Intentional Chocolate Featured on UniqueHomes.com!

Do you also love gourmet, dark chocolate? UniqueHomes.com gives Intentional Chocolate kind words....

The great website UniqueHomes.com has featured Intentional Chocolate on their site! Here's an excerpt from their delightful article:

"...Intentional Chocolate, a company focused on delivering intention-enhanced food that nourishes both body and spirit, uses the advanced meditations of monks (some trained by the Dalai Lama himself) to infuse good intentions into its products.



The editors at Unique Homes recently taste-tested the fine chocolates to see what celebs like Oprah Winfrey are raving about."

Read the rest of this lovely article here. Thank you, UniqueHomes.com!

Dark Chocolate- One of the Top 10 Healing Foods of the Decade!

Dark, organic gourmet chocolate is full or healing properties...

From Dr. Patricia Fitzgerald on Huffingtonpost.com is this wonderful article detailing the top 10 healing foods of the decade! And of course, dark chocolate is included. Here is an excerpt from the article:

"...Many fruits, vegetables, and unprocessed whole foods have properties that can benefit our health. Studies in the past decade have taken nutritional research beyond protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals. Chemicals in the plants called phytochemicals have been a specific focus in the past decade, offering benefits such as cancer prevention, cholesterol reduction, and hormone regulation, to name a few.

There is truly a cornucopia of nutritional benefits that have been discovered. Here are a few "superfoods" that have received a lot of press in the past decade for their research-supported health benefits:

Honey:
Honey has been revered throughout the ages for its healing properties. Some outstanding research has shown anti-bacterial and anti-viral effects. Honey is being explored further for its role in digestive health as well as wound healing. The research on honey at the University of Waikatob is particularly impressive.

Blueberries:
Among the fruits with the highest level of antioxidants, blueberries have been linked to lowering cholesterol, reducing diabetes risk, slowing the aging process, improving motor skills and supporting urinary and vision health. The compound, anthocynanin, gives blueberries their color and may be the main component of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.



Salmon:
Low in calories and saturated fat, and rich in protein and omega-3 fatty acids, salmon has certainly received a lot of press this past decade. Research showing anti-inflammatory and cancer prevention properties are impressive. Its role in diabetes and Alzheimer’s prevention as well as its overwhelming cardiovascular benefits makes this fish a winner in every category. Look for wild salmon vs. farmed to avoid contaminants such as PCBs. "

Find the rest of the article here, including the rest of these superb healing foods ( and more about dark chocolate!)

Does Generosity Come Naturally to Those With Kind Hearts?

Does giving the gift of dark, gourmet chocolate come easy for you?

From New Scientist is this fascinating article about the possible origins of generosity! Here is an excerpt from this intriguing article:

"...generosity – or the desire for fairness – seems automatic and arises from activation in a brain area that controls intuition and emotion.

Neuropsychologists define "prosocial" people as those who prefer to share and share alike, and "individualists" as those who are primarily concerned with maximising their own gain.

Inequality aversion

According to one theory, the difference between these two groups is that prosocial people actively suppress their selfish tendencies with the help of their prefrontal cortex. But Masahiko Haruno of Tamagawa University in Tokyo, Japan wondered if some people might instead have an automatic aversion to inequality.




Haruno, along with Christopher Frith of University College London used functional MRI to scan the brains of 25 prosocial people and 14 individualists (presorted using a standard behavioral test) while they rated their preference for a series of money distributions between themselves and a hypothetical other person. As expected, the prosocial group preferred even splits while the individualists favoured distributions where they got the most money."

Follow this link to read more in depth details about this interesting theory.

"The Healing Powers of Chocolate" - Intentional Chocolate Mentioned in the Wonderful New Book by Cal Orey!

Dark chocolate takes center stage in this delicious new book by Cal Orey, "The Healing Powers of Chocolate"...

From the author of "The Healing Powers of Olive Oil" and "The Healing Powers of Vinegar" is the lusciously informative book, "The Healing Powers of Chocolate.



