By Kreg Weiss, B HKin • June 22nd, 2006

Do you have a love of chocolate? When you eat your favorite treat, do you feel guilty that you are doing something “bad”, “cheating your diet” or contributing to poor health? Philosophers and laypeople for years have wondered: “is guilty pleasure inescapable?” Is it possible to enjoy the natural health benefits of chocolate while avoiding hydrogenated oils, “modified milk ingredients” or refined sugar?

While still in nutrition school, I resolved to answer this question to satisfy my own passion for chocolate and avoid the guilt it created. It began with a found recipe for chocolate “fudge” that combined dates, cookie crumbs and pure unsweetened chocolate. This was very rich and chocolatey, but still contained processed foods. The next step was to replace the cookie crumbs with something healthier: ground flax seeds for added fiber and Omega 3s and almonds. To make the chocolates creamier and have a more sophisticated taste, pure cocoa butter was added. And finally, it had to be sweet enough for most people, so the search for the perfect healthy sweetener began. Yacon syrup is made from a plant root and consists of complex sugars, also known as starches. These sugars pass through the digestive tract and are used to feed our large intestine's healthy bacteria or flora. They are not quickly absorbed into the bloodstream like most sugars and so have a low “net carb” level, as well as minimal impact on our blood sugar levels....

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Location:  Montreal, CA

Kreg is a co-founder of My Yoga Online and certified Hatha Yoga Teacher. Several years ago, Kreg discovered yoga while teaching health and fitness. Yoga dramatically transformed Kreg's approach to teaching health and...