Tag Archive: dark chocolate

Dark Chocolate for Kids?

If it's sweet, kids will eat it.  Make that sweetness chocolate, and it's gone without even thinking about it.  For most kids that's true even if it's dark chocolate (except, strangely for our son, who loves milk chocolate and won't touch dark chocolate).

Dark chocolate often in the news for its heart healthy consequences, such as lowering blood pressure and reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke in adults.  Now someone has finally asked the question, "is dark chocolate healthy for children?"
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Dark Chocolate for Reducing Cardiac Diseases

As a self-proclaimed and a self-confessed chocoholic, I have always been particularly keen about the things I come across on the Internet that talk about my favorite sweet treat. In recent years, there have been many stories about the health benefits that dark chocolates are able to provide.

Recent research brings up a certain metabolic syndrome, which is a combination of many risk factors that include an elevated blood pressure as well as high cholesterol and abdominal obesity.  This condition places a person in a position that can lead to diseases like coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes and many different types of carcinoma or cancer. The participants in the study showed no symptoms of coronary heart disease, and were not takers of any medications that can lower blood pressure.
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Magnesium-Loaded Cocoa Beans

Maintaining a good health can be particularly tricky in this day and age. With all the processed and cholesterol-loaded food available in the market, it gets all the harder especially when the less healthy stuff is a more accessible and affordable option.

Having healthy foods as a staple in your diet is key. Cocoa beans, for one, pack a lot of nutritional benefits. Did you know that the cocoa bean is the richest source of magnesium in nature? You read right. What is magnesium, by the way?

Magnesium is a mineral that plays a significant role in your health, and it's actually contained in several parts of your body. To enable your body to absorb the ingested calcium properly, there should be enough magnesium available. A lot of individuals take calcium supplements and fail to realize that magnesium is required for optimal calcium absorption. That being said, you can consume cocoa along with the calcium supplements that you are taking.
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Equal Exchange Very Dark Chocolate

The Equal Exchange brand Very Dark Chocolate (71% Cacao) is organic and uses 100% fair trade ingredients. Equal Exchange Very Dark ChocolateThe chocolaty richness of this bar is absolutely excellent. I love the fruity notes that come right away at the beginning and the soft, vanilla cocoa that lingers in the finish. This is one of my favorite chocolates and at 71%, is the best in that percentage range.

This bar is made from cacao from farmer owned co-operatives in CONACADO, a famous cocoa growing region in the Dominican Republic, and CACVRA, in Peru.
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Theo Chocolates and Jane Goodall

What Do Theo Chocolates and Jane Goodall Have In Common?

Jane Goodall - Good For AllAccording to the Theo Chocolates website, "The partnership between Theo and Jane Goodall is inspired by 'Cocoa Practices,' a ground breaking Theo Chocolate initiative that brings together small scale cocoa farmers, larger producers, and non-governmental organizations from the world's cocoa producing regions."

Jane Goodall is a United Nations Messenger of Peace. She puts her stamp of approval, "Good For All" seal , on products she feels reflects her personal commitment to supporting the environment, and high quality, ethically produced products from the developing world.
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Theo Mint Dark Chocolate

Theo Mint Dark ChocolateThe Theo Dark Chocolate bar with Mint is made with 70% dark chocolate and a unique blend of spearmint and peppermint.

I love mint. It's one of my top 5 favorite flavor combinations with chocolate. I couldn't imagine enjoying a mint chocolate bar that wasn’t traditional 100% peppermint.  You just don’t mess with tradition!

However, I really liked the unusual blend of spearmint with the peppermint. 
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Eat Chocolate, Lose Weight

I have mentioned in one of my previous blog posts about a new experiment conducted that involved chocolate in weight-loss diets. Well, this one might just up any chocoholic's excitement just a little bit more.

True Healthy Dark ChocolateThe holidays are just around the corner. And we all know what's in it during this anticipated time of the year… food, lots of it. Eating and drinking just can't get any better when done with the most special people in your life around. And since it happens only once in a year, most of us tend to go overboard and end up gaining unwanted pounds.
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Eat Chocolate, Feed Children

Breakfast Clubs of Canada is a non-profit organization aiming to supply services and financial support to community-based breakfast programs with the backup of their individual and corporate partners who are equally willing to help feed children.

Nation Bank Financial Group has supported Breakfast Clubs of Canada and cooperated this year by presenting Theobroma chocolates as a means for fund-raising. These organic and fair-trade chocolates are individually wrapped inside boxes and sell for $5.

The available flavors are dark chocolate, dark chocolate with a burst of orange, and dark chocolate with raspberry. You can get these treats at National Bank branches from Nov. 28 to Dec. 31. Proceeds will go to school breakfast programs across all Canada.
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Ghirardelli Intense Dark Toffee Interlude

Ghirardelli Intense Dark Toffee InterludeOctober is Breast Cancer awareness month and Ghirardelli is using the power and popularity of chocolate to make a difference.  Each time you purchase an Intense Dark chocolate bar, Ghirardelli will donate $1.00 to the National Breast Cancer foundation.  After enjoying one of the many varieties of Intense Dark, don’t throw away the wrapper until after you’ve entered the code on their website.  The code is printed on the inside of the packaging.

It is hard to choose my favorite among the Intense Dark varieties because they’re all so good! 

I most recently had the pleasure of eating Toffee Interlude.  This rich, bold chocolate surrounds crunchy toffee pieces and caramelized almonds.  The buttery and caramel flavors blend nicely with the soft sweetness of the chocolate and the hint of salt from the almonds. 
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Eat Chocolate, Help Beat Breast Cancer

In respect to Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company is supporting the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) through the program “Be an Intense Supporter”.

The Ghirardelli Chocolate Company is a producer and seller of premium chocolate products. It was founded by an Italian chocolatier Domingo Ghirardelli and derived its name from him. The company was is the second-oldest chocolate company in the United States, incorporated in 1852 and still going on.

National Breast Cancer Foundation or NBCF, on the other hand, is dedicated to spreading awareness and encouraging optimism in the battle against breast cancer. The foundation brings motivation to fight this dreaded big C by backing free mammograms for financially-challenged women as its main mission is to save lives through early detection. They also support research programs across the country. They are standing their ground in increasing awareness through education, providing diagnostic breast care services for those who could otherwise not afford them and giving nurturing support services.
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