The book, which delves deeply into the history and healing powers of the "food of the gods" has featured Intentional Chocolate and Hawaiian Vintage Chocolate in its pages as well! Here is a bit more about the book:

"...THE HEALING POWERS OF CHOCOLATE traces the origin of chocolate, from bean to bar, from centuries ago to the present day. In creating this informative and fascinating book, renowned health expert and author Cal Orey (who lives near San Francisco, one of the nation’s chocolate hot spots) interviewed America’s top chocolate makers and chocolatiers, nutritionists, medical researchers, and chocolate lovers to find out how this ancient “food of the gods” can prevent and fight common ailments and diseases.
The result is a lively comprehensive guide to the wide world of quality chocolate, from 70% dark truffles to Italian biscotti baked with extra virgin olive oil, in America and around the globe. With proven data for eating dark chocolate containing cocoa flavanols to reduce heart disease, diabetes, cancer, obesity, and dozens of pesky ailments, this book—with a European twist—takes you on a magical chocolate tour, complete with wit, charm, and entertaining personal anecdotes from ancient folklore to the 20th and 21st century. Find out how chocolate’s powers can lower the risk of developing heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and weight woes.

Learn how chocolate contains more antioxidants than green tea and red wine—without the alcohol. Put dozens of chocolate home cures to work for treating acne, anxiety, brain fog, cabin fever, cough, depression, fatigue, and other ailments.

You’ll also find chocolate beauty and anti-aging treatment—from masks, manicures to bubble baths and body wraps—made from antioxidant-rich chocolate teamed with natural plant extracts.

Incorporating cutting-edge scientific research, plus Mediterranean-style heart-healthy chocolate recipes, from Sicilian Mole to Dark Chocolate Mousse, THE HEALING POWERS OF CHOCOLATE is a well-rounded one-of-a-kind resource that will show you why savoring this no longer forbidden “food of the gods” is the 21st century trend."

You can purchase your very own copy at the links below:

Amazon.com

Barnes and Noble

BooksAMillion

Enjoy! Visit Cal's blog here for unique, fantastic recipes and musings about all things gourmet.

Easy Green Living in 2010!

Happy New Year - Beneficial, green living for 2010!

From the lovely Mother Nature Network is this wonderful article containing a few easy tips to "staying green" in 2010! Here's more from blogger Seil Ju:


"...My eco-friendlier Day Runner. I walked over to Staples to see if any greener options were available. What I found: Refills made with 60% post-consumer recycled paper printed with veggie-based inks! Yes, I know — some planners do offer 100% post-consumer recycled content — but those require my buying new covers along with the innards, instead of refilling my years-old Franklin Covey planner cover. Plus, the Staples store was just a block away. Carbon-emissions free travel!

A BYO appeal at Vons. Believe it or not, my local Vons has a sign on its front door urging customers to “Please bring your reusable bag.” I only noticed this about a week ago, so I’m guessing the sign was put up as part of the county-wide A Day Without a Bag event. Still, we’re talking about an anti-disposable-bag message from a major chain supermarket."

Read the rest of this intriguing article here on Mother Nature Network.

Dark Chocolate's Delicious History!

Dark chocolate has been deeply revered through the ages; and continues to be!

From the Aztecs onward, dark chocolate has been the "food of the gods" for many years! From AllChocolate.com is this interesting article all about chocolate's impressive history! Here's an excerpt:



"...The Aztecs thought it gave their warriors strength. Early doctors used to prescribe it to cure ailments. Throughout history, chocolate has been revered more for its medicinal qualities than its delicious taste.
"Chocolate nourishes and preserves health entire, yet causes a pleasant and natural sleep and rest," wrote Dr. William Hughes, an English physician in 1672. "Drunk twice a day, a man may very well subsist therewith, not taking anything else at all."

Aztec Elixir:
For centuries, chocolate was not eaten in the bar form we know, but consumed as a drink. To the Mayans, Aztecs and Early-Europeans, this frothy brew made from the cacao bean was a phenomenon of nature. These early chocolate-lovers were likely impressed by chocolate because of its mild stimulant value — it made them feel awake, alert, strong. Chocolate quickly gained a reputation as food vital for health.



Documents detailing Aztec life showed that chocolate was viewed as a medicinal marvel. The documents, known as the Badianus and the Florentine Codices, were written in the Aztec's native language and were found after the Spanish conquest.
Cacao flowers were ingredients in perfumed baths, and thought to cure fatigue in government officials and others who held public office," says the Badianus Codex, published in 1552. The Florentine Codex, published in 1590, called for a mixture of cacao beans, maize and herbs to ease fever and panting, and to treat the faint of heart....."

Read the rest here in AllChocolate.com to learn more, including how the early Europeans used chocolate to improve their well-being! Learn even more about "Chocolate's Rich History" here.