If you’re anything like me you likely were a happy camper plopping yourself in front of the TV watching Smurfs and eating a slice of toast with Nutella. I mean chocolate for breakfast? Hell yes! And as we grew up, the sweet clutches of Nutella still hadn’t escaped us. In fact if we joined the gluten-free movement we’d eat it right out of the jar and the Smurfs soon turned into Orange is the New Black or reruns of Sex in the City. Life is better with chocolate, right? Well if it’s real chocolate sure. So following my appearance on CHCH Morning Live where I made my own healthy version of Nutella, I thought I’d share it with you too.

My DIY Nutella: Why you should just make your own.

Trust me on this.

Nutella: Is it really a nutritious food?

When you factor in that Ferrero USA was forced to pay a class action settlement of $3 million dollars for making the “nutritious food” claim, you’ve got to wonder, is it actually bad for me? The fact remains that the main ingredients are sugar and palm oil. Not to mention, the commercial stuff will blast the hazelnuts at a super high temperature oxidizing the oils that can promote chronic inflammation in the body. Plus the average serving (two tablespoons) only contains about five hazelnuts, a dash of skim milk powder, whey powder and cocoa powder and 5.5 teaspoons of sugar. That’s the equivalent of FIVE OREOS. Still think it’s a nutritious option for you or your kiddos? Think again. I know the thought of making your own seems like one big primo pain in the hoo ha, but it’s actually pretty easy, tastier and downright healthier. Here’s how:

Chocolate Hazelnut Spread Recipe

2 cups raw hazelnuts (240g)

1 1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup pure maple syrup (or 2 tsp stevia if you want to go sugar free)

1/4 tsp sea salt

2 tsp Acropolis Organic Olive oil

1/2 cup nut milk of your choice

Preheat your oven to 350.

Place hazelnuts into the oven at 10mins and remove them immediately to prevent them from burning. The skin will be cracking and to remove it, you’ll need paper towel to rub the skins right off of it. If some of the skins are still sticking on, don’t worry, it’s not a make or break situation! Process the ingredients in a blender and I love my Oster Versa (which I’ve switched to instead of the Vitamix). I believe everyone should have a blender in their kitchen and now with the Oster Versa you can get all the perks of a high performance blender at a fraction of the cost of a Vitamix. And trust me this blender still has a ton of power – I’ve tested it! Finally nutrition made affordable. In the meantime, process until somewhat smooth like nut butter. Add the remaining ingredients and pour into an airtight jar. I generally use mine as a spread for fruit or a topping for other desserts.

When you remove high sugar foods and processed crap, you automatically add less stress on the body, because seriously, who needs more stress in their world, right?

So in the meantime, curl up on your couch, turn on a rerun or two of Sex in the City, heck even watch the Smurfs and bust out that homemade Nutella because life truly is better with chocolate.