Part two of  this series brings more facts about dark chocolate and cocoa being good for your skin whether you eat it, drink it or put it on your skin.  Who knew?  The recipes are for the outside…

Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate and unsweetened cocoa powder contain over 300 naturally occurring chemical substances that have been identified thus far.  Some of the most prevalent substances are magnesium, antioxidants, methylxanthines, phenylethylamine (PEA), anandamide, polyphenols, serotonin, tryptophan, tyramine, vitamin C and Theobromine.  Chocolate is rich in sources of your daily vitamins and minerals.  A 100 gram dark chocolate bar provides a great deal of the mineral requirements you should receive on a daily basis: Calcium 13 percent, Copper 13 percent, Iron 20 percent, Magnesium 33 percent, Phosphorus 30 percent, Potassium 27 percent.

Cocoa is also the highest natural source for Magnesium.  Magnesium is the superstar of dark chocolate and a very important mineral.  It limits the the effects of free radical damage to the skin and alleviates dry skin conditions.

Smelling Chocolate

Simply smelling dark chocolate or cocoa can make you healthier as it boosts your mood and improves your immune system.  A healthy immune system means that your entire body is radiant with health – including your skin. Don’t forget – your skin is the largest organ in your body.  What you put in it and on it reflects what you see and what you cannot see.

Over the past few years, studies have found that the flavonoids in food are beneficial for our health.  According to the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, a flavonoid is “naturally-occurring compounds found in plant foods that are recognized for conveying certain health benefits.”  There are over 4,000 known different flavonoid compounds which are part of a larger class called polyphenols.  One of the most famous flavonoid foods is chocolate.  Antioxidants neutralize free radicals in our bodies that cause cellular damage and protect our bodies from further damages from environmental toxins.  This damage comes from such contaminants as breathing environmental pollution, consuming food that has been compromised by pesticides and a variety of other outside and inside stresses on our body.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has compiled a list of the highest antioxidant foods available to us.  The number of antioxidants present in foods is measured by ORAC units.  ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity.  The higher the concentration of ORAC units, the more antioxidants present.  The more antioxidants present the more free radicals that can be removed from our bodies.  The ORAC list has dark chocolate above all other foods for antioxidant capacity.  For 100 grams, dark chocolate has 13.120 ORAC units!  That puts dark chocolate and cocoa at the very top of the ORAC list.

ORAC Scale

Cocoa Nibs

Topical use of dark chocolate and cocoa helps to detoxify the pores of the skin and to firm and tone.   Dark chocolate and cocoa contain glycerides which deliver moisturizing lipids and fats which plump out wrinkles.
The rich cocoa butter component in chocolate moisturizes, softens and smooths the skin.  Smooth skin feels nice. Dark chocolate and cocoa helps reduce free radicals.  Also known as wrinkle-causing molecules!   Free radicals are bad.  Wrinkles are bad.  Eat up! The scent of chocolate, whether found in dark chocolate, milk chocolate, cocoa, cocoa nibs or cocoa absolute (Theobroma cacao essential oil) stimulates ‘happy feeling’ endorphins which  promote a sense of well being.  A terrific sense of well being cuts down on tense facial expressions causing wrinkles in those areas, especially that place right between your eyes.

Unsweetened Cocoa Powders

Antioxidant polyphenols are great in promoting healthy aging and to aid in our defense against oxidative stress.  These polyphenols are present in dark chocolate.  In a study conducted by Andrew Waterhouse, he found that the darker the chocolate, the more polyphenols present.  The conclusion to his studies concluded that the darker, purer chocolates contain the most stearic acid and provide the most health benefits.  Healthy aging equals healthy, fabulous looking skin.

Recently, the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology  reported that eating flavanol-rich chocolate may help protect the skin from the damaging effects of UV light. Studies have shown how eating healthy dark chocolate could help protect your skin against sunburn and skin cancer. Antioxidants found in dark chocolate and cocoa can help to combat cancer and slow down the aging process which is why they are such an essential part of our diet.

Chocolate Facial Fondue

Ingredients:
1/4 cup Cocoa Powder, unsweetened
1/8 cup Coconut Milk, unsweetened
1 teaspoon of Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Green Tea Leaves,  finely ground

Directions:
Whisk all ingredients together thoroughly. Apply a thin layer to the skin with a facial brush and let set for 20 minutes. Rinse well with warm water.  Pay dry and follow generously with moisturizer.

