Compared to popular methods, my personal approach to staying healthy is rather alternative. I practice Chinese, Mongolian and Vietnamese medicine, I get diagnosed via bioresonance and as for treatments – I resort to diet, herbs, acupuncture, exercises, meditation. The effects are sometimes slow to come and demand some patience but I am convinced this way of treating my body enables me to reach deeper into the core of the problem, instead of treating solely its symptoms. One of the pieces of advice I was given by different doctors was to avoid stimulants. Alcohol, caffeine and cigarettes are no longer my buddies and I got used to it. From time to time I allow myself to take a break from my healthy lifestyle – which is otherwise extremely satisfying – and I try to enjoy these little sins as much as I can rather than generate negative thoughts. Anyway, my body usually is quite quick to let me know that this is not the right way and I am back on track with my healthy routine, which I enjoy a lot.

Although I love chocolate, I’ve been feeling for some time now that it doesn’t serve me. It turns out it was just my body telling me what I now know, that:

a) it is a stimulant and

b) it triggers allergic reactions inside my body,

and therefore I should try to avoid it.

My favourite chocolate treat is cocoa – that big, steaming hot cup full of a silky drink, burning your fingers and instantly changing the grey outside world into a rainbow landscape full of poneys and unicorns skittering around. I had to find a replacement and fool my taste buds a bit. This is how I ended up welcoming carob into my kitchen. This brown, earthy, nutty-sweet powder is in fact roasted, grounded carob fruit flesh – from the carob tree (otherwise known as St John’s-bread or locust bean). It is extremely nutritive, doesn’t give allergies, doesn’t contain caffeine. What is more, it is rich in pinitol, a substance that works as a lift speeding up the nutritive elements’ transport to the body cells. This might explain why a cup of hot carob can cheer you up no worse than chocolate 🙂 

Carob is a cousin of peas thus, as most leguminous vegetables, boiling makes it much easier to digest. This is why it is always better to boil your carob cocoa for a bit before drinking.