Hello Beautiful!

It looks like you're new to The Community. If you'd like to get involved, click one of these buttons!

In this Discussion

Chocolate subservience, help!

I have always been able to resist the temptations of dessert foods: chocolate chip cookies, brownies, candy bars, etc. But, ever since I have decided to go raw, I have been having super intense cravings for chocolate. The cravings are so bad that for the last couple days I’ve indulged in the chocolate stashes around the house (courtesy of my family). I find this strange, because not only have I been able to resist consuming these foods in the past, but I have never liked chocolate much… before now. The cravings are really, really bad. I don’t know what to do. I’ve tried alternatives… I have some raw carob powder, so I’ve made chocolate-type things in the hopes of diminishing my cravings and satisifying my chocolate hunger… but it hasn’t worked; it’s not the same as biting into a rich piece of pure chocolate. These weird chocolate cravings started as soon as I decided to go raw, and right now, the only thing holding me back from being truly raw is this chocolate dilemma (I can’t help but give into it). I don’t want chocolate, I NEED chocolate. I’m hoping that if I can push past this that the torturous desire for chocolate will subside; and I’m thinking perhaps that these urges have to do with my body’s dependency on cooked foods? In the mean time, however, I need some thing raw to keep me balanced. Are there any raw chocolate bars sold in the stores (I can’t order any thing on line, I’d have to be able to get it in the stores)? And just in case all else fails, does any one have any advice on how to do away with these wretched cravings?

Comments

  • anngoingrawanngoingraw Raw Newbie

    Sorry, don’t know why you’re craving choc so much, just I wanted to suggest to check recipes in this site, there are recipes using chocolate as main ingredient, and some of them are easy and fast to prepare. See for example: http://goneraw.com/recipes/334-Raw-Chocolate

    http://goneraw.com/recipes/462-Divine-Truffles

    http://goneraw.com/recipes/535-Raw-Chocolate-Fudge

  • sweetpeasweetpea Raw Newbie

    Hi there, it may be the magnesium you’re craving. You could try adding in more greens to your diet. I think cacao has incredible properties and you may be needing some of these. At least, you’re eating raw healthy chocolate as opposed to commerically made bars. You might like to try my chocolate cheesecake recipe 

  • have_merseyhave_mersey Raw Newbie

    I had the same problem after going raw. I will go as far as to say at one point in my life, I HATED chocolate! Eating Magnesium-rich foods is supposed to help. Seeds/nuts and fruit have it. I think one reson I craved chocolate is that it does have certain mood enhancing properties and that helps with detox. Also due to the fact that I used to be severely depressed, and it makes me feel happy and motivated. I love the taste of dark chocolate now.

    I don’t know what to tell you about the raw chocolate, I suppose you could ask your local health food store to get it for you. At the moment, with where I live, there is no place near enough to get it in person. I order alot of things online.

  • amysueamysue Raw Newbie

    I’ve always craved chocolate, just love it, so I eat a raw cacao smoothie just about every day. This way I’m getting my chocolate, plus lots of superfoods, all the good stuff. It’s real chocolate, as real as it gets, and for the rest of the day I don’t crave any chocolate desserts. There are those who question whether it’s truly raw or even beneficial so you might want to research it and judge for yourself. Some people feel unwell after eating it, others (like me) feel great. It is recommended that if you do eat it, you balance it with lots of calcium like dark greens because too much magnesium can make you tense. If you read David Wolfe and Shazzie’s book Naked Chocolate you’ll find they’re touting it as the greatest food there is! So I’m going to go with that and enjoy it!

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    My local health food store is really good about ordering things in when they are requested. Raw chocolate has really helped me a lot with depression, stress, balancing hormones (no PMS unless I don’t get enough raw chocolate:)!). I have found that the raw chocolate powder from www.sunfoodnutrition.com is the one that gives me what I need and other brands just give me gas. I have also used magnesium supplements which have helped some, but the chocolate had a lot of other things I needed, too. Hopefully your store can get it for you – sunfood sells cacao powder and nibs, I find the powder is easier for me to use. I’ll try to find my list of magnesium-rich foods and post it later, too, just in case the store won’t get your chocolate for you.

