I'm saying hellooo to October with cooler weather, crisp changing leaves, new seasonal produce at the farmer's market, (like Brussels sprouts, winter squash, and pomegranates - yay!) and plenty of scary movies and chocolate to gear up for Halloween!  

I'm a fall girl at heart. I live for summer and love the occasional snow that winter in Portland sometimes brings, but autumn is where my heart really is. I think I really love the feeling of renewal and change: leaves changing and a mental change too. I know I'm not the only one who gets the whole back-to-school feeling of wanting to renew my wardrobe and my pantry! Fall is a time to make changes, both inward and outward. Wether that means a shift in your kitchen or your closet, utilizing the fall season is an easy way to find motivation to do so. 

Here's a delicious way to bring on fall with something sweet, yet incredibly healthy and nourishing too. Although buying chocolate bark at the grocery store is easy - making it at home is far more delicious, and an easy way to control ingredients, too. Most store-bought chocolate bark (and other chocolates, TBH) contain unnecessary additives and refined sugars. Utilizing high-quality bars of dark chocolate, with at least 85% cacao or higher, plus a splash of Health Ade kombucha is a delicious way to make a unique chocolate bark at home. 

In this dark chocolate bark recipe, I'm using Health Ade's Pomegranate kombucha for a bright burst of sweetness, tartness, and probiotic goodness too. Using an extra dark chocolate means that the sweetness of the kombucha shines through, and provides a unique flavor in every single bite of bark! 

I sprinkled this bark with fresh pomegranate seeds, pumpkin seeds, unsweetened coconut flakes, and slivered almonds which provide a satisfying  crunch to the bark too. If you don't have one of these ingredients on hand, feel free to swap with another pantry staple. Crushed walnuts, pistachios, pecans, mini chocolate chips, coconut shreds, hemp seeds, chia seeds, and goji berries are all delicious swaps! 
 

Dark Chocolate Pomegranate Kombucha Bark

Recipe yields roughly 12-15 large pieces of bark

Ingredients: 

2 bars (6 oz) high-quality dark chocolate, at least 85% cacao or higher, roughly chopped

3 Tbsp. Health Ade Pomegranate Kombucha

1/4 cup pomegranate seeds

3 Tbsp. coconut flakes

3 Tbsp. pumpkin seeds

3 Tbsp. slivered almonds 

Directions: 

1) Melt dark chocolate until it's smooth and silky. Whisk in kombucha and stir well until fully combined. 

2) Pour chocolate mixture into a parchment paper-lined baking dish (8x11) and spread evenly. 

3) Sprinkle chocolate with pomegranate seeds, coconut flakes, pumpkin seeds, and slivered almonds. Place chocolate bark in freezer to sit for 20-30 minutes, or until fully hardened.

4) Remove bark from freezer and use your hands to gently break apart into pieces. 

5) Store bark in a bag in the freezer. Enjoy! 

Today's blog is written by our very own Daina Trout, MS, MPH

Daina is not just our Co-Founder, she is also a nutritionist that has spent her adult life dedicated to finding and sharing health and wellness through food. With 2 masters' degrees in nutritional biochemistry and public health, Daina has called upon her education often while leading the way at Health-Ade - from how we make every batch of kombucha, to how we talk about gut health to consumers, to even how healthy our employee workplace is! She even writes a few blogs here and there. Happy reading! :)