Eco-Friendly Chocolate

About This Project

When thinking about  what I should write for the first  How- To… nothing seemed better than Chocolate! I LOVE Chocolate and when I looked behind my favorite sweet treat to see what sustainability implications is has, it was sad… A few to mention:

• Cacao plantations cause large scale deforestation to support the $50 Billion Chocolate Industry
• There bar chocolate we eat often contains Palm Oil another extremely destructive ingredient ( destroying beautiful forests which are home to Orangutans and many other amazing species)
•  Ethical – the Cacao farms in many places are not paying the farmers and workers a fair price, some are even using children as workers. (Fair Trade Chocolate is definitely the way to go!)
• Some of the chocolates on the market are very high in sugar and other ingredients some of which I can’t even pronounce.
• Packaging – most of it isn’t recyclable so into landfill it must go.

Now if you think this was going to stop me from eating chocolate… you don’t know how much I love Chocolate. So here is my How-To on sustainable eco friendly chocolate ( find out more about the ingredients at the end of the recipe!)

Super Easy Home Made Chocolate!  

Takes 5-10 mins to make and 20 mins to cool. ( quicker than going to the shops to buy a bar of chocolate!) 

Ingredients:

1 cup of Cacao Butter ( you can use 3/4 cup of coconut oil instead)

1 cup of Cacao Powder

1/2 cup of honey or other liquid sweetener

Added flavors: dried fruit and chopped nuts, sea salt, vanilla, mint etc.

Molds to put them in ( silicon molds work, but you can even just dollop spoonfuls onto a plate to harden)

Step 1. Melt cacao butter in a glass bowl on top of a small pan with an inch of water (make sure water isn’t touching bowl) over medium heat.

Step 2. When melted, remove from heat and add cacao powder, honey, and other flavors ( I love fruit and nut or a pinch of sea salt).

Step 3. Make sure all ingredients are well incorporated and smooth. Don’t get any water in the mix it goes glugey

Step 4. Pour into molds and place in the fridge, usually hardens in about 20 mins, try the freezer if you need your chocolate fix fast. 

Step 5. If for some reason you need to store your chocolates ( ie. you don’t eat it all in one sitting) store them in the fridge.

The Eco-Ingredients:

Buy in bulk where you can, this saves on the packaging and avoid plastic packaging too

Buy Certified Fair trade.

This is the brand of Cacao and Cacao butter that I use – fair trade, raw and organic – Eco

Look for cold pressed virgin coconut oil

These products are still imported and carry an environmental cost so buying chocolate ingredients in bulk and eating as a treat once in a while is the best option.

Sustainable Chocolate that is good for me and better for the planet!

xx

Jamie Van Jones