Health, Wellness, and Financial Well-Being at Sixty-Plus

 Are you ageing well or are you looking old and worn?

Yes, it's undisputed; ageing is a gradual process and we are all moving along, BUT for your age, do you look good, live a wonderful lifestyle, and have great health and financial freedom?

Are you making the right choices towards a fulfilling and healthy lifestyle? Hope so. If not, you should be starting now. That's if you haven't already.

Ageing gracefully at sixty-plus - (Image used under license from iStockPhoto)

Health Issues that Creep Up on Us As We Age


They say ageing starts at about 35 years and increases steadily, but to people my age, it begins when the small issues creep in. 
  • Reduced vitality.
  • Cellular degeneration.
  • Swelling feet.
  • Loss of skin elasticity.
  • Body changes.
  • Mood swings.
  • Diseases and disorders.
And did I forget to mention aches, joint pains, and sleeplessness?

So, how do we take care of our health, barring unforeseen circumstances?

To live a healthier lifestyle, eat the right foods, backed up with natural vitamins and food supplements, preferably botanical-based ones (for those who like to keep it holistic). Also, do things that will:
  • Boost your immunity.
  • Help manage stress.
  • Make you energetic and strong.
  • Ensure you stay happy.

Vitamins and food supplements - (Image used under license from 123rf.com)

Ensuring Financial Well-Being


Then, there is the financial side of things. We are being told that after a certain age, opportunities for earning shrinks. I'd say maybe, and maybe not. 

If you are retiring soon and will be content with relying on retirement benefits, good luck to you. However, if you think that retirement benefits alone won't be enough to sustain you, invest in your future.

So, how does one invest in the future? Put the skills, experience, and wisdom you acquired over the years to good use. You've got them, maybe you don't realize it.

Start doing things that you love. For example:
  • Make handmade crafts (jewellery, miniatures, soft furnishings, etc.) to sell online if you are into art and crafts stuff.
  • Start to write content on topics you are an expert.
  • Sell courses online and teach online.
  • Blog about what you love.
  • Do affiliate marketing.
  • Learn to build simple apps if you are digitally savvy.

The above list just scratches the surface. Ideas of what to do are limitless as long as it's what you know, have experience in, and are skilful with.

Remaining Well and Financially Stable After Sixty


What do you need to remain healthy and independent after a certain age?
  • Live in your own home.
  • Eat good and wholesome foods.
  • Manage your health care.
  • Make extra money.
  • Have an interesting social life.
And don't forget to be happy, celebrate the small wins, and laugh a lot.


Conclusion - Between Health, Wealth, and Happiness


Health is a state of being. When we are healthy, we have lower health risks. With lower health risks, we have fewer chronic disorders and diseases. With fewer disorders and diseases, we have fewer health care expenses, and therefore, more money to have a better lifestyle.

Our happiness and well-being depend on having great health and income earners on the side that supplement our retirement benefits.

Additionally, having positive thoughts will enhance our immune system, increase our vitality, and give us a higher chance of living longer.


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Best-Selling Self-Help and Motivational Books

Peace and tranquillity - (Image used under license from 1123rf.com)


"There is no better gift to yourself or another person than the gift of knowledge and understanding derived from wisdom." - Brian Michael Good

Today, people want to level up in life. They are eager to find ways to enhance their lives by boosting productivity, imbibing better habits, and trying to be the best versions of themselves through self-help.

Self-help books are all about helping us solve our most pressing problems. Issues can be anything from yearning for financial freedom to seeking lifestyle changes, improving relationships, desirous of entrepreneurial success, good health and well-being, and personal growth.
 
Despite tons of blogs and websites giving self-help advice, nothing beats having physical self-help books.
 
Physical books are a great source of researched and detailed information. They are also wonderful sources to pick up and refer to now and then, especially when you need to go back for a refresher or whenever you need a boost.

On the other hand, with online sites, the chances of losing visited web pages are pretty high unless you make concerted efforts to bookmark or perhaps store them in a notes app. And we know that once stored info sinks into the bottom of saved collections, poof, it's gone.


The Benefits of Owning Physical Self-help Books


While some people keep their books at close range - on a nightstand, kitchen countertop, or coffee table, others place them alongside other precious books on the bookshelf or in a bookcase for easy access. You can pick it up whenever you feel like it, to refer back to some forgotten points. You can do that today, tomorrow, next year, or in a decade. It may even become an heirloom.

