Choose Your Chocolate

 Happy Valentines Day, fellow chefs! What sweets will you be making for your sweetie?

Here in the KickinKitchen, we're getting creative with dark chocolate. Studies show that the stuff may actually be good for your heart, so each of us is preparing a healthy dessert to share!

Here are some tips for healthy chocolate choices: 

<3 Look for chocolate that contains at least 65% cocoa. Chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa has more antioxidants that are good for your heart and brain. 

<3 The darker the chocolate, the healthier it is. Milk chocolate has a high amount of sugar and fat, which is meant to mask the naturally rich and slightly bitter taste of real dark chocolate. Even worse is white chocolate, which contains no actual cocoa, but instead the fat and oils that are drained from cocoa beans during the manufacturing process. Yuck!

<3 Choose Organic, Natural, and/or Fair Trade. Big chocolate companies that make popular candy bars tend to pack their chocolate with nasty chemicals, preservatives, and unhealthy sweeteners. If it's real  chocolate you want, look for packages that say "organic," "natural," or "fair trade." Because cocoa comes from a plant that needs to be farmed and harvested, real chocolate is not only better for you, but better for farmers and the earth. 

<3 When baking with chocolate, find recipes that are high in dark chocolate and low in extra sugar and butter. In other words, stay away from the brownies and chocolate chip cookies and try something new! Like this chocolate pudding recipe from James Beard Award-winning chef Cheryl Forberg: Chocolate Almond Pudding

Send us YOUR favorite healthy recipes for sumptuous Valentine's Day sweets!

Love, Reyna!

And when enjoying dark chocolate, remember to keep your portions in check! Less is more!