February 14th is coming up, and we think a little celebration is in order. Not of love — of sweets.Especially chocolate. Especially dark chocolate. In addition to being a celebrity favorite, dark chocolate, as you've probably heard, is rich in antioxidants from cacao, which can reduce blood pressure, clotting, and increase blood flow. One small study, from 2014,found that healthy young adults who ate a square of 70% dark chocolate every day for a month showed "an obvious improvement" in vascular function from when they began the study. Plus, cocoa's dose of caffeine and theobromine, two stimulants, can also give you a decadent health boost.
With Valentine's Day approaching, you deserve to #treatyoself with something a little more delicious than those chalky little hearts that abound this time of year. Ahead, we've rounded up 10 of the quirkiest and healthiest dark chocolate treats, from dark chocolate dotted with crunchy roasted quinoa (it's like a Crunch bar, but more bougie) to caramel and sea salt coconut butter cups that could absolutely be the only thing we eat until we die. Seriously, these coconut butter cups should be illegal.
Click through for the good stuff.
eatingEVOLVED chocolate is free of gluten, dairy, and soy, and it's flavored with maple or coconut sugar (feel free to call it paleo). These coconut butter cups miraculously have only five ingredients — coconut, cacao, cacao butter, coconut sugar, and Himalayan sea salt — and have to be tasted to be believed.
eatingEVOLVED Caramel & Sea Salt Coconut Butter Cups, $2.99, available at eatingEVOLVED.
Quinoa is rich in protein and amino acids, not to mention crunchy, so why not?
sweetriot 70% Quirky Quinoa riotBar, $47.88 (12 pack), available at sweetriot.
All PASCHA chocolate is free of peanuts, nuts, dairy, soy, eggs, wheat, and gluten (again, paleo), yet it's still delicious. The mini bars are a good reason to have seconds.
PASCHA Mini Bars, $6.45, available at PASCHA.
Hnina chocolate is paleo and raw, and it's centered on nuts with a touch of sweetness from unrefined maple syrup and raw unpasteurized honey. The Brazilian-nut-almond-coconut truffles are more like a power snack than a dessert.
Hnina Brazilian nuts + Almonds + Coconuts, $2.99-19.99, available at Hnina.
Raw, vegan, and gluten-free, this chocolate matches spicy cayenne with sweet banana. The combo is unexpected — in a good way.
Antidote BANANA + CAYENNE Dark Chocolate 77% Raw and Roasted Cacao, $6.95, available at Antidote.
If you like your dark chocolate REALLY dark but not bitter, this is the bar for you.
Giddy Yoyo XTRA DARK 89%, $4.99, available at Giddy Yoyo.
This perfect bar is rocking just four ingredients: cacao beans, cocoa butter, raw cane sugar, and vanilla beans. It's the LBD of dark chocolate.
Alter Eco Dark Blackout, $3.99, available at Alter Eco.
Theo chocolate is soy-free and vegan. This bold bar combines guajillo chili, cinnamon, pasilla chili, and a hint of citrus.
Theo Chili 70% Dark Chocolate, $4, available at Theo.
Ingredients: organic cocoa beans, organic cane sugar. End of list.
Taza Chocolate 85% Super Dark Chocolate Mexicano Discs, $5, available at Taza Chocolate.
Just cacao nibs. That's it. Delicious right out of the bag or added to trail mix, smoothies, or baked goods.
Navitas Naturals Cacao Nibs, $5.99, available at Navitas Naturals.
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
Listeria Contaminated Salads Have Killed One & Hospitalized 11
Chipotle's E. Coli Outbreak Spreads To 9 States [UPDATED]
Watch: What You Really Need To Know About Carbs