All About Chocolate.....

[Ann]

1. If you’ve got melted chocolate on your hands, you’re eating it too slowly.

2. Chocolate covered raisins, apricots, and strawberries all count as fruit so eat as much as you want.

3. Problem: How to get 2lbs of chocolate home from the store in a hot car. Solution: eat it all in the parking lot

4. Eat a chocolate bar before each meal, it takes the edge off your appetite and you’ll eat less.

5. If you can’t eat all of your chocolate, it will keep in the freezer. However, if you can’t eat all of your chocolate, there might be something wrong with you. Call your Doctor.

6. If you eat an equal amount of dark and light chocolate, it’s considered a balanced meal.

7. Exercise is a dirty word. Every time you say it, wash your mouth out with chocolate.

8. If not for chocolate, there would be no need for control top pantyhose. An entire garment industry would be devastated, so eat more.

9. Put “Eat Chocolate” at the top of your To Do List” today. At least you’ll get one thing done.

10. For convenience, a box of chocolate can provide your total daily intake of calories in one place.

The Rules of Chocolate!

1. If you've got melted chocolate all over your hands, you're eating it too slowly.

2. Chocolate covered raisins, cherries, orange slices & strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want.

3. The problem: How to get 2 pounds of chocolate home from the store in a hot car. The solution: Eat it in the parking lot.

4. Diet tip: Eat a chocolate bar before each meal. It'll take the edge off your appetite and you'll eat less.

5. A nice box of chocolates can provide your total daily intake of calories in one place. Isn't that handy?

6. If you can't eat all your chocolate, it will keep in the freezer. But if you can't eat all your chocolate, what's wrong with you?

7. If calories are an issue, store your chocolate on top of the fridge. Calories are afraid of heights, and they will jump out of the chocolate to protect themselves.

8. If I eat equal amounts of dark chocolate and white chocolate, is that a balanced diet? Don't they actually counteract each other?

9. Money talks. Chocolate sings.

10. Chocolate has many preservatives. Preservatives make you look younger.

11. Q: Why is there no such organization as Chocoholics Anonymous? Ans: Because no one wants to quit.

12. Put "eat chocolate" at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you'll get one thing done.

Top Ten Reasons Chocolate is the World's Most Perfect Food

10. Chocolate contains tryptophan, a chemical in the brain that is used to produce the neurotransmitter, serotonin. High levels of serotonin stimulate the secretion of endorphins, and produce feelings of elation. Serotonin is found in the antidepressant Prozac, and the designer drug “ecstasy” produces its effects by increasing serotonin levels in the brain. So… antidepressants, illegal drugs, or a Hershey’s bar. You pick.

9. Chocolate also contains a chemical called phenylethylamine. High levels of this neurotransmitter help promote feelings of attraction, excitement, and giddiness. Phenylethylamine works by stimulating the brain's pleasure centers and reaches peak levels during orgasm. Guys, THIS is why you should always give a girl chocolates on a first date. Can’t hurt, right?

8. Chocolate might help fight heart disease. Chocolate contains chemicals called flavinoids, which thin the blood, helping to prevent clotting. All these wonderful pleasurable feelings, and good for your heart too? Man… this just gets better and better.

7. Chocolate is structurally sound. The World’s Tallest Chocolate Structure was unveiled in October 2006 at NYC’s FAO Schwarz. It was over 20 feet tall, and made of 2285 pounds of chocolate. Try doing that with a potato chip, you salty-snack fans!

6. A chocolate craving during pregnancy may indicate mild anemia. Call it an early warning system. Chocolate contains iron, and this may be the pregnant body’s way of signaling that iron levels are low. So eat that chocolate bar! It’s for the good of the baby.

5. Chocolate contains magnesium, which is known to ease symptoms of PMS. Calcium does too, which of course can be found in milk. So, if your girlfriend, or wife, or woman-in-your-life-that-you-are-close-enough-to-that-you-are-even-aware-of-such-things is having a bad time of it, bring her a piece of chocolate cake and a big glass of milk. Not only will she think you’re a sweetheart, but maybe her mood will improve enough that she’ll relinquish the remote and let you turn off Lifetime and watch the game.

