Raw Cacao Morning Tonic

 Raw Cacao contains the alkaloid theobromine which has a mood-elevating effect.  It also contains serotonin, dopamine, monoamine oxidase, and a variety of flavonoids. These are thought to lower blood pressure, prevent migraines, and contribute to its mood-elevating effects.

Cacao does have a little caffeine, but not much.  (A cup of this is equivalent to about 1/20th of the caffeine in a cup of coffee.)  Something about the raw cacao has a similarity to coffee, which makes sense, they are both dark seeds from trees that grow in warm climates.  There is a thick richness to this that I have grown to really love every morning.  It isn't at all acidic or dehydrating and the adaptogens have a wealth of incredible properties.  You can substitute herbs as you wish and as your body requires -

RAW CACAO

RAW CASHEWS

PINCH OF HIMALAYAN SALT

ADAPTOGENS OF YOUR CHOOSING

(ASHWAGANDHA, MACA, MUCUNA PRURIENS,

CORDYCEPS, CHAGA, LIONS MANE) 

MAPLE SYRUP or DATE SYRUP (sweetener) 

(cinnamon if you like!)

DIRECTIONS

I like to pre-mix a batch of this for a week at a time. It will end up looking like a chocolate cashew cream, which you can keep in the fridge and spoon into boiling water in the morning and add sweetener.

In the blender or food processor, put two cups of Raw cashews (rinse first), 7 HEAPING tablespoons of raw cacao, a few pinches of salt, and for adaptogens, put two teaspoons of each adaptogen you choose to use. Put enough water to come to the top of the cashews and blend. Add water as needed to make it fully blend until you have a fully, fully blended creamy consistency. Put this in a jar and put it in the fridge. By morning, it will be a thicker cashew cream consistency. You now have enough for a week of Raw Cacao Cashew Cream morning tonics.

Every morning, simply spoon two spoonfuls into a mug and pour a cup of boiling water over it. Sweeten to taste with maple syrup or date syrup. Grate some fresh cinnamon on top if you like :) 

(You can also sweeten the whole batch instead of each morning) 

 ~~~~~

I gave up almost all caffeine 3 years ago, and started making this, and it is the BEST.

 I was having a lot of unexplained headaches and an acupuncturist told me to try giving it up.  So I did.  (I also started tracking my water intake, just by carrying a 32oz water bottle and making sure to drink at least 2 in a day)

If you want to give up coffee for any reason, I highly recommend this, or it is great just as a tonic. Purchasing the herbs is an upfront cost, but they last a really long time.  You can also adjust which herbs you add to the cacao, depending on what you're into ❤️ 

Giving up coffee can be really hard, but after the initial shock + caffeine withdrawal headaches, it is surprisingly easy to go without caffeine.  I went to a class on ayurvedic medicine recently, and the teacher mentioned that in the afternoon when you get super sleepy after lunch when you want to reach for an espresso, it is your body and organs needing a rest after eating,  (makes sense that most of the world traditionally takes a siesta after lunch). Coffee actually shocks the system and prevents this needed rest.  Try having some herbal tea and lying down for ten minutes.  That is actually what your body is asking for!  It takes ten minutes to run to the coffeeshop anyway...

❤