Raw Almond Butter Cups

Hey everyone! I hope you had a great Valentines Day, and today's post is just bringing you a lil' recipe for some everyday treats you can make in five minutes! These are my favorite raw treats, they remind me so much of Reeses peanut butter cups. They're not to sweet(but adjustable of course!) and not too rich, like so many raw pies and cakes can be. Any raw nut butter will do, next time I will try with coconut butter :) I was really intimidated to try this recipe so here's a step-by-step just for you:

First prepare a batch of liquid chocolate a la Ani Phyo, or just combine one part liquid extra virgin coconut oil to one part ground cacao, I used 1/2 C : 1/2 C. If you live in a warm climate your coconut oil is probably already liquidated, but if you live in a Seattle-like climate just run the jar under warm water a few minutes, it melts quickly. Avoid microwaving. If you're using cacao nibs, which I highly recommend, grind them very well, for at least a minute to avoid graininess. Then sweeten to taste with coconut nectar, agave, stevia, or mesquite(I used 1 T mesquite) and pour half of the mixture into a muffin tin as pictured above. Throw in the freezer for about 5 minutes to solidify the chocolate.

Stir your almond butter with about 1/2 t pink himalayan sea salt and scoop 1-2 t on to your solidified chocolate pieces. Distribute the last of the chocolate over the almond butter and throw in the freezer for about 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

What's your favorite raw dessert?

This is for real.

I think I have a problem. A coconut water problem. Actually it might be a coconut everything problem. Not to mention I annoying rave to anyone who will listen about the amazing benefits of coconut oil on your skin. There are so many brands, but I only drink the kind thats not flash pasteurized and have had to go through a bunch before I find the ones that taste the best. 

Likes:

• Amy and Brian's all natural coconut juice with pulp. Trust me, it's wonderful. Their lime kind comes in second. 
• Taste Nirvana's coconut water/pulp AND their coconut water with aloe vera juice. Both are very good. Here are the benefits of aloe vera juice (not like the cream you put on sunburns!)
• Cracking open a young thai coconut and going to town!

Dislikes:

• Zico coconut water! It's gross, made from concentrate and tastes nothing like coconut water. Don't be suckered in even though they have lots of fun flavors, their nasty!
• O.N.E., Harvest Bay, and Vita Coco are all heat processed.

Coconut water hydrates you better than any man-made energy/sport drink out today. Whether you excersized hard or are just hungover, coconut water will gets your body the electrolytes it needs to recover quickly. Read about just how amazing it is here!

A few fun facts about coconut water:

• Coconut water is more nutritious than whole milk-with no fat and cholesterol.
• Coconut water is more healthy than orange juice-much lower in calories.
• Coconut water is naturally sterile. Water permeates through the filtering husk.
• Coconut water is a universal donor. It is identical to human blood plasma.
• Coconut water is higher in potassium and magnesium and lower in sugars than any sports/energy drink.