4. Chocolate contains sugar and caffeine. Um, what else is there to say? Told you… Perfect.

3. Chocolate may help people live longer. In a Harvard University study conducted in 1999, researchers tracked 8,000 men and found those who ate chocolate lived almost a year longer than those who didn't. Although scientists don't know why the men lived longer, they speculate it has to do with the antioxidants found in chocolate. I speculate that it’s because these same men had enough chocolate around their house that they had no shortage of woman willing to come around and cook them healthy meals and clean their bathroom once in a while. But that’s just a theory.

2. Chocolate is a viable alternative energy source. Researchers at the UK’s University of Birmingham fed Escherichia coli bacteria a feast of waste caramel and nougat from a chocolate candy bar. The bacteria subsequently burped out hydrogen gas, which was harnessed via a fuel cell to power an electric fan. Holy cocoa, Robin! The world’s energy needs can be met with stale Snickers bars! Someone call Al Gore. He’s going to be just tickled.

And the Top Scientific Reason that Chocolate is the World’s Most Perfect Food…

1. Cocoa butter melts at 97°F. That’s right, just below body temperature. So it actually does melt in your mouth. That also means if you put a Hershey’s Kiss on your sweetie’s stomach, it will slowly melt into a little pool of chocolate. Uh oh... you’d better clean that up. And who knows where things will go from there…

10 Amazing Facts about Chocolate

Chocolate is made from beans derived from the cacao tree. These beans are very bitter, so the cocoa solids and the cocoa butter has sugar added to it, along with some other ingredients in order to make the chocolate that is available to the general public.Chocolate is particularly popular at certain times of the year, such as Easter, Valentines Day and Christmas. As such, chocolate shaped gifts are popular. Hearts for Valentines day and cute bunnies at Easter are two high up on the gift selection list. Here are 10 interesting facts about chocolate:

1. Chocolate is lower in caffeine than tea, coffee and coca cola. A one ounce bar of chocolate contains about 6mg of caffeine, whereas a five ounce cup of regular coffee contains over 40mg.

2. Chocolate was regarded as an aphrodisiac by Aztec Indians.

3. Chocolate contains antioxidants which may help prevent cancer and heart disease.

4. Chocolate is the favourite flavour in the United States Of America.

5. The shelf life of a bar of chocolate is approximately one year.

6. In 1842 Cadbury's in England created the worlds first chocolate bar.

7. The Swiss eat the most chocolate. The average person eats 19lbs a year.

8. Chocolate contain theobromine, which is a mild relative of caffeine and magnesium. his chemical is found in some tranquilisers. Because coffee also contains caffeine, it both picks you up and calms you down.

9. It is widely believed that chocolate consumption releases a chemical into your body very similar to what is produced when you are in love.

10. Chocolate manufacturers use 20% of the worlds peanuts and 40% of the worlds almonds.

Chocolate is mildly addictive, but a bar now and again is not going to hurt. With all those great antioxidants it contains, it may even help you live longer. After all, as the saying goes, “A little of what you fancy does you good”.

Article by Richard Davies of http://www.chocolateorg.com covering a wide variety of information on chocolate.

http://ezinearticles.com/?10-Amazing-Fa ... &id=201878

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Facts about Chocolate

1. Chocolate is one of the most popular foods around and is highly unlikely to ever go out of fashion.

2. The word 'Chocolate' comes from the Aztec word, 'cacahuatl' or ‘xocolatl’. This means 'bitter water'.

3. Chocolate is derived from Cocoa Beans. It was Cacao originally, but became Cocoa as a result of misspelling.

4. Cocoa Trees require warm, moist climates and are largely found in West Africa - Ghana, the Ivory Coast and Nigeria. The scientific term for the Cocoa Tree is 'Theobroma Cacao'. This is the Greek term for 'Food for the Gods'.

