Happy World Chocolate Day!
It doesn’t take much to encourage me to celebrate all things chocolate. I’m definitely more of a sweet rather than savoury person.
Throughout history, cocoa has long been considered as having medicinal properties. It was even reportedly named “food of the gods” by scientist Carl Linnaeus in 1753 (1). I think I’d have to agree with him there!
It’s the cocoa in chocolate that is the beneficial ingredient, due to the cocoa being rich in plant chemicals called flavanols. Therefore, choosing a high quality, dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa content is best. There is moderate evidence that flavanol-rich chocolate and cocoa products may slightly lower blood pressure in healthy adults in the short term (2). However, longer studies are needed to establish the long term effects.
Due to the added sugar and high saturated fat content of modern day chocolate, it is not recommended to eat large quantities of it. However in moderation as part o a balanced diet, a little bit of chocolate isn’t anything to feel guilty about.
These chocolate orange bites are great when you’re craving a chocolatey snack but don’t want to eat a whole chocolate bar. They’re perfect with a cup of tea. With the dates, nuts and seeds these contain rich sources of:
- Fibre
- Protein
- Vitamin E
And because of the dates, they count towards your five-a-day.
You can also swap the hazelnuts, sunflower seeds and peanut butter for other nuts and seeds.
Time to put the kettle on…
Chocolate Orange Bites
Equipment
- Food processor
- zester or microplaner
- knife
Ingredients
- 130 g pitted medjool dates (approx 7 large dates)
- 100 g hazelnuts (no need to remove the skins)
- 50 g sunflower seeds
- 3 tbsp cacao powder
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- zest and juice 1 orange
Instructions
- Put everything into a food processor and blend until everything comes together. If the mixture is a bit dry add water, 1 teaspoon at a time.
- Take a tablespoon of mixture and roll into a ball. Continue with the rest.
- They will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Notes
- If you don’t have access to medjool dates you can use other dried dates, such as deglet noor. These might be a bit drier than the medjool variety. You can soak them in hot water for about 10 minutes prior to blending to soften them.
If you like these, try out these 3-ingredient Cacao Bites.
References
- Lippi D. Sin and Pleasure: The History of Chocolate in Medicine. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2015;63(45):9936-9941. Available from: doi:10.1021/acs.jafc.5b00829
- Ried K, Fakler P, Stocks NP. Effect of cocoa on blood pressure. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017;4(4):CD008893. Available from: doi:10.1002/14651858.CD008893.pub3
