CHOCOLATE

With chocolate it’s all about the cocoa percentage!

Chocolate alone is full of nutrients in its purest form. Always remember the importance of eating chocolate in moderation. Are you eating chocolate for fun as a treat? Or for good health? 

An average portion size of chocolate for good health is around 1 oz of chocolate per day. Portion control is especially important when choosing a type of chocolate. If the chocolate you’re choosing has large amounts of sugar then this chocolate would be for fun; not for good health. If you’re considering eating chocolate for good health less or no sugar is best. Also go organic as it’s always best because they grow the cacao trees without using chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides. (Look for Rainforest alliance certified products.)

Listed below gives you a general idea of sugar content for each chocolate category. Always check labels for ingredients and sugar content. Chocolate with fewer ingredients is best for good health.

GOOD HEALTH CHOCOLATE OPTIONS:

Cocoa Powder (raw zero sugar)

Cocoa or Cacao Nibs (raw zero sugar)

GOOD HEALTH + OTHER CHOCOLATE OPTIONS:

Unsweetened (0.3 grams of sugar per serving)

Bitter-Sweet Chocolate (0.3 grams of sugar per serving)

Dark Chocolate (14 grams of sugar per serving)

OTHER CHOCOLATE OPTIONS:

Semi-Sweet Chocolate (23 grams of sugar per serving)

Milk Chocolate (23 grams of sugar per serving)

White Chocolate (50 grams of sugar per serving)

RAW CHOCOLATE OFFERS:

Magnesium

Zinc

Iron

Phosphorus

Copper

Potassium

Selenium

Manganese.

Calcium

RAW CHCOCOLATE BENEFITS:

Antioxidants

Heart Health

Skin Health

Improves Brain Function 

Mood Boosting 

Gut Health 

Cancer Prevention 

Cholesterol Health

When choosing chocolate for good health you want to choose quality stuff. To receive the benefits of pure chocolate, go raw or make sure to choose chocolate with 70% or higher cocoa content. As I’ve listed above chocolate contains a ton of nutrients and the darker the chocolate the better. 

CHOCOLATE RECIPE SCHEDULE: Friday’s in February we eat chocolate!

WEEK 1: Friday, FEBRUARY 7TH, 2025 – No-Sugar - Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups 

WEEK 2: Friday, FEBRUARY 14TH, 2025 – Dark Chocolate Citrus Donuts 

WEEK 3: Friday, FEBRUARY 21ST, 2025 – Chocolate Rosé Truffles

WEEK 4: Friday, FEBRUARY 28TH, 2025 – No–Sugar - Dark Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Fall in love with February’s new recipes! If you’re signed up for the email list you will be receiving a new chocolate recipe straight to your inbox every Friday of February. 

Follow us on Social Media for extra tips and clips on how-to-methods with this month’s recipes! 

NO SUGAR – DARK CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CUPS INGREDIENTS:

PEANUT BUTTER FILLING:

¼ Cup Freshly Pressed Peanut Butter or Organic Chunky

1 ½ T Butter

CHOCOLATE COATING:

1 Bar Unsweetened Chocolate

¼ Cup Local Honey

2 T Coconut Oil

1 tsp Vanilla

2 Dashes Kosher Salt

1. Prepare a cupcake tin with 12 cupcake liners and set aside.

2. Add Peanut Butter and Butter to a food processor, blend smooth in a food processor and set aside.

3. Next melt Chocolate in a double boiler. 

4. Once chocolate is melted add honey to the melted chocolate and mix together in the double boiler. 

5. Now add Coconut oil and vanilla to the double boiler and mix together with the chocolate and honey.

6. It’s time to make our peanut butter cups, add about 1 T of melted chocolate mixture to the bottom of each liner.

7. Roll up and flatten a  quarter (coin) size of peanut butter filling then carefully flattening each piece and lay it over the first layer of chocolate.

8. Next cover each peanut butter filling with 1 T of melted chocolate.

9. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until chocolate has hardened.

10. Remove peanut butter cups from the liners and enjoy a chocolate treat with no added refined sugars that tastes amazing!