Tag: chocolate

I LOVE Chocolate! But There is a Dark Side!

I love dark chocolate, and it’s so good for you, as long as you’re eating 70% and higher!

But there is a secretive dark side to chocolate (no pun intended) and it’s hidden in the form of cheap, overly-available cocoa!

Cocoa products are in high demand, but the cocoa “market” demands low prices. To remain competitive and cut costs, many cocoa farmers force young children into slavery, pushing them to work endless hours on their farms, where they live in brutal conditions. They are exposed to toxic pesticides & fertilizers, dangerous tools like machetes, and countless beatings when they are too slow or try to escape.

This unspeakable abuse happens in Western Africa, where children from nearby countries are lured away from home with false promises and transported to farms in Côte d’Ivoire (also called the Ivory Coast) and Ghana. These two countries supply 75% of the world’s cocoa supply, selling to the main chocolate companies, Hershey, Nestle, Mars, and Kraft.

Luxurious Chocolate

Over the last few months, I’ve transitioned to purchasing local humanely-raised animal products. To balance the extra cost, I eat less of them.

How could I be so concerned about animal welfare, but turn a blind eye to humans being treated so poorly for a block of cheap chocolate?

In the same way, chocolate should be thought of as it was in the past, like a luxury; chocolate is not something to take for granted, something that we should have in small amounts for special occasions, savoring every bite.

So, I’m really going to make an effort to look for specific brands that are open and honest about the origin of their ingredients; this should ensure that the cocoa was farmed ethically with environmentally-friendly practices.

Yes, it will be more expensive, but just like I’m budgeting my food expenses, I’ll have to budget my chocolate intake.

This will cause me to appreciate chocolate a lot more, and really think about where it comes from. I am concerned about how my vegetables, fruit, meat and eggs are grown, so it should really apply to all foods I eat, chocolate included.

What’s On a Label?

So, how can we find “fair-trade” or slave-free cocoa products? Who can we trust?

Unfortunately, “fair trade” is a buzz-phrase we hear a lot when it comes to coffee and chocolate, as well as other products like bananas amp; sugar. But just as the labels “natural” and “free range” are abused in the meat industry, “fair trade” labels are also misunderstood and abused.

We cannot rely on the Fair Trade USA organization, as it’s recently been called out on their less than strict accreditation of requiring only 10% of fair-trade ingredients for a product to gain their label.

The Rainforest Alliance requires only 30% of ingredients be fair-trade and IMO Fair For Life requires 50% of ingredients be fair-trade.

That’s not good enough.

I found an unbiased list of recommended chocolate brands on FoodIsPower.org and I’ve saved it to my iPhone so I can refer to it when I’m shopping.

There are several online articles about the dark world of cocoa slavery, but their lists of recommended brands don’t always match the Food is Power list. That’s why I’d rather trust their list, as they don’t seem to be driven by labels and accreditation. They did their own research and came to their own conclusions.

Unfortunately, our regular brand Green & Black (owned by Kraft) is on their “not recommended” list, even though they have been recommended by other authors writing about “fair-trade” brands. I think I always knew in my heart, I wasn’t making the best choice, but Green & Black’s lower price was so tempting.

Changing the World – Vote With Our Forks

I can’t promise that every single thing I eat will be 100% ethical, but I’m willing to make a real effort for change.

We cannot rely on food companies and our governments to ensure that our food is produced safely and ethically. It’s up to each of us to “vote with our forks”

If we consciously make a choice to purchase chocolate and chocolate brands using ingredients that are 100% free of abusive child labor, then perhaps Hershey, Nestle, Mars and Kraft will take these matters more seriously. Plus, we will be supporting smaller food companies, and that is always a good thing!

Online Resources:

http://smallbites.andybellatti.com/?p=8471 – this is the article that convinced me to look more closely into the matter of cocoa slavery.
FoodisPower.org – offers a list of recommended chocolate brands that are open about their ingredients, and the details behind the project.
http://www.johnrobbins.info/blog/is-there-slavery-in-your-chocolate/ – great article, except that their recommended brands don’t exactly jive with the list from FoodIsPower.org, which looks to be a more comprehensive list.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1497785/ – Details on child labor in Ghana
My blog post about dark chocolate and what the % mean.
http://www1.american.edu/ted/chocolate-slave.htm – child slavery in Cote d’Ivoire (the Ivory Coast.) Includes the story of Aly Diabate, a little boy who was released from a cocoa slave farm.

