Decadent Chocolate Recipes

Are you thinking about buying some delicious chocolate to splurge on this weekend with your loved one? Perhaps you will purchase a box of chocolates for someone you care about or even make some romantic chocolate-covered strawberries. Do your children always attack the selection of chocolate bars at the grocery store checkout counter? It is so difficult to say no when you see their sparkling little eyes look up at you with anticipation, “Pwease?” Well, I’ve got good news for chocolate lovers everywhere. Eat it- just not that kind!

Chocolate is beyond delicious when it is made from organic ingredients, especially dark chocolate. I’m not talking about Dove and Hershey because we all know that these have chemicals and are what I refer to as junk bars. They are trash- science experiments. It is okay to say no to your child when they ask for Snickers bars and M & M’s because all you need to do is tell them that they can have chocolate- just not that kind. What about your loved one who eagerly awaits for you to make those chocolate-covered strawberries she loves so much that you usually make with melted chocolate chips or Hershey bars? She will certainly not be disappointed when you go out of your way to use pure organic chocolate. Her special gourmet treat will taste better than any other.

Okay, so you’re probably wondering where you can find this chocolate and you’re probably assuming it’s a big secret and can only be purchased at a high price online but this is not the case. Organic chocolate can be found right in your grocery store and for a reasonable price. You can also find many different varieties at your local health food store. Other great chocolate products can be found at your nutrition store as well, like organic cocoa and liquid cocoa. Why do nutrition stores carry chocolate and cocoa? You guessed it, because they are good for you!

There are many associations that come to mind when we hear the word “chocolate”. Some examples may be bad, fattening or forbidden. Some may think of chocolate that way and others may associate it with warmth, childhood, fun or an escape. However you think of chocolate, you may look at it in a new light now that you know it’s good for you. Consume everything in moderation of course. You still don’t want to eat chocolate for breakfast, lunch and dinner as tempting as it may be.

Where do organic chocolate and cocoa come from? First and foremost, you might be surprised and delighted to learn that cocoa is a nut or the seed in the very heart of a fruit. That’s right, and it has much more nutritional value than some of the healthiest fruits. Cocoa is found on trees in the rainforests of Malaysia, Africa and South America. It is cut free from its fruit and left out in the sun. Dark chocolate is made from cocoa beans and the natural cocoa butter taken from it’s surrounding pod. The creaminess of the cocoa butter is what makes the dark chocolate feel like silk in your mouth.

How are organic cocoa and dark chocolate different from the usual ones that you buy at the grocery store? Just read the ingredients and compare these two and you will see the clear choice. Here is an example:

Dove Dark Chocolate Promises:

Ingredients: (Semisweet Chocolate) Sugar, chocolate processed with alkali, chocolate, cocoa butter, milkfat, soy lecithin, natural and artificial flavors.

Equal Exchange Organic Very Dark Chocolate

Ingredients: Organic chocolate liquor, organic raw cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, organic unrefined whole cane sugar, organic ground vanilla beans. There could also be traces of milk and nuts.

Cocoa beans lose the very essence of what makes them beneficial in the first place when they are processed with alkali. This includes antioxidants and flavonoids that do wonders for the body. Organic unrefined whole cane sugar is much healthier than regular sugar. Your average sugar was once natural before it was processed until everything good about it was stripped down to nothing. Your average sugar is hardly sugar at all but pure sucrose. Organic unrefined whole cane sugar is exactly what it claims to be- sugar that is taken from the cane and dried out, containing all it’s original nutritional value.

Soy lethicin is an emulsifier that is basically a synthetic chemical used to separate oils. It is the remains that are found once the crude oil is extracted from a soybean. Its consistency ranges from gummy to a solid form. It is usually bleached to rid of its reddish brown color into a more pleasing hue of light yellow and could contain pesticides. Who wants to consume such a thing? This additive is in almost every one of the chocolate bars you find at your grocer’s checkout counter! I think of this when my child asks me for a candy bar at the store.

