Food of the week: Chocolate

People, it was only time. I've done several foods of the week that are vegetables or fruits, but now I move on to a food that really has something to contribute in the drawbacks category. I feel though, that the benefits are such that chocolate really needs to be a food of the week.

I am not really differentiating between semisweet and dark chocolate, although I outline how they differ in health benefits and drawbacks at times. They are very similar and come to be through mostly the same process. I will NOT be talking about white chocolate, however, because it is an abomination to chocolate everywhere. You hear that white chocolate? An abomination! You're not really even chocolate, how dare you soil the good name!

Benefits:

• Cocoa beans are high in fiber and antioxidants and help to lower blood pressure and prevent blood clots. These are diluted when mixed with milk, sugar and other additives. The darker the chocolate the better your cardiovascular health! (Actually dark, and even milk, chocolate rated the highest in antioxidants of all foods.)
• Contains Phenylethylamine and Serotonin, which make us happy. Cocoa also helps to relieve PMS symptoms. See ladies, there is a reason why we crave chocolate every month!
• Lots of essential vitamins and minerals.

Drawbacks:

• When mixed with milk, chocolate can be high in cholesterol.
• Chocolate itself is high in fat and sugar. Yes, even the darker chocolate.
• Chocolate is high in caffeine. Do what you want with that.
• Bad news if you’re prone to kidney stones and possibly migraines.

Ways to eat chocolate:

• A few bites of dark chocolate while sipping (sipping!) on a spicy red wine (perhaps a syrah).
• Mixed with peanuts and/or peanut butter. Reese’s sure has something right.
• An idea for a gift or to make for yourself: I put a cup of cashews, 1/3 cup of dark chocolate chips and some peanut oil in a food processor and made a decadent nut butter.
• Brownies!
• Strawberries dipped in chocolate, even better in dark chocolate.
• See my earlier post from today.
• I could go on, but really, you know….

Little known facts:

Your mother lied! There is no link between chocolate consumption and acne.

Ever wonder how chocolate is made?

Chocolate is made using beans harvested from the cocoa tree, Theobroma cacao. The beans are removed from their pod, fermented, dried, roasted and then ground to produce a cocoa mass or cocoa liquor. This is then pressed to yield cocoa butter and cocoa cake which is ground up into cocoa powder.

Why is dark chocolate healthier than milk chocolate?

• As you add more milk, you increase the fat and cholesterol in chocolate.
• Dark chocolate is made without hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils.
• As mentioned earlier, dark chocolate contains more antioxidants, for greater health benefits.

So, there you have it people. Eat chocolate and be happy, but not if you get kidney stones or migraines (you poor souls).