Delicious and packs a nutritional punch? Yes please! This Dark Chocolate Seed Bark is packed with omega-3 fatty acids and a host of other benefits! Not to mention, it will satisfy your chocolate craving and leave you feeling great!

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I love the idea of getting your chocolate fix and some amazing benefits for your brain and body.

In fact, making it chocolate, is my favorite way to ingest anything good for me. Who’s with me!?

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

If you’re unsure about the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids in general, you have probably heard about the benefits of fish oil at some point or another. I was first urged to take a fish oil supplement when I was pregnant because it is important and helpful for development.

There are so many benefits to omega-3 fatty acids. I’m just going to share a list, but definitely feel free to look into it because it’s pretty interesting!

Omega-3 Fatty Acids help with…

• Lower risk of heart disease and stroke
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Depression
• Fetal development
• Asthma
• ADHD
• Alzheimer’s and dementia

Foods High in Omega-3s

• Fish – obviously – Mackerel, Salmon, Cod Liver Oil, Herring, Sardines, Anchovies, Caviar, Trout, Tuna, etc…
• Oysters
• Flax Seeds
• Chia Seeds
• Walnuts
• Soybeans
• Brussels Sprouts
• Kale
• Spinach
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower

The BEST Type of Omega-3 fatty acids

Although many foods are a good source or Omega-3 fatty acids, not all are created equal.

If this is interesting to you, check out more detail about the most important types of Omega-3 fatty acids.

Essentially, the three types of omega-3 fatty acids I see popping up the most often are DHA, EPA, and ALA.

ALA are most often found in plant sources, such as our veggies, nuts, and seeds. These can be converted to the more useful EPA and DHA, but it’s not a very efficient process. Instead, it’s often just used by our bodies as a healthy source of fat and energy.

EPA is an omega-3 fatty acid that can reduce symptoms of depression and help fight inflammation in your body. These are most often found in fish oils and sometimes in grass-fed animal products such as dairy and meat.

DHA is the omega-3 fatty acid where we get most of the benefits we hear about. This one seems to be the powerhouse and what we want to look for. It’s found mainly in fish oil and some algae.

Omega 3 Supplement

Fish oil is the most common way to get that fantastic DHA omega-3 fatty acid, but it’s not the only way. As mentioned above, algae is also a good source of DHA.

Most of us aren’t going to start snacking on algae, but there are supplements for that!

For example, Wiley’s Finest has a vegan omega-3 supplement that is a fish oil alternative. They are full of DHA, EPA, vitamins D3 and K2. Especially if you’re not a fish-eater, this will get you all you need.

Find Wiley’s Finest Catch Free Vegan Omega 3 Softgels on Amazon.

Dark Chocolate Seed Bark

Although we now know AHA omega-3s don’t deliver quite the fantastic benefits of DHA, I’m still all for covering them in chocolate and calling them a healthy treat! I mean, I have yet to find a way to make combine fish and chocolate…

In addition to omega-3s, nuts and seeds like walnuts, flax, hemp, and chia are full of all sorts of other benefits! Not to mention, the benefits of dark chocolate.

So, if we’re going to choose a treat, let’s make it a good one!

This Dark Chocolate Seed Bark satisfies your chocolate craving while delivering a bunch of goodness along with it.

Making Dark Chocolate Seed Bark

This couldn’t be easier!

As many of you know, I’m a much better melter than I am a baker. Therefore, most of the treats you will find here are going to be meltable. It’s just so easy!

There are two ways you can make your Dark Chocolate Seed Bark – and it’s up to you which you like best.

However, the first part of the process is always the same.

First, pour 1 cup of walnuts into the bowl. You can use chopped walnuts or chop them yourself ahead of time. However, I like to just pour them in the bowl and use a big spoon to give them a little crush right then.

Next, add 2 tablespoons of hemp seeds. I have always used Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts.

These, along with flax seeds, are always a must on every salad I make – including this Chicken Alfredo Salad.

Also Read: Hemp Heart Crusted Chicken Nuggets

Then comes 1 tablespoon of flax seeds. I used golden toasted flax seeds from Aldi and have found them to be a little overpowering if I use two tablespoons like the other seeds.

Also Read: The Benefits of Flax

Next, add two tablespoons of chia seeds.

We love these in our Peanut Butter Banana Overnight Oats, but this is my first time doing much else with them. They pack such a nutritional punch, though!

As a little surprise to enhance the chocolate flavor, add a teaspoon of instant coffee or espresso. You obviously can leave this out if you’d like, but it will add juuuust a little kick if you’re looking to use these as an energy boost every now and then.

Last, before mixing everything together and deciding which way you’d like to complete your Dark Chocolate Seed Bark, add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil.

#1 Dark Chocolate Seed Bark Clusters

For someone like myself, who likes to keep things simple, this is my preferred method. Quick and easy!

All you do is mix all your ingredients together at once, including your dark chocolate chips. Pop it all in the microwave and spin for 15-second increments, stirring in between, until the chocolate is melted.

In order to make clusters or drops, you may want to let the mixture cool just a bit to prevent it from spreading out too far when you drop them on your parchment paper.

I also like to use thin and flexible plastic cutting boards for pouring my chocolate because I can move them easily.

Another fantastic idea to make them uniform and easy to grab on the go is to use a mini muffin pan or silicone muffin cups. Just pour it in and let set in the fridge. Then, pop them out and keep them in a container for an easy bite-size treat.

This is the method I’m using when I make them the next time!

#2 Dark Chocolate Seed Bark Bars

This second method was inspired by the Always Eat After 7PM cookbook. After this idea took shape, I remembered a recipe I had wanted to try from the book.

So, I looked back and found their Super Seed recipe (which has a few more ingredients but looks equally delicious). In it they mixed everything but the chocolate and baked it first. Then, spread the chocolate over the top. I love the look of it, but I don’t know if it’s my personal favorite method.

If you want to make Dark Chocolate Seed Bark Bars, mix everything together, except the chocolate, as mentioned above. Then, spread in a very thin layer across a pan. We’re talking, the thinner the better in order to give the chocolate a chance to grab onto all the seeds and not have some on the bottom that flake off.

The absolute BEST pans you’ll ever own! I have way too many, but can’t stop.

Bake the seed mixture in the oven or toaster oven for at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Then, melt your 1 cup of dark chocolate chips, with an optional extra tablespoon of coconut oil for a nice shine, and pour them over the top. At this point, you can also sprinkle a little sea salt on the top.

Transfer the whole thing to the fridge to set. Once it’s set, you can cut into bars or just break into pieces as I did.

Let me know if you try this Dark Chocolate Seed Bark, and don’t forget to check out Wiley’s Finest Catch Free Vegan Omega 3 Softgels on Amazon for all those great benefits we talked about earlier!