There are a few ‘nutritious’ chocolate bars and candies appearing on the health food store shelves touting the benefits of calcium and various vitamins and minerals combined with lovely dark chocolate. I’ve tried a few of them with mixed results.

When GD Jen brought me a goody bag for my birthday, among the treats which included a box of my favorite organic earl grey tea, I immediately gravitated to the large candy bar with the words, ‘Nutritious Chocolate’ on it. It was all VERY well timed. Let’s face it, for women, there are times of the month when chocolate saves lives – keeping raging hormones at a dull roar and the homicidal outbursts to a minimum.

Having tried some ‘nutritious’ chocolate, I didn’t expect much, but I tucked it into my work bag and figured it would make a sweet treat after lunch.

I’m not sure how he does it, but Gary Null has done it beautifully with this amazing chocolate! The list of ingredients in this slice of heaven are downright unbelievable. Among the first few listed (other than cocoa, soy protein, vanilla, sugar cane) are the following: Green Algae Powder, Wheat Grass Powder, Green Barley Powder, Alfalfa Leaf, Oat Grass, Broccoli, Parsley, Kale, Aloe Vera, Cranberries, Strawberries, Apples, Cherries, Red Raspberries, Peaches, Pears, Papayas, Mangoes, Watermelons, Red Currants, Nectarines, Pink Grapefruits, Blood Oranges, Pomegranate, Pineapples, Lemons, Limes, Tangerines, Apricots.

While these bars are promoted as Vegan, Kosher, High Protein, No Trans Fat and are made with ‘natural’ ingredients, they are not organic and there is no mention of fair trade, which with chocolate is something I do generally look for. However, I will put aside my concern for cocoa farmers in this one instance in favor of this relatively healthy selfish indulgence. I promise to write my old friend Gary and push him to create a fair trade, organic version. Of course, the price might be high, but perhaps some of us are willing to pay it for an occasional treat.

You can purchase the Gary Null Nutritious Chocolate bar online, but GD Jen found mine in one of our local health food stores.

eat. blog. be merry!
GD Meg