As my diet has became more restrictive over the years due to food intolerances, dark chocolate has continued to be my sweet treat of choice because it is naturally gluten-free and dairy-free. This makes it a dessert my taste buds and belly can enjoy. Chocolate is also not too sweet and is packed with antioxidants to boot. I am sharing three of my favorite chocolate shops I love to order from online and hope you can try them too! 

Fine & Raw

Daniel Sklaar started making small chocolate batches out of a Brooklyn loft and delivering them on his bicycle to local purveyors. Everything is ethically sourced and plant-based, including their truffles!

I was ecstatic to be able to indulge in eating a dairy-free truffle after many years of sadly turning down offerings of them at chocolate shops and holidays. They are packaged beautifully with a handwritten note, describing their monthly flavors. They also have a 1-3 month subscription option where you can receive a 15% discount.

My favorite of their handmade bars is their 70% sea salt bar. Their ingredients are always very clean. For example, this bar contains: organic cacao, organic coconut sugar, organic cacao butter, and sea salt. They also make a great hazelnut chocolate butter spread! 

Dandelion Chocolate Company 

This San Franciscan company makes exquisite single-origin bean-to-bar chocolates. Their bars only contain cocoa beans and organic cane sugar. They sort, roast, crack, winnow, grind, conch and temper small batches of beans. With this minimal approach, these small batches aim at highlighting the individual nuances of each cocoa bean. 

Dandelion work with a variety of cocoa farmers and producers so there are frequently new bars to taste from different parts of the world. There are also descriptions of the farm and the tasting notes are on each bar. For example, on the bar from Semuliki, Uganda, the tasting notes described are cacao fruit nectar, banana and cream cheese. 

I have moments of mindfulness with these bars by as I allow each square to melt in my mouth and appreciate the bean’s unique qualities. They’re also very rich and a little goes along way.

Inuru

I absolutely love Inaru’s seasonal flavors, such as the 66% vanilla and chamomile bar, which has flavors infused by hand. Their bars are made by pure and minimal ingredients with a base of cacao beans, cane sugar, and cocoa butter. Inaru has an equally great origin story. Inaru was created by two passionate sisters, Janett and Erika Liriano, who moved from New York to their father’s cacao farm in Santa Domingo. 

Their mission is to transform the finest organic cacao into the finest chocolate. They want to help ensure the rich Argo-forests of their heritage land, where the majority of organic cacao in grown in the world, will stay for generations to come. Inaru funds regenerative farming, expansion and tools. They also rightfully share its profits with farmers who grow the bean. You can feel guilt-free about the chocolate you’re enjoying, knowing the Inaru team is following good practices and you’re consuming quality ingredients.

Jcoo

I love the delightful flavors this company offers, which are always wrapped with whimsical colors. Two selections I’ve ordered on repeat include boharat spice and orange blossom espresso. This company also has an inspiring origin story. Jean Thompson courageously opened Jcoco in after an earthquake that destroyed  Seattle Chocolate Company’s original factory, with a goal of feeding hungry families with their bars. With each Jcoco purchase, they donate fresh servings of food to those in need through partnerships with food banks in Washington, California, and New York.

The post 4 Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Producers You Want to Know appeared first on Feeling Yum.

OT Feeding Therapy Tips

*Ages 9 months- 2 years: If you’d like to share the crêpes with your baby, you can blend the ingredients without the added sugar and reserve some to the side for your baby, before adding sugar to the rest of the batter. If your baby is 9 months+, you could serve them strips or bite-sized pieces of the crêpes. To introduce hazelnuts to your baby, you could reserve the blended hazelnut butter for your baby before adding the chocolate mixture. When serving the nut butter, stir this into a puree, such as oatmeal.

**Ages 2 years +: If your child is a toddler or older, you could get them involved in the cooking process by helping add ingredients to the blender and/or food processor for both recipes. Emphasize how crêpes are like another food they might love, such as pancakes. To help encourage them to try some new foods, serve different fresh fruits or dried fruits with the chocolate hazelnut butter or chocolate dipping sauce, so they can practice touching the fruits and dipping them.

Cookbook Used in This Video

Cannelle et Vanille: Nourishing, Gluten-Free Recipes for Every Meal and Mood https://www.arangoyoaga.com/cookbooks

Products Mentioned in This Video

Chocolate chips: Guitarrd semi-sweet chocolate chips https://www.guittard.com/our-chocolat…

Fleur de Sel: Esprit Du Sel, 5.64 Ounce https://www.amazon.com/Esprit-Sel-Sal…

Maple Syrup: Tree Juice Pure Maple Syrup https://www.treejuicemaplesyrup.com/c…

Recipe Ingredients

Buckwheat Crepes

Serving Size:

15 10″ crêpes

Time:

30 min.

