I want to introduce you to someone…meet my friend…, DARK chocolate. He keeps to himself at times, doesn’t always mix well in crowds and is silent in a world of overly obnoxious imposters. The “big business” of chocolatier has released some sad forms of chocolate where sugar rules and the amount of actual chocolate is laughable. When you say, not all _______ (fill in the blank) is alike, this couldn’t be more true for dark chocolate or really chocolate in general. You have heard buzz about the benefits of eating a little dark chocolate in a day and maybe you know why you should be doing it, but do you really know what kind to eat and WHY you are eating that kind?
Let’s talk about what to look for in your dark chocolate so you can be your own food snob. Cocao nibs are the bean that chocolate is made from, so you want a high cocao content, high fat, and low sugar content. The high fat and high cocoa content will allow you to be satisfied with less and you will find it difficult to eat as much of the real dark stuff as you would the cheap milk chocolate varieties.
Let’s compare the ingredients of Hersheys milk chocolate to a good quality dark chocolate.
Dagoba 74% Dark Chocolate Bar:
Organic Dark Chocolate (Cacao Beans [Organic]; Cane Sugar [Organic]; Cacao Butter [Organic]; Non-GMO Soy Lecithin); Milk (Organic) (Less than 0.1%).
Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar:
MILK CHOCOLATE (SUGAR; MILK; CHOCOLATE; COCOA BUTTER; LACTOSE; MILK FAT;SOY LECITHIN;PGPR, EMULSIFIER; VANILLIN, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR)
Ummm, so, what’s the problem, right? What’s the difference here, cause you’re not blowing my mind!
The sugar content is quite different…15g in the Dagoba and 24g in the Hershey’s, fiber is also noticeable different…7g in the Dagoba and 1g in Hershey’s, protein is less significant but still noteworthy….5g in the Dagoba and 3g in Hershey’s. So, it comes down to, better QUALITY ingredients, nothing artificial. You will pay more, but also be getting more. It’s quite easy to motor through an entire Hershey bar, but it would be quite a feat to do the same with a high quality dark chocolate bar.
For more reading, check out this site. I LOVE this website by the way. Mark Sisson is doing it right. He boasts a Primal way of eating (Paleo type) and is holistic in his approach. He may be too over the top for some, a little too meat focused for my flavor, but some things you may love.
Thanks for joining me on Foodie Friday! Food is a constant journey that takes you to new places… & I love being part of your journey.
~ Jamie
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