A book remains forever the close go-to companion in quiet times.

When life ordeals and struggles stress us out and make us anxious and distressed, we can reach out for a physical book.

Books to Inspire, Motivate, Teach, and Help


While some people can find solace through personal advice or digital, most prefer to get advice from highly recommended books. And unlike wading through online thousands of advice and short-snippet quotes that you can lose in an instant if you don't store them immediately, you lose them. But books remain with you. They are long-lasting, and we must never forget that.


This must-have book will revitalize your life with 400+ quotes, all methodically laid out in 70 chapters. It covers and deals with everything from self-esteem and self-worth to hardships, abuse, feelings, emotions, challenges, hindrances, and obstacles.


The Law of Success: The Master Wealth-Builder's Complete and Original Lesson Plan for Achieving Your Dreams by Napoleon Hill

This book is the Holy Grail of success philosophy. It is the golden key to the author’s complete and unabridged mind-power method for achieving goals. After interviewing dozens of industrialists, diplomats, thought leaders, and successful people from all walks of life, the young Hill distilled what he learned into 15 core lessons, organized with an introductory chapter, 'The Master Mind,' that serves as a primer to Hill's overall philosophy.


Don't Believe Everything You Think: Why Your Thinking Is The Beginning & End Of Suffering (Beyond Suffering) by Nguyen, Joseph

Although pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. With this book, learn how to overcome anxiety, self-doubt and self-sabotage without needing to rely on motivation or willpower. Discover the root cause of all psychological and emotional suffering, and how to achieve freedom of mind to effortlessly create the life you've always wanted to live.



Are you looking to come out of the trauma/trigger time loop and begin living a life of abundance? Jeannine Rashidi guides you through her healing journey from 25 years of PTSD, trauma, and adverse life experiences in this easy-to-read true story. It will make you laugh, cry, reflect, and ultimately become you again. You will find your inner healer with fundamental best practices while learning a proven step-by-step process that has guided thousands of people out of the tight grips of their trauma.


The Mamba Mentality: How I Play by Kobe Bryant

In the wake of his retirement from professional basketball, Kobe “The Black Mamba” Bryant decided to share his vast knowledge and understanding of the game to take readers on an unprecedented journey to the core of the legendary “Mamba mentality.” Citing an obligation and an opportunity to teach young players, hardcore fans, and devoted students of the game how to play it “the right way,” The Mamba Mentality takes us inside the mind of one of the most intelligent, analytical, and creative basketball players ever.

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Sudoku for Senior Citizens: Benefits of Playing Numbers Games

Sudoku is a popular traditional game that is strictly a logic-based combinatorial puzzle. It can become addictive in no time, but many players who are die-hard fans of the puzzle do not know how beneficial the number-placement game is to our brains, especially as we grow older.

Sudoku game - (Image used under license from iStockPhoto)

The word Sudoku means number allotted or the number that is single in Japanese and was first featured in a magazine called Nikoli in Japan in the late 80s.

How Sudoku Benefits Our Brain

Sudoku is fun to play and an awesome brain game. Its mental-stimulating qualities can help ward off a decline in brain function. And because it involves problem-solving and spotting patterns, playing the game helps stimulate the player's cerebral abilities, giving the brain immense satisfaction as if it just completed a complex task.

Beneficial for the Elderly

The University of Edinburgh in Scotland carried out research to study the benefits of the game. They discovered that the game triggers ordinarily dormant brain survival genes. According to the researchers, these survival genes make brain cells live longer and play a vital role in resisting diseases, disorders, and strokes. It is believed that the Sudoku game also helps prevent the advance of Alzheimer's disease. So, playing the game consistently as we age offers some comfort because of its therapeutic effects on the thought patterns that evolve while playing the game.

In a nutshell, the numbers game will:
  • Increase concentration power.
  • Allow a player to think strategically.
  • Stimulate the mind.
  • Give a sense of achievement.
  • Help you learn how to solve problems imaginatively.
  • Help delay/prevent the onset of dementia.
  • Protect the brain from a steady decline.
  • Help players increase their sense of time.
  • Improve memory.
  • Keep your mind sharp and alert.
  • Offer a form of exercise for the brain.
Finally, when you play Sudoku constantly and persistently, it may help to generate new brain cells.


