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silverthread
March 26th, 2013, 04:19 PM
I've decided dark chocolate must be really good for me, because I feel good when I eat it, and I eat it A LOT!:p

Indigostreams
March 26th, 2013, 04:21 PM
It does have a lot of iron and caffeine. It energizes me too. I just have to try not to eat too much!

EndlessSunshine
March 26th, 2013, 04:26 PM
It is really good for blood pressure too.

herdaughter77
March 26th, 2013, 07:42 PM
I love dark chocolate...like 85% cocoa is the best...this seems to be since I went off sugar.

Nedertane
March 26th, 2013, 07:57 PM
I love dark chocolate...like 85% cocoa is the best...this seems to be since I went off sugar.

Oh man, at least 70% cacao is amazing. All my friends think I'm strange because I like it so bitter, but you can actually taste the cocoa/chocolate that way!
(Also, hate to be rude, but I think this thread should be moved elsewhere, given the topic? What say you, mods?)

akilina
March 26th, 2013, 08:06 PM
Im to the point where I like dark chocolate so much that eating any kind of milk chocolate is just gross. It seems so....grainy and tastes like wax! Its usually also always so fake that it makes perfect sense that it would be gross after eating dark.

Something I really love is the Godiva, and Lindt extra dark chocolates 70% cocoa, also even higher like the 85%

However...I dooooo love those hard shell small little Cadbury eggs..anyone know what I'm talking about? Its the only easter candy that exists in my mind haha :) Yum, I need a bag before easter is all over and they are gone until next year.

leslissocool
March 26th, 2013, 08:25 PM
YUP! I use high blood pressure/iron deficiency/antioxidants as an excuse :lol: I'm really a chocoholic and I love it :cheese:

I keep my bars in the fridge... Next to my carrots :lol:.

Naiadryade
March 26th, 2013, 08:55 PM
YES! I might go make some chocolate right now, because it is so good for me.

Umm, to try to get this to stay on the Mane Forum... chocolate must be good for hair! Like if you took a BATH in hot chocolate, I bet your hair would be awesome after. And you might just melt into a puddle of WOW.

I tried putting cocoa butter on my hair once, but it didn't work out too well. That whole solid-at-room temperature thing made for tangles. BUT... maybe as a hot conditioning treatment...

Slathering cocoa butter all over each other in a sauna, anyone?? :eyebrows:

jacqueline101
March 26th, 2013, 08:58 PM
I agree dark chocolate is good for you. It has iron and I think antioxidants.

Sarahlabyrinth
March 26th, 2013, 09:03 PM
I'm sure chocolate must be good for hair - somehow. I'll keep hammering this theory until it HAS to be true. LOL! Only in my case it has to be Cadbury's Milk Chocolate.

Naiadryade
March 26th, 2013, 09:06 PM
Milk chocolate just doesn't taste like chocolate anymore. It tastes... watered down.

I have a big bag of raw cacao powder and some cocoa butter so that I can make my own super-dark chocolate whenever I want to. It's really nice with some coconut oil to make it softer, too.

gnome82
March 27th, 2013, 02:58 AM
Yes Dark Chocolate, I love it to make with my chocolate torte ;)

GrowingOut
March 27th, 2013, 04:35 AM
:agape:

YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN!?

Majala
March 27th, 2013, 04:41 AM
That sounds interesting and delicious! Would you mind sharing your recipe with fellow chocoholics?
Milk chocolate just doesn't taste like chocolate anymore. It tastes... watered down.

I have a big bag of raw cacao powder and some cocoa butter so that I can make my own super-dark chocolate whenever I want to. It's really nice with some coconut oil to make it softer, too.

Aeris
March 27th, 2013, 08:45 AM
I'm sure chocolate must be good for hair - somehow. I'll keep hammering this theory until it HAS to be true. LOL! Only in my case it has to be Cadbury's Milk Chocolate.

I love the Cadbury bars! Especially the roasted almond!

