Best news this year

I've been a horrible blogger - there are reasons, but I would have to blog to explain....

But I've finally been shaken from my apathy. This news is worth sharing, especially as I am working my way through a stash of dark chocolate Hershey Kisses to keep me going during tax season.

March 27, 2012 9:18 AM

 

Eating lots of chocolate helps people stay thin, study finds

By

Ryan Jaslow

 

(Credit: istockphoto)

(CBS News) What's the best way to stay thin? A new study finds it's exercising and eating a healthy diet full of - chocolate?

The study found that people who frequently ate chocolate had a lower body mass index (BMI) than people who didn't.
Is it time to ditch fat-free for fudge?
For the study, published in the March 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers examined more than 1,000 healthy men and women who were free of heart disease, diabetes and cholesterol problems. They were all enrolled in another study that measured the effects of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, but for this study researchers assigned them questionnaires that gauged how often participants chowed down on chocolate.
The researchers found that the participants - who were an average age of 57 - ate chocolate for an average of twice of week and exercised roughly 3.5 times per week. But the more frequent chocolate-eaters had smaller BMIs, a ratio of height and weight that's used to measure obesity.
What explains the effect? Even though chocolate can be loaded with calories, it's full of antioxidants and other ingredients that may promote weight loss, the researchers said.
"I was pretty happy with this news myself," study author Dr. Beatrice Golomb, associate professor of medicine at the University of California-San Diego, told USA Today. "Findings show the composition of calories, not just the number of them, matters for determining ultimate weight."
Does that mean all diet regimens should include a daily chocolate bar? The researchers say it's too soon to tell.
"Our findings - that more frequent chocolate intake is linked to lower BMI - are intriguing," the authors wrote. However, "It is not a siren call to go out and eat 20 pounds of chocolate a day," Golomb told HealthDay.
This isn't the first study to suggest a daily dose of chocolate can do the body good. Last summer, a study of more than 100,000 people found those who ate the most chocolate were 39 percent less likely to get heart disease and 29 percent less likely to have a stroke, HealthPop reported. Months later a 10-year study of 33,000 women found a 30 percent reduced risk of stroke among chocaholics.
But experts warn not all chocolate is created equal, and some could contain lots of sugar and calories, which could lead to other health issues if consumed daily.
"I would not want people reading this to think that all [they] need to do to lose weight is eat more chocolate," Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale Prevention Research Center in New Haven, Conn., told WebMD. "That would be a huge mistake." Katz suggests dark chocolate, because of its bitter flavor, may suppress appetite whereas sweet chocolate may stimulate it.

Oh, No!

So I have my slush fund started to keep me stocked in SUV's for the rest of my life and another fund started to fund my trips to Costa Rica in twenty years to get the health care procedures I won't be allowed to buy in the United States.


Now I have to start stockpiling............Chocolate!


Will there be a chocolate drought? World’s supply of sustainable cocoa could run out by 2014

By SIMON WATKINS AND JO THORNHILL
Last updated at 9:04 AM on 28th January 2011

No-go: Fairtrade training schemes for farmers have ground to a halt because of political unrest in Africa

The world faces a chocolate ‘drought’ over the next few years, an expert warned yesterday. 

Political unrest in the Ivory Coast, where 40 per cent of the world’s cocoa beans are grown, has ‘significantly’ depleted the number of certified fair trade cocoa farmers.

Many have fled the West African country, while fair trade training programmes have also come to a halt.

Fairtrade training programmes have ground to a halt because of the danger farmers face in rural areas.

The situation is already affecting chocolate manufacturers, who are facing the highest cocoa prices for over 30 years.

Prices jumped by 10 per cent this month alone. Analysts are predicting they could soon hit $3,720 per metric tonne - a level last seen in January 1979.

It follows a curb on international cocoa exports initiated earlier this week by the country's new president,  Alassane Ouattara. 

Angus Kennedy, the editor of Kennedy's Confection and a leading British chocolatier, said chocolate producers are facing 'one of the biggest challenges to hit the industry in recent history'.