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Health, Wellness, and Financial Well-Being at Sixty-Plus
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This Is What We Have to Do When We Start to Age

How true is it that we start to age around thirty-five? What does this mean? That, whatever the state of our health and wellness is, we begin to age slowly and steadily after the first three decades of our lives?
Well, it does sound logical, doesn’t it? But in reality, we can also say that we begin to age from the day we are born. So what’s the whole din about ageing?
 
If thirty-five years old is the yardstick, excuse me, but that is young, especially for us who are almost twice that age!

Stay happy and positive at all times, laugh a lot and have fun. (Image used under license from iStockPhoto)

If You are Over Fifty

To the 50+, this is the reality. Around the age of fifty, sometimes earlier, minor health issues start to rear their hydra-heads. If we are fortunate, the minor health issues won’t beat us down. If not, well… not-so-good. This is when we start to feel and see the subtle signs of ageing, great genes or not.
What to do to stop it? Nothing. However, slowing it down is easy.
 
Ageing well doesn’t always depend on luck. For a few, maybe. But for the large majority, we need to give it a nudge. Heaven helps those who help themselves.

Major Changes to Expect

As we age, we expect three major changes – body, physiological, and psychological.

Body changes
  • Wrinkles, like crow’s feet and fine lines.
  • Loss of skin elasticity.
  • Duller, drier, and thinner skin.
  • Age spots and open facial pores.
  • Skin tags.
  • Bad breath.
Physiological changes
  • Hypertension (high blood pressure).
  • Osteoarthritis.
  • Diabetes, or bronchial asthma.
  • Cataracts.
  • Anaemia and skin problems.
  • Cardiovascular.
Psychological changes
  • Depression.
  • Anxiety disorders.
  • Psychotic disorders.
  • Memory loss.
  • Empty nest syndrome.
  • Identity crisis.
  • Feelings of inferiority and hopelessness.

Here are 7 Simple Things to Do

  1. Eat well.
  2. Exercise regularly. Sweep, clean, mop, dust, etc. Regard house chores as good exercise. Forget treadmills, early morning jogs, planks and all. Doing that hard stuff is great. But you don’t have to.
  3. Take nutritional/dietary supplements. This is important. My daily supplement regimen includes vitamins C, A, E, and D. However, before you take any of these vitamins/supplements, discuss it with your doctor.
  4. Stay happy and positive at all times, laugh a lot and have fun.
  5. Be grateful for the great opportunity you have to live life.
  6. Love, love, and love people around you, whether they are family, friends, neighbours, or colleagues.
  7. Listen to music while you do your chores, cook, or whatever. Its therapeutic benefits are so underrated.
Ageing is a gradual process. However, ageing well is mainly about maintaining good health and making the right choices at the right time towards a fulfilling and healthy way of life. It is not solely an absence of sickness, challenges, or disorders.
 
Being well and fit doesn’t mean that we will be illness-free. Rather, wellness is an active and determined means towards change and self-growth. This can be described as a lifestyle of emotional, physical, psychological and general social well-being.
Health, Wellness, and Financial Well-Being at Sixty-Plus
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Effects of Fresh Flowers on Senior Citizens

Recent research on the effects of fresh flowers on humans has pointed out that senior citizens with a close relationship with flowers are known to have positive emotional feelings and a healthy disposition towards other people and life in general. And because the impact of flowers on them elicits happiness, endurance, and cheerfulness.


The research and study leading to these revelations was by a team led by Professor Jeannette Haviland-Jones, PhD, professor of psychology, at Rutgers in 2001. The Society of American Florists worked with the Rutgers study group to bring its flowers expertise into the study. The participants in the six-month study consisted of ten (10) men and ninety-four (94) women.

Study Methods Adopted

This article describes the process of flower research on seniors, the methods adopted and applied, and how and how they came to their conclusions.

Four study groups of 104 seniors (participants in the research) from different ethnic groups, backgrounds, and environments were constituted. Their ages ranged from 55 to 93 years. There were two groups - some received flowers while some did not. To avoid distorted or biased results, none of the participants knew the purpose of the study.

Each participant kept a personal log to record their daily social contacts, recent social outings, and other events. The journals had data on daily and weekly contacts with friends, family, doctors, neighbours, household helpers, religious friends, and churches.