I do love Godiva very dearly, I try and get my two free pieces every month and am really sad when I can't make it to a store :(

But I am not a fan of dark chocolate unless it is a very tiny amount used very sparingly (drizzled over berries or something), or used as a coating for something. I used to love it when I was a teenager, but my tastes have changed a lot. Chocolate needs to be rich and decadent to me, and I just don't get that from dark chocolate. But, I would certainly take it over Hershey's or anything like that. Bleh! I can't eat it, it just makes me angry.

Naiadryade
March 27th, 2013, 09:43 AM
:agape:

YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN!?


That sounds interesting and delicious! Would you mind sharing your recipe with fellow chocoholics?

:laugh: Certainly! It's nothing fancy--it takes training and skill to be able to make really nice chocolates like they sell in stores--but it's still delicious, decadent and chocolate. Plus it's customizable, cheaper (in the long run, especially if you buy ingredients in bulk), and EASY! And once you have the ingredients, you can have it whenever you want.

You need 3 basic things: Raw cacao (healthier this way, but I suppose cooked cocoa powder would work too), some kind of fat, and some kind of sweetener. Once you know that, you can get really creative.

Another note... I don't eat cane sugar, so I'm almost always working with liquid sugars like maple syrup or agave. If you're using sugar, it might be grainy unless you take some extra step to dissolve it. Easiest is probably to dissolve it in as little water as possible and skip step 6, but it might also work to dissolve it in the melted fat before you mix that with the cacao. I've never tried it.

I never measure things out for this, I just eyeball it. Sometimes after mixing I need to add a little of this or a little of that to balance it out. It's all to taste, so go with your gut.

EASY HOMEMADE DARK CHOCOLATE

1. Start with cocoa butter and/or coconut oil. Spoon several tablespoons or so into a frying pan--I have a teeny tiny cast iron pan and I just fill that. Heat over very low heat to melt it. Stir as it melts and remove from the heat as soon as it's all melted. You're not trying to cook it. If you live where your chosen fat is liquid at room temperature, you can skip the melting step.
If you want to make this into hard chocolates, keep in mind that cocoa butter is harder and has a higher melt point. It also adds to the chocolatiness--but coconut oil is really nice too and makes it softer. Ratios are up to you!

2. While the fat is melting, spoon several heaping tablespoons of cacao into a bowl. If you'll be doing the optional step 6, also add a pinch of lecithin now.

3. (Optional) add other powders to the cacao, such as ginger, maca, spirulina or any superfood powders or seasonings you enjoy. A pinch or two of salt is also really nice to bring fullness to the flavor.

4. Pour the melted fat into the bowl with the cacao and mix well.

5. Add your sweetener of choice to taste and mix well.
I like maple syrup best because I'm from New England, and I often use very little because I like very dark, bitter chocolate. But it's up to you!

6. (Optional) Add just a teensy bit of water or nutmilk and mix well. If you're going to be making hard chocolates, this step makes them softer to bite into.

7. The resulting mix should be kind of around the consistency of cake batter, or a little thinner. If it's so thick you can't get all the powder to mix in right, add fat (or, if it's also not sweet enough, liquid sweetener). If it's runny, add cacao.

8. (Optional) Mix in any nuts or fruit you desire.

You can stop here and just devour it out of the bowl if you wish. I usually do. And/or, if you want to have chocolate pieces for later, you can...

9. Freeze it. You can drop dollops onto a plate or cookie sheet. You can also fill a brownie/casserole dish with the mix and cut it into pieces after freezing, especially if your mix is on the runnier/fattier side.

10. Once it has solidified in the freezer, you can store it in the freezer or in the fridge. It probably won't melt at room temperatures though if you want to take some along to work or something, depending on what the temperature is and what ratio of cocoa butter (melts at body temperature) and coconut oil (melts at 76 F) you used.

Voila! Its really not as complicated as "10 steps" makes it sound--it's just mixing stuff together in a bowl. Experiment to find your favorite balance of the ingredients! Add stuff! ENJOY!

Naiadryade
March 27th, 2013, 09:59 AM
Another recipe, easier, but perhaps only for the daring...

RAW VEGAN CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

1. Start with an avocado. Yes, an avocado. No, the resulting mousse does not taste like avocado. Mash it up really well. And then keep mashing it. And then mash it some more. Get every single lump out you can. Ideally, you're going for a whipped consistency.

