dark chocolate

Quinoa in chocolate? Sounds a little bizarre, but if Nestlé Crunch was one of your favorties as a child, then you'll adore this grown-up and healthier take made by Alter Eco — Organic Dark Chocolate Nutty Toasted Quinoa Bar ($5). We're talking smooth, deep, luscious dark chocolate with delightful quinoa-rice crisps. It's vegan, GMO-free, soy-free, gluten-free, and certified organic. Not only that, but since it's made by Alter Eco, you know it's also fair-trade certified, which means you can feel good about "supporting farming families through fair prices, direct trade, community development, and environmental stewardship."

Made with 60 percent cocoa, this dark chocolate bar has an amazingly rich and robust dark chocolate flavor. I was really blown away by how sweet, creamy, and mouthwatering it was. I also loved the texture of the crispy quinoa. Honestly, this chocolate is up there in flavor with expensive chocolates I've tried, and due to its deep, dark flavor, after a few squares, your chocolate cravings will be satisfied. I'll definitely be buying this again, as it's my new go-to chocolaty treat.

We love it so much, we included it in our April POPSUGAR Must Have subscription box — find out more and join in the fun!

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, raw cane sugar, cocoa butter, quinoa-rice crisps, vanilla beans

It's almost Valentine's Day, and that may mean you've got chocolate on your mind. Though you may be fearing the amount of calories in those heart-shaped boxes, there are many reasons to love Valentine's Day sweet treats. In fact, here are five healthy reasons to eat dark chocolate.

1. It helps you exercise longer: A recent study found that eating a tiny amount of dark chocolate before a workout helps fight fatigue, which means you can go that much further during your workout. The amount that worked in the study was tiny — just half a square — but if it's good quality chocolate, a small square will go a long way.
2. It's stress relieving: And not just when you're PMSing. A study found that when highly stressed participants ate an ounce and a half of dark chocolate (the equivalent of a Hershey's bar) a day for two weeks, the level of stress hormones in their bodies dropped significantly. While eating a candy bar a day can contribute to a whole new set of stresses if you're watching your weight, it's nice to know that dark chocolate has a measurable effect on stress levels.
3. It's heart-healthy: A study found that dark chocolate increases blood flow, which helps keep your ticker in top shape. Those who ate a small amount of chocolate a day had increased blood flow due to more-dilated blood vessels as well as better heart function.
4. It's good when you're sick: If you can't get the rest you need because of a nagging cough, try dark chocolate. The theobromine, an ingredient in dark chocolate, has been proven to suppress a cough, but just be careful — if you're trying to go to sleep, remember that a dark chocolate Hershey's bar has 30 milligrams of caffeine, which is the equivalent to a cup of tea.
5. It lowers blood pressure: Increasing blood flow also helps your heart in another way. A study found that eating a small square of dark chocolate a day helps regulate your blood pressure by increasing blood flow as well as dilating blood vessels and releasing nitric oxide. If you're managing your blood pressure levels, a daily, small dose of dark chocolate may help.

Source: Flickr User el patojo

The virtues of chocolate just keep coming. A recent study found that eating dark chocolate every day over a decade may lower your risk of having a heart attack or stroke. Add this good news to the already long list of the benefits of flavonoid-rich dark chocolate, and indulging in that daily decadence sounds like a very good idea indeed. Before you do, however, make sure you make your chocolate treat healthy by remembering these tips.

Make it dark: There's a reason why these studies never mention milk chocolate — all the dairy and sugar in milk chocolate, while delicious, lowers the antioxidant content of your chocolate while upping calorie and fat counts. Instead, look for dark chocolate that's at least 60 to 70 percent cocoa for those high flavonoid concentrations that actually help your health.

Go for high quality: On that note, the kind of chocolate matters; avoid chocolates that use "partially hydrogenated" oils, since these trans fats aren't exactly the healthy ingredients you're looking for and can lead to higher bad cholesterol levels. We're partial to the organic, fair-trade ingredients found in Alter Eco dark chocolate.