Chocolate Facial

Cocoa Bath Soak

To soften your skin and restore its pH balance.

Ingredients:
½ cup Baking Soda
¼ cup Cocoa Powder, unsweetened

Directions:
Combine all the ingredients until light brown in color.
Pour the entire mixture into the bathwater and soak for at least 30 minutes.  Release tension and soften your skin.  Make sure you rinse with warm water when you are finished.  You don’t want to walk around all sticky.

Cocoa Bath at The Hershey Hotel and Spa

Treat your skin with some chocolate or cocoa today!

Annmarie Kostyk

There are many fallacies facing the cocoa pod and it’s sinfully delicious off-springs.  Cocoa powder, unsweetened, is exceptionally good for you.  Chocolate, if the cocoa content is at least 70%, is a super food.  Not only that, the cocoa nibs (also called cacao nibs, chocolate nibs or the heart) were once considered a throw away by-product from chocolate making.  They are the broken cocoa bean particles remaining after the beans have been roasted, winnowed and cracked.  They, too, join the rank of foods with high antioxidant properties.

What does all this have to do with your skin?  Well, chocolate is good for your skin too.  Not only does it possess tremendous benefits if you eat it, scientific studies have also found that using pure chocolate and pure chocolate by-products on your skin in the forms of treatments also offers surprising benefits!

Dark chocolate has plenty of antioxidants present in it.  It is an antioxidant powerhouse!  Antioxidants reduce our risk of both degenerative diseases and cancer.   The large amount of these antioxidants is due to the purity of cocoa and dark chocolate. These compounds found in chocolate and cocoa are found in plants that promote healthy cellular tissue throughout the body.  They are known as flavonoids.  Dr. Carl Keen, a professor of nutrition and internal medicine at the University of California Davis says that “The concentration [of flavonoids in chocolate and cocoa] greatly exceeds what you’ll find in most fruits and vegetables.”  Pure cocoa powder (with no sugar) has twice the amount of flavonols than dark chocolate and dark chocolate has twice the flavonols of milk chocolate.  Antioxidants work with the skin to diffuse damage caused by both internal and external factors such as sun damage, pollution and smoking.  Antioxidants also help to protect skin from future damaged.

Eating dark chocolate and cocoa protects your skin with  natural defenses by maintaining collagen and reducing sun damage which normally leads to pre-mature aging of the skin.  It also improves skin texture, and increases skin thickness, density and hydration.

Dark chocolate and cocoa also contains epicatechin which is a natural antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant. That means the epicatechin helps to guard cells from free radical damage which causes skin to age.

Chocolate Honey Face Scrub

(Increases circulation and softens dry skin. Not suitable for oily skin.)

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons cocoa powder, unsweetened
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon raw turbinado sugar
1 teaspoon grapeseed oil, sweet almond oil, macadamia nut oil, olive oil or sesame oil

Directions:
Combine all the ingredients until it forms a paste. Gently apply to freshly washed skin and lightly massage with your finger tips for 30 seconds.

Rinse with warm water and you are left with soft, detoxified skin that smells wonderful and looks smooth and silky. Follow with your favorite moisturizer.

Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

There’s a old wives tale that chocolate is high in caffeine, especially dark chocolate. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. The amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee is over ten times that of one ounce of dark chocolate. All types of chocolate are far below most all foods that contain caffeine. Scientists have recently begun arguing that there may be no caffeine present in chocolate at all. There are two separate by similar alkaloids that are causing this confusion. They are caffeine and Theobromine. Theobromine is the active ingredient in chocolate, occurring only in the cacao and no where else. Caffeine and Theobromine are both stimulants and are similar in structure, but are two different natural chemicals.

In 1999, a study was conducted by The Biochemist and printed in their April/May issue. They conducted a chemical composition test to define the difference between caffeine and Theobromine in chocolate. They found up to 1.3 percent by weight of Theobromine in the chocolate. They also found other naturally occurring chemicals such as phenylethylamine, tele-methylhistamine, and serotonin, but they could not find any caffeine at all. According to the 12^th edition of the Merck Index, the small amount of caffeine present is in the hulls of the cacao seeds. These of which are disposed of and not used in chocolate making, which may account for the amount of caffeine that people think is in chocolate. The little energy lift that you get from chocolate comes from the Theobromine.

