I was a guest of CocoaVia® brand at the 2017 Woman’s Day Red Dress Awards. I'm also a sponsored CocoaVia® brand influencer, but all opinions and advice you’re about to read are 100% my own.* I have two simple recipes to share with you in this post but let me back up a bit and give you some context on why they’re both health related.
You have to read about my night at the Woman’s Day Red Dress Awards! It was a large gathering of amazing and energetic people who love health! Do a hashtag search for #REDDRESSAWARDS on Twitter and Instagram to see my posts from the night!
Some of my favorite celebrities in the media were in attendance and also hosted. I was most excited for Hoda Kotb, who I once did a Today Show segment with, but still can’t bring myself to watch (let’s just say it was at the very beginning of my career and I was a novice). Tamron Hall, Joy Bauer and a bunch of other successful women in the news and within the health world were also there. These ladies are my idols!
While the event was organized by Woman’s Day magazine, the lead sponsor was the CocoaVia® brand, a brand that takes health super seriously. CocoaVia® supplement is supported by scientific research on cocoa flavanols that spans more than 20 years. Numerous scientific studies have demonstrated that the cocoa flavanols in CocoaVia® supplement promote healthy blood flow from head to toe†. Healthy blood flow throughout your entire body is beneficial to your overall health!
The CocoaVia® brand uses the patented Cocoapro® process to make their concentrated cocoa extract, found in these portable packets, which come in a variety of flavors. Each one has a slightly different taste and can be used for different recipes like the two I’m sharing with you below. And, if you don’t like any of the flavors, you can also try their convenient capsules!
Cocoa flavanols—just to be clear—come naturally from the cocoa bean. They are the part of the cocoa bean that promotes healthy blood flow† and supports healthy hearts. When you try CocoaVia® supplement for the first time, you’ll notice it doesn’t taste like the chocolate you’re familiar with because it doesn’t have the sugary and milky additives that make chocolate what it is. CocoaVia® supplement contains extracted cocoa flavanols. I’m telling you this because I wouldn’t want you to open up a packet and just eat it. The powdered stick packs are designed as a mix-in.
I recommend adding them to simple preparations that are routine in your life. That way, you don’t have to think much about it, and you can easily add it into your daily routine. Check out my recipes below…
Recipe #1: CocoaVia® Mocha
Instructions: For this recipe, brew a pot of dark roast coffee. Once it’s ready, pour yourself a mug. Add 1 CocoaVia® Sweetened Dark Chocolate Stick Pack, a packet of your favorite healthy sweetener (or just good ‘ol fashion brown sugar and almond milk to taste). It tastes like a delicious mocha but it contains your daily serving of cocoa flavanols! I keep my powdered stick packs right next to my coffee maker as a reminder to use them.
Recipe #2: CocoaVia® Berry Bowl
Instructions: Dish out your normal serving of Greek yogurt into a bowl. Mix in 1 full CocoaVia® Cran-Raspberry Stick Pack. Make sure all the powder is blended well into the yogurt. Top with handful or ½ cup of your favorite heart healthy dry cereal (I like the kind with freeze dried berries in it), broken up pieces of organic seed crunch (it’s like a granola but it’s made out of all different kinds of high protein seeds) and sprinkle some loose chia and flax seeds on top.
This CocoaVia® Berry Bowl is quick and easy to make if you have all the ingredients handy. You don’t even have to add fresh berries but you can if you want to. I recommend raspberries. The best part of it is that you can prepare it in a to-go container and take it with you to work. Greek yogurt is so thick that it tends to stay put, so you can count on your creation looking just as pretty as when you made it when you sit down to eat it.
It’s easy to start your day with CocoaVia® supplement by adding one powdered stick pack to the beverage or food of your choice. Get creative or browse more easy recipes here!
Another way to benefit from CocoaVia® supplement is to take three capsules daily. Three capsules is a serving, and contains 375 mg of cocoa flavanols, the beneficial plant-based nutrients found naturally in cocoa. Visit www.CocoaVia.com for more information.
Use this promo code*** to get 25% off when you make a purchase: RDA25
*I am participating in a VN campaign. This is a sponsored post by the CocoaVia® brand. The content and opinions expressed below are my own. I am in no way affiliated with the CocoaVia® brand and do not earn a commission or percent of sales.
†These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
***Limit one use per customer on a maximum of three units per item. Excludes cases and expires 2/28/2017.