Are you a Chocoholic?

Are you a Chocoholic? My name is Linda and I am a Chocoholic.

I downsized from a house to an apartment so for months I have been going through old things that I just kept in the basement hidden away for someday to go through. Well now is someday because I have to go through it all and get rid of things I don't really need anymore. While I was going through some old school books and papers I found a bunch of chocolate bar wrappers. What did you do when you were a kid that other kids didn't do? I sent away for chocolate wrappers from Chocolate companies and stickers from printers. But it is kind of interesting stumbling on this stuff I have kept for over 30 years. I suppose I was a CHOCOHOLIC at a young age but didn't really know it. When I was a kid my dad would buy big Hershey chocolate bars and he would hide them away from my brother and I. They smoked cigarettes back then and had a full stock of liquor that they only pulled out for parties and they kept the cigarettes and the liquor in an unlocked cabinet within reach but I can say I was never interested in either the alcohol or the cigarettes. I don't know if my brother cared either but I do know that my brother had a blood hound sense for chocolate and could sniff it out when it was in the house and would open every drawer until he found it. My dad wasn't very creative in his hiding spots and it was generally in only 3 or 4 different places but he did try and keep it out of sight so that we wouldn't demolish it in one chocoholic fit. When I got a little older in my teens and my friends would come over they were more interested in the alcohol and cigarettes. I couldn't care less about them because they were always there and I hated the smell of the cigarettes when my parents were sitting on the couch smoking together. I have never smoked in my life but I have had a life long addiction to chocolate. I don't need to go to REHAB for chocolate but I could eat chocolate every day of my life and would be very happy about that.

What I think is that when we are kids and our parents restrict certain things it makes us want it more. My parents didn't have curfews and I didn't have to be home at a certain time after a party but at that age we all went home early anyway so it was never an issue. But the restriction in my house was the amount of chocolate we had access to. When we were good my parents gave us chocolate. I believe the restriction of things is what makes it become an addiction because it hits whatever part of the brain tells you that you shouldn't have or do something.

It is interesting that I have held onto these wrappers for all these years. I am thinking that I might turn them into some sort of artwork possibly so that I can keep them around as a memory of when my chocolate addiction started.

Chocolate has some great properties but also depending on the quality of the chocolate and the amount eaten it can have very unhealthy properties. Stick with a good quality organic fair trade dark chocolate with 70% cocoa or higher for the best chocolate for your health.

I think there is a science to eating chocolate for your health and mental health. Chocolate is given for Valentines Day to get love from the receiver.

Chocolate is Love and Chocolate can make you feel good by kicking up the seratonin level and endorphins and because of the following things:

Information from Cocoaweb website:
Chocolate Ingredients

Fat
Cocoa beans contain approximately 50% fat. It is primarily comprised of two saturated fatty acids (palmitic and stearic acids) and one mono-unsaturated acid (oleic acid). Cocoa butter and chocolate do not raise blood cholesterol. However, when consuming milk chocolate or lower grade chocolate where a part of the total fat content comes from milk fat or various other types of fat, the cholesterol level might be adversely affected.

Sugar
The cacao bean contains quite a lot of carbohydrates, but most of it is starch, soluble dietary fibers, and insoluble dietary fibers. A very small proportion is simple sugars. Sugar is added during the manufacture of chocolate.

Antioxidants
Cocoa beans contain polyphenols (similar to those found in wine) with antioxidant properties which are health beneficial. These compounds are called flavonoids and include catechins, epicatechins, and procyandins. The antioxidant flavinoids are found in the nonfat portions of the cocoa bean. The flavinoids also reduce the blood's ability to clot and thus reduces the risk of stroke and heart attacks.

Theobromine
Theobromine is a very mild stimulant with a mild diuretic action (increases the production of urine). Theobromine can be toxic to animals like dogs, cats, parrots and horses.

Caffeine
Cocoa beans contains a very low amount of caffeine, much less than found in coffee, tea and cola drinks.

Phenylethylamine
Phenylethylamine is a slight antidepressant and stimulant similar to the body's own dopamine and adrenaline.

Serotonine
Cocoa and chocolate can increase the level of serotonine in the brain. Serotonine levels are often decreased in people with depression and in those experiencing PMS symptoms.

Essential minerals
Cocoa beans are rich in a number of essential minerals, including magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, copper, potassium and manganese.

Vitamins
A, B1, B2, B3, C, E and pantothenic acid.

Are you a chocoholic?

Sweet Hearts for your Sweethearts

February is the month of Love. It's the month that chocolate and candy sales go through the roof with people buying Chocolate and Candy confections to put their sweethearts in a sweet mood. The endorphins you get from eating chocolate are the same as getting it from sex. No wonder a lot of people are addicted to chocolate. I know more than a few chocoholics including myself.

Has Valentine's Day become just another way for marketers to cash in on an inflated holiday or a way for girls to guilt guys into showing their love for them?

What about all the single people like me that Love Chocolate and love the candies but don't have anyone to give them gifts of confectionary goods. Go out and buy them for yourself is what I say. Don't wait for anyone to give you what you want. Go out and buy them for yourself if you want them.

If you have a boyfriend that is anti-valentine's day or just to cheap or lazy to get you anything then you have 2 choices....1. Dump him or 2. Go get your own goodies.

I opt for 2 if he is good in other areas...but if he is no good all around then why are you keeping him/her around anyway.

If you are single go out and buy a lovely bouquet of flowers and your favourite sweet treat...not too much...but just enough to feel the sugar love.
Invite single friends over and have them bring some valentine's Day goodies and swap them with each other like you would for christmas gifts. That way nobody goes home without some treats.

Start a new tradition. Do something different. You don't have to do what is expected but if you do have a sweetheart do something unexpected often to show that you care anytime during the year so that it's more of a surprise than an expectation.

It's not about how much money you spend. You can buy a small truffle box of 4 Belgian chocolate truffles and wrap it up in a beautiful box and add 1 flower and that would be enough to show that you made an effort and that you care. It's not about the quantity it's about the quality.

You can even buy your friends and families favourite goodies and wrap them up nice and show them you love them just as much as your special someone.

Share the love and share the candy. Have some sweet treats with your sweetheart or your loved ones whoever they may be.

Food makes a home feel like home

"A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body."

— Benjamin Franklin: was a Founding Father of the United States

I love this quote because it really is true.

This morning I woke up and felt like baking so I made a batch of Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. There is nothing that says home more than the smell of chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven. I had to go out for a few minutes and when I walked back into my place I could smell the chocolate chip cookies wafting throughout my apartment. The best air freshener ever.

The best thing about these particular cookies are that they are almost guilt free. The recipe I used called for no eggs but I found that the last time I made them it was a bit dry so I added an egg to bind it a bit better. It has a lot of healthy substitues in the recipe such as Coconut oil instead of butter, shortening or oil and the flour is whole wheat flour. I even tossed in some Chia seeds to boost up the protein quotient. The sugar comes in the form of honey or maple syrup. I used both. There is chopped walnuts to add some omega 3 boost and you can use organic dark chocolate chips to boost the flavour while still staying on the healthy side. Oatmeal is also added for some great fibre so this cookie has all good things in it.

But the best part is the taste. It doesn't taste like a healthier cookie it just tastes like a decadent chocolate chip cookie with a hint of coconut and oatmeal walnut. A really great combination.

I found this recipe online and really love it and now prefer to make this recipe to regular chocolate chip cookies.

Try substituting some healthier ingredients for your traditional baking ingredients and experiment until you get the desired effect. Once you get it right you will never go back.

You can do it too...

Enjoy