3-Ingredient, Paleo-friendly chocolate-covered strawberries

Sweet treats can be healthy, too! With Valentine’s Day coming up, we’re all searching for the perfect date-night ideas. Whether you’re going out to your favorite steakhouse or making a home-cooked meal, chocolate-covered strawberries are always a great option!

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Making them at home is easy, and since you control what goes into them, healthy options are possible. Forgoing dessert on Valentine’s Day doesn’t sound romantic at all, so buy yourself the freshest strawberries you can find and you’ve got a worthy post-dinner snack already. Dunk them in a low-sugar, dairy-free chocolate, and you can indulge to your heart’s content — after gifting them to your Valentine, that is.

I like Enjoy Life chocolate chips — they’re gluten and dairy free and don’t contain any artificial ingredients. Or choose your favorite dark chocolate, like 85% Lindt Excellence — yum!

To make the dipping chocolate, melt down the chips and add some coconut oil for the right smoothness and consistency. To garnish the chocolate-covered strawberries, consider some coconut butter — it adds just the right tasty and beautiful contrast. If you don’t have coconut butter, give almond butter a try! No almond butter? Crumble some chopped pistachios or pecans on top while the chocolate is still wet. So many possibilities!

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Paleo Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound fresh strawberries (washed and thoroughly dried)
• 2 ounces Enjoy Life chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons coconut butter (optional drizzle)

Directions:

1. Start by slowly melting your chocolate chips in a microwave, double boiler or pan set on the smallest flame possible. Stir continuously until almost melted.
2. Remove from heat and stir in a tablespoon of coconut oil, until everything has melted well. Transfer to a small, deep bowl.
3. Make sure your strawberries are completely dry. Keep a paper towel on hand to dab all before dipping. Grab each by the stem and dip as far into the chocolate as you’d like.
   Tip: If your chocolate is too runny, you may have melted it too long. Set it aside for a few minutes to thicken up. Otherwise, you may have to dip your strawberries a second time after the first layer of chocolate has cooled.
4. Lay your strawberries about two inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
5. Put the baking sheet in the refrigerator and firm up berries for about an hour.
6. If you’d like to create a contrasting drizzle on the strawberries, I suggest coconut butter softened in the microwave or on the stovetop. Pour into a small plastic bag, and snip off the corner. Drizzle on as many of the strawberries as you’d like, and let them cool completely.
7. Enjoy!

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To find more Paleo, low-carb and gluten-free recipes, check out Tasteaholics.com, where I post healthy — and delicious — recipes.