Can Chocolate Make You More Healthy?

How's that for an opening statement? Are you like me? Would you eat even more chocolate if you could justify it by saying it was good for you? Well, hold onto your hat because it turns out that according to some recently released information some kinds of chocolate my very well be good for you! The renowned health expert, Andrew Weil even endorses the consumption of dark chocolate.

The link to the health benefits of chocolate was claimed in a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The study was sponsored by the American Cocoa Research Institute and only consisted of twenty three participants. The summary or abstract from the study said that chocolate when combined with a healthy diet, increased HDL cholesterol levels, which is the good kind of cholesterol and also had an antioxidant benefit.

This study wasn't as earth shaking as the media hyped it to be. When you look deeper into the study you find that the results were exaggerated and that the beneficial effects from chocolate were minimal. Even the touted benefits of increasing HDL were not as great as originally claimed with the researchers admitting, "the cocoa-chocolate diet had neutral effects on lipids and lipoproteins."

It is well known that soy, grapes, tea, onions, apples, citrus and many others are rich sources of antioxidants, so it's not surprising that cocoa contains an antioxidant, too. How important is the antioxidant in chocolate? In "How good is chocolate?" nutrition expert Paul Nestel questioned the importance of chocolate's modest effects on LDL oxidation. He further asked, "Given that there are thousands of flavonoids in the foods that we eat ... should each new finding be greeted as an encouragement to eat that particular source because it contains a special flavonoid?

Chocolate Pudding

Once the chocolate is melted, transfer some into the cold frying pan. With your fingers together, cup your hand slightly and start moving the chocolate in an "S" motion until it feels cool. At this point the chocolate is ready to start dipping.

Take a candy from the tray and drop it into the chocolate. With your chocolate hand, flip it over to coat both sides then lift it out, tapping the back of your hand on the edge of the frying pan to remove the excess chocolate. Flip the coated center onto a waxed paper- lined tray.

Keep moving the tempered chocolate in the "S" motion when you do not have a center in it. When you have used approximately ? of the chocolate left in the pan, add more from the bowl. Move this chocolate in the "S" motion as well, and keep dipping your candy until you are finished. If the chocolate starts to get too stiff, turn on the frying pan for two seconds, no more, and keep the chocolate moving at all times. While this may sound complicated at first, it will get easier and more natural with time.

Making Lemon Meringue Pie, Lemon Chess Pie and Lemon Chiffon Pie

Dyed-in-the-wool chocolate lovers often fail to properly acknowledge the many desserts not calling for any derivative of the cocoa bean. Therefore, this month's Dessert Spotlight deservedly falls upon not one, but three luscious lemon pies, all of which have been popular favorites for years.

A major theme of Texas Cooking, of course, is to encourage cooks to seek the benefits of cooking from scratch those things many of us are accustomed to grabbing off the supermarket shelves. Do not allow your taste buds to fall victim to the mediocre.

"Why pies?," you say. "They are so much trouble, and I can't make pie crust."

"Pshaw," I say. To my way of thinking, pies are the perfect dessert. They only make 6 to 8 servings, depending upon the generosity of the slicer, so they are usually gone within 24 hours or less (or at least they are at my house). So they stay really fresh, and there is less for me to eat (not wise for me to eat pie every day). And besides, they aren't hard to make. Many people think pies have to win beauty contests. They are missing the point, and the point is TASTE.

Of course, it's quicker to use frozen pie shells. But I imagine that anyone who has gotten this far into a cooking website is interested in more than speed. Certainly, frozen pie shells are okay in a pinch, but I encourage those who consider themselves pastry-challenged to give a chance to the simple pie crust recipe listed below. Get yourself one of those hand-held pastry blender gadgets and some waxed paper. That's all the equipment you will need.

The jewel in the spotlight is Lemon Chiffon Pie. This pie may look intimidating, but it really isn't. I do recommend that you have a really good electric mixer, however. Light, high and fine textured, this pie is a delightful ending to a spicy meal.

Easter Weight Loss And The Easter Bunny. Are They Both A Myth?

Millions of Americans are well into their annual spring diet program, trying to lose weight fast before summer arrives. Unfortunately, Easter can derail our weight loss efforts faster than Peter Cottontail hops down his bunny trail. With mountains of candy eggs and legions of chocolate bunnies, Easter packs enough fat and calories to obliterate even the best weight loss program. Attempting to stick with a healthy diet through Easter may leave the dieter wondering if Easter weight loss is a bigger myth than the Easter bunny.

