I Love Chocolate

This post is an in-depth follow-up to my article on YorkRegion.com - Renata’s Table: What is better than brownies on Valentine's Day?

My Swiss heritage is showing. I love chocolate. It is my guilty pleasure treat when I need that little somethin’ somethin’ to tide me over until dinner or when I need to curb the sweet monster. A small handful of chocolate chips does the trick as does a small piece of good dark chocolate. Anything Lindt is heaven! I savour chocolate so it lasts and a little goes a long way. I will often grab a snack of fruit or veggies and those are super satisfying most times but there are those other times when only chocolate will suffice.

Good chocolate does not have to be avoided as there are nutrients in chocolate that are healthy and beneficial for good health. Of course, everything in moderation and this is true when it comes to chocolate. It does need to be looked at as a treat and not as lunch!

There are different types of chocolate. Milk Chocolate, varying percents of dark chocolate, white chocolate… Which is healthier?

First, what is chocolate? The cacao plant produces a bean and it is from this bean that cacao and cocoa are made with a slight difference between them. When the bean is ready to be harvested, the beans are removed from their pods which contains a fatty portion = cocoa butter. The bean is fermented and then dried. Next comes roasting the bean and it is in the roasting process where the difference is – cacao is roasted at a low temperature where cocoa is roasted at a high temperature. Cocoa is a little less bitter, slightly darker and has a little less nutritional value than cacao due to this higher temperature process.

White chocolate is made with cocoa butter and does not contain any chocolate solids from the bean (that gives milk and dark chocolate the dark colour and taste). The cocoa butter is mixed with sugar, milk products, vanilla, and lecithin which is an emulsifier to bind the mixture. Lecithin is a fat and is essential for the cells in our bodies and found naturally in egg yolks and soybeans. Lecithin has been tested for its effectiveness in treating dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Some argue that white chocolate is a candy and not chocolate since it does not contain the portions of the bean that make chocolate what it is. I’ll leave that argument alone.

Milk chocolate is made with milk products and is flavoured with sugar. Dark chocolate contains sugar as well but much less than milk chocolate. There is not a big difference between the calories in milk chocolate and dark chocolate. But dark chocolate has more nutrients plus due to its more bitter taste, will not likely be eaten in the same quantities as milk chocolate which can lead to weight gain.

Dark chocolate is the healthiest and has loads of nutritional benefits: fiber, iron, magnesium, copper, potassium, phosphorus, zinc and selenium.

An anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, the cocoa in milk and dark chocolate is rich in minerals that boost memory and clarity and contain anandamide and theobromine which are potent neuro benefiting components and help with an overall sense of well being and calmness, joy, bliss and enhances euphoria – the same feelings we get when we are in love! Hence why Valentine’s and chocolate are such a perfect pair.

As February is the month of Valentine’s Day make a point to tell and show those you love and care about what they mean to you and how grateful you are to have them in your life. Do this throughout the year! A loving word, a compliment, a random act of kindness all make for a special relationship and will make you feel wonderful! And not only others, show yourself some love and TLC too – slow your life down, take deep breathes, indulge in some quiet time, take a long hot soothing (bubble?) bath, take a walk by yourself or with a friend or family member and leave your cell phone at home so you can think or talk without interruption, try a new herbal tea or your own blend, cozy up and read that book you’ve been wanting to get to, arrange a call to connect with a friend or family member you haven’t spoken to in some time, write a letter – yes a handwritten letter – to a senior so they get a lovely treat in the mail, book a massage, mani-pedi, hair appointment when we’re allowed to do these things comfortably again… and definitely bake these healthy, gluten-free, dairy-free brownies – cut them into hearts in February! They are incredibly delicious and truly Oh Wow! My “Oh Wow Chocolate Fudgy Heart Brownies”.