Believe it or Not, Dairy Free and Vegan Chocolate is Boundless!

Chocolate, well what can I say, it's one of the most delightful exciting senses for us mere mortals on the planet - wouldn't you agree? It's something that one can quickly and easily fall in love with that's for sure.

According to popular research, chocolate is one of the number one foods craved by women, let alone the rest of the population. And Switzerland leads the way in chocolate consumption at a staggering 19 pounds per person per year. That's some chocolate right.

And so this brings me to my next note, how can one find great quality luxurious dairy free, vegetarian and vegan chocolate quickly and easily? Well getting a hold of dairy free and vegan chocolates these days is a breeze compared to say 10 years ago. Being vegan myself and a lover of chocolate from way back it was one of my ventures as a vegan to source out and find some of the best vegan chocolates I could find, and if I couldn't find them make my own recipes. So that's what this essay is all about . . . Dairy-free Chocolates and Vegan Chocolate for those living an alternative helthier lifestyle.

Those people living with lactose intolerances and on a vegan or raw food diet may have in the past found it a bit challenging to find great tasting dairy-free, vegan or raw food chocolates to satisfy their cravings. I know from personal experience when I first went vegan many years ago, I gave up my favourite food (chocolate) as I couldn't find any suitable options on the market that had a great taste, and I didn't know about sourcing such things from other countries at that time either. So I gave it up - until I found vegan and non-dairy options by accident that is. So now no matter if I'm living vegan or as a raw foodist I can and do have many choices in today's world. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of dairy-free and fully vegan chocolate bars, candies and recipes to choose from. What a delight for our tastebuds.

So let's start by discovering where chocolate comes from . . . the ‘Cacao Bean' (today people use such words like cocoa, coco, chocolate, cacao interchangeably to describe chocolate). And so from the Cacao Tree (which flowers and produces fruit all year round) comes the cacao beans from which chocolate is made. Once the flowers on the Cacao Tree are pollinated, they soon develop into pod-like fruits. These fruits can grow up to 18-20cm in length and contain approximately 20 to 50 ‘cacao beans' inside - this is the natural, raw form of chocolate. Cacao beans taste just like dark chocolate - and that is exactly what they are in pure form!

Next from the cacao beans come the processing methods (to make a long story short) to extract out into ‘chocolate liquor' which eventually after a few more methods finally becomes cocoa powder, butter, oil etc. Thus what Chocolatiers use to work their magic and make the sweet chocolate treats we buy and eat today.

"Chocolate is a divine, celestial drink, the sweat of the stars, the vital seed, divine nectar, the drink of the gods, panacea and universal medicine (Quote by Geronimo Piperni)

Now let's get started with one of the quickest easiest chocolate recipes I know to date.

Delish Quick Chocolate Bites

No cooking, no having to melt any cacao butter, just add ingredients, mix and set. How easy is that for a quick chocolate hit. This recipe takes seconds really and well worth trying at least once (but take note my friends you may just get hooked and keep going back for more).

• 2 Tbsp coconut oil
• 4 Tbsp chocolate powder
• 2 Tbsp Agave nectar
• 2 Tbsp of Maca powder
• 1/2 cup cashew nuts

Method: Put everything into a small processor or blender and blend until smooth. Pour into moulds and freeze to set. These chocolate bites should preferably be kept in the freezer as they are raw chocolate bars and don't set like traditional chocolate.

Now if you don't have time to make your own chocolate treats and sweets, then don't worry as here I've put together a list of some of the most irresistible well known non-dairy and vegan chocolate brands for your convenience. So purchasing dairy-free and vegan chocolate, is now as easy as pie.

Check out some of these brands when next on the gander for a satisfying dairy-free chocolate hit . . .

• Plamil Chocolates
• Vegan Sweets Brand of Chocolates
• Green & Blacks Chocolate
• Sweet Williams Soy Milk Chocolates
• Kaoka Chocolate
• Tropical Source Chocolates
• Organica Chocolate
• Booja Booja Chocolate
• Artissee Organic Dark Chocolate
• Chocolate Decadence
• Denman Island Organic Chocolate
• Chocoreale Organic Vegan Chocolate Spreads
• Tree Huggin' Treats
• Organic Chocolate Nuts & Chews Assortment by Sjaaks
• Newman's Own Organics Sweet Dark Chocolate
• Organic Chocolates by Allison's Gourmet
• Terra Nostra Organic Rice Milk Chocolate Bar
• Sunspire Dark Chocolate Coconut Bar
• Health By Chocolate Organic Bars
• Dagoba Organic Chocolate Bars
• Rose City Chocolatiers
• Endangered Species Chocolate Company
• Whizzers Chocolate
• Alpha Confectionery
• Constant Craving Chocolates
• Plus many more

So as you can see if you are looking for dairy free chocolates and/or vegan chocolate to satisfy your cravings you have no shortage of chocolate treats to choose from. And we haven't even added in the raw food chocolate brands in the above list either ... there just seems to be too many dairy free chocolates on the market these days we couldn't even possibly list them all. (NB: also don't forget to check ingredients labels as some companies make both dairy free and non-dairy free chocolate varieties and treats).

"Nine out of ten people like chocolate. The tenth person always lies." (John Q Tullius)

Here are a few extra tips when looking for dairy-free chocolates in the stores, Buy organic if you can, make sure you get chocolate with a high quality cocoa content, taste test as many brands of non-dairy chocolates as you can get your hands on - everyone's tastes will be different afterall and you never know what will take your fancy when you come into contact with high quality chocolate bars. And of course don't forget you can get some great tasting hot chocolate mixes and spreads these days as well, so don't just look for chocolate boxes, bars or bites, make sure you experience all the benefits that chocolate has to offer.

Chocolate is the Food of the Gods afterall!

PS > For even more dairy free and/or vegan recipes check out my BLOG HERE