35 Healthy Ways to Get Your Chocolate Fix, Before Dessert

Ready for some healthy Jeopardy? Superfoods for $800: It promotes brain function, heart health, and is full of antioxidants and the all-important mineral magnesium.

"What is: chocolate."

Yes, the ingredient you may hold near and dear to your sweets-loving heart is actually an incredibly powerful, nutrient-packed powerhouse (iron!) that will help do everything from boost your memory power to soothe your PMS-induced cramps. That is, when you buy it in its pure cacao form, and which has no sugar in it.

With so many healthy benefits, there's no need to limit your chocolate consumption to just late-night snack fixes. Whether it's kick-starting your morning with a cacao-spiked smoothie to enjoying dinner with a savory Smoky Butternut Squash and Cacao Soup, you could practically Veruca Salt your entire day.

Don't know where to start? We've found 35 recipes to help go beyond the chocolate bar (rumors of an impending cocoa plant shortage, be damned). Yes, there's even a salad option—kale, meet chocolate... the beginning of a beautiful, healthy friendship! —Willa Tellekson-Flash

(Photo: Heavenlynn Healthy)

 

 Beverages
1. Chocolate Kale Smoothie

2. Chocolate Almond Chia Seed Smoothie

3. Superfood Hot Chocolate

4. Chocolate Beetroot Smoothie

5. Midnight Mocha Smoothie

6. Raw Cashew Cacao Milk

7. Chocolate Turmeric Smoothie

8. Raw Cacao Smoothie

9. Chocolate Blueberry Smoothie

10. Spiced Cacao Maca Shake

(Photo: Hungry and Fussy)

 

 Breakfast
11. Overnight Chocolate Rawnola

12. Chocolate Banana Avocado Smoothie Bowl

13. Double Chocolate Pistachio Muffins

14. Espresso, Vanilla Bean and Cacao Nib Granola

15. Chocolate Banana Breakfast Quinoa

16. Superfood Muesli

17. Cacao & Coconut Smoothie Bowl

18. Overnight Chocolate Chia Oat Pudding

19. Cacao Cinnamon Granola

(Photo: To Her Core)

 

Savory Salads, Soups, and Entrees
20. Papaya Salad with Lime Cashew Cream and Raw Cacao

21. Strawberry Pecan Hemp Seed Salad with Spicy Chocolate Vinaigrette

22. Caesar Salad with Chocolate Glazed Shrimp

23. Bean and Buckwheat Chili with Dark Chocolate

24. Smoky Butternut Squash and Cacao Soup

25. 30-Minute Chocolate-Espresso Beef and Black Bean Chili

26. Black Eyed Pea Mole Cakes with Blackberry Mint Salsa

27. Pasilla Chile & Cacao Chicken Meatballs

28. Eggplant Caponata

29. Chocolate Peanut Mole Chicken & Cilantro Orange Rice

(Photo: Earthly Delights)

 

 Snacks
30. Cocoa Chipotle Salsa

31. Crispy Quinoa Clusters

32. Chocolate-Covered Beets and Sweet Potatoes with Lavender Beet Salt

33. Cranberry and Almond Energy Balls

34. Cacao-Coconut Plantain Rice Balls with Pepitas

35. Hemp Protein Date Bars

Still want to hit the (chocolate) bar? Here are the 10 healthiest chocolates to share—or keep for yourself.

(Photo: Veggie Desserts)