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Welcome to Foodie Friday. Mmm, chocolate. Mmm, raw chocolate? As many vegans and raw foodists know, the latest trend in chocolate is going raw. The idea is that raw chocolate has more antioxidants, more enzymes and more mineral than the cooked chocolate you’ll find in regular bars. The problem being, it’s so dang expensive. Because it has no preservatives and is usually lovingly made in small batches by tiny producers (the company, not the people, oompa-loompahs aside), the prices are often shocking.

But you can make your own raw chcolate–though it’s not exactly free either, the basic ingredients aren’t cheap. But I find I need to eat a LOT less to feel completely satisfied. It’s just the cacoa talking directly to my chocolate receptors. This recipe I found online by Mark Ament is vegan and looks similar to the recipe my friend Jenn just used to make some delicious choco. You can find the ingredients at good health food stores or places like Raw Guru or Sunfood (run by raw chocolate evangelist David Wolfe).

Recipe for Raw Chocolate

To make this recipe you need a grinder or a mortar and pestle

Ingredients for simple chocolate:

1/2 C whole peeled cacao beans, ground
1/8 C coconut oil
1/8 C melted cacao butter (use coconut oil if not available)
1/4 C raw honey or raw agave syrup

Optional ingredients:

1/4 cup raisins
1 T almonds, finely chopped
1 drop orange, lemon, clove, lavender or other essential oil
Cinnamon to taste
Celtic sea salt to taste

Preparation:

Grind cacao until it is very fine. The cacao will have a consistency like raw almond butter and will stick to the sides of the grinder. Mix ground cacao with coconut oil or cacao butter in grinder. Remove mixture and add honey and other ingredients. Stir well with a fork. The mixture should be able to be poured. If not, add more coconut oil. Pour into ice cube trays or other forms and freeze for 45 minutes. Serve immediately after removing from the freezer.