Chocolate - Articles - Zimbio

Chocolate- The New Diet Food.

Fri, 19 Jul 2008 16:41:52 GMT

posted by pg8595

Chocolate on a Diet?

MMMmmm Wouldn’t it be great if that was the case? I mean who DOESN’T love rich smooth creamy gourmet chocolates! Delectable, delicious, dreamy, melt in your mouth chocolate. (forgive that spot of drool!)

Seriously, a friend sent me some samples of a new chocolate product that is processed with cold-press technology to retain all of the good polyphnols and catechins (antioxidants a.k.a. good for you stuff) and then they keep out all the bad for you fillers like wax and refined sugars and oils, but add in fruit extracts for sweetening and to boost nutritional value! WOW (and the added benefit of possibly helping you LOSE WEIGHT!)

So yesterday I did a TON of research on chocolate! I spent most of my internet time on medical sites and confection sites reading a whole bunch of jargon around the ‘good for you’ parts of chocolate and I made some very surprising discoveries! Let me share them with you before I share the product (but if you can’t wait you can click on that picture)

First of all there is a REASON why we feel so good when we eat chocolate. There is also a reason why we crave carbs when depressed, and gain weight when we quit smoking! It all has to do with feel good chemicals in the brain… i.e. serotonin. Serotonin is almost always lacking in people who have depression. And serotonin is released or more easily utilized by certain foods, nicotine and you guessed it, CHOCOLATE!

Chocolate is also packed full of antioxidants called polyphenols. In fact Chocolate is a more powerful as an antioxidant than green tea and red wine. What makes it so bad for us is the way it is processed. The chocolate we buy in the store has things like wax, sugar, sugar, sugar, (>:-)) milk solids, and is heated in a process called Dutch Processing which kills a lot of the good stuff.

Eat Chocolate Daily and Lose Weight!

Hey these guys actually RECOMMEND that you eat a minimum of 3 pieces of chocolate every day! This chocolate is processed by cold pressing so it has a HUGE antioxidant score. It also has added Acai berry to boost the nutrients (Acai has been recommended by Oprah as a superfood!). It is sweetened with pure cane sugar.

Raw cane juice crystals are made by extracting the juice from the sugar cane, adding water, and heating it. Once the juice is reduced to syrup it is dehydrated and crystallized. Sugar in any form raises blood glucose levels, but unlike refined white sugar, raw cane juice crystals do not cause an immediate, rapid rise in insulin levels. Xoçai™ nuggets have 3g of raw cane juice crystals and a glycemic index of seven. This is very good news. Insulin release helps pack on the pounds.

It is also delightfully rich and good tasting. You won’t want to eat to much because it is rich. I found it nearly ELIMINATED my cravings, and increased my energy.

So now we can all eat chocolate every day, that’s real, rich, mouth-watering, dreamy dark gourmet chocolate 3 times a day or more, and know that we are contributing to our overall goal of health and vitality.

This program just got interesting!

Many Blessings

Shelley

Check out ChocolateDaily.com to read more, and get your healthy chocolate fix. There’s also a way to earn money by showing other people how to get healthy chocolate for themselves, and you get to order at wholesale prices as a member, so if that tickles your fancy, go ahead and join up. Think about earning a living from home by getting healthy chocolate into people’s hands! YUMMY If you ever dreamed about a home business, this would be a sweet way to earn some extra money!

Shopping Online Just Got Delicious!

Wed, 27 Mar 2008 22:53:00 GMT

posted by sandralee
Gourmet Foods ~ OH BOY! Gourmet Goodies. You should never go shopping on this site when you're HUNGRY! I just wanted to see if they had anything like goat cheese. So, I typed in "goat" in their search box and I got 86 different kinds of goat cheeses. They also have a "Build Your Own Gift Basket" system. Here are my choices, the cheese, the champagne AND the chocolate. This company, Igourmet, is in the state of PA, which is why the shipping is so expensive to CA:

Goat Camembert
$10. [shipping to CA $11.50]

This extra creamy goat's milk cheese from France is satiny-smooth with a firm, slightly chewy, edible white crust. Its flavor is all goat - tangy and rustic with hints of lemon and hay. Flown in exclusively every other week, this item is a true delicacy.