"Easter is third in candy consumption in the United States with 940 million dollars spent on it in 1998. That's a lot of chocolate bunnies" (Source: about.com). "In 2000, Americans bought $1.9 billion of Easter candy and consumed 7.1 billion pounds to edge ahead of Christmas sales that year" (Source: Topeka Capital Journal, April, 2004).

So what's a weight watcher to do, short of filling the Easter eggs with diet pills and weight loss products? By following a few simple guidelines, it is possible to maintain a diet plan through Easter and perhaps even achieve some healthy weight loss.

All Easter Candy Is Not Created Equal:
First and foremost, it's important to be aware that all Easter candy is not created equal. While no Easter candy could properly be called a diet product, it is true that some varieties are less fattening than others. On the healthier side of the scale are marshmallow eggs and jellybeans. Palmer Marshmallow Eggs, for example, in a 47 gram serving, boast just 130 calories, 0 grams fat, 0 grams saturated fat, and 38 grams carbohydrate (13% Daily Value)

Chocolate Marshmallow Brownie

Sift the flour and salt together in a bowl. In another bowl, combine the eggs and vanilla extract and whisk together by hand until blended. Whisk in the sugar. Whisk the egg mixture into the chocolate. Add the flour and the remaining 3 oz chocolate into the batter and mix well with wooden spoon or spatula. Add walnuts and mix again.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly. Put the marshmallow pieces all over the top and push them in a little way down the mix with a chopstick. You should be able to see the tops of the marshmallows.

Bake on the middle shelf of your oven until the marshmallows are browned and a skewer comes out with a little batter sticking to it--not dry. About 45 minutes. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold. When chilled, run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen sides. Then slide the cake off to a cutting board and evenly divide with a sharp knife, into 16 two inch squares. Make 3 slices each way = 4x4= 16 cubes.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Keeps several weeks.

Vanilla is Vanilla, Right?

When purchasing scented items online, such as candles, incense, or bath and body products, it is hard to know what to expect from the fragrance you choose. Especially when computer screens are unfortunately not scratch and sniff (wonderful idea though, isn't it?). This is especially true when it comes to the fragrance of vanilla.

The first reason there is such a varied amount of vanilla scents available (and this is true of lavender as well), is because each fragrance oil manufacturing company is different, and has a different way of making each fragrance. While you might order Vanilla fragrance oil from one company, you could order plain Vanilla from another company and get a completely different smell. This is simply due to the difference in manufacturers.

Another thing that makes a huge difference is what you expect the vanilla to smell like. Vanilla on it's own is not a very descriptive term. When I say vanilla, do you think of the scent of vanilla extract? Or vanilla ice cream? Or possibly even real vanilla beans?

Vanilla can be very sugary smelling, or have a faint alcoholic-type scent that is more reminiscent of vanilla extract. It is also used as a base for a ton of other completely different scents, such as Lavender Vanilla, Jasmine Vanilla, Sandalwood Vanilla, Vanilla Musk, French Vanilla, and many others. If the company does not have a fragrance descriptions page that gives a clear idea of what their vanilla smells like, I would recommend writing to the company and asking what their vanilla does smell like before purchasing.

So why so many variations on such a simple fragrance? Psychologists and medical researchers were aware of our positive reactions to the scent of vanilla long before perfume makers recognized it's potential. In experiments where an odor universally regarded as pleasant is required, vanilla has been a standard choice for decades.

Chocolate Cream Pie

Beat to a cream half a cupful of butter and a cupful and a quarter of powdered sugar. Add two well-beaten eggs, two tablespoonfuls of wine, half a cupful of milk, and a cupful and a half of sifted flour, with which has been mixed a teaspoonful and a half of baking powder. Bake this in four well-buttered, deep, tin plates for about fifteen minutes in a moderate oven. Put half a pint of milk in the double-boiler, and on the fire.

Beat together the yolks of two eggs, three tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, and a level tablespoonful of flour. Stir this mixture into the boiling milk, beating well.Add one-sixth of a teaspoonful of salt, and cook for fifteen minutes, stirring often. When cooked, flavor with half a teaspoonful of vanilla extract. Put two of the cakes on two large plates, spread the cream over them, and lay the other two cakes on top. Beat the whites of the two eggs to a stiff froth, and then beat into them one cupful of powdered sugar and one teaspoonful of vanilla.

Shave one ounce of Walter Baker & Co.'s Premium No. 1 Chocolate, and put it in a small pan with two tablespoonfuls of sugar and one tablespoonful of boiling water. Stir over a hot fire until smooth and glossy. Now add three tablespoonfuls of cream or milk, and stir into the beaten egg and sugar. Spread on the pies and set away for a few hours.