  • BluedolfinBluedolfin Raw Newbie

    angie~ With the price of gas nowadays, I’d stick to the chocolate that gives gas. heeheehee

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    bluedolphin – you rock! :D

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    isn’t chocolate proven to be addictive anyway though? i would guess it’s like coming off coffee or alcohol… you go through withdrawal

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    True, pianissima. Regular (heated) chocolate is addictive. For me, the raw cacao is not the least bit addictive. I can eat a pound of it in a couple of weeks when it is what my body needs, and never want it for a few months when it is not what my body needs at that time. I know what addiction feels like from caffeine and regular chocolate (I even got some chocolate last year that I thought might be raw and could tell it wasn’t because I was addicted to it). For me it is just not the same with the raw stuff, in a really good way! But yeah, if you can’t live without the chocolate you’re used to, then it could be withdrawal.

  • RawKidChefRawKidChef Raw Newbie

    I highly recommend that you order some raw cacao butter. I have tried coconut oil and it really doesn’t taste the same as real chocolate. Dehydrate some raw cacao butter to melt it first, (it could take several hours or even overnight) (I would use half a cup after it is melted, makes a lot stores well), then 1 spoonful (I am not good with tablespoon or teaspoon measurements, sorry, just take a apoon and spoon the powder in, trust me, you don’t want more than this unless you want dark chocolate) of raw cacao powder. Then add some maple syrup, which doesn’t matter because apparently “raw” agave nectar isn’t raw either and maple makes it taste better. Blend it in a blender, and pour immediately into a mold or cup and freeze, as cacao butter hardens very quickly. Pop the chocolarte out of the molds and eat. Or if you put it in a cup cut it with a chef’s knife into chunks. It seriously tastes like a milk chocolate hershey bar, I am not kidding. Cacao butter is what is in real chocolate, so that is why it tastes so like real chocolate. Here are some good sites to buy raw cacao butter:

    http://www.naturalzing.com

    http://www.sunfood.com

    http://www.rawguru.com

    They sell raw cacao powder as well if you don’t have that.

    Please let me know if you try this. I would really love to know.

  • RawKidChefRawKidChef Raw Newbie

    Oh. I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you can’t order online. Some stores do have raw cacao butter, but not mine. How come you can’t order online?

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    If your health food store can order the chocolate powder, they can also get the cacao butter, but be warned that it’s pretty costly. So is the Cacao powder, but you can make chocolate brownies, drinks, etc. without the butter. If you are able to get both, go for it!

  • Thanks for all the helpful advice. I bought a dark chocolate bar of 85% cocoa content, and while it’s not raw, it definitely seems to satisfy my chocolate needs and it’s the best I can do for now. I really need to focus on doing this slowly (raw foods). I think I’ve been putting far too much pressure on myself to be raw and nothing but raw with out realizing that my struggles to maintain a “purely raw” life may be my body protesting the drastic changes. I think I need to apply gradual modifications. I don’t plan on cooking myself foods through my transition, but I think as long as I’m exerting an effort to be body-conscious and intuitive to my health needs, some thing like the occasional piece of dark chocolate or a couple tablespoons of non-raw salad dressing on my raw green vegetables isn’t going to hurt me. Perfection doesn’t exist, only aspects of perfection can be achieved. So, maybe I’m not perfect, but I’m perfect-enough. I mean, just because a person is capable of being 100% raw doesn’t necessarily mean that they have to be a 100% raw to experience the health benefits their body is capable of. The raw life is all about optimal health, right? So, if one is able to be blissful and mirthful and content and have vitality and energy and fulfillment in their health, then percentage is moot and is nothing but a mathematical calculation of proportion. So, the dark chocolate stays, and instead of thinking of it as an un-raw food, I think I’ll be referring to it as self-compassion.

    RawKidChef, I can’t order online because I’m currently without a debit card and I just simply can’t afford it (extra expenses for shipping and handling and all those fees; no thank you).

    Well, again, thank you all. :)

Sign In or Register to comment.