Chocolate is an important part of my Nutritarian diet plan. I try to buy the most nutritious version I can, for each use. Green & Black's 85% Dark Organic Chocolate for dessert; Organic 100% Cacoa Nibs for sprinkling on fruit or in a recipe; Hershey's 100% Special Dark Cocoa for baking brownies; and Ghirardelli 60% Bittersweet Cacao Morsels for chocolate chip cookies, trail mix, or adding to snacks.
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| Green and Black's 85% Dark Chocolate |
The more cacao, the darker the chocolate bar. Pure unsweetened cocoa or cacao is a healthy choice. It is high in flavonoids which are associated with a lower risk of heart disease, insulin resistance, and high blood pressure. So, a chocolate bar with 85% cacao is a great choice. However, because this candy bar has 15% something else you need to be careful about the serving size. Why? Well think about what that other 15% is and why it's there. Pure Cacao is bitter, so sugar is added to make it more palatable, and cocoa butter is high in saturated fat. The combination of sugar and fat means your healthy chocolate bar has a high number of calories. My suggestion is enjoy your chocolate, as a dessert, in a smaller serving size than is suggested on the nutrition panel. Green and Black's recommends a little more than one ounce per serving (10 rectangles) at 190 calories. I eat one square (2 rectangles) or 38 calories per serving. This allows room to balance my dessert with protein in the form of Brazil nuts.
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| Score the bar with a sharp knife... |
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| and break apart... |
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| store the leftovers for another time... |
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| and serve your chocolate square with Brazil nuts! |
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| Organic Cacao Nibs are 100% Dark chocolate. They are tiny crumbles that aren't much good for popping in your mouth and getting that nice melty experience. They are also quite bitter. However, a little sprinkle over some sweet strawberries is a nice flavor balance. |
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| My husband bakes sweet potato brownies using Hershey's 100% Special Dark Cocoa |
100% Cocoa, in an unsweetened powdered form, is great for baking anything chocolaty. We also use it for making hot cocoa in the colder months. The bitterness is balanced by adding Coconut Palm Sugar or Stevia to your recipe.
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| Chocolate morsels can't be beat when it comes to cookies, trail mix, or just about any snack |
Of course, they are only 60% cacao, so not as healthy as the chocolate choices listed above. Consider these a once in awhile treat.
Cacao vs Cocoa
You may be wondering why my spelling keeps changing. While "Cacao" and "Cocoa" are similar, there are important differences. According to Navitas Organics, "Both cacao and cocoa come from the cacao bean of the Theobroma cacao tree." The main difference is in how the cacao bean is processed, and how the health benefits are altered as a result of processing. Cocoa powder is the highly processed form. It is roasted at a much higher temperature and contains additives to cut the bitterness. Cacao powder is the lightly processed form of the bean. Cacao has the nutritionally dense properties of the cacao seed.
Learn more about quality nutrition in my latest book:
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THE PRINGLE PLAN FOR QUALITY NUTRITION: A Ten-Year Personal Journey And Nutritarian Menu Plan |
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