12 Healthy Cacao Recipes That Will Knock Your Socks Off

It’s Jeremy here and I don’t mean to go all Sonny the Cuckoo Bird on you, but I am TOTALLY cuckoo for cacao (puffs).

Want to make a smoothie? Add cacao. Want to make a dessert? Start with cacao. Want to make a savory pasta dish? Sprinkle cacao on top.

There must be no way cacao (click here for pronunciation) is good for you if it tastes so amazing, right? Wrong. While the word may sound like the cocoa powder for baking you buy at the store, the two are quite different both in processing and in nutrition. They both come from the cacao plant but cacao is closest to the raw state after harvesting the seed while cocoa has been processed with high heat. Now the cocoa powder you know and love still contains great nutrients, just not nearly as many as raw cacao does.

Cacao contains a high concentration of phytochemicals, the potent anti-cancer compounds found in plants. The most abundant antioxidants in our diet today come from a group of phytochemicals called flavonoids. Lucky for you and me, these anti-inflammatory gems help combat damage by free radicals and improve cardiovascular health, thus preventing chronic disease. THANK YOU CACAO FOR PROTECTING ME!

Eat more plants. Decrease inflammation. Reduce risk of disease. Easy! Moving on from all that science stuff… I always buy this cacoa powder because it’s organic, affordable, and because Terra Soul is a family run company that I love. Now go crazy for cacao with me and make some yummy noms!

ONE BOWL VEGAN CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BANANA BREAD

CREAMY CHOCOLATE BLUEBERRY SHAKE

FLOURLESS PEANUT BUTTER ZUCCHINI BROWNIES

VEGAN PEPPERMINT CHOCOLATE SKILLET COOKIE

VEGAN CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI MUFFINS

BLUEBERRY CACAO SMOOTHIE BOWL

THE BEST VEGAN BROWNIE RECIPE

NO-BAKE SALTED CHOCOLATE FUDGE PROTEIN BARS

ONE BOWL CHOCOLATE BANANA MUFFINS

FUDGY VEGAN RASPBERRY ALMOND BUTTER BROWNIES

RAW MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

ONE BOWL VEGAN DOUBLE CHOCOLATE COOKIES

Happy eating! Until next time, folks!