Ingredients

• 1 cup of macadamia nuts (or cashews)
• ½ cup of water
• 4 tsp Succanat (cane sugar)
• ½ tsp ground Wattleseed (Australian bush spice which can be purchased in special spice shops) or use cardamon powder instead
• 100g dark chocolate (85-90% cocoa)
• ½ cup unsweetened, shredded coconut or 1-2 tsp cocoa powder

Method

• Take a pot and fill with 4 cups of water, put a merging glass dish on top of the pot
• Bring the water to boil, brake up the chocolate into the glass dish and melt while stirring
• Blend macadamia nuts, wattleseed (or cardamon), succanat and ½ a cup of water to a fine, fluffy paste
• Add melted chocolate and mix well
• Put in the fridge for 1-2 hours
• Take a tablespoon and roll little balls with your hand
• Finish off by rolling them in shredded coconut or cocoa powder
• They can be stored in the fridge but are best eaten on the first and second day

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High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) entered the market in the 1970s.  It is manly produced by the two food processing giants, Archer Daniels Midland and Cargill and is the main sweetener in soft drinks.  In addition, it is replacing sugar in bread, cereals, baked goods, canned fruits, jams, jellies, dairy desserts and flavored yoghurts.  HFCS is less expensive than sugar and has been quietly introduced by the food industry.  More and more consumers are starting to ask questions about this sweetener, as current research indicates that it is not as good as we thought.  Is is actually much worse than sugar.  Sugar and HFCS have the same number of calories, both are addictive, pure carbohydrates and virtually devoid of vitamins and minerals.  For this reason alone HFCS should be strictly avoided.

Since the publication of the 2004 article in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Bray et al., April 2004) the public is becoming more aware of the dangers of HFCS.  HFCS is more likely to cause weight gain than sugar, as the converted corn starch in HFCS is mostly comprised of a refined D-fructose, a refined fructose molecule which can not be used for energy utilization in the body.  The refined D-Fructose is converted into triglycerides and  adipose tissue (body fat).  Chronic high triglyceride levels translate into insulin resistance, inflammation, and heart disease.  HFCS is a recipe for obesity, lack of energy, and metabolic syndrome.

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