'Supplies of sustainable cocoa are set to run out, it's that simple,' he said.

Drying up: Ivory Coast cocoa supplies are under threat after many farmers have fled the country

'The Ivory Coast is a complete no-go area for cocoa traders as it's too dangerous, so training new farmers and trying to cut problems in the region is now, mostly impossible.

'So in effect, its sustainability is not sustainable. Prices can't go up as it's reported because there basically isn't enough certified cocoa left to sell.' 

Of the world's 5.5 million cocoa farmers, only 10 per cent have been trained and certified as sustainable fair-trade producers.

The certification is granted by specially-trained teachers, and the course runs for up to three years.

But the political turmoil in Ivory Coast means both the farmers and trainers are fleeing the country, leaving a severe shortage of certified cocoa beans.

Even if the political situation improves, it could take three years or more for the number of certified fair-trade farmers to reach its former level.

According to Mr Kennedy, manufacturers are now fighting for the rest of the world's sustainable cocoa bean stock.

'Things could get nasty now as producers start to fight over the last stocks,' he added.

Motto for the year

It works. This is the brownie pan, "as seen on TV," made for the edge lover. The divider, not shown in this picture, lets the brownies cook so that every brownie has edges.

My sweet sister-in-law Sherry gave us the pan for Christmas. I finally used it for the first time this weekend. I only waited six months to try it out.

I used the special brownie mix my other thoughtful sister-in-law gave me. Duncan Hines Chocolate Chunk, since discontinued, was my all time favorite. Susan found two boxes in her grocery store and sent them to me, a while ago. I had used one, but had been saving the other for a special occasion.

What could be more special than celebrating successful surgery? In hindsight, there must have been hundreds of times I should have used that last brownie mix. I had been saving it for years evidently, as it had an expiration date of May, 2006. Time does fly, doesn't it? The brownies were still deliciously devoured.

But that brings me to admit that I am a Hoarder, historically using "seconds and surplus" for everyday, saving the "good stuff" for "special" occasions.

I come by this attitude honestly. After my grandma died in her late eighties, her daughters found dozens of brand new nightgowns and other new clothes in her drawers. She was waiting to wear them until she had to go somewhere. She never did.

I grew up using and re-using. Brown paper lunch sacks, plastic sandwich bags and aluminum foil were used over and over in the lunches my mom packed for me and Dad. Scraps from one dress made the accents for another (or went into a quilt.) I wore my best dress only on special occasions. We had everyday stuff and "company" stuff. That's the background of a lot of people my age, growing up in the sixties with parents who themselves grew up in the lean thirties and forties.

Flash forward thirty years and I'm finally "getting it." I am learning to value my stuff by what it does, not what it costs. Do I have designer clothes I never wear, perhaps even with the tags still on? Now I pass them on without hesitation. I don't have to earn the right to get rid of nice things. Let them be nice for someone who will appreciate them. The same rule applies for furniture and nick-knacks and (especially) gadgets that seemed so necessary. Rather than move stuff from closet to garage to attic - just pass things along. It lets me smile.

And for those things I keep, I am trying to use them! How ridiculous to save a brownie mix for four years.

And for the things (shoes) I truly want, I now give myself permission. Recently, I agonized over replacing my kitchen mixer with a new one in a more modern color. There was nothing wrong with my thirty year old mixer. But how silly to keep something just because once it was expensive and still works.

We're hosting a garage sale next month, a fundraiser for Wiley's soccer team. I've started filling the back porch with stuff - bedding, laundry baskets, storage containers, pet paraphernalia, dishes, books, clothes, shoes, electronics........

Love it, use it or go ahead and lose it!

Told you so

Study: Chocolate could reduce heart risk

The Easter Bunny might lower your chances of having a heart problem. According to a new study, small doses of chocolate every day could decrease your risk of having a heart attack or stroke by nearly 40 percent.

Add bacon and peanut butter and that grows to 60 percent.

