"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.

A List to Lift Your Spirits - 45 Ways to Improve Your Life!

A dark chocolate gourmet gift basket can indeed lift your spirits - so can this list!


From the sassy & spirited minds at SmakNews.com is this list of '45 Ways to Improve Your Life'. It was such an enticing list, so we could'nt help but share a few with you right here!

- Smile more, it doesn’t cost you money and will knock years from your face off!



- Stop thinking about your regrets and start living your life.

- Forgive and forget. Holding grudges is like having excess baggage on a flight. You only end up paying hefty fines for them. So just bin those grudges and travel light.

- Enjoy your breakfast, lunch and dinner. Make meal times sacred. Don’t talk business. Everything else is rushed enough; take your time with meals!



- Help a total stranger for no reward.

- Accept shortcomings and work around them.

- Volunteer your services to causes you believe in.

Read the rest of the lovely list here!

The Proof is in the (Dark Chocolate) Pudding!

According to this article on ScienceDaily.com, new research at the Faculty of Life Sciences (LIFE) at the University of Copenhagen reveals that dark chocolate is indeed more satisfying and filling than milk chocolate. Read about the research; sounds like a tasty experiment!

"....To compare the effects of dark and milk chocolate on both appetite and subsequent calorie intake, 16 young and healthy men of normal weight who all liked both dark and milk chocolate took part in a so-called crossover experiment. This meant that they reported for two separate sessions, the first time testing the dark chocolate, and the second time the milk chocolate...."




"...They had all fasted for 12 hours beforehand and were offered 100g of chocolate, which they consumed in the course of 15 minutes. The calorific content was virtually the same for the milk and dark chocolate.
During the following 5 hours, participants were asked to register their appetite every half hour, i.e. their hunger, satiety, craving for special foods and how they liked the chocolate."

What were the results? Very interesting indeed - read the rest of the article here.