It is February a time when chocolate moves to center stage because of Valentine\’s Day and Heart Health Awareness month. Yes, when it comes to matters of the heart, a discussion of chocolate is never far behind and for good reason. Chocolate is often given as a gift to those we love as a symbol of how much we care, and from a health perspective, chocolate contains cocoa which has many heart-healthy benefits as indicated below:

Cocoa contains high levels of antioxidants which help prevent cholesterol from oxidizing and free radicals from harming cells

Eating small amounts of dark chocolate on a daily basis has been shown to reduce blood pressure in people with high blood pressure

LDL cholesterol or \”bad\” cholesterol can drop by as much as 10% with regular dark chocolate consumption

The saturated fat in chocolate is stearic acid which has little to no effect on cholesterol levels

Cocoa powder contains soluble fiber which helps lower LDL cholesterol

So, in celebration of Valentine\’s Day and Heart Health Awareness month, make it a point to savor the following rich-tasting, chocolatey, easy-to-prepare chocolate treats with the one you love. The following recipes will deeply satisfy while being healthy for your heart at the same time!

Most chocolate treats contain too little cocoa, too much refined white sugar, the wrong kinds of fat and very little in terms of nutritional value. The following chocolate treats contain such healthy ingredients as nut butter, natural sweeteners that are gentle on blood sugar or that have some nutritional value, and heart-healthy beans. You may be wondering how beans can be used in a delicious-tasting chocolate treat, but they can be. The following Fudgy Chocolate Brownie recipe which uses garbanzo beans instead of flour is a favorite of both adults and children (you\’d never guess there were beans in this recipe!) as is the Nutty Chocolate Crisp recipe that follows.

Fudgy Chocolate Brownies
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Yields: 8 – 12 brownies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups grain-sweetened chocolate chips
2 cups garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
4 eggs
2/3 cup agave nectar or 1