5. Cocoa Trees produce pods and each pod contains about 20 to 50 Cocoa Beans. There are different varieties of Cocoa Beans with different flavors, and, just like different grapes are used to make different wines, different Cocoa Beans are used to make different kinds of Chocolates. Cocoa Beans are fermented, dried, roasted, and ground before being used to produce chocolate.

6. The Mayans and Aztecs believed that the Cocoa Beans originated from Paradise and would bring wisdom and power to anyone consuming them.

7. The Aztecs mixed Chocolate with Chilies, Cornmeal, and Hallucinogenic Mushroom. It was a bitter brew!

8. The precious Cocoa Beans were used as a currency and as a unit of calculation in the Mayan and Aztec Cultures.

9. Emperor Montezuma of Mexico partook a Chocolate drink before entering his harem. This gave rise to the notion of Chocolate having aphrodisiac properties. The Italian adventurer Giacomo Casanova was another fellow who subscribed to this notion. There is some truth to the idea though, since Chocolate contains hundreds of chemicals including the feel-good stimulants - Caffeine, Theobromine, and Phenyethylamine.

10. However the amount of Caffeine in Chocolate is very little - about 5 to 10 milligrams of caffeine in one ounce of bittersweet chocolate, 5 milligrams in milk chocolate, and 10 milligrams in a six-ounce cup of cocoa. Compare this to 100-150 milligrams found in a cup of coffee.

11. Theobromine helps boost low blood-sugar levels and another chemical, Chromium, helps to control blood sugar.

12. Theobromine, however, is highly toxic to dogs, cats, and other household pets. It overstimulates their cardiac and nervous systems, and can cause instant death.

13. For humans though, Chocolate is a wonderful energy source. Napoleon supposedly carried along Chocolate on his military campaigns, and always ate it to restore energy. Nowadays Sports-persons are often given Chocolate energy bars after sporting activities to restore carbohydrates.

14. Even though Chocolate is high in fat, it does not appear to raise blood cholesterol.

15. Despite the popular, lingering myth, Chocolate does not cause acne. Acne is usually due to an improper diet or a hormone imbalance.

16. Also, contrary to another popular myth, Chocolates are not responsible for causing headaches. Headaches, again, have different reasons - stress, hunger, irregular sleep patterns, and hormone changes.

17. Allergies to chocolate are very uncommon.

17. Cocoa butter, which is the fat extract from roasted and crushed Cocoa Beans, is often used as a massage cream.

18. It is also used to make White, Caffeine-less Chocolate.

19. Cocoa Beans were first brought to Europe by the Spanish Conquistadors in 1528.

20. Chocolate soon became very popular and was taken as a sweet drink with sugar and vanilla.

21. Henri Nestle of Switzerland was the first to create Milk Chocolate by adding condensed milk to the mixture when making chocolate bars.

22. Rudolphe Lindt of Switzerland in 1879 was the first to develop a method to give Chocolate a smooth consistency.

23. Chocolate has over 500 flavor components. This is double the amount found in strawberry and vanilla.

24. Chocolate is a great economy booster. Annual world consumption of cocoa beans averages approximately 600,000 tons per year. Consumers worldwide spend more than $20 billion a year on Chocolate.

25. Chocolate syrup was used for blood in the famous shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's movie, "Psycho". This scene, which is of 45 seconds, actually took 7 days to shoot.

26. Chocolate appears in literature - 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' by Roald Dahl, ‘Like Water for Chocolate' by Laura Esquivel, and 'Chocolat' by Joanne Harris.

27. Some amusing quotes about Chocolate:

i. Forget love-- I'd rather fall in chocolate!!! - Deanna Troi in Star Trek: The Next Generation

ii. I never met a chocolate I didn't like. - Deanna Troi in Star Trek: The Next Generation

iii. EMERGENCY ALERT: If wearer of this shirt is found vacant, listless, or depressed, ADMINISTER CHOCOLATE IMMEDIATELY. - T-Shirt Slogan

iv. All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt! - Lucy Van Pelt (in Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz)

v. I could give up chocolate but I'm not a quitter. - Lora Brody, author of Growing Up on the Chocolate Diet

[RandyW]

Works for ME and I am the Pastry Chef