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Enjoy a Healthy Relationship
with Chocolate and Carob
Many of us have a love/hate relationship with chocolate and no relationship whatsoever with carob. Perhaps
I can help. Both Carob and chocolate are dark brown, come from pods hanging on trees and have their own,
very distinctive flavor. Chocolate has that deliciously strong, bitter taste and carob is mild and very sweet.
Even though they are so different, carob, when roasted, can be a healthy and satisfying substitute for
chocolate. This month I will give you recipes that will enable you to include chocolate and cocoa, those
delicious delights, into your wholesome lifestyle.
Throughout this web site, whenever I refer to "chocolate" or "cocoa" I am referring to those pure substances
that come straight from ground cocoa beans. I am NOT referring to processed candies or powders that contain
loads of added fats, sugar, chemicals, additives, milk products, etc. These processed candies and powders
have no place in a healthy, natural diet as they offer almost no nutritional value.
Just for reference, chocolate is naturally separated from cocoa while grinding the beans and is also called chocolate liquor
or unsweetened baking chocolate. Chocolate contains more cocoa butter, in other words fat, than cocoa. Chocolate comes in
bars and cocoa is a powder. When purchasing either cocoa or chocolate, please read the ingredients. There should be nothing
added, not even extra cocoa butter. Also, do not buy alkalized or Dutch cocoa powder. Alkalizing, otherwise known as Dutch
or European processing, strips flavor and some nutrients from the cocoa powder.
Chocolate and cocoa are inherently fattening and they do contain stimulants, so they should be eaten strictly in moderation.
However, they need not be banished completely from our tables. Chocolate and cocoa are high in protein, contain loads of
iron, calcium, zinc, potassium and other minerals and do not raise cholesterol, in spite of their high fat content.
Recently, there has been talk about cocoa and chocolate containing anti-oxidants. This research has been funded by
chocolate candy manufacturers and I find it suspect. Additionally, researchers are finding that once the beans are ground,
a lot of the anti-oxidants are lost.
My recipes celebrate the strong, distinctive, deliciously bittersweet chocolate and cocoa flavor by using very little
added oils and sweeteners. If you are a true chocolate lover, you will go wild over these recipes. However, if you like
a sweeter, not so strongly flavored dessert, it would require unhealthy amounts of sweeteners to dilute the chocolate
flavor. In this case, carob would make a better dessert for you.
Carob, is low in fat, and high in calcium, riboflavin, potassium and other minerals. Since it is naturally very sweet,
it does not require a lot of added sweeteners. If you live in Southern California or any other warm, Mediterranean type
climate, you will find carob trees are quite prevalent and planted often as ornamentals. If you are lucky enough to
come across a female carob tree, try picking one of the pods and just chewing on it. They are really delicious! In any
case, you can find raw and roasted carob powder at any health food store or at http://www.sunorganic.com If you are
unfamiliar with carob, you should try it. You will be in for a sweet treat! When decaffeinated coffee and roasted carob
are used together, the dessert will be deliciously similar to sweet chocolate recipes. If you want to eliminate all
stimulants, eliminate the coffee and enjoy carob as its own delicious self, not as a chocolate substitute.
During December, chocolate is everywhere. Instead of chocolate fudge which contains horrendous amounts of sugar, cream and
butter, try my incredibly delicious and nutritious Carob
Halvah. My Extremely Chocolate Brownies will, without a doubt,
satisfy the strongest chocolate urges. Cocoa Rice Pudding is a filling, nutritious and chocolaty dessert.
No discussion about chocolate is complete without including chocolate drinks. I have created healthy versions of the
old favorites. Try my American Hot Cocoa for a delicious, soothing drink. Since I use stevia extract, the amount of
sugars and calories are substantially reduced. (Stevia is a very sweet herb whose crushed leaves have no calories. You
can find it in the baking section of any health food store.) For an adult treat, try my Italian Mocha or
Italian Hot Cocoa. They are both strong and very chocolaty! Due to the large amounts of sugars and stimulants I
don't recommend the two Italian versions for children.
Finally, for a grand and glorious cake that is as beautiful as it is scrumptious, serve my Carob Cake with
Carob Fudge Frosting. The fudge frosting imparts a beautiful gloss to the cake and tastes so much like chocolate fudge that you will
be amazed.
For those of you who would like to do more of your own research on chocolate and carob, here are the Web addresses of
some informative, unbiased sites:
http://www.immunesupport.com/library/showarticle.cfm/ID/3464/
http://www.cacaoweb.net/nutrition.html
http://www.acu-cell.com/choc.html
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-001-02s047z.html
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-001-02s045q.html
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-001-02s03c4.html
http://www.living-foods.com/articles/rawcarob.html
Happy baking!
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