Guest Blog!! The author of “The Perfect Chocolate for Your Valentine”,  Lauren Clark, MS, RD, LD is a Registered Dietitian that specializes in adult weight management and cardiovascular disease. She is an avid writer for our nutrition newsletters and is passionate about her work! Enjoy.

With Valentine’s Day rapidly approaching, you are probably looking for the perfect way to show your Valentine how much you love them. As you walk down the seasonal aisle at your favorite store, you may feel overwhelmed by the variety of gift options available – flowers, stuffed animals, cards, balloons and… CHOCOLATE. Here is a look at what makes each variety of chocolate special in its own way and how to choose the right piece of chocolate for your “sweetie” this Valentine’s Day.

Real chocolate vs compound chocolate: the difference between the two is the type of lipid (or fat) that is used. Real chocolate contains cocoa butter, derived from the cocoa or cacao bean. Vegetable oil is the fat used to make compound chocolate. This type of chocolate is easier on your pocketbook as cocoa butter is a more expensive ingredient. Quality and flavor may both suffer when vegetable oil is substituted for cocoa butter.
Unsweetened Chocolate: chocolate liquor (cocoa beans that have been finely ground into a paste – does not contain alcohol as the name may imply) that has been hardened. No sugar has been added to sweeten this type of chocolate and it is used as the base for many other types of chocolate.
Bittersweet Chocolate: made from at least 35% of pure unsweetened chocolate with some amount of sugar added. Also known as semisweet chocolate, this type is commonly used for baking.
Milk Chocolate: made from at least 10% of pure unsweetened chocolate with added cocoa butter and sug-ar. Typically has a high fat content as it contains 12% milk or cream.
Dark Chocolate: cocoa content can vary from 30% to 90% in dark chocolate. Dark chocolate contains no milk solids and is lower in fat content. It also contains little or no added sugar. The greater the percentage of cocoa or cacao, the greater the cardiovascular benefits when eaten in moderation. This is because cocoa or cacao is rich in antioxidants that may decrease risk for blood clots, lower high blood pressure, and help im-prove LDL cholesterol. This type of chocolate usually has a more bitter flavor, especially those that are 70% or higher cacao content.
White Chocolate: though it still contains cocoa butter, milk & sugar, it usually also contains vanilla flavoring. White chocolate by law is not considered a true chocolate because it does not contain chocolate liquor.