Treat Yourself to a Healthy Chocolate Morning

As you probably know by now if you follow me, I am a HUGE chocolate lover. I enjoy chocolate regularly without any guilt because I always have healthy versions of chocolate. I buy 70%+ organic dark chocolate (usually 80%+) and I make my own (super easy) chocolate treats. And its important to know that cacao is very healthy, its just the added sugar, milk fat, preservatives that make most chocolates unhealthy.

Cacao is filled with ANTIOXIDANTS, FIBER, MAGNESIUM, IRON and other good-for-you nutrients. Plus, consuming chocolate is proven to make us feel better! More on the benefits of cacao HERE.

When buying chocolate, aim for ORGANIC, fair-trade, 70%+ dark, and I personally like to go for ones without soy, and also prefer ones sweetened with coconut sugar instead of cane sugar as it tends to be better for our glucose.

However, the BEST option is making your own! Plus, healthy chocolate desserts can be fun to make and super easy.

Today I wanted to share 2 recipes for an indulgent yet super healthy, nutritious morning when you’re craving chocolate - be it Valentine’s Day or any day that you want some extra comfort!

Healthy Hot Chocolate (hormone balancing, dairy free and refined sugar free)

Ingredients:

Instructions:

  1. Blend all ingredients together a few seconds, serve into your favorite mug and heat up a few seconds more until warm to your liking.

Chocolate Coconut Smoothie Bowl (low glycemic and SUPER nutritious)

Ingredients:

  • 1 serving chocolate protein powder (1-2 scoops, depending on protein powder). *

  • 2 tsp extra organic raw cacao powder

  • 1 cup frozen cauliflower rice **

  • ½ frozen banana ***

  • ½ cup fresh or frozen coconut meat (or 1/4 cup dried shredded coconut)

  • 1 Tbsp ground flaxseeds

  • 1 Tbsp almond butter (or nut butter of choice)

  • 1/2 cup coconut water + more liquid if needed (if you don’t have coconut water, option to do 1/2 water, 1/2 coconut milk instead, or almond milk) *

  • Toppings: I like to vary them! options include: cacao nibs, almond butter (or cashew or peanut butter), shredded coconut, granola, sliced banana, and any other nuts/seeds of choice (about 1 tablespoon each) ****

Instructions:

  1. Blend all ingredients until smooth, adding as much liquid as you need to blend but keeping it thick. Taste and adjust as needed. If you need it sweeter, you can add one pitted date or a bit more banana.

  2. Pour smoothie into a bowl and top with cacao nibs, almond butter, coconut and/or toppings of choice (chocolate granola, chia seeds, hemp seeds, cashew and walnuts are some of my other favorite toppings)

chocolate smoothie bowl topped with granola, cacao nibs & shredded coconut

chocolate smoothie bowl topped with coconut, cashew butter, cacao nibs, hemp seeds

chocolate smoothie bowl with sliced banana, coconut, cacao, hemp seeds and nuts

notes:

*Chocolate Protein Powders I like include: SunWarrior blend, SunWarrior collagen, Vital Proteins collagen, Raw Garden of Life, ALOHA or BeWellbyKelly

**it can be any frozen cauliflower, doesn’t have to be riced. Or I actually prep it at home; it’s easy. Clean/chop a cauliflower, process a few seconds in a food processor, steam, allow to cool, then freeze in a silicone freezer-safe bag or plastic-free glass tupperware.

***if you want to make it banana-free, use 1/2 a zucchini; that’s what I usually do! Or use a little of both, ex !/4 banana and 1/4 zucchini

****In Nicaragua, I use my own almond butter which we sell in Balance Food and coconut water/products from the Coco Corner


Lastly, here are some of my favorite chocolate recipes - all VEGAN, DAIRY-FREE, GLUTEN-FREE, REFINED SUGAR-FREE and PRESERVATIVE-FREE.


Happy Valentines Day - and please let me know if you try my recipes and like them!

Love and Chocolate,

Mariana