It’s no secret that I love chocolate … because I have something sweet every single night, dark chocolate is often in the rotation. It tastes so decadent, a little goes a long way, and it’s a great way to treat myself! 
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Luckily for me given my treat of choice, chocolate has some pretty awesome health benefits:
- The flavonols in chocolate can lower blood pressure, lower LDL cholesterol, lower inflammation, and lower your risk of heart disease!
- In fact, in a 9-year study, women who ate 2 servings of dark chocolate per week cut their risk of heart disease by up to a third!
- Those with high-anxiety who ate 1.5 ounces of dark chocolate every day for 2 weeks had noticeably lowered anxiety levels!
- An Oxford study showed that those who consumed chocolate, wine, or tea regularly had better test scores and lowered prevalence of poor cognitive performance!
- A Swedish study found a link between chocolate consumption and 20% lowered risk of stroke!
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I could go on and on … there are TONS of benefits, and these studies showed real results. Basically, it comes down to the fact that cocoa beans are loaded with antioxidants (the same powerful compounds that make fruits and veggies so good for you!). In fact, a serving of pure dark chocolate has even more antioxidants than a serving of acai juice, which is often called a “superfood” for its antioxidant content.
However … before you rush off to consume every morsel of chocolate in sight, let me put things into perspective a bit.
- First, in all these studies, benefits were observed, but it was not proven that chocolate CAUSED the benefits.
- Second, any benefits are great, but they’re likely on a small scale … just having a bite of chocolate every night will not make you Superman or Superwoman. (Bummer!)
- Third, like so many things, moderation is key – chocolate can be part of a healthy diet, but you can’t consume 10 chocolate bars per day and call yourself healthy!
- Finally, MOST commercially prepared chocolate is LOADED with sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and all kinds of artificial ingredients.
And that brings me to my next point! A few weeks ago, I was contacted by the Marketing Director of a small mom-and-pop company called Nelly’s Energy Truffle Bars. She said that the company was producing a line of 100% organic, vegan, gluten-free, superfood chocolate bars. The bars are handmade in small batches, and are made using fair-trade ingredients, sustainable farming practices, and ethical treatment of people and animals. The Energy Truffle Bars are made with nutrient-dense ingredients that I can recognize, and have no preservatives, artificial flavorings, or high fructose corn syrup.
WOW! I think my email to Kevin telling him about this was something like “this company sounds like my version of heaven!!” I was so excited to try the Energy Truffle Bars that I had my mom check my house for the delivery multiple times since I was out of town for work. (Thanks, Mom!) I was very excited when I finally arrived to see this cute package of 6 Energy Truffle Bars. 
I got to try the Goji berry, double chocolate, coconut, mint chlorella, and peanut butter flavors.
They were delicious!! I loved the combination of flavors that Nelly’s selected, and opening each one was a special surprise! If I had to choose just one, it would be a tough decision between the double chocolate and the mint chlorella, both of which tasted pure, rich, and decadent. But the coconut was also a favorite of mine because it was so refreshing and different. What I really liked was that these tasted like “real food,” not like processed junk. And I could feel good about eating them as a treat, because I knew the quality of the ingredients was high. 
Of course, the tougher taste tester in the house was the Reese’s devotee himself, and I’m not surprised when he said it didn’t taste like the “real thing.” He liked the mint chlorella the most by far, and his second choice was the peanut butter. He wasn’t a fan of the texture of the coconut bar. 
So how can YOU get in on the action? Well, if you’re in Southern California, you can find Nelly’s at Whole Foods, Lassen’s, and some health food stores. For the rest of us, you can check out Nelly’s Energy Truffle Bars on Facebook, on their website, or on their Kickstarter page (they are currently trying to raise money so they can expand distribution, because they do EVERYTHING by hand right now!
Or, you can enter my giveaway! Two lucky winners will each receive 3 Energy Truffle Bars, mailed directly from California in a climate-controlled box. All you need to do is enter in the Rafflecopter plug-in below (you have not entered until you’ve clicked the green +1 buttons!). Giveaway will be open until Tuesday 10/15/13 at 11:59pm CT, and I’ll announce the winner on Wednesday’s post. Due to the need for refrigeration, this giveaway is open to U.S. recipients only – sorry!
(Although I have previously been the one reaching out to companies, Nelly’s contacted me directly and offered me 6 Energy Truffle Bars, plus 6 to give away to you, for free. I was not compensated for this post and all opinions are my own. I actually chose to donate a very small portion of my own money to their campaign, since I like supporting start-up businesses whose mission I believe in!)
So tell me in the comments … Which flavor sounds best to you? How do you “treat yourself”?
It’s a tough decision!! Coconut comes in first but mint is a very close second. =) I am totally digging on Quest bars lately for a ‘healthy treat’. I gravitate towards the coconut flavor or cookie dough. MMMMM.
I would love to try the coconut flavor since lately I have recently started expanding coconut into my diet! I love pretty much all chocolate but since sticking to a healthy diet I haven’t been able to enjoy as much, these bars look like awesome healthy alternate for a tasty treat! Love to try them!!:)
Chocolate is my favorite treat. I’d love to try all 5 of those truffles they look incredible
I agree with the other comments, chocolate IS the best treat! I’d honestly love to try all 5 of their bars, they all look absolutely delicious!
I’m a very low income Vegan. I just got done being a 24/7 Care giver. I’m trying to get back in the “real world”. Food is VERY expensive. I love, love, love, Chocolate..
