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Archive for April, 2009

Eat Healthy Chocolate, a Natural Weight Loss Product

Saturday, April 18th, 2009

What if there is an alternative that could maintain its nutritional value? Rather than heat the cacao, it is cold pressed, so it allows to maintain all the benefits and healthful properties, such as flavonoids, antioxidants, high ORAC scoring, high fiber and low sugars. Because of the bitter taste of this natural healthy chocolate it’s combined with very healthy and tasteful berries like the Acai and Blueberry.

Now we know there is actually a healthy and tasteful chocolate, can it also be used as a weight loss product? There are several studies and testimonials that prove that unprocessed chocolate can be a natural weight loss product. First of all, cocoa contains potential mood elevating chemicals. It may help you feel more energetic. The chance of exercising will be increased.

Do not underestimate peoples snacking habits. If you grab a piece of the healthy chocolate versus a bar containing lots of sugars and fats, the benefits of eating healthy chocolate will be huge because of the feeling of snacking will disappear. The biggest problem of people gaining weight is a lack of exercise and irregular eating. Without dieting, calorie counting, watching your carb intake or hit the gym every day for 3 houres, you can easliy lose some weight by doing this simple steps of eating healthy chocolate.

In conclusion, let’s go melt away those unwanted lbs and regain that look you’ve been dreaming about… let’s regain that self confidence, let’s put that sputter back in your step and get that sparkle back in your eye. It can be done by simply taking this natural weight loss product and as a bonus, this healthy chocolate is 100% all natural, certified Kosher, vegan friendly and diabetic safe.

Baking With Chocolate

Monday, April 13th, 2009

Chocolate is one of the most favorite flavors in the world when it comes to desserts, sweets, and pastries. Not only are they delicious as candy bars and eaten on their own or drank as a hot drink, they are also a popular ingredient for baking and used to flavor cakes, brownies, and cookies. When baking with dark chocolate, you don’t just buy any type, melt it and mix it in with your recipe. There are different types of baking chocolate to choose from.

The type that used for baking is commonly called “baking chocolate” and can be unsweetened, bittersweet, semisweet, or sweet. The difference among the three is the amount of chocolate liquor that it contains, as well as the sugar, vanilla, and lecithin mixture. Baking chocolate, like all other types is made from roasted cacao beans. The cacao beans are fermented and dried, roasted, and then crushed and ground until it forms a paste, liquefying the cocoa butter, and becomes what is called the chocolate liquor. Liquor, in this case, does not mean that it contains alcohol but simply means “liquid.” The liquor is then poured into molds and allowed to harden or solidify. The resulting bar is what is considered as unsweetened chocolate. To make bittersweet, semisweet, or sweet baking chocolate, sugar, lecithin and vanilla are added to the liquor before molding, alo

Bittersweet type contains less sugar than semisweet and sweet chocolate, although because of the flexible regulation for semisweet chocolate, both bittersweet and semisweet, according to those standards, could contain practically the same amount of liquor and sugar, but still be labeled separately. One brand of baking chocolate can thus have a bittersweet one that is close to another brand’s semisweet chocolate. This is why, in most recipes, semisweet and bittersweet types could be interchanged. However, if the recipe calls for unsweetened ones, semisweet or bittersweet will not do because unsweetened is obviously very different in content. Most recipes for baking and cooking usually require unsweetened ones. If the recipe does not specifically state that you have to use bittersweet, semisweet or sweet types, use unsweetened ones always. You can simply adjust the sweetness as you go along to your desired taste.

Unsweetened, bittersweet, and semisweet types can be stored for more than a year as long as you store it properly. Put it in an airtight container and in a cool, dry place where there is no direct sunlight. Temperature fluctuations can cause it to discolor. Milk chocolate becomes stale more easily and has a shelf life of less than a year. Always check the dates when you’re buying chocolate and get the freshest you can get.