Since I'm living on Reese's Peanut Butter Cups right now (thank you, Ricky, for sharing and restocking your secret stash) this gives me some comfort. Add microwave bacon, for the fastest made sandwich in the west, and I'm set until April 15.

7 Quick Takes - Tales from the 4th Grade

One of the popular tools among bloggers these days is the "7 Quick Takes." It is writing a little stream of consciousness when there is no one thought that merits a post of its own. So I am giving it a try......

1. My family moved from a small Oklahoma town to Pittsburgh before I started 4th grade. It was my dad, mom, me and my one year old brother. Dad, working for the Federal Aviation Administration, was starting a three year assignment which included a school year in the graduate program of Carnegie Mellon followed by a two year work assignment in the Washington, D.C. offices of the FAA. It was a big culture change for our family. It is probably the main reason I don't speak with an Oklahoma accent.

2. On the day we moved in to our rent house, I took my brother for a walk, wanting to give him and my parents a break as they continued to unpack. I am sure they told me not to go far. I headed out, pushing the stroller through the new neighborhood. My idea was to take a right turn at every intersection, then when ready to go back, I reversed course and took a left turn at every street. I still don't know why that didn't work. Maybe it would have, eventually. I don't know how long we were gone, but my dad drove around and found us and brought us home. I got spanked, I think for scaring my parents.

3. I was very excited to start the 4th grade. On the first day of school, about mid-morning, the teacher announced we would be going to the lavatory in a few minutes. I thought she was referring to a science room or something. I whispered to a girl sitting next to me, asking if we should take anything with us. She said you could take whatever you wanted. The class lined up and headed out, I with two pencils in my pocket, just in case. Imagine my surprise when we arrived at the bathrooms!

My school in Pittsburgh was more serious than my school in Oklahoma. The school day was longer and recess shorter. I loved it. And in the gym there was a rope attached to the ceiling, just like the nemesis of the cartoon character Funky Winkerbean. We had to try to climb it, all the way, to the top. After many months of trials, I finally made it. I just wanted to stay, to admire the view after all that hard work. In the current world of "safety first," my kids never got to face the challenge of a rope climb. Sad.

4. Around Thanksgiving, when I heard the moms talk about food and menus, I would hear the mention of "peecan" pie. I was silently horrified as to what it could be. When we traveled any length of time in the car with my brother, we had a pee can with us for his convenience. In the 1960's there wasn't a gas station with a bathroom on every corner and my toddler brother did not have a "wait" button. Anyway, it wasn't until months later that I realized that a "peecan" pie was a "pe-cahn" pie. My mom is well known for her great homemade pecan pies.

5. This was the year my childhood eczema exploded, probably exacerbated by the cold climate. Often I had a crusty, itchy, pink rash all around my mouth. There were lots of doctor visits and creams and shots. The doctors thought certain foods might make it worse and said I should avoid chocolate, nuts and carbonated drinks. I was very bitter. And eventually grew out of the eczema. I continue to cling to my chocolate covered nuts and Coke.

6. When we returned to Oklahoma for a Christmas visit, we drove "straight through." My parents picked me up early from school to hit the road. The whole school was getting to watch the movie "Heidi" as a holiday treat. I argued, to no avail, that we should leave a little later so I could see the ending. I finally got to see the end of the movie many years later on TV.

The car trip was awesome, though, driving through the night. Stuff was packed in the floor of the back seat so that the back was more like a bed. We didn't have to worry about seat belts because there weren't any. I slept on the back dash of the car, it was roomy enough for a nine year old. I could lie there and watch the stars and I had a fabulous view of that Gateway to the West, the St. Louis Arch, lit up and sparkling all by itself in the middle of the night.

7. I battled with the Tooth Fairy during the spring of 4th grade. The Tooth Fairy had been quite generous in our otherwise modest home. I would always find a whole dollar under my pillow. Once I figured that out, I began to hoard my pulled teeth. During 2nd grade I had some baby teeth that just would not come out. I knocked one out when I fell off the trapeze bar of my swing set. The other three were later pulled by the dentist. Three teeth at once! I decided to save them. Later on, I had to have eight teeth pulled - four baby teeth and four permanent teeth that had no place to go. I saved them, too.

