(paleo) Faux white chocolate

Easter time is one of those joyous occasions when many of us catch up with family and friends.  Good food, company and a beverage or two.

There also tends to be LOTS of chocolate in one form or another.  Easter hunts are still as popular as ever with more and more varieties of shiny wrapped goodies on the    supermarket shelf every year.

In years past I would have indulged a little (or a lot) in some of those rich, sweet and tempting treats.  These days, due to health reasons and a complete change in my eating plan, chocolate is not something I indulge in often at all.  Although, there have been 90% cocoa blocks floating around the house that have been nibbled by moi.

So you can see that if I have chocolate, I’m quite particular about what it is made of.  This recipe is simple, healthy, quick and can be changed to take on any flavour you like.  I actually converted it for a competition (which I didn’t end up entering because I ran out of time – the story of my life!).  The competition was run by doTERRA and was about using their essential oils in raw desserts.  I started using doTERRA essential oils as part of the healing program for my auto-immune issues.  I found them so AMAZING that I became a Wellness Advocate and now love sharing the oils with anyone who is interested.  You can find out more about the oils and how they work through this link.

Nonetheless, with or without the addition of oils this is something that you can make at the very last minute and anyone can eat as much as they like.  No limiting the Easter chocolate when it is this good for you!

No matter what you are eating over the Easter break, I hope you are sharing it with people you love and creating some beautiful memories.

(paleo) faux “white chocolate” (recipe converted by Fiona at Food 4 Thought inspired by The Rawtarian.).
Serves 20 – 30 pieces, depending on size.

Ingredients
250g shredded coconut
75g maple syrup (or any other sweetener that you like)
¹/₈ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract (leave this out if using oils)
Optional
5 – 6 drops of doTERRA oil of your choice – lemon, peppermint, cinnamon, wild orange, lime or even lavender

Preparation
Place coconut into TM bowl and mix for 1 ½ minutes on speed 8.  Scrape around the sides of the bowl and repeat if necessary, but only until mixture looks like it is starting to come together a little.  When it gets to this stage, add remaining ingredients and mix for 1 minute on speed 6.  Mixture should hold together when squeezed in your hand and should feel “wet”.

Press mixture into mould or tray firmly and freeze 30 minutes.  Once set, pop out of moulds and keep in an airtight container in freezer until required.

My tips:  *Make sure that you process this enough in the beginning.  It should just start to stick together after the first process.  *The mixture must be pressed into the moulds or tray FIRMLY or it will just crumble.  *I use doTERRA oils because of their purity.  You can use whatever you prefer but I would suggest something that is therapeutic grade.

ease: 9/10.  So simple for such a great result!
prep time: 15 minutes + setting time 
cooking time: 0 minutes 
total: 45 minutes

taste: 9/10 I LOVE this.  I feel like I’m being so naughty but I’m really not.

would I make it again:  Yes, and next I’m trying a chocolate version!