National Chocolate Day!

A friend pointed out that National Chocolate day was yesterday. And I was going to post this yesterday, but the motel I was staying at had no wifi. So I am posting today.

I got to thinking about dark chocolate after I caved and bough an organic bar in Tulsa. I NEEDED chocolate and the sugar content was very low, so it doesn't break my rules. But I wanted to do more research to make sure that eating dark chocolate won't be too much of a sugar high for me and my "cleanse".

I did another google search and found out a few things. First of all, QUALITY dark chocolate, in moderation, is rich in fiber, iron, magnesium, copper, and manganese as well as several antioxidants. As it turns out, it also decreases risk factors for certain diseases!  ( Curtesy Authority Nutrition)

Of course, you want to get a bar with the highest cacao content possible (I usually get between 70-80%) and with the sugar pretty low on the list. Also, looking at Nutrition facts, they usually say between a half to a full bar as the serving size, which is insane. I try to go for between 1-2 "nibs" or 1/4 bar at a time. This lowers the sugar content even more so. And if you watch out for the crazy fillings (like caramel) then you can lower the sugar content even more!

And I even found a study saying that people who eat dark chocolate tend to eat less other junk food. Count me int!

So which chocolate should you choose? Well try any of the brands on this list for starters. Lucky for me, most of the ones I buy are on this list. I have also been buying the store brand organics, such as Simple Truth at Kroger, but I may need to research a bit more before I buy again. Basically, avoid Dove, Hersheys and anything you can get in the check out line. Those are the crappy kinds for sure!

NO NO!

The list mentioned above also says to look for anything where sugar is NOT first and to go for organic, 70% or higher and not processed with Alkali. Good to know :)

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Updates.

Since I haven't updated in two days I will give you all a quick recap.

Monday I had Olive Garden with an old friend. She had cake for desert and I avoided. I did eat two of the Andi's mints they gave us though. Nothing else bad that day however! So still felt like a win.

Tuesday (yesterday) I began traveling back to Texas. I avoided sugar everywhere I stopped, but I did buy that chocolate bar. I also have a feeling there was some in the Taziki sauce at my dinner, but it was so delicious.

Wednesday (today) I had another small piece of the chocolate bar and some wine after dinner. But wine doesn't count and I now know that the chocolate is good also.

Overall, it's been a week. I think I am being successful in my endeavors. My main goal was to cut out ice cream, desart and coffee drinks and so far that is going well.

~Lisa

PS: As for "dark chocolate covered" things, I am saying NO to those, as they are probably as bad as the Hershey bars.