Each day of my life I am having a little bit of raw dark chocolate. Please do not expect the sweet dark chocolate that you find the store. 

My life is refined sugar free (including coconut sugar or agave) since I was pregnant with twins 8 years ago. 

But I love a good strong raw dark chocolate especially in the morning before or generally after my workout. 

I know that it can be very counter intuitive to think that someone who loves sports since she was a child, can eat dark chocolate every day. Yes I do it every single day...

I have been a dark chocolate addict all my life and yes, at times I was more curvaceous than others.

You know why, because I did not know what sugar could do to me. You always think, that's OK, I will burn it off tomorrow but then you do not realize all the glycation and inflammatory reactions that can happen in your body while consuming refined glucose or refined fructose. 

Hnina Snacks Cereal
No Glyphosate here!

TO DIE FOR... NOT FROM

Hi guys...Ron here...for a change. 

This week EWG (a great consumer organization that tests products for toxins) released a report finding Roundup Glyphosate in 43 of 45 of the most popular oat cereals, granolas, snack bars and oatmeals. 

The list of course included Cheerios, Lucky Charms and a bunch of Quaker and Kellogs products, but also KIND bars and plenty of healthy sounding Nature this and Earth that...Whole Foods too...et tu Brute? 

Hnina organic raw dark chocolate motivates me, makes me focused, makes me happy, makes me strong for my training and helps me getting over any goals I give myself. Also, it gives me very fast this sensation of being satiated as if I ate a whole meal whereas I am still almost fasting. 

The quality of good nutritious food is what makes each one of us strive not the sugar. 

We made last Sunday some delicious Dark Chocolate and sprouted hazelnuts Fondant.

It was memorial Week end and we wanted to celebrate the memory of our dear Soldiers. 

This time the kids were involved and decide to par

Many people only care about the “taste” of chocolate.

But it’s about much more than that.

You must also consider the ETHICS of how the chocolate is made.

Most people have no idea that child slaves are used to make their favorite chocolates.

In March 2016, Fortune magazine revealed the truth in their shocking piece, “Behind a Bittersweet Industry.”

Unprocessed raw fresh food is key for health: it is essential to eat organic wholesome farm grown greens, raw cacao and sprouted nuts or seeds.

Unprocessed raw fresh food is key for health.

It is essential to eat organic wholesome farm grown greens, raw cacao and sprouted nuts or seeds to make your body functions at its optimal body functioning.

You might think that I am nuts, well yes yes I am nuts about chocolate for sure.

As you probably all know, I am against processed and junk food. I am in love with raw green and sprouted nourishing delicacies. I actually have been making everything from scratch transforming the “non healthy” versions of the traditional recipes I had the chance to be exposed to as a child, into cleaner delicious versions.

It is all an inspiration of each instant.

Coming from a pretty diverse background, I have been exposed to so many different culinary recipes from Paris, Tunis to Czernowitz, and way of cooking or processing the food.

Dancing and chocolate are my life goals.

Chocolate and dancing are part of who I am. I have been dancing since a very young age and always LOVED raw dark chocolate, I mean really dark raw chocolate. I wanted to start early on, but my parents could not afford it.

I was asking all the time but with the multiple refusals, I realized I had to stop dreaming. As soon as I started to work at age 13, I paid for my dance classes. My first attempt was in Modern Jazz.

It didn’t do the trick though. Jazz was not my thing.

By age 14, I was still playing basketball and I wanted to get the beautiful moves that you could see on the playground wherever I was playing. Especially with the guys of the slums I grew up with. They had such an amazing style. I wanted to match their skills.

That’s when I started hip hop. I actually got much better in basketball and was the only girl in high school playing with the boys!

I don’t know if you are like me but there are no popsicle brands that I would buy in the store. If you look at the organic ingredients they all have unhealthy inflammatory ingredients and sweeteners.  Just because it’s organic does not mean it’s healthy.  You may find grape juice concentrate, cane sugar, agave, coconut sugar in these popsicles.  Don’t they sound healthy?  Noooo.  They are all bad!  Don’t buy it.  Most of these sweeteners are loaded with fructose which your liver will process and transform into fat. It is way too much sugar injected way too fast into our system without any fiber or nutrients to help slow down the digestion and process it properly.

Ok, fine, but you wonder where you’ll find the time.  And you may think you’re not a good enough for this advanced culinary project.  Guess what?  It takes just a few minutes of your time and it’s a piece of cake…popsicle.

I will provide you with two easy, wonderfully healthy and super colorful recipes.  But be as creative as you wish and have fun with other combinations of fruits and vegetables.  All you need is a blender or food processor and BPA-free popsicle molds.

1. Watermelon popsicles: This one is the simpler of the two. Take a half of an organic mini watermelon. Make sure it’s ripe so the concentration of beta-carotene is super high (it is a phenolic antioxidant).  Blend the red pulp in your blender. Place the juice into your molds and leave in the freezer overnight. Voila!!!!   They are so refreshing and loaded with a concentration of lycopene (a carotenoid phytonutrient), citrulline (an amino acid), phenolic antioxidants, flavonoids, and vitamin C.

2. Grapefruit, cucumber and passion fruit popsicles: These are to die for. They are raw, amazingly refreshing and hydrating without being too sweet! Try to get ripe passion fruit. (We have so many in our garden! Once planted the vine grows like a weed in Southern California.  Try it if you can as they’re rather expensive in the store.)  Take 1 small cucumber, 1 grapefruit and 7 passion fruits of average size. Blend them until the grain of the passion fruit is pulverized. Into the molds and c’est fini!!!! These popsicles are filled with nutrients such as vitamin A, C, antioxidants, flavonoids, riboflavin, niacin, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, fiber and protein, K, B vitamins, copper, potassium, vitamin C, and manganese.

You get the point, it’s fun and easy and your kids and adults will love them!   I will post more recipes on our blog including some very protein and nutrients rich popsicles, made with whole foods rather than processed ingredients such as protein powders.

Please let us know if you liked these at INFO@HNINAGOURMET.COM .

Bonne degustation.

Vanessa

For further information about health contents of those popsicles please see the links under.

HTTP://WWW.WHFOODS.COM/GENPAGE.PHP?TNAME=FOODSPICE&DBID=31

HTTPS://WWW.ORGANICFACTS.NET/HEALTH-BENEFITS/FRUIT/PASSION-FRUIT.HTML

HTTP://ARTICLES.MERCOLA.COM/SITES/ARTICLES/ARCHIVE/2014/08/23/HEALTH-BENEFITS-CUCUMBERS.ASPX

HTTP://WWW.WHFOODS.COM/GENPAGE.PHP?TNAME=FOODSPICE&DBID=25

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