Making up with chocolate can benefit not only your taste buds, but also your health

Whether your preference is creamy white, delicious milk, dense dark, or one packed with bits of your favourite biscuit bar, there's no doubt chocolate is still a popular choice.

The cacao-rich treat features in so many products today — from a simple tablet or block, to decadent desserts, mousse, yoghurt and even an addition in many savoury dishes.

Kids will love making this Nutella-inspired, fruit pizza.

No cooking required, simply spread your ingredients on a ready-cooked pizza base or flat bread.

Get the kids to slice the fruit and they'll be more inclined to eat something they feel they made themselves.

It's good for you

Chocolate is especially rich in flavanols like epicatechin and catechin, as well as anthocyanins and phenolic acids.

All of these compounds help protect your cells from inflammation, improve your brain function, and boost your immune and cardiovascular health.

Dark chocolate is especially good for you and can improve cardiovascular support.

With its health-boosting compounds and micronutrients, you should consider letting dark chocolate into your life.

The higher the cocoa content, the more beneficial flavonols the chocolate contains. Most of the benefits seen in research are associated with chocolate that has at least a 70% cacao content.

Don't make chocolate your guilty pleasure

A recent study showed that women who associated eating chocolate cake with celebration had more successful weight maintenance, while those who associated it with guilt were likely to encounter a number of problems, including:

1. Less success at long- and short-term weight maintenance
2. Feelings of helplessness and loss of control
3. Unhealthy eating behaviours

So go ahead, lose the guilt and reach for the dark chocolate.