Ingredients:

• 1/2 Cup Coconut oil
• 1/2 cup Cocoa/Cacao/Carob
• 3 Tbsp Maple syrup
• Dash of cinnamon 
• Optional: Dates, Vanilla Essence, Nuts.

Method:

1. Melt/warm the coconut oil in a small sauce pan on low heat on the stove.
2. Add in the Maple Syrup.
3. Add in the cocoa and cinnamon and stir well.
4. Pour into molds and place in the fridge.

*Keep the chocolate in the fridge as it melts quite easily if it is out of the fridge for some time.

You May Also Like:

Related Images:

The post Home Made Chocolate With Coconut Oil! Chocolate Recipe appeared first on FitNish.com.

The second dark chocolate review is of the Chocolates by Tomes (CbT). After reviewing the Lindt 70% dark chocolate I didn’t think another brand would come quite close, but the CbT is just as good if not better than the Lindt chocolate in a few aspects. It’s balance of ‘darkness’ and sweetness is pretty darn amazing as is the texture of it. A plus is that is is also made right here in South Africa. CbT also lists the cocoa solids as 72%, which hopefully shows that it really contains that amount.

The review is quite basic and to the point, being based upon four aspects:

1. The ingredients
2. The taste
3. The texture
4. The sweetness
5. Flavours

Ingredients:

Cocoa solids: 72%

The great thing about Chocolate by Tomes is that they also list the percentages. Some brands simply call it dark chocolate, and then on the ingredients list, list the cocoa solids percentage as somewhere between 30 and 50%. 30% is really low and doesn’t quite count as dark chocolate. Obviously the higher the percentage the darker it is.

What’s also great is that even on the non dark chocolates of CbT, they list the cocoa solids percentage. For example one of the white chocolate flavours is listed as 42%.

Texture:

Some dark chocolate is too soft and melts a bit too easily in your mouth and thus doesn’t really last. This usually happens when there is not enough cocoa solids and the chocolate may not have been tempered well. I like it when it lasts a bit and has a bit of thickness to it, allowing the intensity of the dark chocolate taste to really engulf your taste buds without leaving a lingering aftertaste. The CbT bars do this well.

Taste:

The chocolate is of a high quality and the taste is exquisite, definitely one of the best out there. It also has a great balance between sweetness and ‘darkness’ to make it not too sweet and not too bitter. If you have a slight inclination to dark chocolate but are still a bit hesitant because of the bitterness, it is definitely worth a try. I found though, that these chocolates are slightly more bitter (bitter meaning dark and not sweet) than the Lindt bar (which is 70%).

Dark chocolate sweetness rating: 1 -5

4 out of 5.

The higher the rating is, the less sweet and more dark chocolaty taste it has.

Flavours:

Chocolate by Tomes has a range of different flavours for their chocolates.

The flavours I tried were (in order of greatness):

• DOUBLE CHOCOLATE (also 72%)
• MINT in 72% dark chocolate
• ORANGE in 72% dark chocolate

They were all really great tasting and the flavours were nice and subtle which didn’t distract from the great dark chocolate taste. I have experienced other chocolates that add flavours, sometimes add too much and thus overpower the chocolate making it quite sweet and in turn eliminating the ‘dark’ taste.

Related Images:

The post Chocolates by Tomes 72% Cocoa Dark Chocolate Review appeared first on FitNish.com.

We all like chocolate, well most of us anyway.  It’s just unfortunate that it tastes soooo good but is not all that great in helping us with losing fat.  But then again once in a while a few small pieces are all right.  Now wouldn’t it be great if we had a chocolate bar which was comprised of good muscle building nutrients? Then you could have a piece every so often and not even feel guilty; you could even feel like its part of your diet!

Well these days so many supplement companies have come out with protein bars and ‘health’ bars.  There are so many different protein bars on the market though, and so many companies are bringing out new and different bars.  Don’t be fooled though, they are not all good though.

“Many contain a high amount of bad fat (especially Trans fats), and have a lot of artificial substances and preservatives within them.  So to really classify them as ‘health’ bars is quite inaccurate.”

And what I could never understand, when looking at the nutritional breakdown of what is called, and is supposed to be a PROTEIN BAR, I see that it contains a bucket load of carbohydrates.  Ok, ok so I may be exaggerating a bit there, but when dieting and controlling your carbohydrate intake you have to monitor these things, and it’s supposed to be a PROTEIN BAR anyway.

So, I thought, why not make it myself.  I tried a few times with varying ingredients and always came out with something decent but nothing very tasty.  But after many efforts I think I’ve finally succeeded somewhat.  I love dark chocolate so for all those dark chocoholics out there, I hope you enjoy it.

• Total carbohydrates: 50grams
• Total Protein: 38grams
• Total Fat: 15 grams

You can alter the amount of oats and protein powder you use depending on your nutritional requirements, just remember though that if you reduce it you will need to use less milk so the mixture does not become too watery.

Related Images:

The post Nutritious Snack: Dark Chocolate Protein Bites appeared first on FitNish.com.