Natural and artificial flavors sounds fairly safe and are in most of the food that many people eat every day. The problem is that these two ingredients could be just about anything and they are hardly ever itemized. Artificial flavors are a mix of chemicals made to mimic the flavor of something else, like chocolate. Natural flavors are a mix of natural chemicals found in food that add flavor.

I think of it this way: Some of the ingredients in non-organic chocolate were real at one point. Every ounce of nutritional value was then destroyed during processing and extra man-made chemicals were added. These additives changed the flavor of what was once food, so they needed to go back to work and put the food flavor back in with a few more chemicals. What is left is toxic. I’d rather go with the pure, untainted and delicious pure version. If I’m going to eat chocolate, I want it to be chocolate that I’m eating.

Here are the many benefits of consuming pure organic cocoa and dark chocolate (I think you will be very pleased):

Builds the strength of your hair and nails and beautifies your skin

Reduces risk of heart attack, blood clots and stroke

Increases the functioning of your pancreas

Detoxifies the liver

Contains dopamine, seratonin and MAO inhibitors that assist brain function.

Helps concentration

Protects against diabetes

Helps postpone dimentia

Suppresses appetite to aid in weight loss

Raises good cholesterol

Helps prevent hardening of arteries (Great for smokers)

Now you know what to look for when you buy chocolate and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it so much more knowing it’s benefits. In closing I will leave you a list of movies with “chocolate” in the title in case you would like some sweet entertainment to go with your treats this weekend. Have a delectable time!

Chocolat *

Like Water for Chocolate

Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

In Search of the Heart of Chocolate

Check out the premium channels offered by DISH Network satellite television for more great movies.

By: Frank Bilotta

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About the Author:
Frank helps people learn about Dish Network Satellite TV, and how they can save money every month with popular Dish Network Packages. Dish has advanced, award winning, Dish DVR and Dish HD receivers, there is a lot of good news to share and also help people determine Dish TV or DirecTV
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     The one thing we all love is the taste of chocolate. But is it good for us? That is a question I hope to answer in this article. I believe personally that eating belgian chocolate will indeed aid in having a healthy heart. By chocolate I mean dark belgian chocolate. Although I am not saying that milk chocolate isn’t beneficial also. I believe a little of something good is better then nothing good at all. 

         The fact that chocolate is good for you makes it a health food. Although not intended to be used in the treatment of illness chocolate is still good for us. At the point of sounding redundant, if it is good for us then it is going to work for us. Sounds like going in a circle does it not? Now let’s get to the point.

          Dark belgian chocolate is so powerful a antioxidant that it destroy the free radicals that cause heart disease. Yes all disease has to have a beginning, free radicals and destructive molecules are the culprits that start the process. We could extend that to other disease but for now we will stick to our heart. Seriously I want to give my heart every chance from being healthy. That is why I eat dark chocolate, I know exactly what works.

          The one thing we see everyday is the fast food places jammed full. People go there for a quick meal, obviously it taste good. But we know that fast food is not the way to a healthy heart. Look at the facts about fast food vs. dark chocolate. Fast food gives us naked calories and is high in fat. By the term naked calories I mean a quick rush. Our sugar blood rises giving us a quick blast of energy. The long term effects are not good. On the other hand belgian chocolate is a potent antioxidant, enough said!

        Is belgian chocolate good for your heart? Well let’s see it contains vitamins A, C, B1, B, fluorine, potassium, sodium and iron. Dark chocolate is made from cocoa beans which is the most powerful antioxidant there is. That qualifies it as a health food. So the answer to the question is yes it is great for your heart. How much should we eat? What is moderation? That we will answer in a future article. Now that is the delicious truth.  

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About the Author:
Wade Lucas is the creator of Quality Goutmet Chocolate. Not only is dark belgian chocolate the best tasting candy that you can eat. But  they are also good for your health. The health benefits and great taste make belgian chocolate the perfect treat. We also feature fresh roses and other fine gourmet gifts. Visit us at:http://www.qualitygourmetchocolate.com
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