Chocolate with a mission (or two) is exactly what I’m here to share with you today in the next installment in my what’s on my Wellness Tray series. To fulfill my suggestion of “a tasty treat” on my Wellness Tray, I chose chocolate. Elements Truffles make you feel like you have indulged in an incredibly delicious treat in a good-for-you, fair trade, organic, ethically-sourced way. Plus, they donate 25% of their profits to the education of underprivileged children. Don’t know much about Ayurveda? I’ve got you. The founders share more about why these ayurveda-inspired chocolates are just what you need in the winter months.
I met Elements Truffles at the W.E.L.L. Summit Marketplace in NYC in November. Their inviting display (and scent of chocolate) drew me right to their table and I walked away with a bar for myself and a bar for my friends as a hospitality gift for putting me up in Manhattan for the weekend. The chocolates are embedded with the colorful ingredients and their natural beauty drew me right in. When I reached out to Elements Truffles, they were so kind and thoughtful and I am so glad to be able to share their story here on Where the BlueBoots Go!
The chocolates melt in your mouth and are a balance of creamy and flavorful. They are also beautiful, with that extra touch of love that you can see right on the packaging with a pretty sewn-on fabric label on each bar. Raw, organic, dairy-free, with just a touch of honey to sweeten the chocolates, their ingredients are high-class – they import lavender from lavender fields in France! They care about giving back, and donate 25% of profits to Care for Children, for holistic education of children. With cacao from Peru, and honey from hard-working bees in New Jersey, I do appreciate the thoughtfulness in sourcing highest quality ingredients that are conscious of the environment as well as taste buds.
When the sun starts to set, and it has been a long day, a little tea – like this Bellocq afghani chai tea from Boston General Store (a local, woman-owned business) – are the perfect pairing. I added a little raw Massachusetts honey to my tea, sat back, and watched the calm glow of a candle to unwind while savoring chocolate made from raw cacao goodness.
The Elements Truffles Story
A note from the founder, Alak Vasa.
Once upon a time, I was a trader on Wall Street. Those were some stressful days and I still remember how each time when going got tough, a good chocolate kept me going. Then along the way I was introduced to the world of spirituality. That is when I experienced how balancing five intrinsic elements of our body could bring one back home – to the natural state of happiness, calm and peace.
Later on, during my culinary experiences, a thought emerged. How wonderful it would be if I could blend these two dimensions of inner and outer comfort!
After countless experiments with chocolate in its purest form and Ayurveda, a food science that reveals the secrets of how to balance the five elements – earth, water, fire, air and ether – in our body, Elements Truffles was born.
I have been practicing and teaching yoga and meditation for over ten years. Our chocolate is truly made with the intention to spread this precious knowledge and uplift people. We found that medium in Cacao! Yoga and meditation are integral aspects of our startup culture. People who make the chocolates meditate before the production begins. Also, chanting is continuously recited in the background while the chocolates are manufactured.
Pictured: elements truffles raspberry with beetroot infusion // simply curated candle in vanilla lavender // 222 Fifth ‘Ardesia Tray’ 20% off with BLUEBOOTSGO
What is Ayurveda?
Ayurveda : ayur {life} + veda {knowledge}
A sister study to Yoga that focuses on inner and outer wellbeing through balancing elements in the body.
Which of your chocolates are good for winter, and why?
Orange Pistachio with Turmeric Infusion and Raspberry with Beet root Infusion.
Rich in antioxidants and essential minerals, Beet root helps boost the immune system. It also contains phenolic compounds that are good for the skin which usually ends up taking a beating in the winter months. Beet root exhibits grounding properties and hence help contain Vata element.
Check out Elements Truffles – they have bars, and boxes of individual truffles.
The raspberry and beetroot infusion is linked here, and the orange pistachio with turmeric infusion is linked here. Both are tremendous!
I’m a firm believer that gifts don’t have to wait for a special occasion – everyone needs a little surprise love every now and again! I began this series with thoughts for how to create your own Wellness Tray, and how to gift one thoughtfully.
I encourage you to start 2017 off with a wellness practice which serves YOU best. I hope this series has inspired you to take some steps to care for you, so that you can care for those in your life who need you and love you.
So far, I’ve heard from a few of you who have ventured on to make your very own Wellness Trays. I’d love to hear if you have made one, if you have any questions about making one for yourself, or need advice to gift one to your mom, friend, significant other, personal trainer, boss, barre instructor, etc :).
One of our readers of Where the BlueBoots Go, Maemi, sent me this photo of her Wellness Tray. I love how personalized it is to what is important to her! Thanks, Maemi, for sharing!
Maemi’s Wellness Tray – featuring colored pencils for illustrating, jasmine tea, jasmine oil, knitting, and chocolates
If you missed the first 4 posts in what’s on my Wellness Tray, read here:
…….For the 1st post in the Wellness Tray series – introducing the Wellness Tray, featuring 222Fifth
………For the 2nd post in the Wellness Tray series – featuring Simply Curated Candles
…………For the 3rd post in the Wellness Tray series – featuring Organic Bath Co.
…………..For the 4th post in the Wellness Tray series – featuring Moroccan Magic lip balms.
……………………For the 5th post in the Wellness Tray series – featuring florapothecarie bathing salts
Curious about the W.E.L.L. Summit?
Keep up with what’s going on in wellness with their newsletter (at the bottom of the page), join the Facebook group (I love this community so I want to share it!), or read what I’ve said about it previously below.
- The W.E.L.L. Summit 2015 is THIS weekend!
- 3 beautiful questions to ask yourself to guide and motivate you today
- W.E.L.L. Summit 2016 in NYC is almost here- what I’m looking forward to from this wellness weekend and why
- What YOU need to know about Clean Beauty
