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Is Chocolate Good for Your Heart?

Let’s talk about the ways that chocolate is good for your heart.

When we think about Valentine’s Day, we often think about love and hearts! The time to take care of our heart month also comes around this season! I hope on this day and all month that you will think of the most loving ways to take care of your heart which can be one of the greatest ways to show our love to friends and family!

Ways Chocolate is Good for Your Heart

How are some of the ways that chocolate helps the heart, let’s discuss some of these.

There is a strong link to dark chocolate and blood pressure lowering. The benefits of theobromine (which is a caffeine like chemical helps reduce blood pressure by widening blood vessels.

Some people wonder “does chocolate have cholesterol? The answer is no because no plant food has cholesterol. And high flavonoid cocoa powder is actually protective to our hearts.

Let’s talk about chocolate for your body besides the heart. How about the chocolate benefits for the skin? Dark chocolate cocoa has anti-aging benefits which include preventing breakdown collagen. It also helps provide extra moisture and reduces wrinkles. So, chocolate really can help the skin.

Heart Healthy Chocolate Recipe

I want to share some delicious ways to get your Valentine chocolate while making it healthy. One of my favorite ways is this chocolate dip that you can dunk your favorite fruit or even a cookie to make a creamy, rich treat.

I “love it” because it does not have a lot of sugar or fat in it so it is a great way to treat your Valentine to something sweet without overdoing it. In addition, it is super easy and can be made ahead of time and reheated if you want to dip your fruit together or you can dip it ahead of time and put it on a platter and decorate for a beautiful centerpiece.

Decadent Valentine's Chocolate Dip

Decadent Chocolate Dip

This dip uses dark chocolate which is rich in the plant chemical phylethyalamine (PEA) which provides many of us a sense of well-being. Chocolate is also rich in antioxidants that help reduce inflammation and it is also rich in inflammation. It is also a good source of magnesium, copper, potassium and maganese which is a whole lot of nutrition. You can use vegan cream cheese and plant milk also.

4 ounces semi-sweet or bitter chocolate

1 teaspoon vanilla

1-3 tablespoon sugar (depending on how sweet or bitter, you enjoy)

1/3 cup cream cheese (can even use a vegan cream cheese)

1/3 cup milk (can also use a plant milk)

Dippers: My favorite include strawberries, little sugar cookies, sliced pears, apples, peaches and orange segments depending on the seasons.

In a double boiler with a little bit of water, carefully melt chocolate and add sugar. Blend well. Whisk in milk and then cream cheese until the chocolate mixture is blended and creamy. Add the vanilla at the end.

(I don’t have a double broiler so I carefully heat my chocolate on low with the milk first so it does not burn).

Valentine's Chocolate Treat

I have some other great ways to get your chocolate also. Check out one of my previous blog posts with lots of ideas:

More Chocolate Ideas Here

Chocolate Makes Your Heart Fonder
Above are some of my favorite locally made truffles and they have a special Valentine collection at French Broad Chocolates

Be sure whatever chocolate you choose is ethical sourced. Here is a list ethicalchocolatecompanies

Here are some additional ways to take care of your heart:

Here are also 5 Ways to Take Care of Your Heart:

I hope from some of these ideas that you will find a few ways have a healthy heart and a happy Valentine’s Day! As a registered dietitian nutritionist in Asheville, I love to help my clients find ways to live and eat well. I am so glad that you stoppIed by and if you have come by again to read my blog, thank you and please share some of the love with some friends. f you are new to the blog and don’t want to miss a single post, go ahead and sign up!

You may also like these 10 Vegetarian Brunch Recipes for the Holidays – Vine Ripe Nutrition.

I hope that you have a Happy Valentine’s Day! Here are a few more healthy chocolate ideas below!

Light Chocolate Ideas
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