- Chocolate!

It's definitely one of the five things I have to have on my desert island, and I bet you feel the same way or at least you love someone who does.

Well the good news is you can have it and live healthy.

You just have to choose quality over quantity.

áAnd that's what I'm gonna give you with my ádouble chocolate waffle a la mode, áfig and ginger truffles, ámocha java smoothie, áand hot chocolate with all kinds of out of the box flavors.

Right now, on Ellie's Real Good Food.

(upbeat music) - [Voiceover] Funding for this series has been provided by - [Voiceover] Hi, you've reached Emma.

I'm out of the office right now, but will get back to you just as soon as I possibly can.

- [Voiceover] For Discovery at Sea experiences, Princess Cruises.

Come back new.

- [Voiceover] Luvo, full servings of fruits and veggies, nutritious whole grains and lean proteins, seasoned with bold herbs and spices.

Chef-created meals, ready made for you in your grocer's freezer.

Luvo, the next generation of frozen food.

(soft guitar music) - [Voiceover] Grapes from California.

Grown by families for families.

á-[Voiceover] And by the Natural Gourmet Institute, áfor health and culinary arts.

- [Voiceover] Additional funding provided by the generous support of our Kickstarter donors.

A complete list is available at elliesrealgoodfood.com.

- Hi, I'm Ellie Krieger, and welcome to Ellie's Real Good Food.

Now what would life be without chocolate?

I don't even want to think about that.

I've created so many recipes with chocolate, and I've loved every minute of it.

It's basically why I do what I do so let's admit that right off the bat.

Not only does chocolate taste amazing, it contains compounds that literally make us feel good and are good for us.

And what other food inspires events like this one, a chocolate expo!

(upbeat music) - People love chocolate for a reason.

Chocolate makes us feel good.

- Chocolate makes me feel happy.

- Normally when people think about brussel sprouts, they think of their childhood, something they don't like.

We call this our Alma brussel sprouts.

We got our brussel sprouts from Alma Farm in Tarrytown.

áThey're pan seared, oven roasted with a ácherry wood accent.

In the sauce is actually cocoa seeds.

We shake that into the fig jam.

We use that with chocolate sauce as well.

After that comes to the consistency we want, and the sweetness.

There's no sugar by the way.

It's all natural figs.

We top it with the fig, the cocoa, the mint yogurt, the walnuts, and the sherry grapes.

It's a mixture of flavors.

It's like a party in your mouth.

- I would eat more brussel sprouts if you made them like this.

- Yeah, cover them in chocolate.

- And nuts and fig.

- What girl doesn't love chocolate?

- When she said she didn't like chocolate, I was just like, I had to question her judgement a little bit there.

What do you mean you don't like chocolate?

Who doesn't like chocolate?

- We do natural soaps, lotions, body creams, and we put chocolate into our bars.

It smells great.

It's very good for your skin.

It hydrates it, and it makes you look younger.

- I don't know.

I think I'd probably lose it if I was told I could never have chocolate again.

To be honest with you, I'm a big kid at heart.

- Chocolate plays a role in a healthy lifestyle, and it increases our sense of well-being.

I find that when I have a little bit of chocolate every day, it lifts my mood.

It lifts my spirit.

áIt also suppresses the parts of my appetite áthat aren't that desirable so it keeps me áfrom getting into the bad food habits.

- Chocolate just makes whatever is wrong right, and reminds me that there's hope that the day can change if I have some chocolate.

á- Chocolate is very healthy, áand it depends how you make it of course.

It's highly antioxidant.

- Solid dark chocolate has the largest amount of health benefits.

We often look at 70%, 72 or 74% as having the best value for what it is, but what that percentage indicates is how much sugar is not in the chocolate bar.

So for example, a 70% dark bar has 29% sugar, 1% soy lecithin in it, and 70% cacao.

But there are many different types of 70% bars on the market.

A lot of chocolate bars that are created in the United States by larger companies make changes and substitutions that have been permitted.

- I like to bake a fair amount so I definitely skew towards chocolate baked goods.

Quality definitely seems to make a difference.

It's kind of like wine.

It's been interesting too to learn about the different types of chocolate and what makes them different from one another.

- I'm a little different.

When the feeling strikes, I'll just eat it.

- It's always stocked in our house.

I can tell you that much.

- I would strongly recommend that you read the label on the back of the bar.

And the first three things that you should see should be those ingredients- cocoa butter, cocoa mass, and a little bit of sugar.

- We just choose to make high quality of chocolate.

Spread love and quality around because simply we all deserve it.

