A Merry Treat!!!

Having problems on what to give this Christmas?! Think no more because you have only one yet cheaper option – CHOCOLATES!!! Not only does it give joy and sugar rush to the kids but it also gives nutritional benefits – to the adults too.

For the people you love and care for the most, buy or make the high-quality yet healthiest chocolate – Dark Chocolate. It might not be that sweet, but definitely he/she would know how thoughtful you can be. For kids, without health problems, I would recommend Milk or White Chocolate. It’s much creamier and tastier among others. For the family or parties, make a chocolate fountain out of Couverture. Its best used as chocolate coating in candies, truffles and treats.

But never give your dogs chocolate, no matter how much you love them. It’s lethal to them because of the Theobromine ingredient found in chocolates. This ingredient stimulates the cardiac muscle and central nervous system of these animals causing death. Fortunately, this ingredient is contradictory to man. This ingredient combined with caffeine (also found in chocolates) provides a “lift” in the mood and pleasure that chocolate eaters experience.

Christmas will be much sweeter with chocolate. The experience is incomplete without it. For this special occasion, it doesn’t matter what kind of chocolate it can be – may it be candies, cakes, pastries, drink and etc. For as long as there’s chocolate, the celebration would be livelier and happier.

Eat merrily with chocolates!!!

Source: http://www.geocities.com/chocolatecorner/health.html

Pictures: http://www.rosesbydesign.co.uk/prodimages/christmas-wine-chocolates.jpg

Truth v.s. Fallacies

Here’s good news for everyone, not all myths about chocolates are true. Here are some of them you might want to take note of...

Chocolates keeps Acne away! Don’t waste your time making appointments to your dermatologist after eating loads of chocolates. Research studies, made by Pennsylvania school of Medicine and the U.S. Naval Academy, proved that eating chocolate neither causes nor aggravates acne. This further research also led to a conclusion that diet or food is neither linked to acne.

Say, “No more tooth decay”! Say good bye to terrifying dentists. Research has not proven that chocolates does cause cavities or tooth decay. In fact, it indicates that cocoa butter in the chocolate coats the teeth and may help protect them by preventing plaque from forming. The sugar content in the chocolate may contribute to cavities, but no more that the sugar in any other food. But still, it is better to be safe than never – brush your teeth at least twice or thrice a day.

I bet you guys are feeling better now after knowing all these facts. So let us indulge with our favourite treat without worrying what will happen next. But always remember to Eat Moderately and say GOOD BYE TO DOCTORS!

Source:
http://www.geocities.com/chocolatecorner/health.html
Pictures:
http://content.revolutionhealth.com/contentimages/images-image_popup-sn7_acne.jpg
http://emergencygadget.com/blog11/category/medical/

Choose Dark!

Dark chocolate, also known as “bittersweet” or “semisweet” chocolate, contains at least 70% cocoa solids. Need to say more?! It’s a high-quality chocolate, that can be found in candies and some of the chocolate morsel (chips) used in baking. It also contains little or no added sugar, perfect for Diabetic and aged people. It also contains a number of minerals, including calcium, magnesium and potassium.

Nutrition Information for 1 oz (28.35g) Dark Chocolate
Calories	Protein	Total Fat	Calcium	Magnesium	Phosphorus	Potassium	Caffeine
136	1.19g	8.51g	9mg	33mg	37mg	103mg	18mg

Here’s a smart tip for chocoholics – Choose DARK chocolate! Want to know why?! It’s the healthiest chocolate and we do love ourselves right?! Just don’t mix it with milk because it prevents you from getting the benefits of the antioxidants (flavonoids) found in the chocolate, which is similar to tea, red wine, and various fruits and vegetables. Also, Dark Chocolates are good for the heart. It increases the blood flow in arteries, reduces the risk of blood clot and may lower high blood pressure. But not only does the cardiovascular and nervous system gets all the credit. It may also improve your mood and pleasure by boosting serotonin and endorphin levels in the brain.