Pharmacologically Active Ingredients

Neurotransmitters:
Serotonin 0.62 – 5.82 % by weight
Histamine 0.04 – 0.13 % by weight

Methylxanthines:
Theobromine <1.3 % by weight
Caffeine not detected

Tetrahydroisoquinolines:
Salsolinol High
Methyltetrahydroisoquinoline <0.01

Amines:
Phenylethylamine 0.02 – 2.20 %by weight
Tele-methylhistamine 0.01 – 1.54 % by weight
Spermidine 0.05 – 1.15 % by weight
p-tyramine 0.02 – 0.35 % by weight
3-methyloxytyramine 0.02 – 0.33 % by weight
Tryptamine 0.03 – 0.18 % by weight
Spermine 0.00 – 0.13 % by weight

(Source: Biochemist, Apr/May 1993, p 15. Copyright of Royal Society of Chemistry 2000)

Until this is confirmed further, consider the following list which contains a comparison of common dietary foods and over the counter drugs containing caffeine and that of the caffeine found in various forms of chocolate. Keep in mind that the amount of caffeine in chocolate is most probably present until the beans are roasted and then the hulls fall off along with the caffeine. If you have cocoa nibs or coffee bits added to the chocolate, that is another story. There will be caffeine in the chocolate.

You can see by comparing various items on the following chart that all varieties of chocolate come in at a very low rate of caffeine in comparison to the others items. Even most sodas contain five times the amount of caffeine. If you are sensitive to caffeine, wait until more results are in to decide. Healthy people – go ahead and eat up! Caffeine should not let you stand in the way of eating your chocolate! There is hardly any, if any, caffeine in chocolate.

Caffeine Content of Food and Drugs

8 oz Coffee 135 mg
8 oz Decaffeinated Coffee 5 mg
8 oz Tea 50 mg
8 oz Green Tea 30 mg
12 oz Mountain Dew 55.5 mg
12 oz Coke 46.5 mg
12 oz Dr. Pepper 42 mg
12 oz Sunkist Orange 42 mg
12 oz Pepsi 37.5 mg
1 oz Dark Chocolate 10 mg
1 oz Milk Chocolate 5 mg
1 oz White Chocolate 0 mg

(National Coffee Association, the National Soft Drink Association, the Tea Council of the USA and information provided by food, beverage and pharmaceutical companies and J.J. Barone, H.R. Roberts (1996) “Caffeine Consumption.” Food Chemistry and Toxicology, vol. 34, pp.119-129)

People think I’m nuts when I tell them that they have to try this recipe.  Prunes get such a bad rap.  They are so tasty and good for you.  Everyone should eat more and use them in both cooking and baking more frequently.  This bar cookie is very similar to date bars, in fact, if you can’t get over the use of prunes you can substitute dates for the prunes.  Do me a favor though.  Try it with the prunes first.  Perhaps I should have said they were Dark Chocolate Dired Plum Bars? I want you to be open to new things.  Give them a try.  You’ll love them.  They are especially decadent and rich served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Trust me on this!

Dark Chocolate Prune Bars

Serves 18

Ingredients:

For the Prune Filling:
1 cup pitted prunes, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cognac or bourbon

For the Almond Oat Streusel Mixture:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted and chopped
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup unsalted butter, very soft, plus more for the pan

For the Chocolate Ganache:
½ cup heavy cream
¼ cup Golden Syrup (see recipe below-do not substitute corn syrup)
4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 9-inch square pan with foil, leaving an overhang on the ends for easy removal. Butter the bottom and sides of foil.
In a small bowl, toss the chopped prunes with the cognac or bourbon. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, almonds, salt, and cinnamon with your fingers until no lumps of brown sugar remain. Add the butter to the bowl. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour mixture until clumps form when the mixture is pressed together.
Press 2 cups of the streusel mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Turn off the heat. Add the Golden Syrup and the chocolate. Let stand one minute; stir until smooth. Stir in the vanilla extract.
Sprinkle the prune pieces evenly over the hot crust, adding any remaining cognac to the ganache. Drizzle the chocolate ganache over the prunes, as evenly as possible. Sprinkle the remaining streusel on top. Bake for 20-22 minutes, until the edges and top are golden. Cool bars in pan set over a wire rack. Lift the edges of the foil to remove bars from pan. Slide bars from foil to a cutting board.

