One of the many ways in which chocolate can be included in our weekly beauty regimen is through freshly made chocolate face and body masks.

“Home-made chocolate face masks make your skin feel very fresh, they tone the skin, help you maintain naturally glowing skin and also help in anti-ageing and skin brightening. Chocolate also works as a good moisturiser since it is rich in vitamins, iron, and calcium, and full of antioxidants. It leaves the skin feeling very smooth and soft. If you add oil into your chocolate masks or emollients, that lends a nice sheen to your body. To add to this, you could follow up the use of the face mask with a body butter of your choice to hydrate the skin. Banana contains a lot of magnesium, potassium and manganese, so in a chocolate-and-banana face mask, these minerals, together with the beneficial properties of chocolate, help prevent skin cell damage and repair damaged cell. Caffeine helps combat cellulite on your body or your thighs, and adding warm water to the mask soothes the skin. Chocolate-and-coffee masks, too, are a great choice for nourishing your skin, all the more because they give additional protection against free radicals,” said beauty expert Bridgette Jones, who shared two chocolate-based skincare packs that you can add to your beauty routine.

Chocolate and banana face mask

Ingredients:

• Raw cacao powder, 2tsp

• Yoghurt, 1tsp

• Honey, 1tsp

• Banana, 1 (fresh)

Method:

• Mash the banana and to that add the cacao powder, along with yoghurt and honey. Mix it well together into a paste and apply all over the face and neck, leaving it on for 10 to 20 minutes. Rinse it off with warm water.

• This mask can be used two to three times a week. Store the leftover mask in the fridge to preserve its natural properties.

Chocolate and coffee body mask

Ingredients:

• Unsweetened cacao powder, 8tsp

• Finely ground espresso coffee, 8tsp

• Fresh cream or yoghurt or almond milk or coconut milk (as per your choice), 8tsp

• Honey (for dry skin), 2 tsp or lemon juice (for oily skin), 4tsp

• A cup of warm water

Method:

Take all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix before adding fresh cream/yoghurt/almond milk/coconut milk to it. Then stir in the honey or lemon juice along with a cup of warm water to make a smooth paste. Gently apply this pack to your cleansed face and body and allow it to dry and then rinse it off and shower with warm water. This mask can be used once a week.

What about chocolate in beer? The unusual but not unheard of combination comes with the mild bitterness of the beer and dense notes of chocolate. Try this chocolatey spin on the classic Mexican Michelada, with a tangy edge of orange and spicy notes of cinnamon.

Chocolade, by Sloshed by Spice Kraft

Ingredients:

• Chilled lager beer, 330ml

• Chocolate syrup, 30ml

• Orange juice, 30ml

• Heavy cream, 100ml

• Cinnamon powder, 2g

• Ice cubes, 10-12

• Cherry (optional)

Method:

• Take a bowl and beat the heavy cream in. Whisk for 15 minutes, till the cream doubles in size and gets soft peaks.

• Transfer the whipped cream to a glass bowl and refrigerate immediately. The whipped cream can be stored for weeks for later use.

• Take a tall glass, preferably a Pilsner, and fill it with ice cubes. Make enough room for pouring in the beer and other ingredients and put some ice cubes.

• Pour in the chocolate syrup, followed by orange juice, before pouring in half the quantity of cinnamon powder. Mix well.

• Pour the chilled beer into this mix and stir.

• Bring out the bowl of cold whipped cream and gently add a dollop on top and dust the remaining half of the cinnamon powder over the floating whipped cream.

• You could garnish it with a cherry on top too. Serve chilled.

Chilli-chocolate dip, by The Salt House

Ingredients:

•Couverture chocolate, 2tsp

• Butter, 1tsp

• Maple syrup, 1tsp

• Sugar, 3tsp

• Heavy cream or condensed milk, ½ cup

• Chilli, 1tsp

• Cornflour (optional), 1tsp

Method:

• Melt butter and whisk in the chocolate and chilli before adding the maple syrup, sugar, and heavy cream or condensed milk.

• Let the cream or milk come to a boil and add water if you want a thinner consistency, or a teaspoon of cornflour if you would like it thicker.

• Turn off the gas once the consistency is up to a boil.

Cinnamon & Sea Salt Mocha, by Potboiler Coffee House

Ingredients:

• Espresso (made using medium to medium-dark roasted coffee) or home-brewed coffee, 1 shot

• A pinch of salt and cinnamon

• Steamed milk, 180ml

• Grated dark chocolate, 1tsp

• Chocolate ganache, 1tsp

Method:

• Mix a pinch of cinnamon and salt with grated chocolate and dark chocolate ganache, before adding a shot of espresso to it. Mix again.

• Pour steamed milk on top of this mixture and finish with basic latte art. Serve hot.

For those interested in a pre- or post-workout chocolate snack, a dark chocolate and hazelnut spread on bread goes a long way in helping you stick to your healthy plan but with a sinful twist.

“There’s a thing called Orac — oxygen radical absorbance capacity — based on which we say whether a particular food is high on antioxidants or not. For dark chocolate, the Orac value is on the higher side because they have antioxidants and they have polyphenols and flavanols. Post-workout, you have something called oxidative stress because you have so much of high energy, there are more free radicals circulating in your blood stream. So, if you have dark chocolate after workout, the antioxidants will neutralise the free radicals and save your body from oxidative damage. Although while working out, people are producing energy and burning calories, there’s a bit of rusting happening in the body, so antioxidants from dark chocolate can neutralise this effect. Dark chocolate can be consumed pre-workout also, since it also gives calories and boosts your energy. So, it can be consumed both before and after workout. Most nuts are rich in protein, so say if you have 30g of hazelnut, it will give you around 6g of protein. Hazelnut is very rich in vitamin E, which in its own is a powerful antioxidant; has a role in anti-ageing, protects against cancer, helps in regeneration of skin, and is also quite good for the skin health,” said nutritionist, Hena Nafis.