Getting Chocolate Naked!
"I will speak about the properties of chocolate: the good properties, the nutrients in it and the natural chemical that creates that bliss feeling" said the Squamish resident. "Also, because it is at The Oracle, I will talk about how it has the ability to increase your intuition."
Developing intuition is only one of the many benefits of eating raw chocolate. Others include energy boosting, increasing the metabolism and acting as an antioxidant.
As if chocoholics needed any more excuses to delve into cacao's dark rich reverie. But cacao bean loving is a far cry (more often than not on your bathroom scale) from the chocolate bars most of the general public is plugged into.
"Eating a regular chocolate bar, it has a lot of other stuff added to it like sugar and because chocolate is highly processed, chocolate really give you a caffeine high and then a let down," she said. "With raw chocolate, because it's unprocessed, it doesn't seem to have that high high and low, rather a good uplifting energy that doesn't affect the adrenal glands."
Schiesser studied the science behind food after batting inflamed joints and digestive problems. She began researching alternative therapies, which led her to become a Registered Nutritional Consulting Practitioner. She graduated with honours from the Institute of Holistic Nutrition in Toronto where she studied science, nutrition and herbology.
Not content with only treating the body, Schiesser searched out tools to deal with the emotional side of ourselves as well. She now works with Australian Bush Flower Essences, a vibrational healing remedy to balance body, mind and spirit. She hosts one-on-one sessions every Wednesday from 10:00am to 3:00pm at The Oracle.
"If you don't deal with the emotional side of things, food can only take you so far," she said.
The food side of things is on the menu for The Oracle workshop with theory coupled with chocolate recipes and samplings.