I had accumulated fifteen teeth by the spring of 4th grade. That's when I decided I wanted a pet, and received permission from my mom to buy a bird, when I had enough money to pay for it myself. I'm sure my mom thought herself very clever, saying "yes," but really saying "no," thinking I would tire of raising the money. But she didn't remember that I had fifteen teeth in the bank! I put all the teeth under my pillow that night and the next night and the next night...... I finally mentioned out loud that the Tooth Fairy had not come and it had been almost two weeks. The next morning I found $15 under my pillow. Amazing! And I bought a canary.

When I'm old and senile, living on the long-ago memories, 4th grade will be fun to do over again! I'm already smiling.

No chocolates for me!

I really looked forward to Valentine's Day when I was a little girl. My daddy always got me a Whitman's Sampler. If I worked at it, I could make it last until Easter, the next candy holiday. And the box became my treasure box for the rest of the year. (Thank you, Daddy!)

Now candy is available any time I want it, except today, Valentine's Day, 2010.

One of the annoying traits of being on the downhill side of life, is that sometimes a body part can get cranky - perhaps feeling unappreciated, taken for granted, or perhaps tired of being ignored. In my case, it's actually a mystery as to what is misbehaving, but the irritating little bugger, whatever it is, finally has my attention.

Tomorrow I get to have one of those nasty medical tests that includes dye and x-rays. So today I am restricted to a liquid diet, with nothing at all after midnight. Talk about revenge!

So you guys out there enjoy your chocolates and special meals today with your sweethearts. Don't feel sorry for me with my tea, pudding and strained potato soup.

But I'll feel sorry for you tomorrow when I get to blissfully enjoy the homemade (by my Valentine) pink-tinted chocolate peppermint meringue cookies!

Happy Valentine's Day!

A Woman After My Own Heart

Remember, I said there might be a political comment every now and then, but chocolate has no affiliation, so this is personal, not political.

The following quote was from a Washington Post article about the government spending protest in Washington, D.C. today.

Like countless others at the rally, Joan Wright, 78, of Ocean Pines, Md., sounded angry. "I'm not taking this crap anymore," said Wright, who came by bus to Washington with 150 like-minded residents of Maryland's Eastern Shore. "I don't like the health-care [plan]. I don't like the czars. And I don't like the elitists telling us what we should do or eat."

My point, exactly! Joan is a little more than fifty-something, but she can join my club anytime.

UPDATE: Why, may you ask, is the text of this post larger than the text of my other posts? I don't know. But if I try to fix the text size, the gremlins will screw something else up, so I will let it be. Now that I think about it, that's actually not a bad philosophy when dealing with computers.

Meet the Parents

Today we're meeting the parents of the soccer team we think our son is switching to. We've been invited to the pre-season swim party and cookout. I made chocolate chip cookies to take. They turned out all right. You can be sure I did NOT make my chocolate cinnamon cake.

Club soccer is truly a family activity. In our world of competitive soccer there are usually two to three practices a week that last about an hour and half each. The nine league games each fall and spring are played at fields about an hour away. The players usually have to be there forty five minutes before the game starts,. With the games lasting at least an hour and a half, that's a lot of time spent with the same people each week. Add to that a few tournaments during the year, some of them out of town, and you can rack up the hours.

But unlike getting together with relatives , there is no requirement that soccer parents like each other or try to get along.

It can be tricky getting along with the parents of your child's teammates (particularly with school teams.) Some parents are screamers, at the referees or the coaches or the kids on the field. It's particularly grating when a parent screams at his own child. Some are complainers, muttering just audibly enough for you to know that they think your child is screwing up or getting too much playing time. Some parents think their child is the MVP of the team, never responsible for an error or missed opportunity. If you have kids who've played sports, you know what I mean.