Dark Chocolate Prune Bars

Golden Syrup

Ingredients:
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon water
1/3 cup light corn syrup

Directions:
Put sugar in a small heavy pan and shake pan so the sugar is in an even layer. Sprinkle it with vinegar and water. Cook over low heat, without stirring, for 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium and cook until syrup has taken on a light caramel color, 5 to 6 minutes. Immediately remove from heat and pour in the corn syrup. DO NOT STIR, but let it bubble for 2 to 3 minutes. When the bubbling stops, stir well. Pour into sealed container. It can be stored at room temperature for several months.

Golden Syrup

If you used to smoke or are still smoking, studies show eating cocoa and dark chocolate can help fix the damage smoking has done to your body. Everyone now knows that smoking is bad for them and hopefully you have quit.  For those of you that have not, researchers at Heinrich-Heine-University conducted a study that suggests that cocoa may increase the cardiovascular health of smokers.  Break out those dark chocolate bars and make some hot chocolate!  Although they are not telling anyone to continue smoking or to start, this is great news for those of you that have stopped smoking.  One dozen smokers both men and women in their early thirties participated in the study and they had no known health problems.   The study compared a cocoa beverage that tasted and looked the same, but one was high in flavonols and one was low in flavonols.  The smokers’ level of circulating nitric acid was measured before drinking the cocoa beverage and then two hours after consuming the cocoa beverage.  Each participant drank both drinks during different testing sessions.  The result was the high level of flavonols beverage showed a significant increase in the amount of circulating nitric oxide.  Although the study was conducted on smokers, Dr. Christian Heiss, who was also part of the study, shows agreement with others studies indicating the potential benefits from flavonols rich foods such as chocolate and cocoa in the diet for one’s cardiovascular health.

Heart magazine also conducted a research study with smokers.  They found that dark chocolate with 74 percent cocoa solids slows down the hardening of the arteries in smokers and could cut the risk of serious heart disease in twenty male smokers.  The participants were first asked to abstain from other foods rich in antioxidants for twenty-four hours prior to the study.  They were then given 2 ounces of 74 percent dark chocolate to consume.  After two hours had passed, ultrasound scans showed that the dark chocolate significantly improved the participant’s arterial blood flow.   This increase lasted for eight hours.  Blood samples that were taken from the participants also showed halved platelet activity and their antioxidant levels rose sharply after two hours of consumption.  The white chocolate they were given in a different segment of the study showed no effect on platelets or antioxidant levels in the bloodstream.  The researchers concluded that dark chocolate has more antioxidants than any other foods possessing the same chemicals and “Only a small daily treat of dark chocolate may substantially increase the amounts of antioxidant intake and beneficially affect vascular health.”  Well said.  As I always say, there’s too much evidence that dark chocolate and cocoa are a healthy part of your diet not to eat them!

Cocoa Pods and Cocoa Beans

Everything happens for a reason.  I was trying to figure out what to post today.  I have an inbox with ideas and recipes just waiting to be talked about.  A twist of fate, or perhaps a very tired mind, lead to the post today.  I was making my lunch of a grilled turkey and garbanzo burger with a side of grilled vegetable and quinoa salad for lunch.  Well, my timer went off and I thought it odd that the pot was still full of water.  Did I forget to turn on the gas?  It has happened.  Well, it turns out buying in the bulk section of Whole Foods has its drawbacks.  Especially when you use a cup of sesame seeds instead of quinoa! So only the burger and veggies for lunch.

What to do with a cup of boiled sesame seeds?  Well, there is a recipe in the Whole Foods cookbook that I mixed together with a recipe I saw on Zoom (PBS) in the 70s and came up with something I call “Protein Truffles”.  I started making them about 5 years ago and there are not only a great lifesaver, but they are good for you, tasty and keep you going.  The recipe is to follow, but keep in mind that I have never created the same version twice!  The recipe below is what I made today along with some suggestions and substitutions.