Keep it small: Just because it's good for you doesn't mean you have an excuse to go overboard; eat too much of any "healthy" treat every day and you'll just be undoing any possible benefits you may be getting. Stick to a square of dark chocolate a day — most people find that this is enough to satisfy sweet cravings, and studies have shown that dark chocolate's benefits are obtained from having just a small amount per day.

I'm definitely a fan of Valentine's Day, but mostly because I like the excuse to eat chocolate. Besides tasting good, dark chocolate is full of heart-healthy flavonoids (equal to many fruits), can soothe a cough, increase blood flow, and lower blood pressure.

Spread the love even more this holiday by buying my picks for chocolate that's organic, Fair Trade, or health-inspired, and don't forget to throw in a cute card — your sweetie will love you even more for it!

• Vosges chocolatier Katrina Markoff fuses her premium chocolates with things like curry, wasabi, and ginger, but we especially like Vosges because of its yoga and chocolate weekend workshops. Make vegan and gluten-free friends happy with the Vosges vegan truffle collection ($25) — with ingredients like agave nectar, organic coconut milk, pomegranate, and acai, this collection is sure to be a hit with health conscious friends.
• The handmade Drunken Figs ($35) from Cocoavino are made with red wine and dark chocolate — talk about antioxidant overload! Chocolate from Cocoavino is organic and Fair Trade certified, made with wind power, and sold in eco-friendly packaging.
• Forget Nestlé Crunch; Dark Quinoa Chocolate bars ($5) from Alter Eco give you that same crunch except with a tiny burst of protein. Alter Eco sources all of its ingredients from Fair Trade farms and also helps fund community development programs.

To see what other chocolate made the cut, read more

• Find out what Miss USA eats. — Grub Street NY
• Here's three quick, easy, and fun ways to fold cloth napkins. — Serious Eats
• Learn the proper technique for tasting dark chocolate. — Chow
• Beloved neighborhood sandwich shop, Ike's Place in San Francisco, has been given an eviction notice. — San Francisco Chronicle
• Exit interview with this week's booted Top Cheftestant, Stephen Hopcraft. — Feast NY
• A look at the grape harvesting immigrants' daily grind. — Eatocracy
• Everything you need to know about the Italian dessert budino. — The Epi-Log
• Yesterday, chef David Chang celebrated his 33rd birthday. — Eater NY

Let's face it, most of us don't need a reason to indulge in a little dark chocolate. But it's nice knowing that it helps lower blood pressure, soothes coughs, and increases blood flow to the heart. It seems like the antioxidants in chocolate are really working overtime to take care of us! It gets better too: a recent clinical trial found that eating dark chocolate lowers the levels of stress hormones in our bodies.

Researchers asked a group of participants who identified themselves as being "highly stressed" to eat an ounce and a half of dark chocolate every day for two weeks. (That's the size of an average Hershey bar, by the way.) At the end of the two-week period, the levels of stress hormones in the individuals had dropped significantly. I can definitely attest to eating a little bit of chocolate to cheer me up (PMS, anyone?), but this is the first study that has shown a physiological relationship between chocolate and stress hormones.

While I won't be using this study as a catalyst to eat a candy bar every day, I might allow myself a little chocolate pick-me-up, as needed.

Rather than going out to buy something for your sweetheart, stay in and bake these homemade Milano cookies. Everyone is familiar with the delicious Pepperidge Farms treats, with their crisp and crumbly cookies sandwiching a thin layer of chocolate. However, the homemade variation takes the cake — or that is, the cookie! The batter is easy to make, although I had trouble baking them for the first time. I wanted fun shapes, but the batter runs in the oven, so don't bother trying to make a heart-shaped cookie. Stick with one-inch strips, or for a circular cookie, very thin layers in a lined muffin tin. Once you get the hang of the cookies, the filling is simple. Skip the baked goods aisle at your local gorcer and make your own Milano cookies.