Guilt Free Chocolate Treat

There you are trying to eat healthy, cut calories, avoid sugar and have a chocolate treat. Well just push that guilty conscience out of the way and go for it. The chocolate used here is 85% which has very little sugar so this is a chocolate treat that gets its sweetness from fruit (and that takes care of the healthy part), though the treat is sweet there is only 4 grams of sugar in over 100 grams of chocolate (that takes care of avoiding sugar). Because the calories are coming from healthy foods, ie fruit and some of it homemade perhaps, you can ease your conscience about the calories because you might otherwise eat empty calories if you didn't have this treat right there. So get cracking and stir yourself up some yummy treats.

I know that chocolating isn't really a word (yet) but it could be in my world. I love playing with chocolate.

So far today I have chocolated ginger, dried bananas, dried cranberries, dried bananas (there is even an Instructable that will tell you how to dry bananas) candied orange peel, pretzels (which were eaten before I could get my camera out) and dates.

Tip: Do this chocolating thing when there is no one around or the treats might be gone before you get some yourself.

I start with a good chocolate but lets face it any chocolate in a chocolate craving storm is chocolate.

I then round up what ever I have in the cupboard that is DRY, (this is important as any moisture makes chocolate seize), or frig or freezer.

So far I have rounded up the previously mentioned items but I still have the raisins, sunflower seeds, coconut etc all waiting in line ready for their chocolate beauty bath. Did you say you missed breakfast. Well I happen to know that Shreddies have a good food reputation and take to chocolate really really well. I love Cheerios whether they are naked or dressed but they too take to chocolate really well.

I have a much loved microwave in which I melt the chocolate. I put the chocolate in a very well dried clean pyrex type bowl. I use 1 large bar of about 100 or grams at a time. I put the chocolate in for 30 seconds at a time and pull it out when the majority of the chocolate is liquid. I don't worry about some lumps and bumps floating around as they will melt in the ward chocolate. DO NOT OVER HEAT. You do not want to burn or scorch chocolate or you might lose friends over it.

I have a scoop that is for something entirely different but I can't remember what it was called in the store. It is a metal mesh and lets the excess chocolate (can there actually be excess chocolate) drip through back into the bowl for some other lucky items. If you can't find something like it (or make it for an instructable) than you can use 2 forks or tongs. All sorts of things work to scoop the stuff out of the bowl.

I then put it onto wax paper to rest and harden. I then put the little lovelies into the frig or freezer (partly to protect them from people passing through the kitchen and partly to hasten the hardening of the chocolate.)

I keep a damp dish cloth on the counter when I am working with chocolate. When people sample while the chocolate is still warm then you need the wiping cloth. It also helps to keep the camera chocolate free. The camera is not edible therefore it does not rate a chocolate coating.

You need to have plastic bags and stickers ready to enable you to bag and mark the contents. This will enable you to tell which item is truly a healthy food choice and which one is just a real indulgence. Is there a redeeming quality for pretzels.

You can chocolate coat gummy bears, caramel and lots of other candies but if you mix the healthier ones with the not healthy ones, its up to fate which one you get, right?