Gloria Ferrer Royal Cuvee Brut Carneros 1997
$28. [shipping to CA $14.50]

In 1982, the Ferrer family, proprietors of the world's largest producer of sparkling wine, Freixenet U.S.A., purchased 250 acres of land in Sonoma's Carneros wine district where they planted vineyards with the traditional sparkling wine grapes of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Since then, it has produced some of the world's most honored and acclaimed sparkling wines, winning over 100 gold medals in the last five years.
Tasting notes:

A wine with an intriguing duality, the 1997 Royal Cuvée strikes a balance between high-toned fruit flavors and complex elements realized from seven years of yeast aging. In the bouquet one finds tangerine, slate and citrus blossom, all held together by a distinct toast aroma. On the palate, a cascade of fine bubbles ushers Asian pear, red cherry and toffee flavors through a long finish.

Scharffen Berger Natural Cocoa Powder

6 oz. $10.

Unsweetened Scharffen Berger Natural Cocoa Powder has all the flavor of rich, dark chocolate. Nothing is added to this exceptional cocoa - no milk or alkali (the chemical in Dutch processed cocoa). With the same attention to detail used in crafting their pure dark chocolate, Scharffen Berger hand select ripe, well fermented cacao beans from tropical regions around the equator, which are blended, ground and pressed. This natural cocoa powder mixes deliciously with milk for hot or cold cocoa and gives depth and clean chocolate flavor to baked goods.
Scharffen Berger Natural Cocoa Powder - Unsweetened

Single-Origin Chocolate Reviews

Thu, 9 May 2008 03:48:00 GMT

posted by rebeccal
Mother’s Day “week”, the last few days before mommy’s most hallowed day, are typically a time of fret and worry for me.

I have always yearned to have children, but as life unfolded they didn't arrive until my mid-thirties. (At just the right time, with the perfect partner for me, as it turns out.) And so their mere existence should be gift enough, right? But like the little girl who always dreamed of a Barbie-esque white fluffy wedding only to grow up to become Bridezilla, Mother’s Day brings out some emotionally-charged, well, expectations, that I try ever so hard to quash. My husband is a giver by nature, my kids are beyond fantastic, requisite brunch reservations are arranged, so I should need nothing more than a handmade card. Which, by the way, I know I’m getting because I already saw what little Joseph made in nursery school and it’s nothing short of perfection!

Nonetheless, my husband Joseph has made a kind offering to soothe and appease, in the form of two single-origin dark chocolate bars. One is Santander’s 70% cacao Colombian, and the other is Chuao’s 74%, made in Todasana, Venezuela. Interestingly, they both have natural vanilla added; I wonder if that has anything to do with being single-origin. Perhaps, without a blend of crops, a flavor boost was needed.

The Santander 70% Colombian smells mellow and rich, and has nice snap. It was fresh-looking in the package without bloom. The company promises a “robust” flavor, even suggesting it will be “bitter” at first, and it’s true, my first impression was that it seemed nutty and even masculine, like tobacco or strong coffee, but without being overly bold. Overall, this is an energetic bar, and remains rich at the finish. The Santander company proudly states on its website that they pay fair prices and cash payments to growers, maintain good working conditions for personnel, promote sustainable and friendly agricultural practices, and sponsor Colombian educational programs.
T
he Chuao 74% smells sweet and fruity, and is configured in smaller squares, which I prefer. It has a good snap. My bar had only the slightest bloom, which of course does not affect flavor. If I am allowed to consider the Santander masculine, this most certainly is it’s female counterpart, evoking a lazy, breezy, tropical afternoon. Although this dark chocolate has 4% more cacao than the Santander and only 1% more sugar, the finish seemed much sweeter.In many ways, the Chuao is “local” to me. The company was founded by two Venezuelan brothers who opened their first chocolate boutique in San Diego (where I lived for 8 years), naming it Chuao Chocolatier after the well-known cacao-producing region of Chuao located in central Venezuela.
Food Fact! Need coaxing to trade in chocolate-flavored candy bars for real dark chocolate? You already know candy bars are empty nutritional calories, contain high levels of refined sugars and often less than 10% actual chocolate, doing little more than rotting your teeth. But, consider that cocoa is rich in antioxidant flavonoids called flavanols; Studies have shown that people with high blood levels of flavonoids have lower risk of lung cancer, prostate cancer, asthma, and type-2 diabetes.