October Unprocessed 2011 Some Considerations

october unprocessed 2011

I’ve been reading the Eating Rules blog trying to organize my pantry and fridge for the upcoming challenge to give up all processed foods for the month of October.

So here are a few of my challenges and concessions.

Chocolate

So many natural brands contain either soy lecithin, sugar or both. I’ve been working on finding an alternative. We enjoy a small bit of chocolate as a snack a few times a week, so I don’t want to spend a fortune on a $10 bar of chocolate that won’t last very long.

I found a homemade powerballs recipe on the 100 Days of Real Food web site and I just made a batch this afternoon. I pressed them into a square glass baking dish and they’re in the fridge now. I figure I can get 16 servings/pieces, and then we can add more nuts on top when we’re eating them.

We’ll see how it goes. If it’s not acceptable, I will cut back but will not compromise our chocolate needs. I will just find a brand that doesn’t use soy lecithin, and doesn’t cost a fortune, but we’ll have to make an exception for any added cane sugar.

Fruit jelly or jam

I’m a big fan of Crofters. It’s really low in sugar and the ingredients are organic. I buy the premium spreads which contain fruit as the first ingredient as opposed to their Just Fruit product which contains grape juice as the first ingredient. The problem is “sugar” as in processed white sugar isn’t allowed according to the “rules” and the “premium spread” jellies contain organic cane sugar. Since this brand is not inexpensive to buy, I don’t want to pay for fruit juice, so I will not be giving up my Crofters spread for October. Note: As I’ve been reading more and more comments over on the Eating Rules blog, I’m getting the feeling that some participants are a bit over the top. I’m don’t plan to be as strict & rigid, and that’s okay.

So Delicious Coconut Milk

I have an opened carton of the unsweetened milk in the fridge. It doesn’t pass the test for unprocessed because it contains guar gum and carrageenan, ingredients I wouldn’t expect to see in my own kitchen. Plus they enrich with vitamins and minerals. But since I opened the carton before I took the pledge, I will continue to use the coconut milk until it’s finished, and I won’t use it again until after October, if at all. I use So Delicious for baking and a tiny bit for my oatmeal, but I might consider a permanent switch to another kind of milk instead. Or maybe even a fresh non-homogenized dairy milk.

White Flour

I will still continue to use white flour – unbleached and un-enriched from King Arthur, but I will make a conscious effort to use more whole grain flours when baking bread, the way I used to when I first started baking. I’ve become a bit lax on that lately, adding up to half white flour. I’ll keep experimenting with barley, corn and rye flours as well as whole wheat. Oh and I’ll be also using vital wheat gluten.

Restaurants

I don’t think many of the big chain restaurants will qualify for unprocessed, even Chipotle Mexican Grill probably has something that breaks the rules by using sugar, soy, etc.

It was suggested on the blog to try local restaurants instead, but I’m not that sure they would be any better. Even if a restaurant boasts homemade food, how truly homemade is it. I’m sure there is some sort of processed ingredient, like soy sauce (not naturally made) or refined sugar.

So, I have to decide. Do I give myself one day a week to treat myself to a restaurant meal, as long as the meal is presumed to be fairly unprocessed? For instance, steamed chicken and veggies at the Asian restaurant or meat skewers & pork ribs at the Greek restaurant. Yes, I will add this to my list of concessions as well. One day a week, a healthy restaurant meal. NO chain restaurants.

Well I think that is all the issues I’ve encountered. I’m going to try to stick to the rules, but I refuse to spend a ton of extra money or waste food. Part of my challenge will be to stick to our budget!

No, Nutella Hazelnut Chocolate Spread Is NOT a Health or Healthy Food!

Those TV commercials for Nutella Hazelnut Chocolate Spread drive me crazy! They try to convey that it’s the greatest health food since brown rice! And that it’s such a good choice for your kids!

Well it’s not!

Here is the commercial I’ve been seeing over and over:

Ingredients and Nutritional Data from the Nutella USA website

nutella jar

sugar, palm oil, hazelnuts, cocoa, skim milk, reduced minerals whey (milk), lecithin as emulsifier (soy), vanillin: an artificial flavor.

