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From the Desk of Jordan Rubin: Our Love Affair with Chocolate
On Valentine’s Day last month, I was in Tulsa, Oklahoma, separated by 1,134 miles from the love of my life, my wife, Nicki, who was back home with the kids. Since we knew I’d be out of town on Valentine’s Day, we went out to dinner a few days earlier as an early V-Day celebration.
I remember well our first Valentine’s Day together. We had just started dating and had known each other for just a few months. I’ll never forget dropping by her apartment after work and presenting her with a heart-shaped box of chocolates. I wasn’t a candy eater and neither was Nicki, but she appreciated the sentiments behind the thoughtful gift. She opened the box to find seven pieces of chocolate, each foil-wrapped in the shape of a heart.
“It’s organic chocolate,” I explained. “They said at the health food store that it’s the best kind.”
“Would you like a piece?” she asked, holding the box in front of me.
“No, I couldn’t. I’m not eating any chocolate, but you go right ahead.”
We sat down next to each other on the couch. She looked at each piece carefully before choosing one. After unwrapping the red foil, she popped it into her mouth. “This is incredible!” she exclaimed. “I’ve never eaten chocolate that tasted so good before. Are you sure you don’t want a piece?”
“Yes, I’m sure. Go right ahead.”
She didn’t stop with one piece, or two. Nor three or four. Nicki ate the whole box of chocolate in one sitting. “These are fantastic,” she said between gooey bites.
More than a decade later, Nicki still has a weakness in her heart for chocolate, and from what I hear, women have had a thing for chocolate for a long time.
It’s believed that Christopher Columbus brought back the first cocoa beans from the New World in 1502, and the first chocolate bar was produced in 1828 when Conrad Van Houten, a Dutch chemist, invented a cocoa press that mixed cocoa butter with finely ground sugar. These days, it would be hard to imagine a supermarket without hundreds, if not thousands, of foods and candies without chocolate.
Here’s some delectable news that I’m sure you’ll enjoy: chocolate can be delicious and even healthy, as long as it’s eaten in small doses. Dark chocolate, preferably one made from organic ingredients, is healthier for you than lighter milk chocolate because it’s higher in healthy bioflavanoids, an antioxidant, and dark chocolate releases both serotonin and endorphins that make you feel better, acting as an anti-depressant.
Furthermore, chocolate contains a high level of phenylethylamine, the same chemical that the brain produces when you fall in love. I wonder if Nicki knew that when I brought her that box of organic chocolate on Valentine’s Day...
At any rate, I’ve found a chocolate that’s nutritionally miles ahead of the mass-produced chocolate bars and peanut butter cups found on supermarket store aisles and checkout stands. It’s a dark organic chocolate derived from the seeds of the fruit of cacao trees, which are native to the rainforest regions of South America. When I sampled some of the rich chocolate from this jungle plant, the perfect balance of bitter and sweet as well as cacao’s healthy properties were a rush.
Real chocolate from cacao beans are:
- super-rich in antioxidant flavonols
- one of nature’s best sources of magnesium (a nutrient that supports the heart, increases brainpower, and causes bowel movements)
- high in phenylethylamine (PEA), which is thought to help create feelings of attraction
- high in fiber, which is great for the heart as well as the gut
Dark chocolate also releases both serotonin and endorphins, which act as antidepressants. Chocolate can lift a dark mood in an instant and diminishes the appetite.
I asked my team at Garden of Life to find an organic chocolate snack that was healthy, delicious, portable, and would make a great snack or dessert-time treat. The result was Rainforest Cacao Chocolate, which comes from all-natural, roasted cacao beans from the Ecuadorian Amazon region. We purchase fresh-picked cacao beans directly from a village in Ecuador at Fair Trade prices during the March-to-July harvest. After the cacao beans dry out in the sun, they’re slowly roasted and lightly sweetened with a touch of sugar cane syrup.
Rainforest Cacao Chocolate is an awesome snack and comes in three flavors: Raisins & Coconut; Macadamia Nuts; and Brazilian Nuts & Coffee. Just be sure to enjoy in moderation. A small handful contains only 100 calories, so it remains a treat, not a cheat.
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