First, about chocolate, sports, weight and endurance.  Dark chocolate (70% cocoa content or higher) and cocoa possess huge health benefits.  People always ask me how I can write about chocolate, be in shape and still weigh 120 pounds.  You are not only what you eat, but how much you eat.  I do eat 2 ounces of dark chocolate every single day – missing only if I have run out of my stash.  Then I try for cocoa in something – it’s either hot cocoa or I use it in a savory dish.  How can I stay trim and eat like this?  Well, I don’t eat all of the fabulous baked goods that I share with you constantly.  Baked goods are meant to be enjoyed, not eaten everyday.  There are lots of empty calories in baked goods, not to mention unrefined sugar and simple carbs.  A sweet treat twice a week works for me.  The other thing?  You have to move!  You need to eat a clean diet.  I have a rule.  If  the food is in a package and I either cannot pronouce an ingredient or it has more than 6 ingredients, I try not to eat it.  I eat though!  I love to eat.  I eat at least 2,200 calories everyday.  You need to get some exercise daily which brings me to athletes eating chocolate.

Chocolate bars, including chocolate candy, have been used by endurance athletes we’ve seen recently on the news.  They have been part of the food stuffs of rower Katy Spotz’s trip across the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Oceans, sailor Abby Sunderland circumnavigating the globe and those making the ultimate endurance test by climbing Mount Everest.  A little side note here as I often like to do.  I recently interviewed Russell Brice who owns Himalayan Experience and has led hundreds of climbers up Mount Everest and if you watch the Discovery Channel or National Geographic you have also seen him there.  He says that they offer chocolate  and biscuits (cookies) to the gods prior to their ascent of Mount Everest.  They also have a huge selection of chocolate and chocolate candy in the mess tent.  Bad news for the Mars bar.  Thet are always the last to go… So you see, chocolate is known by athletes to be a premium, high quality food source not only because of its protein, fat and carbohydrate make up, but because there are scientific studies proving that chocolate decreases anxiety, improves concentration and gives you sustainable energy levels. Why do you need to lessen your anxiety and concentarte when you are an athlete?  Think  about being on a rowboat by yourself crossing a great ocean.  Think about climbing the highest peak in the world where people die every year and the top is called “the death zone”.  There are no peaks and valleys in your sugar levels when you eat dark chocolate.  When you eat chocolate candy there are, but if you are an athlete going the distance, there is no need to worry about this as you need to continually refuel anyway.

You can use dark chocolate and cocoa to keep you going throughout your day or your training.  I saw Lance Armstrong biking by my house a lot when I lived in Austin, Texas.  People said he carried chocolate bars with him.  Not sure if it’s really true, but it wouldn’t surprise me and it made me smile.

These little “Protein Truffles” are something that I pop into my mouth, usually two, before I go on my walk.  They are full of all kinds of good stuff and look eerily similar to a chocolate truffle, thus the name.  You can store them in the freezer since you use cocoa and not chocolate or in the refrigerator.  They should be kept in a tin or a sealed plastic bag.

Protein Truffles

Makes about 24

Ingredients: (They change regularly)
1 cup of nut butter (today I used almond butter)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup agave nectar (you can use honey)
1/2 cup chopped dried fruit (today I used raw coconut)
1/2 cup nuts or seeds (today I used sesame seeds!)

Optional: to roll the “truffles” – unsweetened cocoa powder, ground raw coconut, any ground nuts or seeds and my favorite…ground cocoa nibs

Directions:
In a medium bowl, mix the nut butter, agave nectar and cocoa powder. Stir in nuts and/or seeds.  Uisng a melon baller or two spoons, form into one inch balls.  If desired, roll into one of the optional coatings.  Put on a cookie tray lined with wax or parchment paper.  Put in the freezer for two hours or until set.  Put in an airtight container and store either in the freezer or refrigerator.

