Cocoa and Coffee Steak Seasoning | Healthy Valentine’s Day Recipe

As promised I am continuing with this week’s theme of chocolate. Also continuing with this week’s trend, my cravings for chocolate. I have something to admit if you promise not to tell my husband. I cheat. That’s right I’m a cheater. I cheat on our diet by sneaking secret bites of dark chocolate when he’s not looking. Would you like to hear my hiding places? I have a few.

One hiding place that I have is in this tiny drawer in our kitchen that is in a high, awkward place. You can open it but it’s too high to see what’s inside. Right now if you’ll reach in and feel around you’ll find dark chocolate truffles.

My husband and I work together so in the office I keep a little stash. I have a junk drawer that no one looks in and inside underneath a few rubber band balls you’ll find an 82% dark chocolate bar.

I also have a bag of dark chocolate chips in the pantry but the bag it comes in so noisy that he knows what I’m up to when he hears the ruffling of the bag. I think maybe I’ll move them into a Ziploc bag to keep the “fresh”.

I also have a drawer in the closet where I keep a Dagoba New Moon 74% chocolate bar. This is by far the best chocolate I have ever had. Just try it; no chocolate will ever be the same to you again.

A few years ago Dr. Susan Mitchell did a little research and discovered that chocolate is the number one food that women crave. But why? What is it about chocolate? I love cheese but I don’t crave it…

She says that chocolate gives you the ultimate brain experience; it perks you up, makes you feel happy, makes you feel like you are in love, and it just taste plain amazing.

In an effort to add chocolate into my every meal I’ve come up with a great steak recipe that would be great if you are planning a healthy Valentine’s Day meal or an easy meal for any night of the week that packs a punch of flavor.

To make these delectable cocoa steaks I used a large 1.5 pound sirloin steak because they are very lean. This recipe would work on any steak you prefer. Don’t forget, this is our dinner and lunch; I don’t really recommend that you alone eat a 1.5 pound steak in one setting. I sat the steak onto a dry paper towel and patted all the sides down with a paper towel. This will help it to get a lightly crispy crust when grilled.

To prepare the seasoning I combined cocoa, instant coffee granules, and cinnamon in a small bowl. The coffee will help to bring out the richness and the flavors of the chocolate. I sprinkled this onto the dry steak and smoothed it over. Using tongs, I picked the steak up and shook off any extra seasoning (I had a picture of this step but I’ve lost it. If I find it I’ll post it).

This makes enough for a few steaks. If you are careful not to place anything into the seasoning that touched the steak you can save the leftover seasoning in a Ziploc bag for another time.

We grilled our steak on medium for about eight minutes on each side; we like our steaks medium. Be sure to use a meat thermometer to ensure that your steak is cooked to your preference. This turns very brown so you can’t tell by looking how pink the inside is.

When this came off the grill it was the richest color brown. It had a nice crust to it as well. We let our steak set a few minutes before cutting to allow the juices to settle.

The flavor of this steak is amazing. It has a certain richness and depth that you don’t usually find in steaks. You can taste the chocolate and coffee but in a whole new way.  The chocolate also doesn’t overwhelm the natural flavors of the steak either. We really enjoyed making these and having a new way to enjoy our steaks (we live in Texas, we eat a lot of steak).

Do you have a secret love affair with chocolate or another food? I’d love to hear what it is and the lengths you go through to get it and where you hide it. Leave me a comment below and let me know. Hope you have a great week. Looks like we are going to have one with warm weather so I hope to spend mine outside!

Tagged as: cocoa and coffee steak seasoning, cocoa steak, cocoa steak seasoning, Healthy Valentine's Day Recipe, south beach diet phase one recipe, south beach diet valentines recipe