RuthAnn, I think it’s sad how food (especially healthier food) is very expensive. Hang in there!
Chocolate is a weakness!
That banana oatmeal bar looks delish.
Way to go for checking out the website! I agree, that one does look delish! I didn’t get to try it though!
I think its considered racism your giveaway isn’t open to Australians 😉
Just kidding! thanks for such an informative post about chocolate- I didn’t know the nitty gritty of it besides the taste- and what a great sounding company too- I love companies which base themselves on strong ethics!
Haha, sorry, Arman! How about next time I have a giveaway for NON-US only?!? I’ll work on it!
The mint and the peanut butter both sound awesome!
They are, Jordan!
I think Double Chocolate would be my favorite.
That’s a really good one, Nancy!
Treating myself – toss up between chocolate, wine or a nice glass of scotch! These bars look amazing, I would try any of these flavors!
I’m totally with you on the chocolate and wine, Laurie, but I just can’t get into scotch! I think you’re just more sophisticated than me :). Happy Friday!
You are plenty sophisticated, my dear. Scotch just takes more time to get used to 🙂 Hope you have a great weekend!
I love to treat myself with something sweet, especially chocolate! I’d love to try the goji berry but they all sound tasty!
the coconut bar sounds good and I like to treat myself with some ice cream
I’d love to try the double chocolate, coconut or peanut butter!
Chocolate is a major weakness of mine too! How do you feel about even the healthier dark chocolate varieties including ingredients like soy lecithin in their products?
On a separate note, I’ve been making smoothies with banana, protein powder and raw cacao powder after a work out and it tastes just like chocolate milkshake!
Hey Nithya! Sorry for the way-late reply! Soy lecithin is a tough one. First, good for you for noticing these things on the ingredients! The reason they add soy lecithin is to emulsify the chocolate. Have you ever left chocolate out in the heat and it got those lighter brown/ grayish streaks? That’s what emulsifiers are supposed to prevent. Anyway, many people choose to avoid soy lecithin because it’s very often genetically modified, and it’s generally a good, healthy thing to stay away from GMOs. (You can look for “organic soy lecithin” in the ingredients if this is your concern). Others avoid soy, either because of fears of estrogen or because of allergies, but I don’t worry about soy in small doses (I would prefer fermented soy products, but I don’t avoid “regular” soy because I don’t eat much of it, and I just don’t think it’s a big deal in small doses). Last, it’s artificial. Would I prefer to eat nothing artificial? Heck yes! I think that would be healthier overall. BUT, again, it’s just not a big enough deal (in my opinion) to worry too much about it. So, I guess the answer is that I would prefer chocolate without additives, but in the grand scheme of things, I don’t worry about consuming it. Hope that helps, even though it’s not really an “answer!”
I LOVE chocolate of all kinds, but especially dark chocolate! The double chocolate or the peanut butter look the best to me!
Me too :). It’s amazing that I used to hate dark chocolate and now I prefer it over milk chocolate!
ooooh, dark chocolates are my fave!
I’d love to try the bars, but in the meantime, do dark chocolate covered almonds
fit the “health bill ?” Also, give us a hint of a healthy reasonable
amount……….ANY “green lights” can be dangerous for me. ::))
Yes, I think dark chocolate covered almonds are a great treat! As long as there aren’t a ton of other ingredients, I say go for it! And, you know that my answer to an amount will be “it depends” :). It really does depend on your goals, your unique body (age, gender, so many other things), your activity level, what else you’re eating that day, etc. A standard recommendation is 1 ounce of dark chocolate per day, and I would agree that the “average” person should definitely stick with that amount or less. (Remember that your almonds have weight, too, so 1 ounce of chocolate-covered almonds isn’t an accurate gauge).
Meg: I was just about to embark on my first upper body workout as scripted in your blog earlier this week, when ths chocolate info arrived! I cancelled the workout, just finished my two pound box of chocolates and am now washing them down with a couple of bottles of wine! I can’t wait for tomorrow’s blog, (or heart attack!). 🙂
Haha, Gary, I forgot to tell you to do the workout BEFORE the chocolate and wine :).
Mmmmm, chocolate. I’d have to go with the coconut variety as I’m on quite a coconut kick recently. I treat myself with chocolate too. Z and I will splurge and get the real good stuff. You can taste the quality!
I agree that you can taste the quality, and another benefit is that in higher-quality chocolate, there is usually less of the stuff you don’t want (preservatives, lots of added sugar, strange flavorings or chemicals). Yum!
Chocolate is the best treat ever, I have a special weakness for Reeses’ PB cups 🙂
So cool that these guys reached out to you! All of their flavors sound delicious, but I’m really intrigued by Mint Chlorella… to be honest I’ve never even heard of the word ‘Chorella’ (must google asap).
Ahhhh… interesting! Chlorella: a common single-celled green alga of both terrestrial and aquatic habitats, frequently turning stagnant water an opaque green.
Yes, Clara!! Chlorella and spirulina are some of the most potent superfoods out there (tons of antioxidants). I have some spirulina powder but it tastes and smells SOOO strong in a not-so-good way. So, I was almost scared to try the Mint Chlorella chocolate bars … but you couldn’t taste the chlorella at all, and they were delicious!
I think peanut butter looks the best to me! But all chocolate is good chocolate 🙂 I usually treat myself with frozen yogurt – but chocolate is right up there too!