Chocolate Love

If you know me at all, you know that I love chocolate. If I had to pick one thing to eat for the rest of my life, chocolate would be it.

Usually I make my own desserts to make sure they are a healthy treat. However, I do like the convenience of a dark chocolate bar… especially when on vacation. I like to have dark chocolate on hand so that I’m less likely to eat junky sweets.

So, as an excuse to try a bunch of chocolates, I’ve decided to try some chocolate I hadn’t tried before and share with you all some of my all time favorites, as well as my new favorite chocolate bar. The things I do for my readers. 😉

When choosing a chocolate bar I try to stick with the following:

1. the darker the better: The darker the better. I avoid anything 70% or less in order to get more of the benefits of the dark chocolate and less of the sugar.

2. processed sugar free: To me the best chocolate bar has no refined sugar. But if it has sugar in it I would prefer non-GMO.

3. soy free: I avoid soy due to it’s possible estrogen mimicking effects. Soy lecithin is in many chocolate bars. Check out this post by Food Renegade if you would like to know a little more about soy lecithin and why I avoid it.

4. organic: I prefer organic anything, of course, for obvious reasons. If it’s organic it will have less pesticides and less likely to have GMOs.

5. great taste! If it’s dark, processed sugar free, soy free, and organic but taste like crap I’m not going to eat it… no matter how healthy it is.

So here are some bars that fit in most of the above requirements and why I like (or don’t like) them.

1. Lindt 90% Dark Chocolate Bar. This is one of my favorite chocolate bars. I like that I can get it from Target and it’s relatively inexpensive. It’s not organic and it has sugar however it’s EXTREAMLY low in sugar. So low that it doesn’t make me feel crummy and I don’t hesitate eating the small amount I need to fix my chocolate sweet tooth. I usually only eat this for a special occasion. My hubby surprises me with one of these bars from time to time when he wants to spoil me. This chocolate bar is smooth and just sweet enough for my dark chocolate loving self. The ingredients list is minimal. And it’s soy free!

2. Hu Salty Dark Chocolate. This one is for those of you who laugh at the idea of anything darker than 80%. It’s a 70% dark chocolate. I don’t eat this all the time as it’s higher in sugar than others BUT it’s organic and uses coconut sugar. I LOVE the salty sweet combo. It’s also very smooth compared to many other dark chocolate bars. It’s a win for sure.

3.Hu chocolate chips no sugar added. I have yet to try these but was thrilled to see that Hu has come out with chocolate chips sweetened with dates. Let me know in the comment section below if you have tried these and what do you think?

4. Alter Eco Dark Blackout Organic Chocolate: This is not my favorite chocolate bar but I thought I would weigh in on this one since I did buy it once. I like the ingredient list and that it contains fair trade organic non GMO ingredients. There is no soy and it’s relatively low in cane sugar. But it has a kind of fruity-bitter-sweet taste to it that’s just not what I’m looking for in a dark chocolate bar. Others might like it, but I would pick another bar over getting this one again.

5. Enjoy Life Chocolate Chunks: I bought these for baking with for my hubby and friends. They are higher in sugar than the chocolate I normally eat. They only have 7 grams of sugar per serving but a serving is only 1 TBS. I thought I would give them a try for the sake of reviewing them since they are soy free. This is one of the only brands of chocolate chips out there that is soy, wheat, and dairy free. They are way too sweet for my pallet (eating alone) but they are good when baked in baked goods. I wouldn’t buy them for myself. I usually make my own chocolate chunks. But for anyone who likes sweeter chocolate (like my husband) or doesn’t want to take the time to make chocolate chunks, these are a must have baking staple.

6. Theo Pure 85% Dark Chocolate: I originally bought this chocolate bar on thrivemarket.com but they no longer sell them individually. They have them in a variety packet. They also sell this bar on amazon. While the Theo bar does have processed sugar (which I usually avoid) I thought this bar was worth mentioning because it’s relatively low in sugar and the sugar is non GMO organic. The entire bar is organic non GMO and contains no soy so that is a plus as well. At 85% dark, this bar is healthier than most dark chocolate bars in stores today. This bar had great reviews on thrive. I found that it had a good flavor. It was sweet but not overly sweet and smooth but not as smooth as other bars I have tried. I think it would make a great sometimes treat if you are not avoiding all sugar. It would be perfect broken up in homemade trail mix or as chocolate chips to sweeten up homemade cookies or pumpkin bread.

When I have the time, I prefer to make my own chocolate treats. That way I know for sure the ingredients are the best. Check out my sweets recipe page if you want some recipes for sweets (most of which include chocolate) without the processed sugars. When I am in a hurry, or on the go, I grab one of my favorite dark chocolate bars. Do you have a favorite dark chocolate bar? If so, feel free to share in the comments below.

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