Chocolate?  Yes, please.  It is my favorite indulgence.  And with Valentine’s Day coming up, I thought I would share some healthier chocolate recipes to inspire you to create some yummy deliciousness for all the people that you love. 

Who doesn’t love chocolate?  I know I do.  And I don’t feel bad about eating it.

Just be sure that you are eating good quality chocolate made with real food ingredients.  It’s all the other garbage that gets put into chocolate that is not good for us. Here’s a few tips for making healthier chocolate:

1. Use organic raw cacao powder instead of cocoa powder.  It’s full of  antioxidant flavonoids and polyphenols that promote health and protect against toxins.  It also contains minerals like magnesium, manganese, and sulfur.
2. Use a good quality food-grade cacao butter to make your chocolates.  Cacao butter, also known as cocoa butter, is a pure vegetable fat that’s extracted from the cacao bean.  It makes the purest and most smooth chocolate I have ever had.
3. Use healthy fats like coconut oil, coconut butter, and cacao butter to make your homemade chocolate treats.  Read my take on what makes a fat healthy HERE.
4. Avoid sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup and white sugar.  Use whole food sweeteners that still have some nutrients and minerals in them.  I prefer raw honey, real maple syrup, and coconut sugar.
5. Stay away from chocolate that contains soy lecithin. Soy lecithin comes from sludge left after crude soy oil goes through a degumming process. It is a waste product, and manufacturers bleach it to make it the more appealing. Also, 90% of all soy is genetically modified and is heavily sprayed with toxic herbicides.  GROSS!

There are few brands of healthier chocolate that do not contain soy lecithin:

• Enjoy Life Foods Chocolate Mega Chunks
• Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips
• Lindt Excellence Supreme Dark Chocolate
• Tropical Traditions also carries soy-free chocolate chips

Happy Valentine’s Day!

xo,

Katja

60+ Healthier Chocolate Recipes

Candies

1. Homemade Almond Joys from Rubies and Radishes

2. Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bites from Savory Lotus

3. Flavor-Infused Homemade Chocolates from Phoenix Helix

4. Homemade Chocolate from How We Flourish

5. Honey-Kissed Dark Chocolate Macadamia Nuts from Savory Lotus

6. Almond Butter Balls from Holistically Engineered

7. Salted Dark Chocolate Nut Bites from Tasty Yummies

8. Nom Nom Chocolate Truffles from Nom Nom Paleo

9. Chocolate Raspberry Jellies from Plaid and Paleo

10. Copycat Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs from Life Made Full

11. Easy Avocado Chocolate Truffles from Whole New Mom

12. Healthy Homemade Chocolates from Savory Lotus

Cookies

13. Chocolate Hazelnut Brownie Cookies from Cave Girl Cuisine

14. Paleo Peppermint Chocolate Cookie Balls from Savory Lotus

15. Chocolate Almond Spice Cookies from VA Hunter/Gatherers

16. Chocolate Chunk Salted Caramel No Bake Cookies from GI 365

17. Double Chocolate Chip Coconut Flour Cookies from Ditch the Wheat

18. Flourless Chocolate Cookies from Savory Lotus

19. Double Chocolate Cookies with Chocolate Chunks from Gourmande in the Kitchen

20. Paleo Chocolate Fudge Haystacks from Pure and Simple Nourishment

21. Salted Dark Chocolate Truffle Cookies from Paleo Parents

22. Chocolate Coconut Macaroons from Downshiftology

Cakes

23. No-Joke Dark Chocolate Cake from Zen Belly

24. Brownie Cake with Dark Chocolate Buttercream Frosting and Cacao Nibs from Slim Palate

25. Chocolate Lava Cakes from Real Food Outlaws

26. Flourless Chocolate Cake from Real Food RN

27. Chocolate Cake with Fudge Icing from The Nourishing Home

28. Flourless Chocolate Rose Mini Cakes from Savory Lotus

29. Chocolate Espresso Cake from And Here We Are

30. Paleo Chocolate Cake in a Cup from Oh Snap! Let’s Eat!

31. Chocolate Cake with Coconut Honey Frosting from Paleo Spirit

32. Chocolate Truffle Cake from Living the Crunchy Life

33. Paleo Chocolate Molten Lava Cake from Clean Eating with a Dirty Mind

34. Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting from Deliciously Organic

35. Paleo Chocolate Souffle from Gutsy by Nature

Brownies and Bars

36. Dark Chocolate Fudgy Brownies from Ditch the Wheat

37. Flourless Peppermint Brownies from Savory Lotus

38. Flourless Red Velvet Brownies from Butter Nutrition

39. Coconut Almond Mocha Fudge from Beautyandthefoodie

40. Spicy Red Velvet Brownies from Paleo in PDX

41. Paleo Mudflat Brownies from Paleo Newbie

42. Paleo Dark Chocolate Orange Fudge from Pure and Simple Nourishment

43. Fudge Triple Chocolate Paleo (and Vegan) Brownies by Paleo Running Momma

44. One Pan Nut Brownies from The Primal Desire

45. Super Chocolatey Brownies from Zen Belly Catering

46. Raw Chocolate-Topped Fudge Brownies from Whole New Mom

Puddings and Custards

47. Salted “Caramel” Chocolate Pudding from VA Hunter/Gatherers

48. Maca Chocolate Pots De Creme from Real Food RN

49. Earl Grey Pots Do Creme from Gourmande in the Kitchen

50. Paleo (and Vegan) Chocolate Pudding by Bakerita

51. Death by Chocolate from GI 365

52. Rich Chocolate Pudding from Whole New Mom

Cold Treats

53. Bittersweet Chocolate Ice Cream from Zen Belly

54. Strawberry Ice Cream Chocolate Roll from Primally Inspired

Chocolate with Fruit

55. Paleo Chocolate Covered Apples from Thriving on Paleo

56. Dark Chocolate Dipped Strawberries from Primal Palate

Tarts

57. Montezuma’s Spicy Chocolate Tart from Grok Grub

58. Paleo Chocolate Pecan Tart from Paleo Fondue

Donuts

59. Chocolate Donuts from The Spunky Coconut

60. Double Chocolate Cake Donuts from GI 365

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