The Chocolate Craving

I love chocolate. I eat chocolate every day, often multiple times a day, in one form or another.

This is how much I love chocolate: A week or so ago during my lunch break at work, I was enjoying a milk chocolate bar packed with nuts and dried fruit. In my chocolate daze, I accidentally dropped just one square of my chocolate bar on the floor. The really, really, really dirty floor. Albeit briefly, I very seriously considered eating that small square of chocolate anyway. I almost did it. The only reason I didn't? "Now, you didn't eat the cracker or the carrot you dropped on the floor the other day, so you probably don't need to eat the chocolate you dropped either," I had to tell myself. And so, mournfully, I put the chocolate square in the trash, grateful at least, that I still had a square left. (I don't want to think about what I might have done had that lost square been the last square...)

While I would be absolutely lying to you if I said I always replace my chocolate bars, chocolate brownies, and chocolate fudge sundaes with healthier alternatives, I do diligently keep healthier alternatives on-hand. Some of my current favorites are Belvita Bars in Chocolate, Special K Pastry Bars in Chocolatey Caramel, and Who Nu? Nutrition Cookies. Chocolate milk is another good way to satisfy a chocolate craving. Below, the benefits of each treat are discussed.

Chocolate Belvita Bars

Chocolate Belvita Breakfast Bars can usually be found in your grocer's cookie/cracker/snack isle. They provide 19 grams of whole grain per serving, almost 40% of your daily recommended intake, which is 48 grams.

 
While Belvita breakfast bars come in several flavors, chocolate is by far my favorite. Each individually wrapped packet contains four crispy, chocolatey biscuits. They make a satisfying treat not only for their delicious taste and hearty texture, but also for their nutritional value. Each pack (if I'm not mistaken) provides 19 grams of whole grain. Experts recommend 48 grams of whole grain per day, so one package of Belvita cookies provides almost 40% of your recommended intake. As you can see in the image below, which depicts the ingredients list, the very first ingredient in these biscuits is whole grain wheat.

Whole grain wheat is the first ingredient in chocolatey, delicious Belvita breakfast bars.

With three grams of fiber and four grams of protein per four-biscuit serving, chocolate Belvita cookies offer some nutritional benefits that can make you feel good about getting your chocolate fix.

In addition to its being a good source of whole grain, Belvita cookies also provide three grams of fiber per serving, along with four grams of protein. Clearly, this is a cookie you can feel pretty good about, as cookies go.

Chocolatey Caramel Special K Bars

While Special K Pastry Crisps have been around for a while, the chocolatey caramel flavor is a new addition to the list of flavor options available.

In general, I am a stick-to-the-list kind of grocery shopper, but when I saw these delicious looking bars on the shelf, they were just two tempting. Impulsively, I deviated from my list and bought a box. Boy am I glad I did! These things are delicious. Like the Belvita biscuits, these crispy delights come in lots of flavors, but so far, chocolatey caramel takes the cake in my book. The outer layer of these treats is a light, crispy chocolate, inside of which is a thin layer of gooey caramel. They are the next best thing to a candy bar, with nutritional facts that are a lot less guilt-inducing.

Ingredients list for Special K Pastry Crisps in Chcolatey Caramel flavor

At just 100 calories and boasting only 2.5 grams of fat, Special K Pastry Crisps in Chocolate Caramel flavor are a safe alternative to candy bars.

One of the best traits this treat offers is it's low calorie count. One package contains two thin crisps, which add up to just 100 calories--much lower than your typical full-size candy bar. One thing to beware of, though, is that 25% of the calories in this treat are from fat (25 of the 100). To be honest, I don't really worry about that. It's tasty, and still not as bad for me as a candy bar.

Who Nu? Cookies

Talk about a great alternative to Oreos or Chips Ahoy! Who Nu? makes multiple varieties of nutrition cookies. I have tried the chewy chocolate chip variety and the chocolate variety, which is similar to an Oreo cookie. You can find the other varieties here: http://www.whonucookies.com/Nutrition.aspx.

The chocolate variety offers only six grams of fat per three-cookie serving, while providing three grams of fiber, 30% of your recommended daily value of calcium, 25% of your recommended daily value for Vitamin C, and 10% or more of several other necessary vitamins and minerals. To view the nutrition information for the chocolate variety, go here: http://www.whonucookies.com/Chocolate.aspx.

With one less gram of fat, the chewy chocolate chip variety offers the same amount of fiver, calcium, and Vitamin C. Find the nutrition information here: http://www.whonucookies.com/Chewy.aspx.

Chocolate Milk

Many fitness experts laud chocolate milk for its value as an after-workout drink.  It is obviously an excellent source of protein and calcium, and is also very filling. Not to mention, it has an uncanny ability to help satisfy a chocolate craving. You can mix your own, or purchase chocolate milk at the store. NesQuik is one brand that does not contain any high fructose corn syrup.