Health & Nutrition | Green & Black’s | Ew, I Don’t Like Chocolate… Said NO ONE EVER

Review by Catherine’s Cabinet

Since I started writing for DoTheDaniel, I’ve longed for the day when I can write about my favourite thing on earth.  No it’s not Kale, or Chia Seeds, or Quinoa or Ian Somerhalder (although those are all pretty up there on the list).  It’s CHOCOLATE.  Don’t worry, they won’t revoke my “Holistic Nutritionist Membership Card”, it can still be healthy when done right!

I’m not talking about going to your local convenience store or popping by a vending machine to grab a processed, refined sugar-packed, hunk o’ JUNK.  I’m talking about real chocolate here folks.  Now, ideally I would opt for raw cacao, but I am A-OKAY with the next best thing and Green & Black’s Organic Fairtrade Chocolate bars are the real deal.

Always sourcing the best quality cacao beans from Belize and Dominican Republic, Green & Black’s does not compromise when it comes to using only organically grown beans.  Using the rare Trinitario cacao beans, which comprise less than 2% of the world’s cacao source, their product is given a more distinct flavour.

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Why organic?  Why not!  These cacao beans are grown without the use of chemical pesticides or fertilizers meaning that you can enjoy your sweet treat while lightening the toxic load on your body and on the environment.  This also means that the focus can remain on the sustainability of the land so it can continue to produce food without becoming depleted of nutrients.  All of this is closely monitored by the company with the use of strict quality control and adherence to guidelines to ensure that organic standards are met.

Why Fairtrade? Well, I don’t know about you, but I want to make sure that the people who are growing my food are treated properly and paid fairly for their hard work.  Since 1994, all of the cacao used to create Green & Black’s chocolate has been sourced directly from the farmers.  This in turn provides them with a fair price for their crop.  Green & Black’s long-term agreement with the TCGA (Toledo Cacao Growers Association) assures economic security to the farmers, thus improving their quality of life and offering an investment in the stability of the local community.  In 2011, all of their chocolate products were certified as Fairtrade.

In honour of our newest and absolutely gorgeous addition to DoTheDaniel (Miss Amanda Hayden), I have created a simple, easy, healthy and delicious recipe using Green & Black’s to satisfy that sweet tooth while being busy and on-the-go (i.e. having little ones running around your ankles non stop).

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DYI Green & Black’s Choccy Butter Cups

Ingredients:

2 x Green & Black’s Organic Fairtrade Chocolate Bars (I used the 85% dark but any flavour would work)

Natural Organic Peanut Butter (or Almond Butter is good too!)

Method:

Grease a mini muffin tin with coconut oil and set aside (or grease and use wax paper).  In a double broiler, melt 1 chocolate bar.  Pour chocolate along the bottom of each cup in the tin (about 1/2 way).  Throw it in the freezer for 15 mins or until set.  While it’s setting, relax, put your feet up, hang out (yeah right).

Once set, grab that nut butter and slather a layer along the set chocolate (this part is fun for kids) or use a piping bag and squeeze dollops into the middle.

In a double broiler, melt the 2nd chocolate bar and pour over the top of the nut butter until the cups are almost full.  Place in the fridge or freezer until set.  Once set, pop em out and ENJOY!!  Keeps in the fridge covered for about a week (if you can last that long).

If you want to get creative you can add other ingredients, like chopped nuts, chocolate chips, etc to the top layer of chocolate before it sets!  Instead of the mini muffin tin you can use an ice cube tray (yes, I grew up living on a very tight budget, thank you).

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I’m a girl who likes her choices.  I want to feel like I can pick and choose which treat suits my current mood, but let’s be honest… I’m always in the mood.  Well, Green & Black’s hasn’t skimped on their variety of flavours, all of which are contributing to the greater good of our environment, the cacao farmers, the consumers aaaand my belly!

NEW TWITTER CONTEST:  Wanna win some Green & Black’s Organic Fairtrade Chocolate Bars for yourself???

Just tweet “Hey @cnsugrue I just wanna stuff chocolate into my face with #GBSpring & #DoTheDaniel!”

A winner will be randomly chosen on Friday June 13th at 5pmEST.  Good luck!!

Photos: Catherine Sugrue, Green & Black’s