- Well I couldn't have said it better myself.

But to have chocolate in your life in a healthy way, you need to consider quality over quantity and also consider how you're using it.

Well I am making these fabulous ácandies, fig and ginger truffle candy áthat's actually good for you.

Super easy to make.

Basically just chopping up some dark chocolate here, and always want to use dark chocolate.

I usually use between 60 and 70% cocoa solids.

You see, the higher number of percentage of cocoa solids that's in chocolate, the more of the good antioxidants it has, the more deep dark chocolate flavor, but also the more bitter it is.

So if you use 100% cocoa solids, it would be basically like baking chocolate so you wouldn't find it very pleasant to eat.

It would be super bitter.

I find 60-70% is the perfect mix of taste and health.

When you're chopping chocolate, definitely use a serrated knife.

It makes it much easier.

So that's ready to go.

Let me show you what's inside these truffles.

Some figs, dried figs, and these are so plump and juicy.

And they're loaded of course with fiber and antioxidants.

Dried fruit is just a wonderful concentrated source of antioxidants.

What I love about figs is they're actually an inverted flower, which I find just an incredibly romantic and beautiful notion.

So basically just putting these figs right in the food processor along with some ginger.

Now fig and ginger just goes beautifully with each other.

Figs bring that incredible sweetness and nice gooeyness almost to this, and the ginger, this is crystallized ginger, so it has a nice sharp, bright flavor, and it's covered in a little sugar and dried that way.

So it adds a little sweetness too.

So just putting that in.

I love crystallized ginger, so delicious.

Just going to add a little bit of honey, so there's no actual sugar, added white sugar in this recipe at all.

But before I do that, I'm going to put a little bit of oil right in the spoon, and that's a really great tip.

You can spray it with the oil or just brush a little oil in there with your finger.

And this way the honey will just slide off the spoon, and you won't have to fight with it.

So honey's great unrefined sweetener, has a little antioxidants in there too.

So there's really very little added sweetener in here at all though.

Just one tablespoon.

And whatever of course is on the ginger and in the chocolate.

Most of the sweetness in this is coming right from those delicious figs.

So I'm just gonna process this until it comes together in a ball almost.

(grinder noise) See how it really sticks together, thanks to all of the kind of stickiness of the figs.

So mmm, looks so good already.

Basically I'm just going to make some balls out of this.

Make our little truffles so just keeping teaspoon size balls, and you don't have to get too fussy about it.

Pretty much forms itself there.

Make several of those.

(upbeat music) And if your fingers get sticky, just put a little cold water on them, and it will help prevent mixture from sticking to your hands.

Once I get them out, I just roll them a little bit to smooth it out with my hands.

So it's ready to go into the chocolate.

First I need to melt the chocolate.

So I just have here, a double boiler that I just fashioned out of a bowl on top of some water, and just make sure that the water's just barely simmering.

You don't want it to be super hot, and make sure it's not touching the bowl.

So I'm just gonna put half in, and melt that first.

This is one of those relaxing things I love to do.

Sort of an aromatherapy, sitting over a bowl of melting chocolate.

What could be better?

So that's done.

Now I'm gonna shut the heat off, and add the remaining chocolate.

This way it kind of melts really slowly.

Sort of a cheat way of tempering it.

I'm gonna take it off there, and it will melt basically from the heat of the chocolate that's already melted.

Nice and glossy and ready to meet the fig truffles.

(upbeat music) Then just basically rolling these beautiful truffles, fig and ginger and honey, just rolling them a few at a time into the chocolate until they're coated.

(upbeat music) Like so.

I love to make these as a holiday treat.

Nice for Valentine's Day, or Christmas, New Year's.

It's a nice gift.

You can kind of put them in a beautiful box, and give them to a friend.

It's nice cause they're very indulgent, but they're also good for you.

Healthy indulgence.

Alright so when these are done, they just go into the refrigerator for 15 minutes to set.

You know what?

Chef privileges is eating one before their set.

Mmmm... so good.

á(upbeat music) If you're like me, you want to have chocolate for breakfast, áand I have just the way to do it.

áIt's my mocha java smoothie.

It is amazingly delicious, and it's coffee and breakfast in one cup.

And it's really easy to make on a crazy weekday too.

So it starts off by making some coffee.

Now it's a couple of shots of espresso.

I like to keep this stuff in my cupboard at all times.

It's really nice.

It's instant espresso.

And it's good for rubs and stuff too.

You can use it in a meat barbecue rub.

But if you have a espresso maker, you can also just make a couple shots of espresso.

