The Family Groove | Mixed Greens | Chocolate: Diet Wrecker or Nature's Miracle Food?

MIXED GREENS
HOLISTIC HEALTH AND LIFESTYLE COUNSELOR KATHERINE PENNINGTON OF
BE-N-BALANCE.COM TOSSES UP NUTRITIOUS AND EASY WAYS TO FEED YOUR
FAMILY—MIND, BODY AND SOUL

Chocolate: Diet Wrecker or Nature’s Miracle Food?

Valentine’s Day is coming up, and on Feb. 14, many of us will
receive a box full of chocolates from a friend or family member.
Although this gift will be a token of their love, many of us will
have conflicted feelings about it, ranging from “Oh, yummy” to
“Oh no, how will I be able to resist eating every last piece and blowing my diet?” Many may feel guilty about eating chocolate because we have been told that it will make us gain weight or cause our face to break out. Well, feel guilty no more!

Pure dark chocolate is nature’s miracle food! Chocolate contains the photonutrients flavonol and polyphenol that are natural antioxidants; the alkaloids theobromine, phenethylamine and anandamide; and is rich in magnesium. Chocolate can lower blood pressure; reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and diabetes and dementia; balance brain chemistry; help build strong bones and prevent cancerous activity; and, last but not least, help with weight loss. On top of all that, it contains and has been linked to higher levels of the mood-altering serotonin. Chocolate is a natural aphrodisiac and boosts our mood and energy. And, in this economy, we all need more of that! Instead of “oh, no,” we should be saying “oh, yes!”

So, How Is Chocolate Made?
Chocolate is made from the seeds of the Theobroma cacao tree. Theobroma, by the way, means “food of the gods.” After the seeds of the cacao are picked, they are fermented, dried, roasted and the shell is removed to form cocoa nibs. These nibs are then processed in a complex system involving grinding, heating, liquefying and blending to form a chocolate liquor, which can be further processed to form solid cocoa or cocoa butter.

Pure, unsweetened chocolate contains primarily cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions. Most chocolate produced today has added sugar. Milk chocolate is chocolate that has added sugar as well as milk powder or condensed milk. White chocolate contains cocoa butter, sugar and milk but no cocoa solids and is not considered to be true chocolate.

The quality of the chocolate produced depends not only on the quality of the cocoa nibs but also on the ingredients used when processing the nibs into chocolate and, of course, the artisan creating the chocolate.

What’s the History of Chocolate?
The Olmec Indians are believed to be the first to grow cocoa beans as a domestic crop, in 400 AD, and the Mayans who migrated into northern regions of South America began establishing the earliest known cocoa plantations in the Yucatan in 600 AD. A chocolate beverage called xocolat, meaning “bitter water,” was popular with the Aztecs, and in the 16th century, Spanish explorers brought it to Europe. Much like the Aztecs and even the Mayans before them, the Spaniards began to add cane sugar and flavorings such as vanilla to sweeten their cocoa beverages to form what we know today as hot chocolate. In 1657, the first chocolate shop opened in London and chocolate became a fashionable drink. Chocolate was first manufactured in the United States in 1765 at Milton Lower Mills, near Dorchester, Mass. And in Switzerland in 1876, M.D. Peter of Vevey perfected a process of making milk chocolate by combining the cocoa nib, sugar, fat and condensed milk, and the modern-day chocolate that we know today was born.

Although fine chocolate is made all over the world today in countries such as France and England, the United States has the world’s largest chocolate-manufacturing industry. Chocolate has become a multimillion-dollar industry in the United States. Only 20 percent of the chocolate out there, however, is pure. Most chocolate consumed in the United States is highly processed and has added ingredients such as refined sugar, artificial flavors and cheap high-cholesterol polyunsaturated fats and hydrogenated oils, resulting in an unnatural product that is virtually devoid of nutritional value and high in fat and calories.

What Do You Look for When You Are Buying Chocolate?
All chocolate is not created equal. Before you reach for that Hershey’s milk chocolate bar, take a look at the label. Milk chocolate contains a lot of sugar and dairy and, as discussed above, many commercial brands are just candy disguised as chocolate. Go for bars that have a chocolate content of 70 percent or more and are free of added sugars, saturated fats and other artificial ingredients.

My favorites are Green and Black’s (www.greenandblacks.com/us/what-we-make/bars.html), Dagoba (www.dagobachocolate.com/products.asp?dept=17) and my absolute favorite is a raw chocolate bar called Chocolate Love—but experiment and see which brand you like best.

We are all chocoholics in our family, and below are some of our favorite recipes. Not only are they packed with delicious chocolate, but they are nutritious, too!

Chocolate Tofu Brownies

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Raw or bittersweet chocolate chips
1 1/3 cups whole wheat or all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon olive or canola oil
¾ cup light or dark sugar
1 package silken tofu (I like Mori-Nu)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Optional: chopped walnuts
Nonstick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, place all the ingredients and process until smoothly blended. At this point, you can add unsweetened chocolate chips or walnuts and blend in with a spoon. Coat an 8"-by-8" baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and pour mixture into it. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until brownies pull away from the sides. Let cool for 15 minutes, cut into slices and enjoy.

“Double Trouble” Chocolate Coconut Macaroons

1 cup unsweetened chocolate or cocoa powder
3 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
½ to ¾ cup agave nectar
2 tablespoons coconut butter (coconut oil)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon sea salt

Combine 1 cup of the chocolate powder and 2 cups of the coconut in a mixing bowl, then add the coconut butter, agave nectar, vanilla and sea salt and mix well. Scoop the mixture out with your hands and roll into balls. Place shredded coconut on a plate and roll balls in it to cover. These make a delicious and nutritious pick-me-up in the afternoon or as an after-school treat for your children.

Katherine Pennington is a holistic health counselor and founder of Be in Balance, which helps women and men lose weight, reduce stress and achieve more balance in their lives. Additionally, Katherine runs a cooking program for kids and their moms called Kids in the Kitch, in which she helps mothers and fathers cook healthier meals for their families as well as works one-on-one with children. Katherine is also an avid runner and marathoner and advises athletes on how to fuel for maximum performance and health.

Katherine graduated from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition/Columbia Teachers College and is a member of the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. Additionally, Katherine is a founding member of Women for Family Nutrition (www.wffn.org).

Katherine resides in New York City and is the mother to two beautiful children.

For more from Katherine, visit www.be-n-balance.com.