Yep, chocolate is a health food when it doesn’t contain too much sugar or other fake stuff. If your valentine is into clean eating, you are in the right place. As an avid clean-eater and chocoholic, I can assure you that I know a lot about healthy Valentine’s Day chocolate.
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Is Chocolate Really a Health Food?
Definitely! Chocolate is chocked full of antioxidants, which are good for neutralizing free radicals within the body.
Chocolate is good for brain health, cardiovascular health and can potentially lower cholesterol. It is important to note that one study specified dark chocolate and one just cocoa, so these benefits are not connected to say Reese’s peanut butter cups (my husband was disappointed too ;).
Remember at its core, cocoa is simply a seed, and seeds are healthy, right? Chocolate is similar to coffee IMHO. In their most simple forms, chocolate and coffee are nutritious and beneficial, but they are often turned into junk food.
What To Look for in Healthy Chocolate?
Healthy chocolate contains at least 70% cocoa. Chocolate is very calorie dense, so it’s key to have a few squares not a whole bar. It’s also important to look for a simple recipe that uses real ingredients like cocoa, milk (unless you are dairy free) and vanilla.
Unfortunately, even some of the chocolate brands that people think of as high end (Ghirardelli, Lindt, etc.) use artificial vanilla flavor. It saves a little money, plain and simple.
Fair Trade chocolate is a great choice as it ensures the cocoa was ethically sourced and that appropriate compensation was provided to the farmers and communities. It also ensures safety for the workers and ethics in various ways (no child or forced labor).
Fair Trade Certified products will proudly display the logo.
Certified organic protects us from most pesticide contamination, which is good all the way around (consumers, farmers and the planet). The healthiest chocolate will be organic and fair-trade, but it can be hard to find festive options that meet these requirements, so we’ll be sure to cover a wide range of ideas.
Healthy Valentine’s Day Chocolate Options
Some of the healthiest chocolate brands are Alter Eco, Endangered Species, Theo and Greens and Blacks. These brands are not only free of artificial ingredients but also organic and Fair Trade certified.
These brands aren’t known to do many festive holiday themes BUT keep an eye out as you never know what the year may bring. These Alter Eco Sea Salt Truffles come in a cute pink bag.
Aldi Healthy Valentine’s Day Chocolate
If you are looking for a budget option and have an Aldi near you, this can be a great option for healthy Valentine’s Day chocolate. They carry quality European chocolates year-round as well as a nice selection of holiday-themed chocolates for the major holidays.
While the sugar content will vary, the ingredients are pretty simple and clean. Some of their popular European brands are Choceur and Moser Roth and Merci.
I used to work near an Aldi and have tried all of these brands at one time or another. I can assure you they are delicious and taste like the real deal.
Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods Healthy Valentine’s Day Chocolate
Trader Joes and Whole Foods are known for quality, so you shouldn’t find many big surprises on their product ingredient lists. They both carry their own store brands as well as offering other high-end chocolates.
All of their chocolates should be free of artificial colors, flavors and most preservatives. Each year will vary, but historically both stores have a fantastic selection of holiday chocolates. We mentioned Reese’s earlier in the post so just a side note—Trader Joe’s is a little bit famous for their peanut butter cups.
In a Pinch?
If you are looking for a brand that is widely available in most grocery stores, one of the plain Godiva options may be a safer bet than most. While they do contain some hydrogenated oils, they don’t contain any artificial colors or flavors. They also tend to carry some dark chocolate offerings.
In addition, plain Hersheys are also free of artificial colors and flavors … they probably have the simplest recipe out of all of the popular chocolates. If you are limited by location or budget a chocolate Hershey’s product is likely the lesser of evils in a standard grocery store candy aisle.
Homemade Healthy Valentine’s Day Chocolate
Looking for a homemade option? You can snag a silicone heart-shaped mold and create your own healthy Valentine’s Day Chocolate in just a few simple steps. The fastest way is to simply melt your desired chocolate bar or chocolate chips and place them in the fridge to harden.
Sure, it was easy, but it was still from the heart and took a little more effort than snagging chocolate from the grocery store. You can always package it up nicely to add a little more wow factor.
Another option is to make the chocolate from scratch. It’s easier than you may think, and you can customize it to your liking. This dark chocolate recipe from Alpha Foodie can be made with or without sweetener.
For the peanut butter lovers out there, check out this paleo peanut butter heart recipe from Our Oily House. Honestly, there are endless options for homemade Valentine’s Day chocolate goodies.
Some other fun and super easy ideas are chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate bark and chocolate covered pretzels. The great thing about making treats homemade is that you get to control the ingredients.
For Valentine’s Day chocolate bark, raspberries or strawberries make good add ins. For chocolate dipped pretzels, Whole Foods carries naturally dyed pink crystalized sugar and white sprinkles.
My favorite bulk melting chocolate for goodies like these is Callebaut Belgian Dark Couverture Chocolate. They also carry a white chocolate option. The company uses natural ingredients and supports sustainable cocoa farming.
The possibilities are truly endless. I hope you found a healthy Valentine’s Day chocolate idea that you’re excited to share with your loved ones.
