Better Than Chocolate Marvelous Giveaway

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Who doesn’t like chocolate?  Not many, probably.  However, some may not love the [lack of] health benefits that processed, sugar- and fat- laden chocolate delivers.  I’ve got a solution that won’t you won’t feel guilty about (and neither will your pants!).  Itz marvelous, indeed, which is perfect for today’s Marvelous Monday with Diva Katie!

Navitas Naturals sent me a bag of Organic Raw Cacao Powder to try.  I had so many ideas for what I could use this for, but first let me tell you some stats about this marvelous Mayan superfood!

  • South American cultures have been enjoying cacao for its healthful and invigorating properties for thousands of years.
  • 100% pure cacao powder – certified organic, kosher, vegan, & raw.
  • The bean of the cacao plant is the nutritional and flavorful source for all chocolate and cocoa products.
  • Cacao contains a naturally rich supply of antioxidants and is a good source of dietary fiber.
  • It is known to be one of the highest dietary sources of magnesium, flavanols, and polyphenols.
  • The unsweetened cacao powder is cold-pressed and milled at low temperatures to protect the nutrients.
  • Can be used in baking, desserts, sauces, spreads, smoothies, & beverages. (source)

Pretty impressive, eh?  What I love most is that it contains NO sugar, but it does have quite a few grams of fiber and even a few grams of protein.  Awesomesauce.  Now let me show you just some of the marvelous ways I have been enjoying the cacao.

Mixed in with many different Chobani cups of greek yogurt.

Strawberry being my favorite because I love strawberries (any berries) + chocolate!  I made a chocolate pancake and topped it with strawberries and Artisana coconut butter.  (Again, strawberries + chocolate = killer combo!)

I made a Cherry Cacao smoothie as a post-workout snack.  Did you know that consuming cherries after a workout can speed up your recovery?  Yessir.

Since pancakes are a staple for my breakfast routine, I wanted to use the cacao as a topping.  I made a blueberry pancake and then topped it with Maple Cacao Almond Butter sauce and more blueberries - AMAZING!

Maple Cacao Almond Butter Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp cacao
  • 1 – 2 tbsp almond butter
  • 2 – 3 tbsp vanilla almond milk
  • 1 tsp chia seeds (for thickening)
  • few drops of pure maple syrup

Directions:

  • Heat almond butter in microwave for 1 minute.
  • Combine all ingredients.
  • Let sit for a few minutes to thicken.

This was an awesome topper to my pancake, but I imagine it would be equally amazing in oatmeal, or even spread on a sandwich.

Navitas Naturals also sent me two more stellar products – Cacao Goji Power Snack and Cacao Lip Balm!

Goji is a superfood, too, and the snack bites were very tasty.  I’d like to try to recreate something like that at home.  A girl can never have too many lip balms, and the cacao one smelled good, tasted good, and felt good – Win, win!

Another recipe I made using the cacao was one I had been wanting to try for a long time: Avocado Mousse.  Avocados are getting a lot of rave recently – as they should be – for their healthy fats and there are recipes being created out of the wazoo.  I love avocados and I knew the avocado – cacao combo would be stellar.

And I was right.  :)   Combine 1 avocado, 3 tablespoons cacao, 3 tablespoons agave, 1 tablespoon chia seeds, and 1/2 vanilla almond milk in food processor and pulse until smooth.  Place in refrigerator until chilled and serve with your favorite berry!

With all these marvelous cacao combinations, you’ve probably got a hankerin’ sweet tooth, eh?  Well, drool no longer because the kind folks at Navitas Naturals are giving one lucky Itz Linz reader a bag of their Organic Raw Cacao Powder!

Here’s how to enter:

  • Tell me how you would use the cacao.
  • Follow Itz Linz on Twitter and tweet, “What’s better & healthier than chocolate? CACAO! Win a bag of @NavitasNaturals Organic Raw Cacao Powder from @ItzLinz! http://wp.me/p264zq-HH” and leave a comment telling me you did.
  • Subscribe to Itz Linz (enter your e-mail address in the top right corner of site).
  • Follow Itz Linz on Pinterest.

Don’t forget to become a fan of Itz Linz on Facebook, too!  This giveaway will be open until Friday, July 27th at 9:00 pm CST and a winner will be randomly selected on Saturday, July 28th, 2012.  The winner will have 48 hours to contact me or another winner will be chosen.  Best of luck!

*Disclaimer: Beyond the chocolatey cacao treats that Navistas Naturals sent me, I was not compensated for this post.

129 thoughts on “Better Than Chocolate Marvelous Giveaway”

  24. Oh, I know it’s no longer raw when I make it this way, but I love to use it for sugarfree hot chocolate! Yumyum!

    P.S. Look forward to meeting you in August. =)

    Reply ↓

  75. Other than just sticking my finger in the powder and licking it :) , I would use it in my oatmeal or steel cut oats! Like you love your pancakes, I love my oats and I KNOW it would rock!

    Reply ↓

  96. I’d definitely use it to flavor my plain greek yogurt, add it to oatmeal, or make a vegan hot chocolate once the weather cools down!
    Amazing giveaway, thanks!

    Reply ↓

  106. When I started reading the post I got thinking, I should make a cacao and cherry smoothie today – then I saw you did the same! Aside from a smoothie, I love making raw brownies (medjool dates, raw nut/seed mixture, and lots of cacao)!

    Reply ↓

  114. I follow you on Twitter, I tweeted your post about winning and I followed you on Pinterest! I would use the raw cacao in my smoothies, as I have done in the past. I just love myself a cacao banana peanut butter smoothie! (With kale too, of course.) I also love using it in nutty “larabar” type balls I use with blended dates and cashews. They taste like chocolate cookie dough!

    Reply ↓

  117. If I win I would use the cocoa powder to make Chocolate Mousse! The last time I attempted to make it, I’m not sure what I did wrong but I ruined the chocolate when trying to melt it. It coagulated and formed a block instead of a smooth cream. I had to through the chocolate in the bin (and it wasn’t a cheap one!). I went back to the shop, bought a new block, and believe it or not the same thing happened again! I think it’s because I added cold milk while melting the chocolate (difference in temperature). I got very frustrated and upset at my inability to melt chocolate and ended up through everything in a mixer and making a chocolate cake instead. It turned up fine.

    Reply ↓

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  119. Mmm great giveaway!:) I would use the cocoa by not only mixing it into smoothies and yogurt, but by putting it in on nut butter toast and mixing it into my favorite batters! I’m down to my last bit of cocoa powder so this would be perfect!

    Reply ↓

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