Cacao Nibs - Amazing Chocolatey SuperFood! #PNMCacaoNibs

Press Sample.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

It's Saturday, the day where sometimes I step outside the conventional purview of beauty blogging, and take a look at some things on the fringe that make me feel happy or beautiful or healthier.

When I got an e-mail asking me if I wanted to try Pure Natural Miracles Cacao Nibs, I was thrilled! It feels like an accomplishment to have someone want to give me chocolate, right?  These are not your ordinary chocolate pieces, though, but a true superfood!

Before it becomes the chocolate most of us are familiar with, it all starts with the cocoa bean.  The beans are dried and fully fermented in this raw form.  The nibs are vegan and organic, and are full of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

These Cacao Nibs have all the benefits of chocolate - Anandamide, the "bliss chemical" that elevates mood, Theobromine, a natural antibacterial that kills the major bacteria responsible for dental cavities, Phenethlamine, the chemical that our bodies produce when we're in love, as well as fatty acids and trace minerals that support heart health.  Because they're not cooked or processed, they don't have some of the downsides of chocolate (there are downsides?) like added sugar, or having nutrients cooked out during processing.

In this form, they're not mixed with any dairy or sugar, so they're fairly bitter.  Some people enjoy eating them in this form, as a snack out of hand.  Me, I'm not so much into the bitter, so I like to mix it in with other things.

My favorite way to enjoy these cacao nibs is to sprinkle them on my morning oatmeal that has been sweetened with berries.  Berries and chocolate are so yummy together!  The hot oatmeal also softens the nibs a little, but they don't melt like chocolate chips would.  It's a really nice balance of texture and sweetness and chocolate aroma and flavor. 

Raw, mixed with cereal or yogurt, or even substituted in baked goods instead of chocolate chips, these are chocolate without the sugar, and without the sugar crash.  I'm thinking banana cacao nib bread is on the menu!

My nailart is inspired by the cacao nibs packaging.  I did a radial gradient of Impala Caja Mango, Above The Curve The Lorax, and Dance Legend 272, and then used MdU Brown to stamp beans across my nails. 

If you like chocolate, you might enjoy these Cacao Nibs from Pure Natural Miracles.  For more information, or to purchase, you can find them on their website, and on Amazon, where a 4 oz bag like this one currently retails for $5.97, or a 1 lb bag retails for $9.94.

Would you try this raw version of chocolate?