3 Ways to Eat Chocolate for Breakfast
Blog post by Lindsay Mustard, Holistic Nutritionist
Breakfasts Just Got a Whole Lot More Chocolatey….
When the word chocolate gets brought up in conversation, it is usually in reference to dessert or a treat. Chocolate is often associated with dessert as most bars contain more sugar than kids cereal nowadays!
But what if, in your dream world, you could eat chocolate for breakfast, lunch or dinner? It would basically be the best thing ever. Well my friend, in this post, we are going to be sharing all the reasons why you should be incorporating chocolate into your meals and how to do it! Specifically breakfast - gone are the days of dreading waking up in the morning. Now you’ll be bouncing down the stairs with joy to make your chocolate granola bowl!
The Deep Dark Facts:
Chocolate has been around for thousands of years. Cocoa is the star ingredient that contributes plant chemicals called flavanols, which help to protect our heart, improve blood flow and lower blood pressure. 1 Dark chocolate is also packed with antioxidants and polyphenols - this is what separates it from milk chocolate! The free radical fighting abilities of dark chocolate, aids in preventing our bodies from inflammation, chronic disease and cellular damage. When it's not protecting our heart and cells, dark chocolate is working to boost our brain power! It is a cognitive enhancing food that helps to increase blood flow to the brain. Combine its brain boosting abilities with its mood enhancing abilities and you’ll be on a whole new level of focus at work or school! Dark chocolate also contains theobromine, a sister chemical to caffeine that when consumed causes our blood pressure to drop and provides us an energy boost. The deep, dark, chocolatey goodness also contains a mood-boosting chemical called phenethylamine, which is metabolized by our bodies into serotonin. Serotonin is a key hormone that stabilizes our mood, feelings of happiness and our well-being. If you want to be in a sharpened mental state and a cool as a cucumber mood, grab yourself some dark chocolate and get to eating!
Chocolatifying Your Breakfast:
Now for the best part… how to sneak in the good stuff!
1. When In Doubt, Blend It Out
Adding dark chocolate to a smoothie is not only one way to help the green stuff, aka, kale and spinach, taste a little more palatable, but it makes you feel like you’re having dessert for breakfast! If we can trick our brains into believing that the nutritious concoction that we are drinking is indeed delicious, we are more likely to reach for it time and time again as we notice the benefits after its consumption. The next time you’re whipping up a green smoothie for yourself, add a few squares of dark chocolate and watch your superpowers come to life as your energy levels sky rocket! If you’re a die hard chocolate lover, make yourself a healthy chocolate mudslide smoothie (recipe below!) with cacao powder, Zazubean dark chocolate, almond butter, protein powder, banana and sea salt. Get ready to feel like a super focused superhuman!
Chocolate Mudslide
Ingredients:
1 small frozen banana
1 tbsp cacao powder
4 Zazubean dark chocolate squares
1 tbsp almond butter
1 scoop chocolate plant based protein powder
1 tbsp chia seeds
2 cups nut milk
Pinch of sea salt
4 ice cubes
Directions:
1. Add all of the ingredients to a high speed blender and blend until smooth.
2. Pour, sip and savour!
2. Mix It In
Another easy way to incorporate chocolate into your breakfast routine - add it to your cereal, oatmeal or fruit bowl! Chop up a few squares and sprinkle them into your bowl. One of our favourite ways to enjoy dark chocolate is in the form of a granola bowl - simply combine a ½ cup granola, a ½ banana, a ½ cup of raspberries, 3 squares of Zazubean Dark Chocolate chopped and drizzle with the nut milk of your choice. The combination of fibre, natural sugar and dark chocolate will keep your brain and energy levels humming for hours!
3. The Chocolate Concoction
Do we have your attention now? Good. This sweet and salty chocolate concoction is one that you’ll be craving until you get your next fix! If you’re more of a “eat your first meal at noon” kind of person, this hot blend will help you power through your morning until it’s time for your first meal.
Chocolate Concoction
Ingredients:
4 Zazubean dark chocolate squares
1 cup nut milk of choice
1 tbsp cacao powder
1 tbsp maple syrup or a pinch of stevia
Pinch of sea salt
Directions:
1. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate.
2. Add the nut milk and whisk until smooth. Add the cacao powder, sweetener of choice and sea salt and whisk again.
3. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil and then remove from the heat. 4. Serve and savour!
3. Save it For The Side
It's exactly as it sounds. Save it for later! Eat your normal breakfast and then add a few squares of deliciousness to the side to eat after your meal. This is by far the easiest of ways to incorporate the superfood into your breakfast routine to reap the benefits it has to offer. Just remember, let it melt in your mouth! Never chew dark chocolate!
Get to It!
There you have it, a plethora of reasons why chocolate is now a required food group for reaching optimal health, improving your focus levels and boosting your mood. The next time someone tells you chocolate isn’t healthy, send them this blog post and share a square of your Zazubean chocolate bar. You might have also just made a new best friend in the process!
Vegan Power Bowl
Vegan Oatmeal Power Bowl
Ingredients:
1/3 cup quick oats
2 tbsp vanilla protein powder
1 cup water
Pinch of sea salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Toppings
1 tbsp creamy peanut butter
1 tbsp dark chocolate chunks
⅓ cup frozen blueberries
⅓ cup frozen raspberries
1 tbsp chopped cashews
Instructions:
1. Add all of the oatmeal ingredients to a small saucepan on medium heat. Whisk continuously for 2-3 minutes, or until the mixture is thick and creamy.
2. Top the cooked oatmeal with peanut butter, dark chocolate, fruit and cashews. Sprinkle with extra cinnamon and enjoy!