Chocolate Protein Truffles

The new products that come out on the market never cease to amaze me.  Sometimes I find something pretty sensational, but most of the time…not so much.  There are a lot of new chocolate products out there including an inhaled chocolate and lots of fortified chocolate bars out there right now.  Here’s the run down…

Le Whif Photo Courtesy of the New York Times

Okay.  I got a little excited and a little weirded out when I saw this.  A company by the name of Le Whif has created a way to get the taste of chocolate without actually eating chocolate.  I kid you not!  The invention was created by Harvard University professor David Edwards who has also designed inhalers for medication.   Good for me as I have asthma.  I’m sure he’s helped me somewhere down the line, but I digress as I often do.  Edwards developed a calorie-free airborne form of chocolate.  How does it work?  The tube has eight to ten puffs.  You open it up, put it into your mouth and breathe in.  The chocolate particles are released into your mouth to pleasure your tatse buds and save your waist, hips and bum.  The chocolate doesn’t actually go into your lungs.  Think of it like a breath spray, but chocolate instead.  They also just introduced a coffee version as well.  The chocolate Le Whif comes in organic chocolate, raspberry chocolate and mint chocolate.  And even better, the tubes are biodegradable!  You receive three tubes for $8.  Sounds like a good deal!

Fish Oil Supplements

Everyone now knows, at least I hope they do, that eating dark chocolate of 70% cocoa content or higher or pure unsweetened cocoa has tremendous amounts of health benefits.  Companies are going a bit further and are fortifying their chocolate bars’ additional health benefits by adding Omega-3s, antioxidant rich super fruits, herbal tea, fiber, vitamins and more.  You name it, companies are either using it in chocolate or thinking about using it.  Some of the companies fortifying their chocolate bars?  New Tree, The Tea Room and L.A. Burdick.

New Tree Piment Alpha Chocolate Bar

New Tree has been around for awhile now and they really are the first chocolate makers to add herbs to chocolate bars as far as I know.   They have a new bar out called Superfruit that has added cranberries, gogi berries, pomegranate and grape in addition to three times the fiber.  I haven’t tried this bar, but it sound fantastic.  Why, I wonder, did they only use 65% cocoa content for a super bar.  Seems like a bit of a waste in the health side.  I have tried their new Omega 3 line.  Quite a disappointment!  I tried the Piment which is Chili Pepper and the Thym which is, well, thyme.  Ick on both.  The chocolate also had no gloss and had lots of pitting.  Even if I don’t care for a chocolate I usually still eat it.  It might not be my favorite, but it’s chocolate,

New Tree Thyme Alpha Chocolate Bar

right?  I took one bite of each of these and spit it out.  Sorry, but I did.  I tried them the next day just to make sure my palate wasn’t compromised and yes, still ick.  I find it hard to believe the Piment won a “Superior Taste Award”.  Who was judging?  Anyone have any difference of opinion?  It was just too much.  Not only does it, once again, have 65% cocoa content, but it has flax seeds for the Omega 3 which I was okay with.  I love flax seeds.  They also added puffed rice and the chili came from natural chili pepper flavor.  It seems to me like they couldn’t make up their mind and just through it all together to get it out.  The Thym – the same thing.  Just too much flavor, too much going on.  I give a big thumbs down to these Alpha bars by New Tree.   If I didn’t have to drive 30 minutes to return them, I would.

The Tea Room Tea Infused Chocolate Bar Collection

I haven’t been lucky enough to try The Tea Room’s (American Canyon, CA) tea infused chocolate bars, but I’m going by a friend and fellow chocolate lover’s advice hear about these tea infused chocolate bars.  The two recommendations?  The Organic Milk Chocolate Bar  (38% cocoa content) Infused with Honeybush Caramel Tea.  My friend usually doesn’t even dabble in milk chocolate, so to say the bar was “breathtaking” made me understand how good it really is.  The Tea

The Tea Room Extra Dark Chocolate Bar Infused with Yerba Mate Tea and Cacao Nibs

Room uses one cup of tea per bar.  That’s pretty impressive.  His favorite?  The Organic Extra Dark Chocolate Bar (72% cocoa content) Infused with Green Yerba Mate Tea, Star Anise and Nibs.  The Yerba Mate is from Argentina and the Cocoa Nibs are from Ecuador.  Probably would be my favorite too.  The bar also has raspberry, blackberry and currant leaves.  Sounds sublime.  I was wondering why they have corn in the ingredients though.  I couldn’t eat that one because of the corn.  My choice to try would be the Milk Chocolate Bar Infused with Black Masala Chai Tea.  For all of these chocolate bars, you get the huge benefits of tea, but only get the benefits of chocolate from the Extra Dark bar.