Difficulty:

Medium

Ingredients

• 2 cups filtered water
• 4 eggs
• 1 ¼ cup of buckwheat flour
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1 tablespoon vegan butter

Directions

1. Combine the water, flour, eggs. olive oil, sugar and salt in a blender, and puree on high speed until well mixed, about 30 seconds. *If serving some crêpes to your baby, reserve a portion of blended flour, eggs and olive oil batter to avoid the added sugar and salt. You can use the batter right away or chill it in the refrigerator overnight (which allows the flour to hydrate fully and results in more flavor, elasticity and crispiness).
2. When you are ready to cook the crêpes, give the batter one good stir, especially if it has been resting in the refrigerator. Heath a nonstick crêpe pan over medium- high heat. Brush the pan with a little bit of melted vegan butter, then pour in about ½ cup of the batter while swirling the pan to ensure it goes in as a thin layer. Small bubbles will appear around the batter as it cooks. Tuck in the edges with a rubber spatula and cook for 30 seconds, or until golden. Grab an edge with your fingers and gently grip the crêpe over, or use a spatula if the pan is too hot. Finish cooking for another 30 seconds, then slide onto a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter.
3. The crêpes can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
4. When ready to eat the crêpes, heat them on the stove until warm on both sides. Spread about a teaspoon of Chocolate-Hazelnut Butter over half of each crêpe, fold, and serve.

Chocolate Hazelnut Butter

Serving Size:

1 ¼ cup

Time:

45 min.

Difficulty:

Medium

Ingredients

• 2 cups roasted hazelnuts (optional: sprouted roasted hazelnuts)
• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste ( or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
• 1/2 teaspoon of flakey sea salt (optional: fleur de sel)
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 2 tbs. coconut oil or olive oil (add more if needed)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 300° F. Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, or until fragrant. Transfer the hazelnuts to a clean kitchen towel and rub them together to peel off the skins. It;s OK if you cannot remove them completely, but try to get as much as you can, as the skin is bitter. As an alternative, you can also use pre-roasted skinned hazelnuts.
2. Transfer the hazelnuts to a high-speed blender or food processor and blend until creamy, stopping to scrape the bowl a few times. It will take a few minutes to pulverize the hazelnuts; exactly how long depends on your machine. If the motor gets hot, stop and restart a few minutes later. *If sharing the nut butter with your baby, reserve a small portion of this nut butter before adding the chocolate ingredients (which contains caffeine, sugar and salt).
3. Meanwhile, bring a small pot with 2 inches of water to a simmer. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl (we used a glass bowl) and position over the pot. This is called the double broiler method. Reduce the heat to low and melt the chocolate, making sure no water gets into the bowl and no flames reach the sides. Add the melted chocolate to the blender and process until smooth and incorporated. Add the olive oil (or coconut oil), maple syrup, vanilla and salt and blend until combined.
4. Transfer the butter to a glass jar with an airtight lid, seal and store at room temperature for 2 weeks or in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. it will harden solid when refrigerated, so bring the butter to room temperature a couple of hours before using.

Chocolate-Covered Berries:

Serving Size:

4-6

Time:

30 min.

Difficulty:

Simple

Ingredients

• 3 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 container of strawberries
• 1 container of blackberries

Directions

1. Wash your berries and dry them very well so the chocolate will stick.
2. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
3. Bring a small pot with 2 inches of water to a simmer. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and position it over the pot. Reduce the heat to low and melt the chocolate, stirring frequently to avoid burning the chocolate. Once melted, remove the bowl from over the pot and place a handful of chocolate chips to melt in the bowl to temper the chocolate.
4. Holding a berry from the step or top, dip into the melted chocolate and then lift and twist slightly before lying it on the tray. Make sure to work quickly before the chocolate melts and hardens. **Kids may like to eat the dipped berries with melted chocolate before chilling the remainder of the berries. You could have your child help add toppings, such as shaved coconut or crushed nuts, to encourage additional food exploration.
5. Chill the tray of chocolate berries in the refrigerator until the chocolate sets, about 15 min.

The post Get Your Child to Try Different Foods with Fun Chocolate Recipes appeared first on Feeling Yum.