So that's two servings right there.

And then that's the java part.

Now for the mocha part.

The mocha part I'm using cocoa powder.

And this is natural cocoa powder.

And I use this natural cocoa powder because it has the most antioxidants.

There are two kinds of cocoa powder.

Essentially there's Dutch cocoa powder and natural, and let me just show you what they kind of look like, the difference.

The natural cocoa powder has a little more reddish hue, and it actually has loads of antioxidants.

It has minerals, and the thing about cocoa powder in general is that it has all of the cocoa solids, all of the good stuff.

All of the antioxidants and all the things that are good about chocolate for us, but none of the fat and no sugar.

So cocoa is actually a really healhful ingredient to add to recipes.

Chocolate, that's healthful.

I just love it.

So here's the natural cocoa powder.

Here's the Dutch.

The Dutch is treated with alkali, and so it has a different pH.

It's a little bit more basic or alkaline.

So you can't exactly substitute them in baking recipes.

If a baking recipe calls for Dutch, you need to use Dutch.

But in other recipes, you really can use natural cocoa, and the alkali process does strip out a lot of the antioxidants so that's why I usually go for natural.

So anyway, back to my smoothie here.

So I have two teaspooons, I want two in there, of the natural cocoa powder, and then I like to put a little bit of sugar in here just to temper the bitterness from the coffee.

So a little, but this is optional.

One tablespoon, and this is for two servings again.

And then just a little bit of hot water.

And of course, if you're making your own espresso shots, they're already hot and will dissolve everything.

So you won't need the hot water.

So that just goes right in there.

Quarter cup, and just stir that to kind of dissolve it all and make a little slurry.

I loved the smell already of chocolate and coffee.

That will wake you up in the morning.

Ok, so this just goes into the blender, and now basically you're making a smoothie with this.

So you have your coffee and cocoa in there.

I'm gonna put in about two cups of milk, low fat or nonfat milk.

So you get your protein and calcium right there.

And now my banana.

Always keep this in your freezer.

Bananas frozen, very ripe bananas.

You basically just cut them.

If you cut them kind of into the shape of ice cubes, and you can lay them flat and stack them up.

I have two bananas in here.

It adds so much sweetness that you don't need to add a lot of extra sweetener to your smoothies.

Sometimes I don't need any sweetener in my smoothie if I have a nice ripe banana in there.

So basically two bananas, I'm just gonna put in here, and because they're frozen, they make the smoothie super frothy.

And of course, they add lots of nutrition.

You get a lot of fiber in there.

So now you have milk in there so you get that protein and calcium.

And now you're getting fiber and other nutrients with the fruit.

And a cup of ice.

And that's pretty much good to go.

Just blend it up, and you have breakfast and coffee.

(mixing noise) Yum.

It looks so good.

So frothy and thick.

Kind of like a milkshake.

Chocolate milkshake for breakfast.

I can deal with that.

Mmm, it's just lovely.

It's not too sweet.

Has a nice chocolate coffee balance.

Worth waking up for, I'll tell you that.

Alright here's a newsflash, hot cocoa doesn't just come from a little individual packet.

It actually is so easy to make from scratch ingredients, only 3 ingredients- cocoa powder, milk, and a little bit of sugar.

Ok so here's what you do.

You just put two teaspoons of cocoa powder, and I use natural cocoa powder for the antioxidant power.

And there's lots of iron in there too, believe it or not.

It's pretty amazing.

Iron, magnesium, zinc.

Two teaspoons of sugar, you could use a little maple syrup if you want.

You could leave out the sugar if you prefer it that way.

You can put in a little bit more if you prefer it that way.

This way you have control of it, and that's the best thing about cooking from scratch in the first place.

Then I put in a little bit of hot milk just to make a little slurry with these ingredients.

So you just whisk it until it has a creamy texture, and you've gotten rid of any lumps or dry spots.

Then just pour the chocolate sugar slurry back into the hot milk.

Get every last bit.

Or you could lick the bowl.

Ok, I will.

Force myself.

And I'm using low fat milk here, and so when you make it, this becomes an incredibly healthy snack actually.

Just has a little bit of sugar.

It's perfect kind of as a pick me up in the afternoon, but it will give you that long lasting energy because you get the protein from the real milk.

And you're getting all the calcium and many other nutrients as well.

And if you don't want to use dairy milk, that's fine.

You can use almond milk or soy milk here as well.

Just warm that through, and your hot cocoa is ready.

It tastes so much better, richer, more delicious, and it's so much better for you than the kind in the packet.

Now that's easy and comforting.

