HAVE YOUR CHOCOLATE AND EAT IT TOO THIS EASTER

I like to think I’m reasonably healthy, I opt for a juice instead of coffee on the rare occasions, I go to the gym regularly and usually I can resist sweets on most occasions. That is until I see the temptation of Easter eggs popping up on every single supermarket counter around this time of the year. Yes, Easter time in upon us and it’s the one time of the year I don’t feel overly guilty about stuffing myself so full of chocolate I cradle my food baby for days after, sound familiar? Well, what if I told you that you can have your chocolate and eat it too this Easter without the “I can’t fit into my jeans” feeling? That’s where ‘well naturally’ comes in.

Well naturally has made it easier to over indulge this Easter with out the sugar hit. Sugar Free Dark Chocolate, No Added Sugar Milk Chocolate and brand new Sugar Free Dark Chocolate Melts for cooking comprise the better-for-you chocolate range from established Australian food brand, Well Naturally. And if your mouth isn’t already watering, their sugar free Dark Chocolate comes in a range of flavours including Rich Dark, Mint Crisp, Valencia Orange, Caramel Crisp, Almond Chip, Cherry Delight and Licorice Classic. A dark chocolate lover I took it upon myself to ‘test’ their Mint Crisp and have to say it’s the real deal (delicious!).

Well Naturally no added sugar milk chocolate bars are made with absolutely no added sugar. Although they retain the natural sugars present in lactose, all excess sugar is eliminated, meaning that the bars have 80% less sugar than regular milk chocolate bars. The chocolate is sweetened naturally with stevia, and like their dark range their no added sugar milk chocolate bars are also available in four flavours, creamy milk and fruit & nut, and their brand new flavours, Jaffa Orange and Peppermint Chip. The hardest decisions you will have to make this Easter is what flavour to choose, although it is Easter so why not buy them all? Well Naturally products are available in the health food aisle of Woolworths, Coles, IGA and other independent grocers, good pharmacies and health food stores and to find out more visit www.wellnaturally.com.au

Healthy desserts are becoming widely accepted opposed to processed sugary desserts, and with a range of restaurants and cake shops in Melbourne providing the goods it makes it easier for us to choose the healthy options. Vegie Bar in Fitzroy is just one of the many restaurants in Melbourne that specialises in raw/living food and creates food for the body and soul, and yes it’s more than just salads. They sell cake! Including the most amazing vegan flourless chocolate cake to ever enter my mouth. I would have never guessed it was vegan and I left feeling satisfied without being bloated and sick, to see more head over to their website, http://vegiebar.com.au. Vegie Bar isn’t the only place to see a gap in the market for healthier dessert options, Merry Cupcake’s is a business founded by Mary, a nutritionist/dietician with not only a love of eating cupcakes, yet a skill to bake them as well.

With a focus not only on the taste but also the nutritional content of their cupcakes, Merry Cupcakes makes sure that when they create recipes they increase their nutritional goodness so that they are healthier than the average cupcakes of their corresponding flavours (i.e. A Vanilla Ice cupcake from Merry Cupcakes is healthier than the average vanilla cupcakes with vanilla icing). They have less saturated fat, less sugar and more fibre and fruits and vegetables, and with a ‘look too good to eat’ demeanor about them their appearance stands up to their taste. Scrumptious and pretty what more could you want? Vegan friendly and even gluten free options Merry Cupcakes can cater for events, or pop in when your in Fitzroy and pick up one of these little slices of heaven today. Too find out more head on over to http://merrycupcakes.com.au.

With a range of healthier dessert options popping up not only in boutique cafes and restaurants around Melbourne yet on the shelf of our supermarket stores, it’s hard to ignore them. So don’t miss out this Easter and get your hands on a healthier sweet today, just don’t follow my ‘because they are healthy I can eat twice as much’ theory.