The interviews followed the following process:
  • 1st interview - Data collating based on health status, lifestyle, social support, moods and demographic information.
  • 2nd interview - Testing and measuring changes in moods, behaviours, feelings and general health conditions of each senior citizen.
The participating seniors were split into four groups as follows:

1. Early Group

The early group received a flower bouquet once, immediately after an initial baseline interview. They had the flowers in time for a second interview.

2. Late Group

The late group received their flower arrangement once and before the last interview. These participants had their flowers in time for the third interview.

3. All-Flowers Group

The all-flowers group received flowers two times, once before the second interview and another before the third.

4. No-Flowers Group

This group received no flowers throughout the six-month study. They received a bouquet each at the end of the study.
 

After three interview sessions that lasted six months, the seniors were then tested daily on their memories, what they remember about the flowers, daily social contacts, and recent social events. The results were then compared with the daily logs they had compiled over the six months.

Impressive Results

Scores were given based on how specific, accurate, and detailed their answers were.
  • The number of times the seniors in each group received flowers.
  • At what point in the research did they receive flowers.
  • Changes in behaviour, their moods, and feelings.

Predictably, the all-flowers group was the happiest of all the study participants. There were more smiles and less depressive moods. When tested for more detailed recalls of their flowers and book entries, the most profound results of the flower therapy appeared. It showed that those who got the most flowers and received them in the early stages of the study demonstrated the best-retained memory. Additionally, the mood and spirit elevation lasted for several days.

Quoting Dr. Haviland-Jones, head of the study team, "Common sense tells us that flowers make us happy. Now, science shows that. Not only do flowers make us happier, but they also have strong positive effects on our emotional well-being". She concluded thus, "Happier people live longer, healthier lives and are more open to change. Our research shows that a small dose of nature, like flowers, can do a world of wonder for our well-being as we age".

The Overlooked Benefits of Fresh Flowers

The Rutgers senior citizens and flowers study gives us a clearer picture of our floral companions. It shows us how flowers and their benefits go unnoticed (probably) because they are so natural and beautiful, we feel that's all creation meant them to be.

Our pets of the plant world are to be admired and nurtured for therapeutic and emotional satisfaction. The benefits have, for the most part, been ignored in literature and talk about people and plants.

What we now know is that perhaps people might be the reason that flowers exist. Another wonder of creation meant for our use, and most especially for the happiness and well-being of our senior citizens.


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Must-Have Homemade Traditional Girl Scout Cookies

The first-ever Girl Scout cookie was the sugar cookie. They were easy to make and required only a few ingredients. Of course, it was over a quarter of a century before I was born, and I only became a member of the Girl Guides half a century later. Nonetheless, it was one of the things we were told about during our camping outings. We were told the reasons why the Girl Scout sugar cookies were baked.


The ingredients used from the beginning were always in the food pantry, like butter, sugar, eggs, flour, milk, etc. Preparation was straightforward, even with tools and methods we may now refer to today as archaic.

A Brief History of Girl Scout Cookies

From inception, cookie sales have helped Scouts develop valuable skills while having immense fun. That their efforts provide needed funds for their local Girl Scouts councils and troops is a thing of pride for the girls that their hard work provides such resources.

Scout cookies are produced and sold only during the Girl Guide cookie-selling season and serve as an all-important part of the leadership experience for young girls. However, you can make your own at home whenever you wish.

Cookie baking and selling activities happen only once a year, with most sales between January and April, but there are a few exceptions when Scout cookies are sold as early as September.

Sugar Cookie Recipe

This is the early 20th-century recipe for the Girl Scout sugar cookies.

Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda

Preparation
  1. Cream butter and sugar. Add well-beaten eggs, milk, vanilla, flour, salt and baking powder. Leave mix covered for at least 1 hour.
  2. Roll the dough and cut it into trefoil shapes; sprinkle sugar on top
  3. Bake in an oven (375°) for approximately 8–10 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. Makes six to seven dozen cookies.

Subsequent Cookie Recipes From 1927

Subsequently, selling cookies became a familiar feature of Girl Scouting, especially in Canadian and American culture. And for nearly a century after, Scouts, with the wholehearted support of their families, have in no small measure contributed to the success of the troops' programs and activities.