2. Add a bunch of raw cacao powder--about as much by sight as there is avocado, maybe a bit less. Start mixing it together.

3. Add liquid sweetener to taste. Agave or honey keep the recipe raw, maple syrup is my favorite but it's not technically raw.

4. Mix everything together really well. Whip it up. Taste and add cacao or sweet until you're happy with the mix.

5. Serve and enjoy. After your friends tell you how much they love it, watch their faces light up with amazement when you tell them it's based on avocado.

Anje
March 27th, 2013, 10:12 AM
It is really good for blood pressure too.

Not bad for preventing homocidal rages, for that matter! :p

Majala
March 27th, 2013, 11:00 AM
Naiadryade, thank you so much for your recipes! *off making chocolate* :)

Kaelee
March 27th, 2013, 11:34 AM
Im to the point where I like dark chocolate so much that eating any kind of milk chocolate is just gross. It seems so....grainy and tastes like wax! Its usually also always so fake that it makes perfect sense that it would be gross after eating dark.

Something I really love is the Godiva, and Lindt extra dark chocolates 70% cocoa, also even higher like the 85%

However...I dooooo love those hard shell small little Cadbury eggs..anyone know what I'm talking about? Its the only easter candy that exists in my mind haha :) Yum, I need a bag before easter is all over and they are gone until next year.


I LOVE Cadbury eggs! I need to get some too. :D

I agree about the dark chocolate. I used to hate it...now it's the only kind of chocolate I'll eat, for the most part. It's a rare thing for me to find milk chocolate that I like. Even the really good swiss milk chocolate is just 'meh' to me. To...something. Dark chocolate all the way.

Majala
March 27th, 2013, 11:42 AM
Naiadryade, you opened Pandora's box for me. Just made a batch with cocoa butter, coconut oil, cocoa and honey as sweetener. Also added some coconut flour and coriander. It's beyond delicious. Next batch will be white chocolate (no cocoa powder) and coconut flour. I hope I'll be able to stop myself from doing (and eating) it today.
I'm dreading the bathing-suit season approaching.

faellen
March 27th, 2013, 11:51 AM
I really wish I liked dark chocolate, as it's better for you, but I just hate it! Blergh!
A nice bar of milk chocolate anytime (not American chocolate though, sorry guys I've tried your choc and IMO it doesn't live up to European chocolate at all :p)

Naiadryade
March 27th, 2013, 11:56 AM
Naiadryade, you opened Pandora's box for me. Just made a batch with cocoa butter, coconut oil, cocoa and honey as sweetener. Also added some coconut flour and coriander. It's beyond delicious. Next batch will be white chocolate (no cocoa powder) and coconut flour. I hope I'll be able to stop myself from doing (and eating) it today.
I'm dreading the bathing-suit season approaching.

You're welcome! :p

Chocolate with coconut flour and coriander sounds heavenly! Love the idea for white chocolate too. And don't worry--all these ingredients are healthy! Unless you start adding heaps of cane sugar or milk, it won't make you fat. :cool:

Tristania
March 27th, 2013, 12:08 PM
80% cocoa with a nice cup of light-roast black coffee. Life rarely gets better than that.

silverthread
March 27th, 2013, 04:59 PM
Milk chocolate just doesn't taste like chocolate anymore. It tastes... watered down.

I have a big bag of raw cacao powder and some cocoa butter so that I can make my own super-dark chocolate whenever I want to. It's really nice with some coconut oil to make it softer, too.

Wow! That is hard core! :luke: I bet it's delish!!!

silverthread
March 27th, 2013, 05:00 PM
Not bad for preventing homocidal rages, for that matter! :p

Anje, spoken like someone with some experience in the matter ... :slap:

silverthread
March 27th, 2013, 05:02 PM
Umm, to try to get this to stay on the Mane Forum... chocolate must be good for hair! Like if you took a BATH in hot chocolate, I bet your hair would be awesome after. And you might just melt into a puddle of WOW.


