Chocolate a health food?

[hi_itsgwen]

I liked chocolate as a kid.  But after having my first baby, I LIKE chocolate in a much more committed way.  I do think it has something to do with craving minerals.  I find that once a month, or after I have a baby, I especially crave chocolate. 

Regarding Magnesium, this is a trace mineral that has a very important role in cell health.  Magnesium deficiency is linked to hyper-activity, insomnia, etc.  I have been doing some research on it.  Unrefined cane sugar, soaked or fermented grains, and chocolate all have magnesium content.  (Eating white, refined sugar requires magnesium, so it robs your body of this important mineral.)

I like to think it's the cure for 'Mom brain'.    Yes, I'm sure of it.  I think much more clearly after crunching on a handful of frozen chocolate chunks.   

My hubby is quite convinced that chocolate any way is bad for you.

There is no law that chocolate has to be shared with your hubby.     Just think of it as 'more for me!'
My hubby loves chocolate too, and introduced me to the pleasure of dark chocolates...but he get's into my stash unless I hide it well. 

One of my buddies saved a leftover bag from frozen peas, rinsed it out, and keeps her chocolate in that in the freezer.  Now this is a woman committed to her chocolate.  (An empty oatmeal canister works well for this too!)

[tynnille]

Does anyone have a good recipe for chocolate chip cookies? If it used honey instead of sugar that would be even better! (wouldn't that make it a healthy cookie?! woohoo!)
[/quote]

I use this recipe for my "healthy cookies". However, you still need to have some self-control becasue you can still get fat eating these guys simply because of the extra calories added. i tried to add a good amount of protien and coconut ro help slow the sugar release into the body. Here it is:

Choc-PB-Oat-Nut Cookies (or whatever you wnat to call them)

1 3/4 C. Whole Wheat Pastry or Spelt flour
1/3 C. Shredded Coconut
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
2 1/2 C. Rolled Oats
1/2-3/4 C. Chopped walnuts (or as much as you want)
2 C. Ghardelli 60% Chocolate Chips

1 1/2 C. Sucanut
1 C. butter, softened (or substitute half coconut oil)
2 large eggs
2 T. milk
1/2 C. Peanut Butter

Mix lower ingredients. add top ingredients. Mix well. Add chips. Bake at 375 for 8-9 minutes (if you like a gooey cookie). Cool for a minute. Place on wax paper or a cooling rack.
For a bar variation. Spread batter onto a large cookie sheet, bake for 12-15 minutes. This way avoiding the 'last batch of cookies burned syndrome' that happens too regularly at my house.

These should be like a monster cookie in flavor. They are my favorite.  They are a hit for those who think you can't use whole grains in cookies.

[freshisbest]

We melt chocolate ( small bag choc chips or equivalent) and add 1 cup of peanut butter. Maybe its 2 cups choc/1 cup peanut butter? then stir in a bag of chow mein noodles. But I've also stirred in breakfast cereal and nuts...or you could do raisins and nuts too I guess. Drop them onto wax paper and if you put them in the fridge they harden faster. I'm assuming the chow mein noodels are the ' unhealthy ' part but due to white flour not any artificial ingredients. I can find organic choc chips in the regular grocery store.

[hi_itsgwen]

We do the same thing, essentially, but stir in old-fashioned oats.  Yum!

[Jade]

Does anyone know of a good place to get recipes using raw cacao and honey (as opposed to agave nectar)? I have a cookbook loaded with fancy schmancy raw desserts, and some of them use raw cacao, but they ALL use agave nectar, which I don't feel comfortable using. I'd like to use raw honey instead, but I'm not sure how well it'll work as a substitute, as the texture of my raw honey is not "pourable" like the agave nectar is. Also, most of the recipes call for these exotic ingredients that I can't obtain or afford.

I'm trying to create a beautiful, luscious-looking (and tasting!) dessert for my husband for Valentine's Day, but his diet is restricted right now. So I'd like to utilize these ingredients: a nut butter OTHER than peanuts, raw cacao, possible raw cacao butter or paste, and raw honey. Dairy is not off-limits, so that opens up a world of possibilties. 

Any ideas?