Serving size: 2 tbsp (37 g)
Calories 200
Calories from Fat 100
Total Fat 11 g
Saturated Fat 3.5 g
Sodium 15 mg
Total Carbohydrate 22 g
Dietary Fiber 1 g
Sugars 21 g
Protein 3 g
Calcium 4%
Iron 4%

How About Some Sugar For Breakfast

Whoa, 21 grams of sugar!!! Duh, no surprise, of course that’s why kids love Nutella! You might as well melt half a Snickers candy bar on top of some whole wheat toast! Does a candy bar sound like a healthy choice for your kids’ breakfast? No? Well, then why is Nutella considered as healthy? It’s sort of like the cereal companies touting that because their product contains whole grains, it’s healthy, but it’s still loaded with refined sugar!

Palm Oil

I don’t like their use of palm oil. I mean, come on! It’s 2nd on the ingredients list, before hazelnuts!

Now, I’m not knocking palm oil necessarily. I need to do some additional research on its benefits and possibly how it’s destroying the rain forests, but nutritionally, it seems similar to coconut oil. I am constantly cooking with coconut oil, which is a highly saturated fat food product. I’m not afraid of plant-based saturated fats, but I AM afraid of processed foods containing them.

Unless it’s virgin or extra-virgin, coconut oil can be very unhealthy, due to the way it’s processed/refined. As I said, I’m just beginning to research on palm oil, and I haven’t been able to find out exactly how it’s processed, but I’m assuming that the palm oil in Nutella is highly refined and nowhere close to virgin.

Which is it? Palm Oil or Modified Palm Oil?

It is very strange, but Nutella used to list palm oil as “modified palm oil” on their list of ingredients.

So, I did some googling and found this article from treehugger.com

They quote directly from the Nutella web site:

Is the modified palm oil in Nutella® hydrogenated?
No. The modified palm oil is a mix of the liquid and solid oil naturally extracted from the fruit of the palm. The mix is adjusted to assure the best consistency for easy spreading. The process also reduces the level of saturated fat. Per serving Nutella® has 0 gram transfat

This is what Nutella’s web site FAQ states now:

Is the Palm Oil in Nutella® a hydrogenated oil?
No. The palm oil is naturally extracted from the fruit of the palm. This palm oil is adjusted to assure the best consistency for easy spreading by reducing the level of saturated fat.

It still sounds like they “modified” the oil, doesn’t it? ADJUSTED to assure the best consistency? And notice the phrase “naturally extracted” – I don’t believe the word “natural” has any concrete meaning when it comes to food, in fact, it’s probably the most misused misleading word on a label!

I’ve been trying to find anything online that explains the sudden change in ingredient wording, but have come up empty. I have to assume it’s a slight change in their manufacturing process allowed them to remove the word “modified”.

Is Palm Oil a Sustainable Responsible Choice?

There is a lot of information online claiming that palm oil refinement is destroying the rain forests. I don’t want to start listing the specifics, but it does seem like it’s a food product that should be avoided.

What does Nutella say about it?

Does Ferrero support responsible palm oil use?
Yes. As a member of the RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil), Ferrero only uses palm oil which is extracted from controlled plantations in Malaysia.

Now, if you believe the treehugger.com article, then it’s doubtful that the “RSPO” is even a legitimate environmental group.

From Treehugger:

Many organizations no longer recognize the RSPO as being legitimate. In November, 80 organizations from 31 countries sent an open letter that included the following:

Destructive oil palm plantations have been certified in Malaysia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea and the same greenwashing exercise has started in Colombia, Thailand and Ghana.

We are deeply concerned that RSPO certification is being used to legitimise an expansion in the demand for palm oil and thus in oil palm plantation, and it serves to greenwash the disastrous social and environmental impacts of the palm oil industry. The RSPO standards do not exclude clear cutting of many natural forests, the destruction of other important ecosystems, nor plantings on peat. The RSPO certifies plantations which impact on the livelihoods of local communities and their environments. The problems are exacerbated by the in-built conflict of interest in the system under which a company wanting to be certified commissions another company to carry our the assessment.

So similar to Perdue Chickens bogus USDA Process Verification! haha!

Bottom line, it sounds like we should be steering clear of palm oil and products containing palm oil!

Nothing Artificial Except Some Flavoring!

