love yourself first – bon bons with benefits

To be clear, I don’t have issue with Valentine’s Day; I have an issue that for most of us, the idea of Valentine’s Day is only celebrated once per year. For those of us that are in a committed relationship, 1 day of 365 days to show your partner that you are appreciated through cardboard and glitter, sprayed roses, and toxic treats, is a sad, sorry excuse for a holiday. Pardon my soap box, for I’m diving deeper…

Yes, I happen to be in a committed, wonderful partnership where love is practiced and shown every. single. day, and for that I am extremely lucky to have found someone who communicates so well the ways in which I need to see and feel love. Here lays the other side of the coin that took me years to learn, and that I (we) don’t, but should, practice every. single. day…and that is self love.

I don’t care if you are in a seemingly healthy and happy relationship, looking for love, happily single, etc. – if you don’t know and love yourself first, you cannot love/care for another person. period. Here is where the fun lies, because getting to know yourself, what makes you tick, what makes you bloom and shine is like going on dates with yourself every second of every day. And self care and ritual surrounding self-love are the flowers, chocolates and candy you can give yourself. The boon is that the more you, yourself, know who you are and your boundaries, the more that radiates outward and attracts those that are your counterpart and see you for you.

There are countless ways to create a self-loving ritual, and an integral component of that is of course how you feed and fuel your body. Give it the foods to sustain and nourish and they will help propel you to your fullest.

I stand by my firm belief that healthy can be delicious, and these Bon bons are just that. At their core, these Royal Ghee bon bons nourish your inner being deeply with healthy, lactose-free quality fats, immunity-boosting raw honey, balancing adaptogenic herbs, energizing greens, and stabilizing mushrooms, coated in a decadent, dark, unsweetened raw chocolate shell. Don’t let your sweet tooth get in the way of authentic selfcare.

This year, re-introduce Valentine’s Day as a yearly reminder to tweak your daily ritual of self-love. Who have you become this year? What have you learned? How can you better care for yourself? And finally, ask the question my mother always asked me when I would say I loved her – “…but do you love yourself?”

Royal Ghee Bon Bons

makes approximately 8 heaping teaspoon sized bon bons

Ingredients:

1 jar Royal Ghee
1 cup shaved cacao butter
1 cup raw cacao powder
1 teaspoon vanilla powder or extract
1-2 drops of stevia extract (optional)
pinch of sea salt

maldon sea salt flakes

goji berries or other toppings

Directions:

Refrigerate 1 jar of Royal Ghee overnight before beginning your bon bons.

Once jar is very cool and using a sturdy metal teaspoon measuring spoon, scoop heaping teaspoons by scrapping the Royal Ghee, as you would ice cream, to form a small sphere. Shape with clean hands to form a smooth, round ball. Repeat steps until you have used the contents of the jar, or desired number of truffles. Transfer to a plate and store in the freezer while you prepare your raw chocolate shell.

(You may wish to stuff the Royal Ghee with nuts, dried fruit, or superfoods as well.)

Shave, grate, or chop cacao butter and measure out 1 cup. In a double boiler, melt the cacao butter until completely melted.

In a small metal or glass mixing bowl, combine well the raw cacao powder, vanilla, stevia, and salt. Pour the melted cacao butter into the mixture and mix until smooth and velvety.

Allow the chocolate sauce to thicken slightly, and using a fork, balance the slightly frozen Royal Ghee balls on the fork and submerge them into the chocolate, allowing them to completely coat the ball. Because the Royal Ghee is frozen, the chocolate should thicken and harden rather quickly. This process can be further expedited by allowing the coated Bon bons to harden on the chilled plate.

Before the Bon bons dry, add your toppings of either maldon sea salt flakes, goji berries, or other superfoods.

Store in the refrigerator or at room temperature, and enjoy!