Posted on Confectionery News.com
Dark chocolate risks tumbling from its "good for you"
confectionery pedestal, as a UK medical journal claims that many manufacturers
in fact remove the heart healthy element - the flavanols.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
National Chocolate Mint Day - February 19th
Today is National Chocolate Mint Day!
Grab yourself a box of
Thin Mints, some Andes Chocolate Mints, or you can make some chocolate mint syrup, the recipe is below.
If you’re
not familiar with chocolate mint check out this article.
 |
| Chocolate Mint Plant |
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| Spoonful of Chocolate Mint Syrup |
Chocolate mint denotes both the
flavor and the mint variety used in this recipe for homemade chocolate mint
syrup. If you don't have access to chocolate mint, you can use regular mint
instead.
Try this syrup in milk or to flavor
coffee, as a dessert sauce for cake or ice cream, or over fresh fruit.
Prep
Time: 5 minutes
Cook
Time: 5 minutes
Total
Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup cold water
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 30 chocolate mint leaves, rinsed, patted dry, and torn
into pieces (You may substitute plain mint).
Preparation:
In a small saucepan, combine the
cocoa powder and cold water, and whisk together until smooth.
Add the sugar and torn mint leaves
and place the saucepan over medium heat.
Bring the mixture to a boil,
stirring constantly to melt the sugar. As soon as the syrup begins to boil,
reduce the heat and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, until it begins to thicken and
turn glossy.
Remove from the heat and allow to
cool.
When the syrup has cooled to near
room temperature, strain it through a fine mesh sieve into a clean jar. Cover
and store in the refrigerator. Enjoy!
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Prostate Benefits From Red Wine
Attention men: the benefits of red wine, from the
Harvard Men’s Health Watch
June
2007
Click here to read original article.
Researchers have found that men who
drink an average of four to seven glasses of red wine per week are only 52% as
likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer as those who do not drink red wine,
reports the June 2007 issue of Harvard Men’s Health Watch. In addition, red
wine appears particularly protective against advanced or aggressive cancers.
Researchers in Seattle collected
information about many factors that might influence the risk of prostate cancer
in men between ages 40 and 64, including alcohol consumption. At first the
results for alcohol consumption seemed similar to the findings of many earlier
studies: There was no relationship between overall consumption and risk. But
the scientists went one step further by evaluating each type of alcoholic
beverage independently. Here the news was surprising—wine drinking was linked
to a reduced risk of prostate cancer. And when white wine was compared with
red, red had the most benefit. Even low amounts seemed to help, and for every
additional glass of red wine per week, the relative risk declined by 6%.
Why red wine? Doctors don’t know.
But much of the speculation focuses on chemicals—including various flavonoids
and resveratrol—missing from other alcoholic beverages. These components have
antioxidant properties, and some appear to counterbalance androgens, the male
hormones that stimulate the prostate.
Many doctors are reluctant to
recommend drinking alcohol for health, fearing that their patients might assume
that if a little alcohol is good, a lot might be better. The Harvard Men’s
Health Watch notes that men who enjoy alcohol and can drink in moderation
and responsibly may benefit from a lower risk of heart attack, stroke,
diabetes, and cardiac death.
Friday, February 14, 2014
February 14th - National Cream-Filled Chocolates Day!
Happy Valentine’s Day and National Cream-Filled Chocolates Day!
I have to say I’m learning all sorts of interesting facts by
maintaining this blog. I had no idea there was a day dedicated to cream-filled
chocolates. I was exploring the internet and came across this recipe by
Stephanefalies for Chocolates for Men. The fillings are based on flavors that
men might gravitate towards like Bacon and Whiskey.
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| Box of Homemade Chocolates |
Instead of buying a box of chocolates for the ones you love you can make your own with interesting flavors, enjoy!
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Back In Action for 2014!
National Red Wine and Dark Chocolate Day is back in action!
You may have noticed that I have changed the holiday from
National Red Wine and Dark Chocolate Month to Day. This has been something I’ve
been experimenting with for a while. A friend mentioned that have a month
dedicated to Red Wine and Dark Chocolate seemed excessive. I don’t want to
encourage anyone to overindulge since too much of either is unhealthy so we’re
back to June 21st.
Here are some chocolate related holidays that I didn’t
create posts for in December, January, and February:
- December 16: National Chocolate-Covered Anything Day
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| Dark Chocolate Covered Clementines with Sea Salt! |
My friend Mari was kind enough to provide a
recipe for Dark Chocolate dipped Clementines with Sea Salt in honor of National
Chocolate-Covered Anything Day. You can check out the recipe here.
- December 28: National Chocolate Day
- January 3: National Chocolate-Covered Cherries Day
- January 10: National Bittersweet Chocolate Day
- January 27: National Chocolate Cake Day
- February 1: National Dark Chocolate Day
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