I love how they clearly brag about no added artificial colors or preservatives, but they have the nerve to include artificial vanilla flavoring! How silly sneaky is that!

Don’t Believe the Nutella Marketing Hype

Please don’t believe the Nutella marketing! It’s not at all healthy! It’s a poor sugar-laden choice for breakfast! And it’s not good for the environment! Avoid, avoid avoid!

Instead, try some homemade oatmeal or toast topped with nut butter (no sugar, oils added) or how about making your own healthy version of chocolate nut butter! Recipes are found all over online!

Other web resources:

Chocolove xoxox Dark Chocolate

We love dark chocolate, and there are some weeks that we’ll eat it every day. Just a half serving with some raisins, nuts, or peanut butter. Dark chocolate is really healthy for you too, the darker the better.

I occasionally purchase Chocolove brand 77% and 70% Belgium dark chocolate bars. It offers a very rich, decedent chocolate flavor. Really delicious. A half serving is very filling!

Even though it does taste wonderful, it’s not something I purchase regularly. It’s not organic or fair trade, and it does contain soy lecithin, which I am not thrilled with, but it’s a good choice to purchase once in awhile.

UPDATE 2012-01-6: To find a list of recommended fair-trade chocolate brands, check out:
http://www.foodispower.org/chocolatelist.htm – Chocolove is on the “Cannot recommend but are working on the issues in various ways” list, so hopefully one day, they will be recommended fully!

Vivani Organic 70% Dark Chocolate with Lemon

A few days ago, I bought a couple of bars of Vivani Organic 70% Dark Chocolate with Lemon. We had tried them months ago, and I remembered that I enjoyed eating the chocolate.

Well, I guess our tastes have evolved, because now I am finding the taste to be waxy and sort of void of flavor. Not very chocolaty at all unfortunately.

So, I won’t be purchasing Vivani chocolate bars again. Back to Green & Black’s until I can find another choice that tastes wonderful, but doesn’t break the bank! I’d love to find out how to make my own chocolate from 100% unsweetened blocks.

UPDATED 2012-01-6: I cannot recommend Green & Black chocolate brand anymore, and deep in my heart, I think I always knew better, but I just wanted to save $. Check out the list of recommended brands of chocolate that are truly “fair-trade” – http://www.foodispower.org/chocolatelist.htm – Green & Black is on their Not Recommended list, but Vivani is on their recommended list. Hmm, I might give them one more shot perhaps!

Dark Chocolate

Updated: For a list of recommended chocolate brands, check http://www.foodispower.org/chocolatelist.htm.

I like taking a bite of plain dark chocolate with a one or two nuts (cashews, pecans, almonds, pistachios), that way I made my own nutty chocolate bar in my mouth.

Same with peanut butter. Spread a bit on top of a few dark chocolate squares, and you’ve got a healthy version of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups!

What does Chocolate Percentage % Mean?

100% chocolate is 100% unsweetened pure chocolate, either in the form of cocoa, chocolate liquor, and/or cocoa butter. The higher the percentage, the higher the actual chocolate content. The lower the chocolate, the higher the sugar.

From wikipedia:
The cacao bean products from which chocolate is made are known under different names in different parts of the world. In the American chocolate industry:

  • chocolate liquor is the ground or melted state of the nib of the cacao bean
  • cocoa butter is the fat component
  • cocoa powder is the nonfat part of the cacao bean which is ground into a powder

I usually eat a 1/2 serving of dark chocolate almost every day. It is so healthy, and the darker the better. Start off with 60% and work your way up to 70%, then 85%.

Once you get to 85%, the added sugar immensely decreases, and the fiber increases! Keep in mind the calories and fat (sat fat) increase, but if you keep it to a half serving every day, it can be a good snack choice. Plus, it’s been said that the saturated fat from chocolate is composed much differently than beef saturated fat.

Please make sure you read the labels on different brands, as the nutritional data can differ. A lot of manufacturers are using partially hydrogenated oil instead of cocoa butter.

Here’s a comparison using Green & Black chocolate:

34% Milk chocolate – 12 blocks (40g)

Ingredients: Organic Raw Cane Sugar, Organic Whole Milk Powder, Organic Chocolate Liquor, Organic Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin (Emulsifier), Organic Vanilla Extract.

Notice how the FIRST ingredient is sugar, then milk!

