These Are the Healthy Chocolates You Can Eat on Any Crazy Diet
If you love chocolate and you’re a sucker for health food, you’re gonna wanna check out Cocoa V Chocolat in New York City.
It’s the latest project from Pamela Elizabeth, the vegan foodie behind Urban Vegan Kitchen, Blossom, and Blossom Du Jour. She linked up with Euro-style chocolatier Damion Badalamenti to create the best vegan chocolate ever. Cocoa V is basically paradise for anyone who’s both health-conscious and addicted to chocolate.
Now, I know what you might be thinking. “Healthy chocolate” is an oxymoron. But you’d be wrong. Like red wine, chocolate is a ridiculously delicious low-key nutrition powerhouse. As long as you don’t overdo it or mix it with junk, chocolate is one of the best things you can eat.
Dark chocolate can unclog your arteries and reduce the risk of stroke. It’s got hella iron and minerals, it can protect your skin from the sun, it’s good for your brain and it can even make you feel fuller so you’ll eat less. Honestly, I can’t go on listing the benefits much longer because I’ll have to stop and hit up the bodega for some 70% cocoa.
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The reason chocolate gets a bad rap is because candymakers have been diluting it and mixing it with tons of sugar and other garbage for centuries. But health-minded food companies are now restoring chocolate to its glory, and Cocoa V is one of them.
Think of it this way: Hershey’s is a fake Louis Vuitton bag from Canal Street, but Cocoa V is the real deal. In fact, Cocoa V is basically like the Birkin bag of chocolates. And it doesn’t even cost $30,000!
I went to Cocoa V’s opening last week to sample some of their goods, and I was totally blown away. And coming from a lifelong chocolate addict like me, that’s saying a lot.
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If I had tasted Cocoa V’s truffles on their own, it would never occur to me that they’re dairy-free and devoid of refined sugar. Sugar is the one ingredient that makes chocolate’s health benefits a little sketch, so it’s great that Cocoa V leaves it out. Instead of using the plain white stuff, they use natural sweeteners like maple syrup.
Of course, that still counts as sugar. Sugar is sugar is sugar, whether it comes from sugar cane or maple syrup or coconuts or whatever else. But according to Cocoa V’s spokesperson, the types of sugar used at Cocoa V are absorbed by your body more slowly. That means you won’t get that sugar high and subsequent crash that might occur from eating nine Reese’s eggs in a row. Not that I would know firsthand or anything.
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In addition to the incredible truffles, Cocoa V has a sipping chocolate that’s unlike anything I’ve ever tasted before. I never would have ordered hot chocolate or sipping chocolate on my own because it usually tastes too sugary and not chocolatey enough for me. I like my chocolate dark af and barely sweet. But the hot choc at Cocoa V tastes like a liquified lava cake. It’s out of control.
Cocoa V also has vegan and gluten-free baked goods if truffles and dark chocolate aren’t your steez. My partner in the crime at the opening party is not into borderline-bitter chocolate like I am. I guess his palate just isn’t as refined, you know? But he loved the lighter truffles, the sipping chocolate, and the other more typical fare. So you don’t have to be a total gourmand to get into this stuff. There’s really something for everything.
It also looks incredible on your Instagram feed. I mean:
Gorgeous, right?
Cocoa V is conveniently located at 174 9th Ave. It’s just north of the Meatpacking District, so you can totally hit the clurb afterward. Seriously, their truffles are so light, I housed like eight of them and still managed to fit in a very full Fashion Week night of Jose Cuervo margs. So what are you waiting for? Go go GO to eat these amazing things, your entire body will thank you. Or buy some online, cuz they ship nationwide.
