This Chocolate Is Good For You

It's no great revelation that I love sugary treats. In particular I love chocolate. I have a real problem with it. But what if there was a type of chocolate that was GOOD for me?

No. Not good for me as in it lifts my mood. That's the effect of anything sugary. I mean actually nutritionally good for you.

You know how women's magazines are always rolling out the odd statistic about how chocolate is good for you in moderation? Well, for one, their idea of moderation is a bit less than the entire share bag of malteasers you ate the other week. Secondly, they are not talking about malteasers, or terry's, or galaxy, or dairy milk...

CACAO.

Cacao is good for you in moderation.

Fun fact: Cacao and cocoa are the same thing. In case you didn't know. (I didn't)

Cacao is what makes your normal chocolate bars, but did you know you could also get RAW chocolate bars, which generally is made with far less ingredients, much less sugar, occasionally no sugar, and is farmed ethically? The benefits of raw foods are much discussed, but the basic belief is that, when food is heated above a certain temperature, it loses nutrients, enzymes, and friendly bacteria (sorry for using that term, I am not a Yakult commercial). You can find out more about the benefits here: the benefits or raw chocolate, but I also encourage you to do a little research of your own, see what you find out.

Anyway, the other day, I popped out to get some vegetables, and I came across some raw chocolate bars by The Raw Chocolate Company. I was convinced that if they were healthy, then they must also taste vile (anyone else ventured into the world of Carob before? D:). However, I decided to throw caution to the wind, because 2014 is the year of change, and I'm living life on the absolute edge.  I purchased one called Vanoffe, and another called Vanoffe Dark.

Both are vegan, and delicious. Vanoffe is a creamy, vanilla-toffee flavour, and Vanoffe dark is the same but with more cacao so is a bit richer. I was so surprised, I liked the taste as much as I like 'normal' chocolate, perhaps even a bit more! You can find a full list of ingredients on their website (www.therawchocolatecompany.com), although there aren't many. You can also order from the website in bulk at a discount. These bars are a bit pricier than your usual chocolate, but that's okay because you're going to eat it in moderation aren't you?