Healthy Chocolate Candy Recipe: A Natural Reese’s Alternative for Weight Loss

Reese’s and Snickers are classic candy favorites for a reason. There’s something about that chocolate and peanut combo that is delicious and addictive. But sadly, everyone knows candy and weight loss don’t go together… right?

Not necessarily! Here's the truth: it's not the chocolate, peanut butter, nuts, or caramel that packs on pounds. It's the factory-made versions loaded with processed ingredients that are actually sabotaging your weight loss goals. When Jabez switched to homemade chocolate treats, he was able to lose weight while still enjoying dessert.

Turns out, a few clean ingredients and a quick homemade recipe can give you a candy that tastes even better than Reese’s or Snickers and actually supports your health instead of working against it. 

Let’s dive into it!

Why Regular Reese's (and Most Candy Bars) Sabotage Weight Loss

Did you know a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup is not just chocolate and peanut butter? Flip over the package and look at the ingredients. Here's what you'll find:

• Sugar and dextrose: Multiple forms of processed sugar
  
• PGPR and soy lecithin: Industrial emulsifiers
  
• TBHQ: A petroleum-based preservative
  
• Hydrogenated vegetable oil: Trans fat that inflames your body
  
• Artificial flavor and highly refined salt

The result? A blood sugar spike and insulin surge, intense cravings, fat storage, and inflammation. Your body doesn't recognize these ingredients as real food, so it responds by holding onto fat instead of burning it.

Healthy Chocolate Candy Recipe: 5 Natural Ingredients

Since all-natural candy bars are hard to find, Jabez and his family set out to make a homemade Naturalite-approved snack that tastes like dessert. The result was super easy to make and surprisingly delicious.

To make a healthier version at home, you’ll just need a few simple ingredients you can find in one grocery trip:

• Dark chocolate chips: Look for ingredients like unsweetened chocolate, cane sugar, and cocoa butter. We like the brand Enjoy Life.
  
• Medjool dates: Nature's caramel, packed with natural sweetness and fiber
  
• Single-ingredient almond butter (or peanut butter): Just nuts and sea salt, nothing else
  
• Coconut oil 
  
• Chopped walnuts
  
• Flaky sea salt 

Zero enriched flour. Zero corn syrup. Zero fake preservatives.

Plus, this recipe uses dark chocolate and walnuts, which stimulate neurological growth in the brain. So not only does this snack keep you on track for your weight loss goals, it could also make you smarter!

Chocolate Brainiac Snack Recipe (from The Naturalite Family Cookbook)

This recipe is straight from The Naturalite Family Cookbook, and it's become a weekly staple for thousands of Naturalites who want to enjoy chocolate while losing weight.

Ingredients:

• 9 oz all-natural dark chocolate morsels (the higher the percentage, the better for your brain)
  
• 1 tsp virgin unrefined coconut oil
  
• 12 oz dates
  
• 1 cup all-natural almond butter
  
• ½ to 1 cup chopped walnuts
  
• 3 ½ tbsp all-natural light agave
  
• ¼ tsp all-natural coarse sea salt

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan on medium-low, add chocolate morsels and coconut oil. Allow to melt down slowly while occasionally stirring.
   
2. While the chocolate is melting, remove the seeds from the dates. Make sure dates are fresh and there are no signs of mold in the center.
   
3. Lay dates down flat (skin-side down) on a piece of parchment paper placed inside a 13x9 inch glass baking pan.
   
4. Place another piece of parchment paper on top of the dates and use something hard (like a rolling pin, back of a plate, or bottom of a cup) to flatten the dates.
   
5. Remove the top layer of parchment paper and pour spreadable almond butter across the top of the dates. (If almond butter is thick, melt it until it reaches a spreadable consistency.)
   
6. Sprinkle chopped walnuts evenly across the almond butter.
   
7. Once chocolate is melted, add 2 ½ tbsp of agave and stir. Then pour evenly across the walnuts until there's a thin layer covering the entire surface.
   
8. Sprinkle sea salt across the chocolate.
   
9. Place in the fridge for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight) before serving.
   
10. Cut into squares, serve, and savor!

Pro tip: If you're in a hurry, 30 minutes in the freezer works too.

The result? A chocolate candy bar that's better than Reese's, is good for your brain, and won't derail your weight loss.

Real Proof: Chocolate and Weight Loss Can Coexist

When Jabez swapped store-bought Reese's for this homemade version, he noticed he was able to continue hitting his weight loss goals while still enjoying chocolate-peanut-butter candy whenever the craving hit.

He didn't have to give up dessert. He just had to stop eating the processed version and start making it with real ingredients.

Candy Doesn't Have to Just Be Reserved for “Cheat Meals”

You don't have to give up chocolate to lose weight. You just need a snack or dessert made with ingredients your body knows how to recognize and use.

Sure, it takes a few more minutes than grabbing candy at the grocery store checkout. But we have to love ourselves and our health more than we love the convenience of unhealthy food options.

This healthy chocolate candy recipe proves you can have your treats and still lose weight. It's all about choosing real ingredients instead of processed ones.

Grab Life Matters So Let's Eat Like It to learn more about the simple principles that helped Jabez lose 100 lbs. And don't miss The Naturalite Family Cookbook for this exact recipe and 60+ more guilt-free recipes. It IS possible to lose the weight without losing the foods you love.

Want to learn more and see how our Chocolate Brainiac Snack is made? Check out the video below!