost anything that we put in them. Obviously there are side effects to the Standard American Diet (SAD) - obesity, cancer, asthma, heart disease, diabetes, and all the others. But despite the damage such a diet is doing, people continue to eat it because it tastes good, just as they'll argue or fight instead of walking away.

So consider this: If our egos will fight instead of walk away, and if our bodies will consume known toxins, what are we doing to our biophotonic (life force) energy in the process? Another thought: can these effects on our biophotonic energy be considered karma?

Here's the way I think of it: When I kill or cook my food I destroy the biophotonic energy, the life-force energy of the food. When I eat raw living foods the life force energy of the food becomes a part of me.

When Dr. Ann Wigmore taught that we should "listen to our bodies, because they will tell us what we need," she was referring to what our bodies truly need, not what we've trained them to want.

That's where Dr. Ann's detoxification, cleansing and lifestyle come it. By following her regime we clean ourselves up enough to be able to listen to what our bodies need, not want.

Dr. Jim Carey

Learn more: http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=3699365

Yours in Radiant Good Health,

Heidrun Peters

heidrun@action.ms

"You are what you eat" IS "the law of attraction." - Mike Grefner