By the mid-1930s, the organization started retailing commercially baked cookies, with Greater Philadelphia being the first council to do such.

A year later, another large troop, the Girl Scout Federation of Greater New York, raised money by selling commercial cookies. Their trefoil-shaped die had the words "Girl Scouts Cookies" printed on the package. By the early 1950s, the following varieties were produced and sold extensively: 

Sandwich.
Shortbread (Trefoils).
Chocolate Mints (Thin Mints).
Vanilla-based filled cookie.
Chocolate-based filled one.

Of all these five cookie classics, Thin Mints and Trefoils still remain favorites today.

1927 Cookie Recipe

This simple cookie recipe was created by Christina Riespman in 1927 when a company in Saskatchewan needed to raise money for a camping expedition for their troops.

Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 tablespoons cream
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom (aromatic spice of a tropical plant)
3 (or 4) cups flour to make a soft dough

Preparation
  1. Cream butter and sugar in a bowl. Beat in the eggs and cream.
  2. Mix the salt, baking soda, baking powder, cardamom and flour.
  3. Sift the dry mix into the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly into a dough.
  4. Roll and cut with a small flour-coated glass or cookie cutter.
  5. Sprinkle with sugar and bake at a moderate heat in an oven until done. (Source: Anna Humphrey)

Thin Mint Cookie Recipe (1950s)

This recipe is how thin mint cookies are made, imitating the Girl Scout style. Enjoy this interpretation of the classic Girl Scout Thin Mints. They taste much better after a 24-hour refrigeration. However, you can eat them as soon as they are firm enough.

Ingredients
*For the chocolate wafers:
1 pack of (fudge) cake mix
3 tablespoons of melted shortening
1/2 cup of flour (sifted)
1 egg
3 tablespoons of water
Non-stick cooking spray

*For the chocolate/peppermint coating:
1 (12 ounces) bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract
6 tablespoons of shortening

Preparation
  1. Wafers - Mix the wafer ingredients in a bowl and knead on a flour-dusted worktop. Shape the dough into two 1 1/2 inches diameter logs. Wrap logs in plastic wrap or waxed paper and freeze for about two hours or until the dough is firm enough to slice into 1/4-inch thick wafers.
  2. Preheat oven to 375F and place the thinly cut wafers on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes until they are firm at the edges. Arrange cookies on a wire rack to cool.
  3. Coating - mix the chocolate chips, peppermint extract, and shortening in a large microwave-safe glass or ceramic bowl. Melt further on 50 per cent power for a minute, bring out to stir gently, then heat for an additional minute and stir again until the chocolate is very smooth.
  4. Use a fork or kitchen tongs to dip each thin wafer in the chocolate/peppermint mix and then place them side-by-side on a wax paper-lined baking sheet.
  5. Refrigerate until firm enough to eat.


Trefoil Recipe

This recipe imitates classic trefoil cookies. Trefoils are the basis for some other Scout cookie recipes such as Tagalongs or Samoas.

Ingredients
1 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk

It is good to note that using a lightly floured surface on a cookie tray is better than using waxed paper. (This dough mix gets sticky quickly).

Preparation
  1. Cream butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl and add the mix to the creamed butter/sugar mix. Add milk and vanilla extract.
  2. Split the dough into halves and refrigerate until the dough is firm. Preheat oven to 350F/180C and line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone liners. Once the dough is firm enough, roll it on a lightly floured work surface.
  3. Going the way the first Girl Guides did it, roll the dough to about an eighth or quarter of an inch thickness, then use a cookie cutter to cut out the shapes you desire.
  4. Bake cookies for 10–12 minutes. Remember to rotate the cookie sheet (180 degrees) halfway through baking to ensure that all trefoil cookies are an even lighter colour.


Modern Innovations: Homemade Cookies with Scout Cookies as Ingredients

For these exciting cookie recipes, use the popular Thin Mints (mint-flavoured chocolate wafers with chocolate coating) or Trefoils (shortbread) Girl Scout cookies as part of the ingredients.

Using Thin Mints
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients
1/2 box Thin Mints Girl Scout Cookies, crushed
1 pack brownie mix
2 eggs
1/4 cup water
1/2 a cup vegetable oil

Preparation
  1. Crush the Thin Mints into medium size chunks.
  2. Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Do not use an electric mixer or the batter will be stiff.
  3. Spread batter evenly in a greased baking pan (13 x 9 x 2 inches). Bake in the centre of an oven at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.
  4. Allow cooling before cutting. Serve with mint-flavoured tea.