With club sports, parents do influence the tone of the team. We've been fortunate with our boys' soccer teams so far. A majority of the team parents have been encouraging fans and pleasant companions at the games and as we travel.

Now, after being with the same core group of parents for four years, we are switching teams. Our primary goal has been to keep soccer fun for our boy and for us. In changing, we only considered teams in our part of town. This will cut our commuting time by almost an hour per practice, giving our son more time for his academics and school activities. (It will free up even more time for me and Ricky since it will no longer be impractical for us to drop him off and then return to pick him up from practice.)

There are three teams in our area. All three are good, solid teams moving up. We did not even consider letting him try out for the top ranked of those three teams, though. Why? The best way I can say it is that the parents on that team just seem a little unkind. They are quick to yell at the officials and the parents of the opposing team. They don't hesitate to call out opposing players, young boys, for perceived fouls. It's unpleasant to be near them on the sidelines.

The other two teams both have good kids and good parents and have open spots to fill so Wiley had a choice. Either one would have been just fine.

We're looking forward to joining this new club and blending into the family. Hope they like us!

Cursed

I don't cook a lot, but there are a few (chocolate) items that generally turn out well. My chocolate chip cookies and my Christmas time fudge approach legendary status among family and friends. I can throw down chocolate chip cookies in my sleep. My fudge is the perfect gift for the client who already has everything money can buy.

Then there is my chocolate cinnamon sheet cake, my husband's favorite. It's made from scratch with a cooked icing as well. Nothing complicated, just not out of a box. For years it was a staple dessert for family celebrations and dinner with friends. Not so much anymore.

Sometime starting about ten years ago, things just began to go wrong. That's about when my kids hit middle school and the household activity level ratcheted up. That's about when I started having to use my adding machine to add two plus three. That's about when somebody cursed my chocolate cinnamon cake.

The family joke became "What did Mom do to the cake this time?"

I have made the cake without baking soda - it's flat. I have made it without vanilla - it's tasteless. I have made it without cinnamon - it's boring. I have made it without eggs - it's a disaster. I've made it with too little or too much cocoa or milk. These ingredients are measured in tablespoons (four or six) and I either lose count (no adding machine in the kitchen) or I mistake the spoon which holds one and a half tablespoons for the correct single tablespoon.

I have undercooked the icing - it's runny. And trust me, you can't save it by just adding more powdered sugar. I've overcooked the icing - it's so thick you can't cut if with a knife, much less spread it or enjoyably eat it.

The last few times I've studied the recipe, crossed my fingers and it's been okay. On Sunday, breathing a little easier, I made the chocolate cinnamon cake for the father of my children. It's the least I can do for the man who puts up with our knuckleheads. Unfortunately, something distracted me during the icing preparation. The butter cooked down before I added the other ingredients, but I didn't think that would make a difference. Evidently it did. The icing turned out rather runny with not quite the right flavor. I'm blaming it on the dog.

Sigh. Cursed again.

Let them eat cake!

Our lawmakers are considering an excise tax on coca cola, gatorade, etc. Here is my dilemma, should it come to pass...how do I support Coke so it's still around and waiting after a new Congress has reversed the tax?

You see, a coke over Sonic ice is my vice. I don't smoke, I drink moderately, I'm at the very lowest end of my recommended weight. So Congress wants to call my Coke fix a sin? Congress wants to tell me I'm unhealthy?

I certainly have the fortitude to switch vices to avoid a "sin" tax. Chocolate cake works for me.

And while they're at it, tell Congress to pass a dozen similar taxes. The money I'll save from changing my habits to avoid the behaviours Congress has deemed sinful will allow me to reduce my working hours. Since I'm self-employed I make less than sixty cents for each dollar earned anyway.

Our leaders seem to want to use tax policy to change behaviour but don't extend the concept to conclude that I can change my behaviour to influence tax policy.

I'll buy no sinful products and reduce the income and employment taxes I pay by working fewer hours. It's much easier for me to cheerfully adjust my lifestyle than pay for the lifestyle of others.