To broaden my knowledge on cacao, I met up with Hannah Calvert at The Healing House in Bramley, Leeds. Known as Gaia Goodness within her business, Hannah works with people using cacao in order to mend their mind, body and souls holistically. She kindly took me through the process of using cacao ceremonially. Hannah explained her reasoning for swapping out coffee for cacao:
"Gives you an uplifting energy without the crash of coffee! It is also better for people with anxiety to stop caffeine jitters."
As a uni student, I asked how this could be beneficial to us:
"Cacao improves blood flow, and therefore oxygen to the brain, researchers have seen significant improvements in mental focus and attention span."
I have created an infographic to share more information on cacao and it's benefits.
Hot Cacao
Recently, I have heard of a lot of people swapping out their morning coffee for cacao! It is seem by some as a healthier alternative that can be medicinal for the mind and body. I decided to experiment with drinking it.
At first, I really didn't understand why people drank it as I found it quite bitter, as someone who loves sugar, it was not sweet enough!
However, I decided not to write it off completely - I started trying it with different ingredients added make it more enjoyable, and I warmed to the taste.
When making cacao, the first few minutes are crucial! You need to make sure to keep stirring to avoid any clumpiness, if the cacao begins to boil you need to turn the heat down.
You begin by adding you cacao to a saucepan with some boiled kettle water. You continue to stir consistently. You may add as much water as you feel necessary, keep stirring and adding water until the smooth and a full liquid.
To add flavour, I added some cinnamon and milk. You can use various ingredients to customise the drink to your taste buds!
This took under 5 minutes, it was so simple! I would 100% recommend especially if you haven't tried cacao before!
Cacao chilli con carne
Chilli is such a useful recipe to make whilst it uni. Making a big batch makes it easier to store and reheat later!
I started by finely chopping 1 red onion. A tip I have for getting cheap vegetables is weighing them at the store. Always weigh and get an individual label at shops such a Tesco to make sure you're getting your money's worth!
I chopped 1 red pepper into small squares, as well as 2 chillies and 3 cloves of garlic. I love garlic and will always add as much in as possible!
I threw the onion and pepper into the pan first, allowing it to soften. Adding chilli flakes, oregano, mixed herbs, salt and tomato paste.
Once that was all mixed through I added my chopped chilli and garlic.
In a separate jug, I stirred a vegetable stock cube to add some flavour, I also felt the liquid element helped blend everything together nicely.
I allowed that to simmer for a couple minutes until I added in black eyed beans and red kidney beans that were pre tinned in a chilli sauce.
After, I added chopped tomatoes and more herbs with a friendly amount of chilli flakes. I let this simmer on a medium heat for 5 minutes.
Towards the end, I added my cacao, I mixed this in until fully melted into the chilli. And then it was ready to serve with some brown nice.
The cacao gave the chilli a rich taste which just added a nice extra kick to it!
Cacao and chia seed flapjack
Prewarning - this was my first time making flapjacks! I did not know what I was doing.
As a uni student, I don't own scales to weigh things. Everything I do I just decide by eye, which may be my downfall unfortunately.
To start, I poured my oats into a mixing bowl, adding in the chia seeds. I did actually add in the full packet which I probably would not do again. It was just a little overwhelming when eating them.
I continued to keep adding melted butter into the mixture until I felt it was the correct consistency. I also added maple syrup to make it a bit sweeter. If i had one regret, it was not adding sugar.
I added in cacao cooking nibs and then poured the mixture onto a tray and banged it straight in the oven.
This was a lot quicker than I imagined it to be and took up a lot less ingredients!
I placed the tray in the oven for approximately 35 minutes on 200°.
To finish, I drizzled some maple syrup over the top and they were ready!
This is a perfect alternative for a healthier sweet treat at uni.
Click here to watch!
Maia x
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