Heart Health, Valentine’s Day… and Chocolate Truffles

Wouldn’t it be great if heart health was as easy as having some laughs with friends, indulging in certain high-fat foods, savoring dark chocolate, and sleeping more?  Well, great news guys!!  All of these things are great for your heart health and general well-being… and now there is actual ‘data’ to back up what our intuition already knew.

We may be complex beings, but it’s all connected…

Indulging in some delicious foods… and I’m not talking about snarfing down an entire pizza (although sometimes those things happen)… I mean truly enjoying and savoring your favorite treat.  Doesn’t that make you feel good?  And how about sleep?  A good night’s sleep helps our immune system, metabolism, memory, learning and more… plus, after a restful night, I feel ready to take on the world!  And, who could argue that laughs with friends is anything but awesome.  Laughter totally zaps stress… and if you get rolling like my friends and I do, laughter can even equal an ab workout.   😉

So, it turns out, staying healthy can actually be pretty easy… and fun!

Oh, and CHOCOLATE… don’t worry, I didn’t forget that one.  Dark chocolate is full of antioxidants and even vitamins and minerals.  It can lower blood pressure, improve cognitive function, and create a positive mood.  And most importantly, it’s delicious.

With no further delay, a tasty chocolate treat….

Chocolate Cherry Truffles

These little bites are not only delicious but they are sweetened with fruit and devoid of refined sugar, plus they contain heart-healthy dark chocolate and Omega 3’s… so you don’t have to feel bad about indulging!  Savor away friends  🙂

• 1 cup unsweetened dried tart cherries
• 1/2 cup Medjool dates
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/4 cup dark chocolate, chopped
• 2 Tbs unsweetened coconut flakes, plus more for rolling
• 1 Tbs cocoa powder (raw cacao is great here if you have it)
• 1Tbs almond milk (you just need a dash of liquid to hold it together, if you don’t have almond milk, water or orange juice would work)
• teeniest little dash of salt

Finely chop the cherries, dates, walnuts and chocolate.  I went old-school and hand chopped, but a food processor would probably work too.  Add remaining ingredients and mix by hand to form a dough.  Roll into small balls… the recipe will make about a dozen.  Roll the truffles in coconut.  Store these little delights in the fridge (unless you keep your house really cold like I do… or if you eat them all…)

So, while you savoring your homemade truffles… I have a little activity for you, in the spirit of Valentine’s Day.

Ayurveda teaches that unconditional love is, in fact, our true nature.  So, let’s check that out.  Think of a person that you really love… a friend, spouse, family member, anyone… now grab a piece of paper and write down all of the things you love, appreciate and respect about that person.  This is for your eyes only, so really go for it!

As you write this list, observe how you feel.  You may notice that you feel loved, appreciated, important, respected, cared for… and here’s the little trick that our minds play on us: all of these things, which we think we need from someone else, we actually experience all by ourselves when we give love freely.

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

xox  Kristen