Making The Most Of Chocolate's Health Benefits

Chocolate is being touted as one of the modern super foods, and it is true that flavonoid compounds present on dark chocolate are powerful antioxidants and highly beneficial. But on the other hand, chocolate is also heavy on fats and energy, so it's not a great idea to eat too much of it.

Chocolate, specially dark chocolate, has 8 times more antioxidants than healthy super foods such as strawberries, and those antioxidants play a key role protecting the body from free radicals, widely accepted to be one of the main causes of skin and tissue ageing. The flavonoids present in dark chocolate also help the body regulate high blood pressure by producing nitric oxide, and are said to help balance the hormonal system as well.

Chocolate also helps balance your mood, as it contains serotonin which is a natural anti-depressant, and it tastes good so that alone helps already. So incorporating moderate amounts of dark chocolate into your diet is beneficial for your health without any doubt.

However, this doesn't mean you should make chocolate the centre of every other meal, as you need to take into account that chocolate is also rich in fats and calories. Most chocolates also come with plenty of milk, sugar and caramel in the form of nougats and fillings, so that increases the calories and reduces the nutritional value. So if you want to make the most of chocolate, take the following into account:


Keep An Eye On The Calories

Chocolate is healthy, but it's also highly caloric and the diet varieties often lose a lot of the benefits along with the fat. So if you want to eat chocolate, remember to check what else are you eating to keep your calorie intake balanced.

Choose Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate is richer in antioxidants and have a stronger taste, which means you'll feel satisfied with less. This makes it much more healthy than the more milky alternatives, or those with nuts and caramel nougat or other fillings.

Enjoy Each Bite


Learning to savour chocolate and enjoy each bite means you'll eat less and enjoy it more. This way you can enjoy the health benefits of eating chocolate, without gaining weight or ingesting unhealthy amounts of sugar.


Cook Your Own Chocolate Dishes

Instead of buying industrial chocolate snacks and cakes that are often overflowing with refined sugars and other not so healthy chemicals, you could instead follow some chocolate recipes and make your own desserts, making sure you use high quality chocolate and natural ingredients for best results.

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Chocolate Making At Home For Fun and Satisfaction

Everyone loves chocolates. Who can say no to them? They're different from other candies because they're brown, black or white! They're sweet, they're bitter or they're both! They're smooth or textured, and they can even can say your name, or show someone a special message! You can even personalize them, so why not try chocolate making at home!

Homemade chocolates are excellent for parties and they can help make your ordinary days quite special. It's easy and really fun to do! With just a few ingredients and five simple and exciting steps, you can make homemade chocolates to be proud of.

We need bulk chocolate that you can buy in any grocery store. You don't need a particular brand. Just choose any chocolate bars you or your kids love. We also need small cake cases, some candy and nuts, fruits, chocolate wafers or anything you want to mix or add to your chocolates, inside or out.

So now, let's get on our aprons and begin this enjoyable experience.

Prepare the ingredients. You can buy them or you can use your kids' chocolate bars left in the fridge. Grab some sprinkles from your kitchen and have everything set on a clean table.

Melt the chocolate. Hmm. Smells good. Sounds tempting. But please, do not be tempted! Resist putting your fingers in the mixture and licking them off! Remember, we are making homemade chocolates. Once melted, you can add some candy and nuts, chopped strawberries or blueberries or anything else to add more texture, flavor and individuality.

Pour the chocolate into a candy mold or small cases like an ice case or a small Tupperware. You can shape the chocolate by using chocolate molds, just remember to be quick to pour the chocolate mixture into the mold before it starts to set. You can now add sprinkles on top of the chocolate, like marshmallows, small stars or anything your imagination can come up with.

Place the chocolate in the fridge. Cool it there for about an hour.

Take the chocolates out of the cases or molds, and wrap them in chocolate wrappers or you can put them altogether in a bowl. Wow! Now it's chocolate-eating time!

Chocolates made at home make amazing treats for your friends and kids. It's a special feeling to eat anything that has been especially made for you, and chocolates are perhaps one of the most delicious of all tastes!

There are various reasons why people make chocolate at home and making your loved ones happy is just one of them. Another reason is maybe you want to start a chocolate-making business at home. Making chocolates is fun but it can also be very profitable.