I like your way of thinking!:applause

pocketsmall
March 27th, 2013, 05:03 PM
This thread is making me crave dark chocolate so hard.... the only "chocolate" I have in my apartment right now is no sugar added hot chocolate powder ):

Kyaatje
March 27th, 2013, 05:17 PM
I need to,try and make my own chocolate ! I do have all the ingredients I think, I need to powder my raw cocoa bits but hey, when hubby is back to work I'm going to try this !

Hubby brought me some chocolate from Berlin last week (although I suspect its more for himself LOL) but that is some good chocolate ! He had a piece with 75% and one with 80 or 85%. I need to look up the brand though I was unfamiliar with it

shutterpillar
March 27th, 2013, 06:01 PM
YUP! I use high blood pressure/iron deficiency/antioxidants as an excuse :lol: I'm really a chocoholic and I love it :cheese:

I keep my bars in the fridge... Next to my carrots :lol:.

How am I just now seeing this thread?!
Lesli, you have given me another excuse to eat dark chocolate. ;)

Dark chocolate is my favorite and I agree with whoever it was that said that milk chocolate tastes almost fake after I have been eating dark chocolate for so long. (I think it was Akilina who said that?)
I have no idea if it does anything good for my hair, but it definitely is good for my soul. :)

akilina
March 27th, 2013, 06:22 PM
I LOVE Cadbury eggs! I need to get some too. :D

I agree about the dark chocolate. I used to hate it...now it's the only kind of chocolate I'll eat, for the most part. It's a rare thing for me to find milk chocolate that I like. Even the really good swiss milk chocolate is just 'meh' to me. To...something. Dark chocolate all the way.

Lol I am glad at least someone replied :D

They are sooooo amazing...Idk why..They make me sick if I eat too many haha..They are smooth, and just good. I can't really explain it. I am not fond of the cream filled big eggs though, or even the caramel one. I eat one once every few years but that is all.
I have got to stock up on the crunchy shell mini eggs before easter is over...

There are some milk chocolate candy things I will eat. I would never just buy a bar though, or eat it plain..gross.. I love valentines day candy..especially Russel Stover ones though. I guess Im pretty much a candy snob :D

MaryO
March 28th, 2013, 12:46 AM
I was expecting a thread about dark chocolate coloured hair!:p

herdaughter77
March 30th, 2013, 05:39 PM
To add a recipe on to Naiadryade's awesome ones, my good friend makes delicious chocolate and gives me samples. :D :alcoholic:
She makes it with stevia instead of refined sugars, which makes me feel good about my chocoholism. :)
I believe that as long as it's not using refined sugars, I'm not gonna gain any weight by having a bunch of pieces every few days.
http://eastsidepicurean.com/2013/03/25/a-book-review-and-skinny-chocolate-part-1/

leslissocool
March 30th, 2013, 05:55 PM
I have sugar free chocolate daily without gaining weight. I actually did that while I was trying to lose weight, and ended up losing 81lbs. I don't eat little, I eat A LOT of chocolate :lol: like, 6 bars a week kind of a lot. Each sugar free bar of dark chocolate has about 380 cals. That's not that many calories at all!

I get the ones with Matilol and stevia too, and some just really with absolutely no sweeter, and some with sugar (for my son, he is super skinny, and it's the only sweet he has he doesn't even like to drink juice or candy). I think the reason why I am so much slimmer now is that I cut all the processed foods, and when I wanted junk I just went with the dark chocolate.


http://wmbriggs.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/chocolate.nejm_.jpg

This was my new excuse for DH to buy TONS of dark chocolate for my kids :lol: I have this printed on my fridge.

alyaziaaah
March 30th, 2013, 06:00 PM
i am a chocoholic too, everyday i need it lol
i usually eat Lindt dark caramel or 85% or with orange.
the darker the better for me.
even in my chocolate protein shake i put at least 2 heaped teaspoons of cocoa powder,
and it really makes me haaaaappppyyyyyyyyyy:happydance:

anitacs9101
March 31st, 2013, 11:14 PM
I was expecting a thread about dark chocolate coloured hair!:p

Me too :laugh: