I just recently had my third baby so naturally I have been wanting comforting foods to restore me back to health :) One of the things that naturally comes to mind when I think of something that can really hit the spot to accomplish this is chocolate! Who’s with me??

Chocolate fascinates me. In some of my health efforts in the past I have used cacao nibs for toppings on smoothies, oatmeals, and other things. I knew they wouldn’t be sweet like milk chocolate but I remember being taken aback by the bitterness of straight up cacao. How do they turn that into the delicious, rich, creamy goodness I am used to?

Here are some fun facts about the universally beloved delight:

To make one pound of chocolate, it takes approximately 400 cacao beans.

Chocolate is the only edible substance that melts close to 93 degrees Fahrenheit.

U.S. chocolate manufacturers use about 3.5 million pounds of whole milk every day to make milk chocolate.

Cacao trees can live up to be 200 years old.

Despite their long lifespan, though, the trees produce marketable cocoa beans for only 25 years.

Chocolate milk was invented by Daniel Peter, who sold the concept to his neighbor Henri Nestle.

Chocolate was actually developed and used by the Olmec Indians as far back as 1500 B.C. They were the first to smash up cocoa beans and use them as a food source. This makes chocolate over 3500 years old!

What goes into our chocolate?

• 40% of the world’s almonds

• 20% of the world’s peanuts

• 3.5 million pounds of whole milk is used every day to make chocolate

The average American only eats 10-12 pounds of chocolate a year. Whereas, the average person from Switzerland eats 22.36 pounds a year! In fact, 16 of the top 20 consuming countries are European.

You would have to eat more than a dozen chocolate bars to get the same amount of caffeine from a cup of coffee.

We spend more than $7 billion dollars a year on chocolate.

The largest candy bar ever made weighed over 5.000 pounds and was made in Italy. The largest slab of fudge was over 2,000 pounds and was made in Canada.

Chocolate is the food most commonly craved by women.

And finally I just had to share the most unusual way I have most recently heard of chocolate being prepared. I was watching a show on Food Network this last weekend and they were featuring a barbeque restaurant in Texas and this restaurant had a really amazing looking dessert. It was chocolate custard with a nice meringue on top. It reminded me of a S’mores kind of dessert. The thing is, this chocolate custard wasn’t just any chocolate custard….the chocolate was actually SMOKED first in a mesquite smoker to give it a nice smoky flavor. He had a pan of chocolate chunks, stuck it in to the smoker for a few minutes, and it melted it all while adding a unique depth of flavor. It looked so dang good. The people who ate this custard sure made me want to drive all the way to Texas to try it out!

What is the most unique thing you have ever heard of in regards to chocolate? Or your favorite way to eat chocolate? Please share your thoughts and love for chocolate in the comments below!