I fell in love with chocolate when I was a kid. My love was only limited to milk
chocolate. Toblerone and big Swiss bars
of chocolate made me feel like heaven.
My face was covered with chocolate as early as 7 yrs old. I remember my mom sending me packages full
of chocolate. I grew up in a Communist country and chocolate
was sparse if non existent. It was a
LUXURY. When my mom defected and settled
abroad she would send me packages full of goodies every few months. It was then that I discovered what millions
of kids knew already, you can never have too much chocolate.
As I grew older my milk chocolate taste got tamer, but it
amplified for the dark chocolate. At
some point in my young adulthood, I made the switch from milk to dark
cocoa. It was an evolution of taste and
I don’t remember the transition, but it became a permanent staple of my palette.
Then somewhere in my-late 20’s a dear friend introduced me
to a spectacular NYC event,…THE CHOCOLATE SHOW.
It is a traveling show and it features the best local and international
chocolatiers. It takes place every year
the 1st week of Nov and in the last 7 yrs I haven’t missed a
show. It is the equivalent of DEATH BY
CHOCOLATE, a favorite expression of another college friend. If you are ever in the NYC area around that
time it is worth going to.
I had another transforming CHOCOLATE experience in Madrid. The Spaniards love their CHOCOLATE but more
specifically they DRINK it. My husband
wanted to surprise me on our 2nd night in Madrid and he took me to this Medieval
Chocolate Café. As we approached the place our anticipations transformed from
mere excitement to exhilaration when we realized it was THE CHOCOLATE PLACE to
BE in MADRID. It was packed. That got us a little discouraged at first but
when we soon realized how fast the service was, we decided to give it a try. When we saw the ritual of how CHOCOLATE poured
over CHURROS, we realized we would not have left even if someone yelled
FIRE. The chocolate was served in small
expresso cups with a plate of CHURROS, which are long fried dough
“fingers”. As we looked around to see
how to proceed with our serving we could not believe what we were about to do
next. Yes DIP the CHURROS in the HOT
CHOCOLATE. The Spanish HOT CHOCOLATE is
as THICK AS HONEY, not even close to what we drink in the States.
So if you love chocolate as much as I do, read on. You not only experience an elevated sense of
happiness but you are also doing your body a HUGE HEALTH FAVOR.
Top 10 reasons to eat your DARK CHOCOLATE (recommended daily
dose 1-2 oz., the equivalent of 1-2 inch squares)
1) It
is good for your HEART:
“"Studies have shown heart benefits from
increased blood flow, less platelet stickiness and clotting, and improved bad
cholesterol," says Mary B. Engler, Ph.D., a chocolate researcher and
director of the Cardiovascular and Genomics Graduate Program at the University of California,
San Francisco, School of Nursing.
These benefits are the result of cocoa's antioxidant chemicals known as
flavonoids, which seem to prevent both cell damage and inflammation.” (From
Health.com, article by Marjorie Ingall)
2) It
reduces BLOOD PRESSURE:
“If yours is high, chocolate may help. Jeffrey Blumberg, Ph.D., director of
the Antioxidants Research Laboratory at Tufts University,
recently found that hypertensive people who ate 3.5 ounces of dark chocolate
per day for two weeks saw their blood pressure drop significantly, according to
an article in the journal Hypertension. Their bad cholesterol dropped, too.People who ate the same amount of white chocolate? Nothing. (It doesn't have any cocoa -- or flavonoids.) Word to the wise: 3.5 ounces is roughly equal to a big bar of baking chocolate, so the participants had to cut about 400 calories out of their daily diets to make room. But you probably don't have to go to those lengths. Just a bite may do you good, Blumberg says.” (From Health.com, article by Marjorie Ingall)
3) The
FLOVONOIDS= ANTIOXIDANTS from COCOA (Antioxidants can
also be found in green tea, red wine and in all fruits and vegetables)
a) Prevent
Heart disease
b) Prevent
Cancer by stopping abnormal changes in the DNA, which can stop cancer cells
from forming
c) One study that compared the
total antioxidant activity in single servings of cocoa, green tea, black tea
and red wine scored cocoa markedly higher than the rest.
4) It
improves you memory
5) It
is reduces stress
6) CONTRARY
TO COMMON BELIEF: IT IMPROVES your SKIN because of the antioxidants The
researchers think the flavonoids, (antioxidants ) which absorb UV light, help
protect and increase blood flow to the skin, improving its appearance.
7) It
makes you HAPPY by stimulating the feel good hormones, serotonin, oxytocin, in
your brain.
8) Gives
you the right energy for your body
9) It
tastes FANTASTIC
10) It is a good snack: It raises your blood sugar just enough to carry you
over to your next healthy meal
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