Although it doesn’t increase cholesterol level due to the stearic and oleic acid found in cocoa, we should all watch our chocolate intake. EAT MODERATELY! Up to 7 ounces per week, an average of 1 ounce per day is recommended. Regardless of the benefits found in dark chocolates, we should watch out for its caffeine content, oxalates (which can lead to an increase in urinary oxalate excretion), and tyramine (that triggers the migraine).

Source: http://med.umich.edu/umim/clinical/pyramid/chocolate.htm

Treat FILIPINOS with RESPECT!

I had enough with other countries or races discriminating us - Filipinos. I may be 75% chinese and 25% filipino, but the percentage doesn't really matters to me. I'm a proud Filipino. Despite the my color and physical appearance, Most of my morals, values and way of thinking are purely Filipino. So treat Filipinos with RESPECT - because they deserve it as well as you do.

Recently, as I was scanning the net for more informations about chocolate, I bump into this site: http://www.gopetition.com.au/region/149/7894.html/7894.html. That was the only time that i knew about how other races discriminate us. I thought they only make fun of us throught some of the movies that I've seen. But this has no exeption. Using the word "Filipinos" as a chocolate brand that is made from Spain and Portugal. The act of naming it as a racial identity is offensive. The reason for doing such was because of our dark skin. In addition, the food intruction says, "Try Filipinos after one hour in the fridge." Worst, in their Dutch campaign, their headline was, "Are you as Tasty as a Filipino?".

In the year 1999, The Philippine government took action on this matter. They filed a diplomatic protest with the government of Spain, the European Commission, and the manufacturer Nabisco Iberia. The protest to stop selling the product until the brand name is changed. Until now, this issue is still unsolve.

If you take pride in being a Filipino, sign the petition on the site posted above.

Recently, There became an issue about Filipino discrimination on the Desperate Housewives soap. They discriminated doctors who studied in the Philippines. Since our country is sooooo kind, the gov't only asked a PUBLIC APOLOGY from the said soap. To know the details of the scene in that soap, click on the youtube site located below.

References: http://www.gopetition.com.au/region/149/7894.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filipinos_(snack_food)
http://www.pix8.net/pro/pic/64822252c/322170.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rQIW-AXzr4

Chocolate sets trend on the runway

What a combination... chocolate with fashion?! This attests how creative people can be by using chocolates, literally, as an element of the designed clothes. Making impossible to possible for the love of chocolate. These 2 video clips, from youtube, features the chocolate fashion show organized by For The Love Of Chocolate Organization held in Chicago. Hope you'll be inspire as they were too.

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDVAOQHbeRw

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZENhw45DUM&mode=related&search=Chocolate%20Clothes%20Sexy%20Chicago%20culinary%20and%20hospitality%20Institute%20fashion%20madeline%20podcast

Eat the chocolate way!

Believe it or not... yes, there is a right way to eat chocolate. But tasting is just a part of the whole process. Being a chocolate expert is important, after all, its our health that is at risk.

First, lets make it a habit to look at the ingredients or labels of the food that we are eating. In this case, chocolates. Make sure that the chocolate your about to eat has large amounts of cocoa butter and cocoa solids. This is a must if your looking for a good quality of chocolate, yet it may be expensive. But hey, why let your taste buds suffer and make your day miserable?! right?!

Seconds, its better if you keep your chocolates at a room temperature. Part of the tasting experience is if it heavenly melts in your mouth. Also, if the chocolate is already in the fridge, don't take it out! It will melt easily.

Thirdly, use your three senses. For the sense of sight, examine the chocolate that your about to eat. It must be free from blemishes or scarce. If not, it must be old or subject to extremes in temperature or handling. For the sense of hearing, a good quality of chocolate must have a "snap' when break into pieces. "The louder the snap, the higher the cocoa quantity and better the tempering". For the sense of smell, it should smell the aroma of chocolate. Since chocolate adapts to the odor of its environment and its added ingedients may interfere in smelling its aroma, the chocolate's aroma must still prevail or else its taste is much different from a real chocolate would be.

Lastly, Indulge to your chocolate. Treat every bite as if its your last. Examine how it the flavors melt in your mouth and how it makes your day complete. As quoted from the article, "Treat chocolate with some Respect", for it will reward you for it. Its better if you'll be eating your favorite chocolate without destruction, that way, you'll appreciate it more.

