Thursday, February 6, 2014

Forget the Oscars, Introducing the Ch-oscars



 Every February our offices turn into a chocolate tasting lab. We try the unusual, we had truffles made with sorrel and matcha salt and chocolate with mushrooms. There were superfood chocolates and drinking chocolates all in the name of finding the best, healthy chocolates around. And we did it,  for a complete list of our Chocofacts (the darker the chocolate, the lower the sugar) and Chocowinners (debloating chocolate anyone?) click here.


I thought I’d cherry-pick my personal favorites from the tasty group:
Matcha Cacao
You know from my Golden Milk post I love warm drinks. This powder is adult hot-cocoa mix. You take 2 tsp of the powder (it comes in other flavors too but matcha is amazing for your metabolism) add water as if you’re making tea and then top it off with frothed almond milk.

Sunbiotic Bar

I love probiotics and I’m not sure many people would say that. I think they’re one of the foods we all need to focus more on. Why? They help our mood (much of our serotonin is produced in our guy), our GI function and help our immune systems….. In LBT I also explain how this group of foods help sweet cravings. Sunbiotic offers all of these benefits in a not-too-sweet chocolate bar.

The Best Healthy Chocolate on The Planet
This bar from Hu Kitchen (pictured above) has a cult following. Clients talk about it and friends hoard them. It’s not only like some evolved form of adult Reese’s. It has creamy almond butter and quinoa for crunch and texture.  Plus, it’s dairy free, gluten free, soy free, vegan and uses no stabilizers. If you love someone and gift them this, they’ll love you back. If you taste this bar you’ll understand why.

Chocolate Mug Cake
Oh boy do I need food photography tips, have any?
I was late to the mug cake party. It was really the winter and this newsletter that made me give it a whirl. Since I’m not much of an after dinner eater- I had this for breakfast. I justified it by saying some of the ingredients go in my smoothie anyway.
Here’s what you do, combine
1 tbs almond flour (haven’t tried coconut flour)
1tbs cocoa (you could use cacao but I thought would need more sweetening)
1tbs almond milk
1 egg
1 tsp coconut oil
½ to 1 tsp honey (or maple or liquid stevia)
Mix all ingredients in a microwave safe mug. Cook for 60 to 90 seconds and check because you can go from perfect to dry and nasty quickly. Optional tsp almond butter on top (I opted for this you’ll see). I never have cakes so for me this was a complete treat, you can make sweeter or add different extracts for a mint, coconut or cinnamon flavor.
Are you a chocolate person (if you say no, please explain I don't understand how this is possible)? What's your favorite dark chocolate? Have you tried any of these selections? How can I take better food photos?

7 comments:

  1. I luckily live in Belgium.....looooove chocolate. But mostly stick to dark, have lost the taste for less than 70%. Our local chocolate shop (there is one, or more!) in every town does a dark chocolate hazelnut bark that is my favourite... There is a big chocolate convention /festival here this weekend...think I might need to check it out. It's amazing how people think that because it has "chocolate" it is unhealthy, I use cocoa powder in a lot of recipes. I had to explain to the teacher that the few dark chocolate bits in my homemade granola bars I put in my daughter's lunch were not a concern to me.

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  2. I'm a Hu Kitchen cult follower. I'm also a fan of Mast Brothers. Currently looking for dairy free dark chocolate chips. Have you come across any?

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  3. enjoy life makes them I think. I want to love Mast Bros but haven't had any of their chocolate I went nuts for...

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  4. How ironic that in the land of chocolate you had to justify chocolate usage. Hazelnut bark? Yes please.

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  5. Love chocolate but I admit it, I find dark chocolate too bitter!! I just don't enjoy it. It's to the point where I kind of wish I liked it because all the things in your post look so cool, but the fact that the chocolate is dark is enough to turn me off and make them unappealing. Is there any hope for me?
    Question 1: Are there milk chocolates that are okay? Or... Question 2: Can I "train" my palate to start to like dark chocolate? (How would I do that? How long does it take to train one's palate? Is it worth doing, or should I not bother?)

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  6. Perhaps I like Mast because it's plain and I spread peanut butter on top of it.

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  7. Yeah, I guess she was talking about the kid's that actually bring in whole bars to school. "Of course something that mummy makes is fine!". Common breakfast food here is toast with chocolate sprinkles (not in my house!). And the cereals - they are all chocolate!

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