Chocolate for Breakfast?! Yes, please.

Chocolate for breakfast?! Sure — says a new study.

A recent study published in FASEB Journal suggests eating chocolate in the MORNING helps to:
✨ decrease hunger
✨ reduce cravings for sweets
✨ decrease waist circumference
✨ manage blood sugar
✨ boost good gut bacteria
💥 💥 💥

Background: The study had people eat chocolate daily for 14 days in either the morning or evening. There were some benefits when chocolate was eaten in the evening, however the morning chocolate eaters experienced even more benefits.

So with that fun inspiration, let’s add some chocolate to our breakfast routine, shall we??!!

Note: The study used 3.5 ounces of milk chocolate daily. The ideas below use less chocolate & ditch the milk chocolate for darker, lower sugar versions.

🍫 Mint Chocolate Chip Kale Smoothie
Blend banana + kale + protein of choice + mint extract + cocoa powder + unsweetened plant milk + ice. Top w/ cocoa nibs (nature’s chocolate chips).

🍫 Chocolate Nut Butter Toast + Apple Slices
Mix cocoa powder into your favorite nut butter. Spread on sprouted whole grain toast and top w/ apple slices.

🍫 Chocolate Oats w/ Yogurt + Berries
Stir cocoa powder into cooked oats. Top with 2% plain greek yogurt & berries.

🍫 Spinach Omelette w/ Chocolate Dipped Oranges
Dip peeled orange segments into melted dark chocolate chips & let harden in the fridge for 15 minutes. Serve alongside a spinach omelette. Major sweet & savory vibes.

🍫 Breakfast Plate w/ Chocolate Coffee
Mix a few dark chocolate chips into hot coffee with a splash of unsweetened plant milk, and sip while enjoying a breakfast plate (hard boiled egg + whole grain crackers + nut butter + carrot sticks).

🍫 Banana Bread Chocolate Chip Cookies (just 4-ingredients)
Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Mix together 1 cup rolled oats + 2 mashed bananas + 1/4 cup chopped walnuts + 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips. Mist baking sheet with cooking spray, form batter into 16 cookies, and bake for ~18 minutes. Enjoy a few cookies crumbled on top of 2% plain greek yogurt or served alongside scrambled eggs.

BONUS: As if you needed more reasons to treat yourself to dark chocolate, here are two more…
1. BRAIN HEALTH: According to THIS paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine, countries with the highest chocolate consumption have more Nobel Prize winners. Woah. Other studies show that the flavonoid antioxidants found in dark chocolate may improve performance on challenging brain teasers.

2. MOOD & IMMUNITY: The cocoa flavonoids in dark chocolate may help with stress, mood, and immunity. Studies presented at the Experimental Biology annual conference a few years ago found the best choice is at least 70% dark chocolate for those mood & immunity benefits.