Homemade Chocolate Bars

High Epicatechin Fudge

     It should come as no surprise by now that my family and is into dark chocolate. The reasons vary. For some taste, others wakefulness, and some for endurance. For the last year, we have been receiving inside information from top notch researchers who have done studies on the effects of dark chocolate on the mitochondria. I'll spare you the scientific details, but in short, the epicatechin in chocolate can be quite beneficial to your mitochondria development. One of the researchers spoke at the Priory about it, which resulted in a large number of cross country runners starting to eat chocolate in hopes of enhancing their performance. 

        When Johnny ate an entire Hershey sized bar of 72% chocolate the morning of his Stanford invitational race, he set a1 minute personal record. Despite increased training, racing experience and fitness levels, he attributed most of the success to the chocolate. Soon after, I started creating a stronger, darker, homemade blend to ensure we were indulging in the cold pressed variety. This high epicatechin fudge is now requested frequently and has earned a top shelf in the fridge. It contains blended whole cacao beans which make for a super rich chocolately flavor. After refrigerating, it feels similar in texture to a dark chocolate crunch bar, but tastes much better. I would recommend crumbling over a sweet potato, oatmeal, or in a banana smoothie. 

Ingredients

• 1/2 C ground caocao beans, or caocao powder
• 2 T almond butter (I used creamy roasted with sea-salt. If you use raw, sprinkle some salt in)
• 1 T coconut butter
• 1 T coconut oil
• 1 t instant coffee powder
• 2 t honey

Directions

1. Grind the caocao beans into a fine powder with a food processor or blender. Add coffee powder if desired.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. The mixture should be almost drippy.
3. Pour onto a small plate and refridgerate for at least 40 minutes or until hardened. 
4. Cut into small pieces and serve.

eat, enjoy and run fast!