Recipe by Kate Tietje, and Rustina is a contributing writer.
Stress has a way of creeping in on our days, no matter how much we try to relax. It helps to have that favorite little snack, but then all that processed sugar hits the digestive tract! The sugar crash, upset stomach, or just makes the candida overgrowth worse! How about that delicious snack, but with healthy ingredients?
Now, that is a great step to helping your stress levels! These delicious little cups are made with adaptogenic powders. Adaptogenic herbs help your body to respond and adjust to the effects of stress. These are great for your body at any time and very helpful to add to your diet!
Before we jump into the ingredients, I wanted to share some stress resources. If you haven’t already, check out our blogs, How Adaptogens Ease Your Stress and Natural Ways to Reduce Stress & Anxiety.
About the Ingredients
Earthley’s Cocoa Calm features a “superfood” and 3 great adaptogenic herbs:
If you read our blog, The Health Benefits of Chocolate (and Why That’s Controversial), you know cocoa can reduce inflammation, balance blood sugar, improve heart health, lower blood pressure, and improve immune function. Cocoa powder is also a prebiotic and promotes gut health! It may also protect and improve brain health and reduce allergic reactions. Some of these benefits are canceled out when eating chocolate in the form of candy due to the high sugar content – but this powder, without added sugar, preserves them all!
Ashwagandha is a superfood in its own right! It has been shown to reduce anxiety, lower inflammation, and improve stress resistance. It’s also great for men’s health, improving testosterone levels and increasing strength and muscle mass.
Schisandra berry is known for its ability to protect against stress, fight aging, and lower inflammation.
Eleuthero has a long history of adaptogenic uses, especially for athletes. It helps reduce stress, improve recovery time, and support the immune system. It’s beneficial to help with temporary sleep deprivation as well.
We also added astragalus root, a great immune support and adaptogen! 
Calming Peanut Butter Cups
Ingredients:
- 12 oz. of unsweetened baking chocolate (Kate used these)
- 2 tbsp. of Earthley’s Cocoa Calm
- ½ cup of raw honey (Kate used this)
- ½ cup of natural peanut butter (Kate used this)
- 2 tbsp of astragalus powder (Kate used this)
- 6 tbsp of maple powdered sugar (Kate used this)
Directions:
Step 1: Break and melt the unsweetened baking chocolate.
Step 2: Add the Cocoa Calm and raw honey; stir well.
Step 3: Add the peanut butter to a bowl, along with the astragalus root powder and maple powdered sugar. Kate just ran maple sugar through a blender to make this.
Step 4: Stir this until well combined.
Step 5: Pour about 1 teaspoon of the melted chocolate mix into each cup.
Step 6: Scoop about 2 teaspoons of the peanut butter mix on top of the chocolate and gently flatten it.
Step 7: Pour another 2 teaspoons of chocolate mix on top of the peanut butter until completely covered.
Step 8: When all of the chocolate and peanut butter have been used – this makes about 16 individual cups – place the mold in the freezer for about 20 minutes until the chocolate is hardened.
Step 9: Once they’re frozen, they’re ready to pop out!
Calming Peanut Butter Cups
Ingredients
- 12 oz. of unsweetened baking chocolate
- 2 tbsp. of Earthley's Cocoa Calm
- ½ cup of raw honey
- ½ cup of natural peanut butter
- 2 tbsp of astragalus powder
- 6 tbsp of maple powdered sugar
Instructions
- Break and melt the unsweetened baking chocolate.
- Add the Cocoa Calm and raw honey; stir well.
- Add the peanut butter to a bowl, along with the astragalus root powder and maple powdered sugar. Kate just ran maple sugar through a blender to make this.
- Stir this until well combined.
- Pour about 1 teaspoon of the melted chocolate mix into each cup.
- Scoop about 2 teaspoons of the peanut butter mix on top of the chocolate and gently flatten it.
- Pour another 2 teaspoons of chocolate mix on top of the peanut butter until completely covered.
- When all of the chocolate and peanut butter have been used – this makes about 16 individual cups – place the mold in the freezer for about 20 minutes until the chocolate is hardened.
- Once they're frozen, they're ready to pop out!
