Chocolate Is Healthy

Despite being geared toward the Western U.S., we love reading Sunset for its food and decorating ideas.  In the January issue, they called out a number of healthy dark chocolate products, some of which were new to us.

Utah’s Amano Artisan Chocolate makes award-winning, single varietal handmade chocolate bars incorporate carefully sourced beans from Venezuela, Madagascar, Ecuador, Bali, Ghana and beyond.  They also sell hand roasted cocoa nibs and bulk chocolate.

Claudio Corallo cultivates a cacao plantation on the African island of Principe, a biologically-rich island with world-reknown cacao.  His offers complex bars, some with flavors like orange and ginger, as well as whole roasted cacao beans that have a delicious nutty texture.

We also learned about Portland, OR based Sip to Live, a shop with unique blends of organic teas based on ayurvedic principles.  Each blend helps to serve and refresh different areas of the body.  For example The Cool-Out, with its blend of chamomile, cherry bark and other herbs is made to soothe the nerves.

You’ve probably come across various ways to consume raw chocolate. Most common are cacao nibs and raw chocolate bars. But have you tried raw chocolate powder?

Many people aren’t quite sure what to do with raw chocolate powder but it’s an incredibly versatile ingredient. It’s made from raw chocolate, and because of this, it doesn’t contain high levels of caffeine you find in processed chocolate powder. It’s typically vegan-friendly and organic, and a great source of minerals such as magnesium, copper, and calcium.  It’s also rich in antioxidants.

Raw chocolate powder should have a rich, smooth effect on any recipe. You can mix raw chocolate powder into smoothies, yogurt or ice cream. Use it to make a raw chocolate (or non-raw chocolate) cake, or raw chocolate bars
or truffles.

Look for raw chocolate powder made with premium cacao beans and grown with sustainable farming methods. You can buy raw chocolate powder in 1lb and 5lb bags at your local health food grocery store, or check out
Navitas Naturals Cacao Power Raw Powder at this online health food sellers.

There’s still time to offer healthy, organic Halloween chocolate treats, instead of the unnatural processed candy found in the supermarket.

We came across this great roundup of all natural Halloween treats.  Options include fair trade certified chocolate coins from Ghana, Clif Spooky S’mores Energy Bars, organic gluten-free chocolates from Equal Exchange and vegan Bluestocking peanut butter cups.  Any of these will deliver the delights of chocolate, without the additives and preservatives.

6 Healthier Halloween Eco-Treats for Kids (No Tricks, We Promise!) | Inhabitots.

It’s never too early to think about holiday gift giving. Healthy raw chocolate bars, with their organic ingredients and gorgeous packaging, are great for sharing with loved ones.

We’ll continue to provide you with chocolate gift ideas over the coming weeks.   Why? Because they’re delicious, easy to send, and gift recipients won’t believe they’re healthy!

We came across this Pomegranate Acai Bar made by Gnosis Chocolate. It features 100% organic raw ingredients, so you won’t find any refined sugar, dairy, soy, cholesterol or gluten in their products. In this delicious combination, you’ll have the deep satisfaction and therapeutic value of raw, dark chocolate PLUS massive antioxidants from the acai and pomegranate.

Pomegranate Acai Bar.

We love giving chocolate gifts and party favors as they are loved and cherished at weddings, birthdays, anniversaries or any special occasion.   Even better, you can have personalized chocolate in any size of bar, and custom wrappers with any design you wish.  But from a chocolate lover’s perspective, how do they stack up?

It’s difficult to find personalized chocolate gifts that are comprised of high quality, dark chocolate.  Of course, we prefer it to be minimally-processed, fair trade and organic, but we know we can’t have everything.  But personalized chocolates always seem to be made from generic, too-sweet milk chocolate.  We love the design, concept and spirit of personalized chocolates, but we hope you’ll let us know of any gourmet options out there.

Below is a helpful list of the pros and cons of giving personalized chocolate as gifts or favors.

Chocolate Bars With Personalized Wrappers – The Pros and Cons For Choosing Candy Party Favors at Articles for Mom.