CACAO, COCONUT, CASHEW & DATE HEARTS WITH COCONUT COCOA TEA

Upscale Hippy Food. It's balancing a brioche with a green smoothie, a salted chocolate brownie with an almond milk steamer, putting sprouts on the mascarpone cheese canape and sprinkling nutritional yeast on coconut oil popcorn . . . I love decadence and healthy, all in the balance. Some days it's tea, others it's coffee insanity and every now and again, I'm lapping up hot chocolate topped with dollops of fresh whip cream spiked with vanilla bean.

These little treat fall into the middle of things.  The raw gems are full of dates, coconut, cacao and cashews -- very easy to put together in the food processor and nosh on when the sweet tooth or afternoon lull sneaks up. They are gluten free, dairy free, fairly nutritious and satisfy that urge to maniacally throw chocolate bars into the hungry mouth (this happens to you too every now and again, right??!), in a more healthful fashion. The hearts make a great gift and will delight all eaters.

I chanced upon this Roiboos driven Coconut Cocoa Tea while perusing the co-op and I must say it echoes the taste of the little hearts entirely. It's nutty, a tad fruity and somehow chocolatey. With a swirl of honey and dash of almond milk if I'm feeling frugal, whipping cream if it's lingering from a photo shoot, it is tops! It is sweet without being cloying and decaffeinated so safe before bed.

Combined, the tea and hearts filled me with mad healthy and delicious vibes! The type of thing that makes me do the happy dance while blasting Fleetwood Mac full tilt in Studio B, all by myself. They're cosmic like that, just look at the raw heart photo above! Behold the universe on a pan.

Cacao Hearts
Adapted from Oh Lady Cakes via A House in the Hills
makes about a dozen hearts

1 cups raw cashews

1 cup raw coconut shreds (I like the larger size flakes)

6 tbsp cup cacao powder, plus more for dusting

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 medjool dates

3 tablespoons water

In a food processor, pulse all ingredients for about 2 minutes until a dough is formed (it can be loud!). When a uniform dough is achieved, press mixture into a 3/4 inch block onto a sheet of parchment. Cut out with cookie cutters or simply into squares. Dust with more cacao powder and store in refrigerator. They're good out of the fridge or at room temperature.

Coconut Cocoa Tea

I bought mine at Cost Plus World Market and have been drinking it before bed every night for the past week!