Using Trefoils (Traditional shortbread cookies shaped like the Girl Scout trefoil insignia.)
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients
1 box of Trefoils Girl Scout Cookies
Instant cheesecake pudding mix
12 ounces soft cream cheese
Strawberries
Chocolate syrup

Preparation
  1. Crush half a box of Trefoils. Mix softened cream cheese and cheesecake pudding until smooth. Layer crushed cookies and cheesecake pudding in a cup and repeat the layering of ingredients.
  2. Garnish with strawberries (or your favourite berries) and two full Trefoil cookies. Drizzle with chocolate syrup.

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Must-Have Homemade Chocolate Bars with Cocoa Powder and Coconut Oil

How many of us have had to give up eating chocolates for one reason or another? We are told how bad chocolate is for us because most chocolate is laden with sugar, but not all chocolates are sweet.

Whether you like light milk or dark chocolate, you can make your own healthy batch at home in 30 minutes, including setting time in the fridge. Now that I make my own homemade chocolate bars at home, I try to find ways to make my special treat as healthy and wholesome as possible, and this is where the coconut oil comes in.


Benefits of Coconut Oil

Coconut oil has many health benefits, reasons why it is called a miracle oil, and science has unlocked the secrets to its therapeutic and healing properties.

If you take coconut oil regularly, you can make healthy snacks and add it to cereals, oatmeal, and smoothies like I do. In fact, you can use coconut oil in more foods than you can ever imagine. It is for those with a sweet tooth who still want something tasty without the unhealthy tag.

Here, I will describe how I make chocolates with virgin coconut oil. It satisfies my chocolate cravings without making me feel unhealthy. I call them my guilt-free treats.

Guilt-Free Homemade Chocolate Slabs

You can be as creative as you like when you make yours. This means you can add dried fruits and/or nuts of your choice (I love to use raisins, marshmallows, mango, pistachio nuts, and walnuts). You can also add seeds if you wish. For example, pumpkin or sunflower seeds. Remember, these are meant to be healthy chocolate snacks.


Ingredients

  • Pure dark cocoa powder (unsweetened)
  • 1/3 cup virgin cold-pressed coconut oil (must be virgin oil). If it is solid, warm gently to liquify it. My favourite brand ever is the unrefined Viva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil.
  • Sweetener, preferably powdered Stevia (if you have a sweet tooth like me). You can also use maple syrup, agave nectar, or honey.
  • 1/2 teaspoon of any flavouring (vanilla, almond, or mint)
  • Chopped cherries, desiccated coconut, or ginger
  • Chopped nuts
(For hard chocolate slabs, use 1/4 cup of coconut oil)

Preparation Items

  • Mixing bowl
  • Spatula or wooden spoon
  • Ice cube tray, baking tray, or chocolate mould (I use ice cube trays most of the time because I like to pop mine right into my mouth)
Preparation time - 10 minutes

Directions

  1. Mix the cocoa powder, coconut oil, and sweetener in a bowl. Use a wooden spoon. Ensure you mix them thoroughly till all lumps disappear. Mix well until you have a nice smooth paste.
  2. Add your desired flavouring and continue to stir the mix. 
  3. Make a base layer in the ice cube or baking tray with the chopped maraschino cherries, nuts, or whatever you wish. If you use a baking tray, line it with greaseproof paper first.
  4. Pour your coconut oil and cocoa mix over this base layer, 1/2 an inch thick (if you like your chocolate bars thin) and 1 inch if you prefer the thick slabs.
  5. Gently shake the chocolate mould.
  6. Place the tray in the fridge and store it there until it solidifies. This shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes.
If you use an ice tray or thin baking tin, once the chocolate becomes a solid block, you can cut (or break) it into squares while still in the tray. You can use a warm knife if it is difficult to cut through. Keep your healthy chocolate bars in the refrigerator until you are ready to eat them to avoid melting at room temperature.

Enjoy Your Coconut Oil Chocolates

You will love these chocolate treats, not only because they are so delicious, especially if you can get creative with your toppings, but also because they provide a nutritional source of quick energy with great health benefits.


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