But, why do some mothers, who are not into the business aspect, prefer making chocolates rather than buying them? Homemade chocolates taste far better than the commercial ones. This may be because with the commercial brands, something is lost in the mechanization of the process, or maybe it's the ingredients which are added to aid production, or just the lack of love, which you are able to put into your own homemade chocolates.

People whose kids or parents have special conditions or dietary challenges can also be catered for. Eating commercially made chocolates are not recommended for them. It might cause some health problems, so to still enjoy eating chocolates without having to worry about possible health issues, making homemade chocolates is the sensible option.

If you have any diabetics in your family who can't resist chocolates, you can maintain their health by making chocolates for them that are not going to harm them. Chocolates can cause chaos with their blood sugar levels. There are already chocolates available for diabetics but they're quite expensive and generally don't taste as good. So if you are a mother or teenager who wants to surprise your diabetic loved ones, make homemade chocolates that can help control their sugar levels and taste as good as normal chocolates.

Chocolate making at home is fun and exciting! It's a pastime or business you can do on your own or with help from friends and family. You can have a good time with your kids while showering your chocolates with different toppings. You can give these chocolates as gifts for every occasion that you can think of, and a gift of homemade chocolates given with love is one that will be hard to beat.

Janine Rose Lumanag lives in the Philippines. Janine has a unique talent for research and physical investigation, which results in articles that offer her readers a very honest, entertaining and personal view of the subject. Her love of candy and how to make it has always been a passion of hers, and she is currently writing a series of articles on this topic.

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Chocolate Is Good for You - Too Good to Be True?

According to the German chemist, Baron Justus von Liebig, (1803-1873): "Chocolate is a perfect food, as wholesome as it is delicious, a beneficent restorer of exhausted power...". These are sentiments with which most modern palates can identify! Chocolate, and by that I mean the quality stuff, has become a highly sophisticated, very adult and often daily indulgence.

Throughout its glamorous history, however, chocolate has always been a much-coveted commodity. Chocolate has its origins in a bitter, dark beverage that was first enjoyed by the Mayans and Aztecs of Central America, over 3,000 years ago. Later, during the sixteenth century, Columbus introduced cocoa beans to Spain. From then on, a passion for chocolate swept through the noble houses of Europe. Chocolate first reached England in the 1650s, but it remained an expensive luxury for at least another 200 years. Interestingly, however, it was not until the beginning of the nineteenth century that chocolate was produced in solid form for eating; and to this day, chocolate has remained synonymous with the good things in life.

But now for the real chocolate icing on the cake...

Several recent scientific studies have come up with encouraging news for chocoholics. A body of research, for example, suggests that eating a daily portion of chocolate may help maintain a healthy circulation, thanks to the naturally occurring compounds in chocolate called flavanols. Based on these findings, a number of chocolate manufacturers are introducing new production procedures designed to retain the optimum levels of flavanols in their chocolate. They are taking the matter very seriously indeed. Many restaurateurs are also jumping on the bandwagon of chocolate respectability by serving up chocolate concoctions that simply cannot be ignored. Morgan Meuniers's Islington restaurant, for instance, even offers a choice of cocoa content for its chocolate moelleux desserts, ranging from 45% milk chocolate to 70% dark. Other restaurants have introduced their own spin on the chocolate issue and any chef worth his or her cocoa beans uses only the very best quality chocolate in their signature chocolate-based creations.

So, if you thought that chocolate was wicked and no more than a pure indulgence, think again. Here are some fascinating findings that will have you reaching for chocolate in any shape or form:

 Research published in the highly respected "Journal of the American Medical Association" reveals that chocolate is good for cardiovascular health. In clinical trials subjects who consumed just 25 grams a day of semi-sweet dark chocolate, which is rich in flavanols showed significant reductions in the platelet activity that causes blood components to stick to the blood vessel walls and impede blood flow. A small daily portion of chocolate, however, may help promote normal blood flow and maintain a healthy cardiovascular system as well as reducing the risk of developing blood clots.

 Other studies have revealed that the flavanols found in chocolate may help decrease the oxidation of "bad" cholesterol (LDL, Low Density Lipoproteins). Oxidised LDLs increase the build up of plaque on the lining of blood vessel walls. When this happens blood flow is restricted, which may result in the development of conditions such as high blood pressure, atherosclerosis and other types of heart disease.

