Chocolate is probably the single food item most people ask about. "How do the Angels feel about chocolate" is usually one of the first three or four questions everyone wants to know. After all, chocolate is one of the things we usually "give up" or try to "cut back on." Chocolate is described as "sinful," and generally considered to be one of those foods that you're better off avoiding all together if you're serious about losing weight. Just yesterday, in the ladies' locker room in the gym, I overheard two young girls discussing the foods they were eliminating from their diets in order to lose some weight - which they definitely did not need to lose AT ALL. Sadly, at least to my way of thinking, chocolate was at the top of their lists.
According to the Angels, chocolate is wonderful food that can be categorized as a "green" food - it's part of a plant, after all. Chocolate contains anti-oxidants and other substances that are beneficial to the body, and the brain. A recent study (which I will ask Karen to look up when she returns home!) showed that chocolate can be incorporated by healthy people into a healthy diet with no unhealthy effects. Even Dr. Dean Ornish shared with Karen during a phone interview that he eats a piece of dark chocolate every day.
The "problem" with chocolate - as with all foods - is in the processing. It's what we do to it to turn into the treat that creates the imbalance. Chocolate laden with highly processed sugars and preservatives isn't any more good for you than any other kind of food would be. But an organic chocolate bar or a cup of fair trade cocoa made with just a few natural ingredients can be a wonderful indulgence that soothes your entire being... bodymind, heart and soul. Chocolate, or cocoa powder, can also be added to other types of food - Mexican and South American dishes incorporate chocolate in other things besides desserts or treats.
As with all foods, the Angels urge us to make the kindest, most loving choice as often as possible. Everybody, say the Angels, needs a little sweetness in their lives.
According to the Angels, chocolate is wonderful food that can be categorized as a "green" food - it's part of a plant, after all. Chocolate contains anti-oxidants and other substances that are beneficial to the body, and the brain. A recent study (which I will ask Karen to look up when she returns home!) showed that chocolate can be incorporated by healthy people into a healthy diet with no unhealthy effects. Even Dr. Dean Ornish shared with Karen during a phone interview that he eats a piece of dark chocolate every day.
The "problem" with chocolate - as with all foods - is in the processing. It's what we do to it to turn into the treat that creates the imbalance. Chocolate laden with highly processed sugars and preservatives isn't any more good for you than any other kind of food would be. But an organic chocolate bar or a cup of fair trade cocoa made with just a few natural ingredients can be a wonderful indulgence that soothes your entire being... bodymind, heart and soul. Chocolate, or cocoa powder, can also be added to other types of food - Mexican and South American dishes incorporate chocolate in other things besides desserts or treats.
As with all foods, the Angels urge us to make the kindest, most loving choice as often as possible. Everybody, say the Angels, needs a little sweetness in their lives.
3 comments:
I generally purchase good organic and fair trade cocoa powder five pounds at a time. Granted, a pound or three may be for others, but I do use it a lot.
I've grown to love cocoa "tea" … sometimes with a cinnamon or cardamom, cayenne or a splash of my homemade vanilla … and most often without added sweetener.
I often add a spoonful to a fruit-n-yogurt smoothie and I rarely make chili without adding a generous helping of cocoa to the pot! It's delicious added to other savory dishes as well.
It's not just candy.
I am enjoying a green powder that has cocoa in it, raw and organic. So filling to. i feel cocoa is a wonderful food.
cocoa definitely is..and your'e right, rose...its NOT just candy!
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