THE BAD THINGS ABOUT CHOCOLATE
1 Sugar, but that’s not all. Most people are not after chocolate for the sugar content. I do not agree with the experts, because there are plenty of other sweet things, but chocolate is the one thing that most people crave. You can reduce the overall sugar percentage of bitter dark chocolate by doubling up with the things you add: like oats, nuts and ground up flax seed. This helps to lower the glycemic index. Dark chocolate has a GI of 48, the same as baked beans, but the addition of nuts, seeds and especially lecithin and olive oil lowers it considerably and pumps in the omega 3, 6 & other essential fatty acids, so needed by hyperactive little brains & menopausal women.
2 Kilojoules/ calories. Very High and weight for weight, the same as regular cheeses. People eat vast quantities of cheese and also crave it – ask my husband! A slimmer’s rule is always to have other things at hand when you tuck into cheese or chocolate: First try an apple, nibble a few nuts, scrunch up a nice leafy salad and then have your cheese. Likewise with chocolate, first slowly chew some toasted oats, mixed with flax seeds and yes, a few teaspoons of pure cocoa powder , olive or flaxseed oil and chopped nuts. You can mix it to an evil paste and spoon a little down when you have a chocolate attack. Then nibble a wee choccie, you will enjoy it so much more and will not have to finish the whole box! Most of us crave what’s in the cocoa powder and only feel better when the cocoa helps us to release endorphins, stimulate the central nervous system and release glycogen from the liver
3 Cocoa actives that stimulate the brain. Caffeine is one of them, but it’s very low when compared to coffee & tea.
4 Saturated fats and stearic acid. Pure cocoa has zero cholesterol but the waxy solids they add to prevent commercial chocolate bars from melting are horrendous. We cut down on their effect with these recipes by adding olive or canola oil and teach you how to use lecithin to emulsify the fats. The result is a softer, tastier chocolate!
5 Flavours, biscuits, colourants and coconut. Have a break from evil additives. If you crave cocoa, either for the minerals, trace elements, amino acids or psychoactive substances, most ready made confections have a pathetically low amount present, so enjoy learning how to make your own smart chocolates, it’s not difficult.
IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM………..DON’T
If chocolates or pure cocoa do not agree with you , better not be led into temptation. Go for carob or alternatives.
If you are addicted to chocolate, perhaps these recipes & notes will help you to solve the underlying problem.
MAKING VERY HEALTHY CHOCOLATES
Make these nutty delights in bulk for the family:
1: 200g chocolate melted as instructed. Add the oil, lecithin & extra cocoa – but never more sugar!
2: Mix the following together:
1 cup of ground up flaxseed or flaxmeal
1 cup of toasted oats or homemade granola
1 cup of chopped nuts & dried fruit. Blood type A
can have sunflower seeds & peanuts. But no coconut, ever & no peanuts for inflammation, arthritis, etc.
3: Mix this into the chocolate blend, spoon by spoon, till no more can bind with the chocolate.
4: Keep it warm, all the time, especially while you spoon it into little clusters on baking paper or into little chocolate moulds. Nice to make chocolate bars, as well.
THE CHOCOLATE MELTDOWN
HOW TO SOFTEN 200g OF COOKING CHOCOLATE
Warning: never add water as it affects the chemical process and the chocolate goes hard & gritty.
1 Use cooking chocolate or dark Albany chocolate. They are usually lactose free. My fundis have tested the local brands, and recommend Swiss. Nestle also makes pure alkaline cocoa powder, free of flavours and other nasties.
2 Take a small pot of hot water and keep it warm on the stove, but not boiling.
3 Fit a glass or metal bowl on top and chuck in the chocolate. 200g slabs, or use 100g and halve the recipe
4 Be patient as it melts slowly and I now add ½ cup of oil to this mixture. Use olive if you have it, or canola oil and especially the cold pressed virgins!
5 You can add lecithin as an extra, if you have some granules. Before melting the chocolate, soak 50ml of the granules in the same amount of water. It becomes a sticky goo
6 Add the lecithin mix & stir. This emulsifies the chocolate. You can leave it out, no problem, but it’s soooooooooooooo good for you and tasty this way!
7 Stir gently, (licking your fingers all the time) Add more pure cocoa powder to taste: 2 – 4 tablespoons.
WHAT TO DO WITH THIS NEW CHOCOLATE
1 Whilst still warm, have a little over a hot pudding or your very own homemade health ice cream. Keep the rest warm, as it gets very hard when out of the hotpot.
2 Make chocolate drops by spooning it out onto baking paper. Let them harden and they are ideal for using on quick desserts or to pack into tuck boxes with nuts, etc.
3 Make a large, thin flat sheet of chocolate, called really stretching out your chocolate. Do this on baking paper and you can run a knife over it to make grooves for cracking into smaller pieces.
4 Go nuts, by plonking walnuts onto the chocolate drops as they set, or sprinkling them onto the large sheet.