 Important European research has also shown that dark chocolate has greater anti-oxidant properties that can protect us from a whole range of life threatening diseases including heart attack and possibly even cancer. But, researchers at the University of Glasgow and at Italy's "Institute for Food and Nutrition Research" concluded that volunteers had to eat twice as much milk chocolate as dark chocolate to obtain the same levels of antioxidants. Further research is ongoing to establish whether dairy products consumed in combination with dark chocolate may actually reduce its antioxidant effects.

In all these various studies, dark chocolate, which is higher in flavanols, appeared to contain greater health-giving properties than milk chocolate.

Ultimately, as with all good things in life, moderation is called for when it comes to chocolate consumption, largely due to its high saturated fat content. But, hey, it can't be all bad! On the contrary; we now know that chocolate, with its reliable feel good factor can also make us fell fit and well.

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Best Cookie Recipes

Chocolate, now who doesn't love chocolate? And cookies are on of our favorite things from our toddler days to the grave! Chocolate and cookies; two of our favorite things. The recipes in this article will bring the two together for some awesome cookie treats! Whether you like your chocolate in chunks, or chips, there is a recipe here for you! The Mocha Chocolate Chips are made with a healthier cookie in mind. They have both all-purpose and whole-wheat flours, less sugar, and healthy walnuts. Yet they are delicious!

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CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES WITH OATS

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup quick oats
1 1/4 cups chocolate chunks
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly grease 2 large baking sheets; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl combine the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat at medium speed with electric mixer until creamy. Beat in the egg and vanilla.

Into a small bowl sift the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Add flour mixture to the creamy mixture, beating constantly. Stir in the oats and chocolate chunks.

Spoon dough by tablespoonfuls about 2-inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Allow cookies to cool 1 minute on the baking sheets. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

HEALTHIER MOCHA CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup Splenda Granulated
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup instant coffee powder*
2 squares (1-oz each) unsweetened baking chocolate
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/4 cups chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over simmering water and cook, stirring often, until melted; remove and allow to cool.

Mix the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking soda, and salt together in a small bowl; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl beat the butter with the sugar and Splenda, with mixer on medium speed, until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, vanilla extract, coffee powder and then add the melted chocolate; beat until blended.
With mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the flour mixture just until blended. With a silicone spatula or a wooden spoon, stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls, two inches apart, onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies puff up and the dough loses its shine. Allow to cool 1 minute before removing from the cookie sheet to wire racks to cool completely.

Yield: Approximately 40 cookies.

*If using instant coffee granules, you need to crush them or powder them in a blend or food processor.
Enjoy!

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Love of Chocolates

By the age of fifteen, the young Hershey, following a candy apprenticeship attempted to run his own candy shop in Philadelphia which failed after six years. But undeterred by his failure he continued to operate on his business idea of making caramel with fresh milk until in 1886 he returned to Lancaster founded the Lancaster Caramel Company and made a success of the company until he sold it for $1 million in 1900.

Seven years after founding the Lancaster Caramel Company, Hershey made a decision to concentrate on making chocolate-covered caramels after buying a German chocolate-making machine and in 1894 he established the Hershey Chocolate Company that manufactured baking chocolate, chocolate coating, sweet chocolate and cocoa. A dedicated chocolate manufacturing plant was constructed by the company in 1905 and shortly the local community was dominated by the Hershey name together with the company's activity for chocolate for love.

The firm went from strength to strength although Hershey would not trust in advertising and marketing and he made a poor investment in Cuban sugar in the 1920s. The Great Depression saw a downturn in the market but to survive Hershey open his doors to public tours to promote his chocolate by referral and kept the regional population employed through various construction projects.

However, Hershey generously did not stop there, he and his wife, who were childless established a school for orphans in 1909, the Hershey Industrial School, which has eventually renamed the Milton Hershey School in 1995 and still owns 35.5 percent of the company's stock via a trust fund.

In 1945 following Hershey's death the firm continued in the 'giving' tradition of its founder and established the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center of Pennsylvania State University in the town of Hershey.

The company continued to prosper during the 1960s and began diversifying its product range outside of chocolate for love towards pasta and it brought two pasta companies established the company name to Hershey Foods Corporation. As the company expanding into Europe it started advertising and marketing and in 1980 it acquired rights of the British candy maker Cadbury Schweppes PLC. The expansion grew with acquisitions in Canada, Sweden and the Ronzoni Foods Corporation, that make Hershey the most significant supplier of dry pasta in the north American market.

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