During the holiday season, my house is filled with Christmas cookies, chocolate cakes, and other sweet treats, which may sound like heaven. But having all those desserts lying around isn’t quite the picture of health, as that they are filled with calories, fats, and sugars. This week I am making a healthy holiday treat that will satisfy your sweet tooth, while still providing many health benefits: dark chocolate, cranberry, and pistachio bark.

Dark chocolate is one of my favorite foods of all time. Not only is it delicious, but extremely heart healthy too. It improves memory function, amplifies your energy, brightens your mood, promotes weight loss, and even helps to keep your skin clear. Although dark chocolate has many benefits, that does not mean that your should gorge yourself on it every day; maybe have one block of a bar with some peanut butter at night or melt dark chocolate and coat cranberries with it! Everything in moderation, right?

Besides tasting great, cranberries and pistachios have many health benefits as well. Dried cranberries are low in calories and fat, and are a great source of fiber. They can even fight against cardiovascular diseases. Pistachios promote heart and skin health, while also strengthening your immune system and preventing diabetes.

The recipe I used this week, was from a great blog called Love and Lemons. It only took me about 30 minutes to prepare, but I left it in the freezer overnight just to make sure everything was set. If you don’t buy the coconut flakes toasted, preheat your oven to 350˚ and bake them on a sheet with parchment paper for 4-5 minutes. Also, an easy and clean way to crush your pecans and pistachios are to put them in a plastic bag and smash them with your hand or the bottom of a cup. Lastly, if you don’t have a double broiler that’s fine; I don’t. Instead, boil a couple of inches of water in a sauce-pan and place a glass bowl on top. Chocolate bark is an easy dessert that tastes great and has an endless list of health benefits. Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate, Cranberry, and Pistachio Bark:

Ingredients:

-about 5 ounces of dark chocolate (preferably about 70% cacao)

-2 teaspoons of coconut oil

-2 teaspoons of maple syrup

-3 tablespoons of crushed pistachios

-3 tablespoons of crushed pecans

-3 tablespoons of toasted coconut flakes

-3 tablespoons of dried cranberries

-a few pinches of coarse sea salt

Directions:

1. Over a double broiler on the stove, melt the chocolate, coconut oil, and maple syrup together, stirring until smooth.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pour the chocolate. Smooth it out so that it is about ¼ inch thick.
3. Top the chocolate with the nuts, coconut flakes, dried cranberries, and a few pinches of salt.
4. Place the baking sheet in the freezer for a few hours to set. Once set, crack on the parchment paper and then store in a container in the fridge or freezer.