Consumer Reports’ Top Hot Chocolates

Wed, 15 Nov 2007 04:14:28 GMT

posted by fatfighter

Ahh, nothing makes me feel as warm on a cold night - or day - than a comforting mug of hot chocolate. It’s definitely something I stock in my pantry this time of year. So, naturally I was curious when I found out Consumer Reports (CR) just rated ten popular ones.

Sensory panelists tasted 10 cocoas prepared according to the directions on the package. They rated two brands as excellent: Ghirardelli and Cacao Reserve. The panelists note both are more expensive than many, and the Ghirardelli cocoas have more calories when prepared with milk, as is recommended.

The panelists also found when they made the Cacao Reserve with milk instead of water, it made the flavor more “milk-chocolaty.” And in the lower-rated brands, adding milk added flavor and “covered some defects” like the thin consistency the panelists noticed.

The complete ratings (per 6 or 8 ounce serving) include the cost and calories of the cocoa mix plus any extras called for in the recipes, e.g. milk and sugar. Here’s the list in order of overall quality:

EXCELLENT: Full, rich, thick, flavorful, chocolaty, with a big dairy flavor

Ghirardelli Double Chocolate: 262 calories, 6.3 grams of fat, 63-cents
Cacao Reserve Mayan Blend by Hershey’s: 140 calories, 2 grams of fat, 53-cents

VERY GOOD: Swiss Miss more chocolaty, Hershey’s more milky

Swiss Miss Dark Chocolate Sensation (CR Best Buy): 150 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 28-cents
Hershey’s Cocoa (CR Best Buy): 159 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 33-cents

GOOD: Some thin, mild, or oily; some reddish. Marshmallows or whipped cream would help

Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate: 120 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 22-cents
Land O’Lakes Cocoa Classics Supreme: 140 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 64-cents
Droste Holland Cocoa: 185 calories, 6.8 grams of fat, 60-cents
Hershey’s Good Night Kisses Milk Chocolate: 150 calories, 3 grams of fat, 49-cents
Nestle Rich Chocolate: 80 calories, 3 grams of fat, 26-cents
Nestle Milk Chocolate: 80 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 24-cents

The bottom line from Consumer Reports: “You can’t go wrong with the excellent Ghirardelli or Cacao Reserve. Two very good, less-expensive alternatives are Swiss Miss Dark Chocolate Sensation and Hershey’s Cocoa.”

Okay, so I have to admit - my usual hot chocolate of choice is near the bottom of this ratings barrel and I feel like I’m missing out on some delicious cocoa. The trade-off - I am saving myself some calories. But is the temptation of tastier hot chocolate worth it? Maybe… in moderation, of course.

The Bitter Truth About Valentine's Day Chocolate

Tue, 7 Mar 2007 18:08:39 GMT

posted by Jenboro

The Bitter Truth About Valentine's Day Chocolate

In this era where organic foods, environmentally friendly products and sweatshop-free clothing are trendy, why not consider fair trade chocolates for your valentines day gift?

Chocolate that is sold in the US is still being made with cocoa beans harvested by children in Africa working in unsafe conditions, while the average consumer has no idea this is going on. The truth behind chocolate is not-so-sweet. The Ivory Coast is the world's largest cocoa producer, providing 43% of the world's cocoa. And yet, in 2001 the U.S. State Department reported child slavery on many cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast. A 2002 report from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture about cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast and other African countries estimated there were 284,000 children working on cocoa farms in hazardous conditions.

These stats came from Global Exchange, a group that offers fair trade chocolates through their store. Give them a try!