The Best Chocolate for Healthy, Organic Gift Baskets

No matter what time of year it is, the best chocolate makes the perfect gift. Although opinions differ as to what constitutes the best chocolate, we at America's Best Organics believe that the best chocolate is organic chocolate!

Why Organic Foods?
Organic chocolate is the best chocolate because it includes the benefits of organic food. According to the Organic Consumers Association, organic foods are 25% more nutritious in terms of vitamins and minerals derived from industrial agriculture and contain higher levels of beta carotene, vitamins C, D and E, antioxidants (especially in organic dark chocolate!) and essential fatty acids and minerals.

The Best Chocolate
I LOVE these chocolate companies because they are US companies that focus on the wellbeing of the people who grow cocoa and the people that eat their chocolate.

Being the best isn’t just about taste, it includes company ethics because eating anything that contributes to child labor, poverty, environmental degradation and human illness, is disgusting. The following chocolate companies produce the best chocolate in terms of taste, environmentalism, fair trade practices and for the added benefits of organic food.

  Fearless Chocolate - Fearless has become the largest manufacturer of raw chocolate in the world and is unwavering in its commitment to the environment, its employees and the integrity of chocolate. As an organic raw chocolate, all Fearless chocolate bars yield as much as three times more antioxidants than conventional chocolate bars. Choose from Dark as Midnight Bar, Exploding Coconuts and Raw Organic Matcha Green Tea Peppermint.

  Life-Opening Chocolate - All Life Opening chocolate recipes feature organic raw cacao, and contain no dairy, sugar, gluten, soy or nuts. These scrumptious chocolates are formulated to increase health, happiness and wellbeing. Organic, raw cacao is rich in heart-healthy flavonoids, antioxidants and other key nutrients. Researchers also have found that dark chocolate may help in weight loss; when eaten without sugar, it diminishes one’s appetite. Try Heart Throb and the Cosmic Mint.

 Angell Bar - The only USDA certified organic candy bar! Feeling that there was too much wrong with the way America’s favorite candy bars were made to be able to feel good about eating them anymore, Angell Bar owners took matters into their own hands. Now it is possible to indulge in a delicious treat, knowing that no toxic herbicides or pesticides were used to grow any of the ingredients, that no child labor or slavery was involved, and that no harmful runoff from Angell Bar ingredients is ending up in fisheries or drinking water. Try these three amazing flavors: Milk Chocolate Crisp, White Chocolate Snow and Dark Chocolate Bar.

  Kopali Organics - Kopali’s founders, while living and farming on an off-the-grid permaculture farm and sustainability center in the rain forest of Costa Rica, created the company in order to develop a market for the organic bananas, cacao, coffee and other crops that local teachers, neighbors and friends were growing. Kopali believes that those who still know how to grow food while caring for the ecosystems that support all life on our planet are the true unsung heroes of our time. We agree! Enjoy Organic Dark Chocolate Covered Banana, Organic Dark Chocolate Covered Cacao Nibs and Organic Dark Chocolate Covered Espresso.

  Theo Chocolate - Theo believes that the very definition of quality places equal importance on people, planet and profit - not one at the expense of another. Theo’s Fantasy Flavor bars are carefully crafted to highlight uniquely delicious chocolate and flavor combinations including Milk Chocolate Coconut Curry, Dark Chocolate Coffee and Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Crunch.

  Chocolove - Chocolove’s owner and first level sommelier, Timothy Moley, sources the finest Belgian chocolate, fruits, nuts and flavors from around the world to expertly craft the most delicious premium chocolate bars available. Exquisite flavor combinations that ignite one’s passion for chocolate has become Chocolove’s signature style. Try Chocolove’s three organic offerings: Organic 73% Dark Chocolate, Organic Cherries in 73% Dark Chocolate and Organic Currants and Almonds 73% Dark Chocolate.

 Seth Ellis Chocolatier - The only nut-free and gluten-free organic chocolatier in the world. Sun Cups are delicious chocolate treats, filled with organic sunflower butter with a touch of sea salt. Completely peanut-, treenut- and gluten-free, Sun Cups are available in delicious milk and dark Ecuadorian Rainforest Alliance Certified™ chocolate. Sun Cups also come with caramel and mint filling too. Every product is certified Kosher by EarthKosher, and certified organic by CCOF.

  Jen's Zen - Organic Chocolate Sauce - A tasty vegan chocolate sauce that every chocolate lover must try! Using coconut milk instead of cow's milk gives this organic chocolate sauce an ultra-smooth richness that cannot be beat. Jen's Zen Organic Chocolate Sauce is not only dairy-free, it is gluten-free, soy-free and contains no added artificial sweetners. Try some today!