Now L.A. Burdick Handmade Chocolates really knows what they’re doing!  Not only do they have a lovely selection of single-origin chocolate bars with four out of the six being health benefit friendly, but they also have a chocolate bar collection called “The Healthy Bar”.  Very nice.

L.A. Burdick Handmade Chocolates Healthy Bar Set

The chocolate bars are high in antioxidants and the cocoa content ranges from 68-75%.  There are currently three varieties – 1) Gojiberry, blueberry and cocoa nibs, 2) Hazelnut, flaxseed and raisin, and 3) Apricot, pumpkin seed and pink peppercorn.  I’ll take one of each please!  They all sound fantastic and I’m guessing the fiber content is going to be boosted even more with these additions.  Dark chocolate does have quite a bit of fiber and protein in it.  You may purchase the healthy bar set for a mere $21 from L.A. Burdick Handmade Chocolates.

Hope you have a chance to try a few of these selections!  If you know of any others that I should be trying and writing about, let me know.  If you have any feeback on a different take of one of the ones above, also let me know.

Boost Your Metabolism with Dark Chocolate

A recent study shows that consuming dark chocolate can change your metabolism!  The study was made up of 30 healthy individuals and were classified by the amount of anxiety they felt.  The participants in the study were given 40 grams of dark chocolate (74% cocoa content) for two weeks.  After that time, not only were the participants showing a higher metabolism, but they also were changing the metabolism of the gut.  Those with the highest anxiety showed the most beneficial changes.  The stress hormone levels were significantly decreased.  Stressed?  Want to loss weight?  Eat dark chocolate.

Dark Chocolate Granita

You can incorporate dark chocolate into your life this summer by having this delicious dark chocolate granita waiting for you in the freezer.  It refreshing and light.  Perfect for those too hot days to do anything but lay around and watch the clouds go by…

Double Chocolate Granita

Serves 6

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 ounces dark chocolate (70% or higher cocoa content), chopped
Garnish: mint and berries

Directions:
Stir together water and sugar in medium saucepan to dissolve sugar. Bring to boiling over high heat. Boil 1 minute without stirring. Remove from heat. Stir dark chocolate, cocoa powder, vanilla,cinnamon, and nutmeg into sugar mixture until well blended and chocolate has melted. Pour into 9x9x2-inch square pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and place in freezer. As sides freeze pull mixture in toward middle with spoon and return to freezer. To serve, scrape out with ice cream scoop. If frozen solid, let soften in refrigerator for 15 minutes before serving.

Hershey Bar

The truth is that less than two percent of people suffer from food allergies. A true chocolate or cocoa allergy is difficult to prove and extremely rare. A study involving allergic responses to chocolate was conducted at the National Jewish Center for Immunology and Respiratory Medicine in Denver, Colorado, the premier hospital for allergies and asthma in the United States. In the study, neither the doctor nor the patient knew what was being administered to the participants. The goal was to determine whether or not there was a correlation between positive skin tests for a chocolate allergy and observable allergic symptoms. After conducting this study on over 100 patients, they could find no reaction to confirm chocolate and allergies.

Milk

The “allergy” in chocolate is usually something else in the chocolate that the person is sensitive too. Common allergies include lecithin which comes from soy, milk, corn syrup, gluten or nuts. This is where quality and proper labeling is important. The better quality and higher cocoa content in a chocolate bar, the fewer the ingredients. This means less of a chance of allergic reaction. A high quality dark chocolate bar should contain cocoa (also labeled as chocolate liquor, cocoa mass or chocolate), perhaps cocoa butter, a bit of sugar and the possibility of vanilla or other spices. Beware if the bar says vanillin which is from the sap of an evergreen tree. Simply stay away from milk chocolate, dark milk chocolate and white chocolate if you fear you may be allergic to chocolate and go from there. Of course, if you have been diagnosed with a chocolate allergy, stay away from it all together.

Dark Chocolate

Some people have also show allergic symptoms to the compounds found in chocolate such as theobromine and phenylethylamine. In some people, these substances may cause headaches or mood swings. Signs of a sensitivity or an allergic reaction include, but are not limited to, headache, heartburn, rectal itching, hives, skin rashes, confusion and difficulty breathing. Contact your doctor immediately if you experience any of these symptoms. You can get tested for a chocolate allergy at the doctor’s office. No reason not to eat it if you are unsure. Get tested. You might be allergic to something entirely different and been avoiding chocolate for no reason.

