If you love chocolate, you may want to find creative ways to eat more of it. Here we have found some recipes that you may not have seen before including a chickpea and chocolate combination for a healthy alternative to Nutella.
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Gluten-free, whole grain and easily made vegan, this recipe is one of the creative ways to make banana bread that’s not too sweet, but is still moist and holds together well. Brown rice flour means that it’s gluten free and you can use flax eggs to make it vegan. A perfect banana bread that has no refined sugar, and it’s delicious.
Preheat oven and line a loaf pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine 50g brown rice flour, half a teaspoon of baking soda, salt and cinnamon and one-and-a-half teaspoons of baking powder. In a separate bowl, mash banana with a fork. Mix in 2 beaten eggs, 85g oil and maple syrup and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Combine wet and dry mixtures. Fold in 170g chocolate chips. Bake for one hour or until golden at 180c or gas mark 4.
Hot Chocolate and Nutella Pancakes with Charred Marshmallows
To eat this is not as sickly sweet as it sounds and there are many creative ways to make this chocolate treat a unique eat just for you.
In a medium bowl, whisk together 250g flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 100g of sugar and 50g hot chocolate mix. In another bowl, whisk 240ml milk, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of oil. Pour the dry ingredients into wet ingredients and combine. Fold 250g of mini chocolate chips into the batter. Use this batter to make the pancakes in a lightly oiled non-stick pan. Pour about 120g for each pancake and flip when you see bubbles in the batter, once flipped only cook for 1-2 more minutes then remove from pan.
In a small pan, on very low heat, melt 2 tablespoons Nutella, 1 teaspoon milk and 1 teaspoon mini chocolate chips to create a syrup. Char the marshmallows on a gas stove so they are gooey.
After all the pancakes are cooked, spread Nutella on one and sprinkle mini chocolate chips over the top, do this as many more times as you would like, depending on how high you want your stacks. For the final layer, drizzle the Nutella syrup over the top and down the sides of the stack. Top with chocolate chips and the charred marshmallows.
Guilt-Free Banana Chocolate Ice Cream
A satisfyingly sweet treat, this Banana Chocolate Ice Cream promises to leave you satisfied and one of our creative ways to eat chocolate for breakfast.
Peel 2 banana and slice into inch-wide pieces. Freeze until hard. Next, in a blender, purée the frozen bananas with 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, 3 tablespoons of almond milk and 1 tablespoon of dark chocolate chips. Enjoy immediately or store in a freezer for up to 2 months.
Chocolate Hummus
As rich as Nutella, but only one-third the calories and sugar content, Hope Foods’ Dark Chocolate Spread should be a staple in any health-conscious chocolate-lover’s diet. In addition to organic cocoa powder and garbanzo beans, this dips ingredients include coconut sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla, and espresso, so each bite packs a flavour punch, with the dominant taste of rich dark chocolate.
It’s also an excellent dip for bread-sticks, crackers and fruit. There are other creative ways to eat chocolate-chickpea products including dark chocolate chickpea brownies and peanut butter chocolate chickpea cookies.
Loaded peanut butter apple slices
For an easy lunch snack, top apple slices with almond butter and then pile on the toppings of your choice including Nutella (or chocolate hummus), banana slices, cereal, chocolate chips, shredded coconut, sprinkles, caramel/fudge sauce, candy, raisins, jam. Try your own creative ways to eat apple.
Dark chocolate, raspberry and brie sandwich
Cut 2 slices of crusty bread. Butter one side of each slice. Stack 100g of brie, 7 raspberries and 30g chocolate onto the un-buttered side of the bread. Top with the other slice. Heat in a frying pan over medium heat until golden brown for about 4 minutes. Flip carefully and heat other side for another 4 minutes.
A protein shake that tastes just like dessert
This mock-shake has fresh fruit and almond-based alternative ingredients, so you can have this guilt-free after your workout, for breakfast or dessert.
Place 250g of pitted cherries, 500ml milk, 1 banana, 2 tablespoons of almond butter, 2 scoops of chocolate protein powder and ice into blender and blend until smooth. If the shake is too thick, pour in more milk. Divide between two large glasses and serve.
You can use frozen cherries and just add extra liquid and leave out the ice.
