Healthy Chocolate

<<Please explain “healthy chocolate” ) Thanks!<<

I know, it seems like an oxymoron, doesn’t it?  But here’s the recipe and you’ll quickly see why I call it healthy chocolate.

Healthy Chocolate

• 1/2 c. raw cacao powder
• 1/4 c. extra virgin coconut oil
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1/8 – 1/4 c. honey

Melt the oil and then add the other ingredients, making sure powder is fully mixed in.  Pour into molds – you can use an ice cube tray, or pour in a thin layer into a pan.  (If you make it too thick, it’s hard to break into pieces.)  Freeze, then cut/break into pieces.  When I make this I give the kids pieces for a snack or even as part of breakfast.  As I said in the coconut oil post, it’s an easy way to get coconut oil into them.

I’ve made several variations -  the first one was with cacao powder and the smaller amount of honey called for.  This was excellent if you like bittersweet chocolate, but the kids didn’t think it was sweet enough.  When I made the next batch with cacao, I used the higher amount of honey called for and they liked it alot.  Then I ran out of cacao powder and experimented with using carob powder (which is naturally sweet and doesn’t have the bitterness of cacao) and the higher amount of honey. But they said it was too sweet, so next time I use carob I’ll have to use a smaller amount.  Then I tried using cocoa powder and used powdered stevia instead of honey, but the stevia was clunked up and so I took it out since it wasn’t dissolving in the heated mixture like I expected it to, but it left an aftertaste behind- no one liked that at all.  They really don’t like the taste of stevia.  Next time I’m going to use 1/4 c. of honey with cocoa powder; I think it should be the right balance since I think cocoa and cacao have the same flavor, but I’ll see!

Avivah