Most people think that chocolate causes migraines. In fact, chocolate does not trigger migraines or tension headaches. That’s a relief! There was a joint study conducted between the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Washington, School of Medicine studying women suffering from a history of headaches and the connection to chocolate. There were 63 women who participated in the study. During the study, all possible headache triggering foods were eliminated from the participants’ diet. They were then divided into two separate groups. Half of the groups were given chocolate regularly and the other half were given carob regularly. The results? The groups receiving the chocolate got no more headaches than those receiving the carob.

Migraine Headache

Dr. Lisa Scharff from the University of Pittsburgh states that people should experiment with chocolate to see if it triggers headaches for them personally. Scharff found through her studies that sometimes a food causes a headache and sometimes it doesn’t. More commonly, she found that after going home tired from a stressful day, women would reach for chocolate for comfort and get a headache. She feels this is the result from the tension of the day culminating, not from the chocolate. It could also be the type of chocolate someone is eating. The sugar found in a milk chocolate bar is bound to cause a headache after a stressful day. Stress resulting from tiredness, excitement or anger is also considered to be the most common trigger of migraine headaches.

Milk Chocolate

Chocolate does contain tyramine which has been known to trigger migraines. The quantity of tyramine in chocolate is too small to cause a migraine without an additional factor. There is always the chance that you may be sensitive to even the slightest amount of tyramine in any food which would mean eliminating more than just chocolate to your list of foods causing your migraines. There is far more tyramine present in cheese, for example, than there is in chocolate. Try omitting cheese, cream cheese and cottage cheese too, from your diet first and see if that helps. Other foods high in tyramine include avocados, bananas, eggplant, figs, grapes, oranges, pineapples, plums, prunes, raisins, processed foods, yeast, sauerkraut and soy. It is far more likely that one of these foods is causing your migraine than chocolate. Do not be discouraged. Chances are you can eat that fabulously healthy dark chocolate bar with no chance of a migraine.

Eat Dark Chocolate

Eating dark chocolate and cocoa while your pregnant is not only good for you, it is good for baby too! Eating chocolate may help to reduce the risk of pre-eclampsia which is likely to affect 3-8% of pregnancies. Yale University and the University of California conducted a study comparing 2,291 women over four years who consumed under one serving of chocolate weekly to those consuming five or more servings of chocolate per week. The researchers measured the levels of theobromine which is found in chocolate and chocolate products such as cocoa by measuring the levels present in the umbilical cord. Chocolate also contains magnesium which lowers hypertension and contains flavanoids which are powerful antioxidants. They also noted the amount of chocolate consumed by the woman in both the first and third trimesters. The women in the study who consumed the most chocolate had babies with the highest concentration of theobromine in their cord blood. These women had a 69% reduction in risk of pre-eclampsia. Five and a half percent of the women in the study consuming the lowest amounts of chocolate and chocolate products per week during the last trimester developed pre-eclampsia. The women who consumed five or more servings per week had only 2.9% develop the condition.

Pregnant Woman Eating Dark Chocolate

Want a happy baby? Eat chocolate when you are pregnant. A Finnish study shows that eating chocolate during your pregnancy will make your baby happier and more playful when they are born. New Scientist magazine believes the mood altering chemical found in chocolate is responsible for these jubilant babies. The University of Helsinki questioned 300 women before, during and after they gave birth. Among the questions asked were to rate their stress levels and how much chocolate they consumed. The women who consumed chocolate on a regular basis and those that did not reported differences in the behavior of their babies. The stressed women who ate chocolate said their babies were more relaxed and less fearful in new situations and the stressed women who refrained from eating chocolate said that their infants were more hesitant and fearful in new situations. The scientists at the University of Helsinki believe the difference to be the consumption of chocolate and the benefits being passed on to the babies while in the womb as theobromine crosses the placenta barrier. Dark chocolate and cocoa would be a great addition to your diet in any case. Check with your doctor if you have any issues or problems during your pregnancy.

Happy Baby Eating Chocolate