Sources: http://longevity.about.com/od/lifelongnutrition/ht/taste_chocolate.htm

http://candy.about.com/od/workingwithchocolate/a/selectchoc.htm

image: http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s1258624.htm

The Chocolate Festival Appeal

[1] What is Chocolate? It comprises a number of raw and processed foods that are produced from the seed of the tropical cacao tree. Native to lowland tropical South America, cacao has been cultivated for three millennia in Central America and Mexico, with its earliest documented used around 1100 BC. All of the Mesoamerican peoples made chocolate beverages, including the Maya and Aztecs, who made it into a beverage known as xocolātl, a Nahuatl word meaning "bitter water". The seeds of the cacao tree have an intense bitter taste, and must be fermented to develop the flavor. After being roasted and ground, the resulting products are known as chocolate or cocoa.

As to most people, eating or drinking chocolates has become a part of their daily food intake. Some of them would not even want to live a day without it. Due to their chocolate cravings, they become unconscious with their health to the point that they exceed to the advisable chocolate ingestion. As doctors say, "Eat and Drink Moderately." This also applies to chocolates, especially to senior citizens and diabetic people.

Although, chocolate is not bad as you may think it is. In fact, chocolates are considered to have healthy and scientific benefits. It is an aphrodisiac and an anti-depressant. As studies shows, Dark chocolate is the healthiest among all its types. It is richer in antioxidant (that can also be found in green tea, red wine, orange juice, spinach, onion, corn, strawberries, bananas and apples), prevents the risk of heart diseases (contains stearic acid), and increases the urinary oxalate which reduces the risk of kidney stone formation. In addition, caffeine present in chocolates are lesser than that of coffee.

Most of these facts are not known by many in our country and just prefers eating chocolates whenever they want. Some fact unmentioned are contrary to popular belief or what we call "chocolate fallacies". Since Filipinos lack enough knowledge and self control with the food or sweets that they eat, there has been an incease in population of death caused by cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. To prevent all these and educate Filipinos about their favorite food, which is in relation to their healthy lifestyle, I've proposed a Chocolate Festival as a topic for my thesis.

The event would be the first ever chocolate event in the Philippines that would make history through its world record breaking chocolate attempts included as one of the major highlights of the event. will cater to the growing population of chocolate lovers in the Philippines and help them learn more about their favorite food. The event’s purpose is to educate the consumers of the healthy benefits that they can get from chocolates and making them be conscious of their health and lifestyle. Workshops and seminars about baking, cooking and decorating chocolates would be available to develop their skills and talents. In addition, the event would enhance the creativity and baking skills of individual, and not just bakers or bakery owners. Likewise, the event showcases a variety of chocolates, from imported to local and exotic to delicously indemand chocolates. Also to complete the celebration, a parade of mascots and floats of different chocolate products will be available to entertain kids and teenagers.

Since the event would take place during the weekend before Christmas, It will serve as a bonding activity for families, lovers and friends. This way, relationships are built and made stronger, gaps within the family are bridged and memories are made. For individuals and professionals, the event can serve as their leisure time while enjoying their favorite chocolates and joining fun-filled activities. To keep my target market fit and healthy, the event provides sports activities for them. Noticing some filipinos having an unhealthy lifestyle resulting to various diseases, the event provide a chance for them to be well-informed of the effects that they can get from improper and excessive eating, while doing nothing about it. In addition, the event would be a better opportunity for chocolate companies to advertise their products and launch new ones.

The event would be a fun-filled learning experience. if this would push through in the near future, the chocolate industry and baking industry will boost along with the prestige of the philippines.

Sources: [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate
www.geocities.com/chocolatecorner/facts.html
www.healthatoz.com/healthathoz/Athoz/common/standard/transform.jsp?requestURI=/healthatoz/Atoz/hl/nutr/food/alert02282000.jsp
http://findarticles.com/p/article/mi_m0675/is_5_18/ai_65639596
http://www.med.umich.edu/umim/clinical/pyramid/chocolate.htm

Image: http://www.molon.de/galleries/Malaysia/WestCoast/Cocoa/img.php?pic=3