Mmm, it's so delicious just like this, but what I love also is all the variations that you can do with it.

And you know all those fancy chocolates in the chocolate shop with all the different seasonings.

You can kind of do that to your hot cocoa.

So for example, you can put sliced fresh ginger right in the milk as it's heating.

And we'll have this lovely, warm ginger essence, and kind of slight brightness to it.

Can't go wrong with a little bit of vanilla extract or some peppermint extract too.

And then you could make it kind of a Mexican hot cocoa, with a pinch of cinnamon, and a pinch of chili powder.

And then it's always good to garnish with some chocolate shavings.

You just kind of take a peeler, and peel some nice pretty chocolate shavings on top.

And it looks even more festive.

So lose the packets, and up your hot cocoa game.

(upbeat music) Another great thing to do with cocoa powder is that you can use it in your baked goods if you want to give them a chocolate-y flair.

You can basically substitute some of the flour for cocoa powder.

So right now, I'm making waffles.

Not exactly a baked good, but kind of one.

And I just put in 1/3 cup of all purpose flour.

Now 1/3 cup of whole grain flour.

So whole grain pastry flour, and everyone loves them right?

But these waffles are dessert waffles.

You could have them for breakfast if it's your birthday or something.

That would be fun.

But these are definitely a decadent, rich wonderful dessert that's also better for you.

1/3 cup sugar in the whole thing so that's not very much sugar.

And now 1/3 cup of the natural cocoa powder.

So these are double chocolate waffles, and this is the first layer of chocolate-y goodness in my double chocolate waffles.

So then just some baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Just whisk those dry ingredients.

Just whisk that to combine.

And then get going with the wet ingredients.

So I have one egg here.

I'm going to put in some yogurt, some low fat regular yogurt.

Now you don't want to substitute greek yogurt here because you won't get the right kind of liquid balance.

So definitely low fat regular yogurt.

Some canola oil, and you'll notice, there's no butter in these.

But you're getting that really rich, creamy taste and texture from the yogurt and from the healthy canola oil.

A little bit of vanilla.

Just 1/2 teaspoon.

And the taste of vanilla actually brings out the chocolate-y flavor as well.

Now the dry ingredients go into the wet, and it's a really simple batter.

I like to do it in two stages.

Avoid over mixing.

Already it looks all fudgy and smells fudgy too.

But I still have to add more chocolate cause they are double chocolate waffles.

So I'm gonna put some chocolate chips in there.

And dark chocolate, 1/4 cup, so you'll get those little melty pockets when you cut into the waffle.

And you could make this batter a day ahead.

And like I said, they're dessert so this way the batter could be ready.

After you have your dinner, you just make the waffles, and you're good to go.

Let's get that into the waffle iron.

Just gonna give it a little spray with cooking spray cause it keeps it from sticking, but also makes the exterior extra crispy.

And this batter makes two large waffles.

And each waffle serves four.

I kind of cut it like a piece of pie, and top it with fruit and frozen yogurt.

You'll see.

That should do it.

The magic moment.

Ooo la la.

Really now, this looks so good.

That is beautiful, huh?

Just basically gonna cut this, I mean this would be really way too much for dessert for one person.

So we cut it almost like a pie into four pieces.

Each person gets a beautiful slice, a scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt, and I like to put some fresh fruit on too.

Fresh raspberries.

And that is how you put chocolate in the sweet spot where delicious and healthy meet.

See you next time.

(Ellie laughing) - Sorry.

(laughing) The batter's ready.

Oh quiet, quiet on the set.

- [Voiceover] For these recipes and much more, go to elliesrealgoodfood.com.

Also connect with Ellie on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Funding for this series has been provided by - [Voiceover] Luvo, full servings of fruits and veggies, nutritious whole grains and lean proteins, seasoned with bold herbs and spices.

Chef created meals ready made for you.

In your grocer's fever, Luvo, the next generation of frozen food.

- [Voiceover] Hi, you've reached Emma.

I'm out of the office right now, but will get back to you just as soon as I possibly can.

For a Discovery at Sea experiences, Princess Cruises, come back new.

(soft guitar music) - [Voiceover] Grapes from California, grown by families for families.

á-[Voiceover] And by the Natural Gourmet Institute for health and culinary arts.

- [Voiceover] Additional funding provided by the generous support of our Kickstarter donors.

A complete list is available at elliesrealgoodfood.com.

Ellie's kitchen is provided by Clark, New England's Sub Zero and Wolf showroom and test kitchen.

(stove igniting) (high pitched flute)