Calories: 220
Fat: 13g
Sat Fat: 8g
Cholesterol: 10mg
Sodium: 30mg
Carbs: 23g
Fiber: 1g
Sugars: 20g
Protein: 4g
Calcium: 8%
Iron: 6%

70% Chocolate – 12 blocks (40g)

Ingredients: Organic Chocolate Liquor, Organic Raw Cane Sugar, Organic Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin (Emulsifier), Organic Vanilla Extract, Organic Whole Milk Powder

Sugar is second, while milk is last.

Calories: 240
Fat: 18g
Sat Fat: 10g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 5mg
Carbs: 18g
Fiber: 4g
Sugars: 10g
Protein: 4g
Calcium: 2%
Iron: 20%

80% Chocolate – 12 blocks (40g)

Ingredients: Organic Chocolate Liquor, Organic Cocoa Butter, Organic Fat-Reduced Cocoa Powder, Organic Raw Cane Sugar, Organic Vanilla Extract, Organic Whole Milk Powder

Sugar is added only after ALL the chocolate ingredients. There’s no soy (Soy Lecithin) added, although because it’s made in the same factory as the other flavors, it’s not officially “soy-free”

Calories: 250
Fat: 20g
Sat Fat: 12g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 10mg
Carbs: 15g
Fiber: 4g
Sugars: 8g
Protein: 4g
Calcium: 4%
Iron: 20%

Unfortunately, I love Green & Black’s Organic chocolate, but it’s actually a UK company now owned by Kraft Foods. sigh. So many big food companies are scooping up smaller food companies, and it’s getting hard to find a decent chocolate. So, READ LABELS! Check the ingredients!

I keep telling myself to find another chocolate brand, but it’s hard because the Green & Black can be purchased for a good price. We eat so much chocolate between the two of us, it’s a difficult decision.

UPDATED 2012-01-6: I’ve since realized that saving money when buying chocolate isn’t worth it. Just as buying meat from a local, ethical farm is important, supporting chocolate manufacturers that are truly fair-trade is also important.

For a list of recommended chocolate brands, check http://www.foodispower.org/chocolatelist.htm.

Whole Grain Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Muffins

UPDATED 2011-07-14

This recipe is inspired by the “Peanut Butter Bread” recipe found in Tate’s Bake Shop Cookbook: The Best Recipes from Southampton’s Favorite Bakery.

whole grain peanut butter dark chocolate muffins

I altered the sugar quantity, added dark chocolate & sunflowers, and of course replaced the white flour with whole grains (whole wheat and barley flours).

Continue reading “Whole Grain Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Muffins”

100% Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread (with Dark Chocolate, Nuts & Sunflower Seeds)

whole zucchini

I got two larger zucchini squash this week in my CSA share and I decided to try baking a zucchini bread. To add a little extra flavor & nutrition, I tossed in wheat germ, dark chocolate, walnuts and sunflower seeds too. Yum! DH is not a fan of zucchini, and he even thought it tasted good.

yummy slices of zucchini bread

I found inspiration from the Zucchini Bread recipe on All Recipes, but similar to my banana bread, I wanted to reduce the sugar. I think I’ve done that for this particular recipe.

Continue reading “100% Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread (with Dark Chocolate, Nuts & Sunflower Seeds)”

Divine Mint Dark Chocolate – Review

Eating clean doesn’t mean giving up rich foods like chocolate! There are some days that I just feel like I NEED chocolate, and as long as I consume in moderation, it’s all good!

And I don’t mean Snickers or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Have you read the ingredients!? Yuck! I’m talking about REAL chocolate….the “dark” variety if possible 65% or higher, although partaking in rich yummy milk chocolate every once in awhile is okay too.

I have tried several brands, and one of my favorite is Divine Mint Dark Chocolate. It’s different than some of the other mint flavors/brands because when you take a bite, you’re tasting crushed chunks of peppermint stick candy! I love that!

It’s 70% dark chocolate, which is a good amount to look for and it’s made with “fair trade” ingredients, which is very important.

Now, keep in mind, you can’t eat the whole bar in one sitting! Remember, it’s all about moderation! Break off four squares for under 100 calories. Yum! It’s a healthy afternoon snack!

Cheerios Aren’t What They Used To Be

Today Hungry Girl posted a question on her Facebook Page:

Anyone out there try Chocolate Cheerios? Whatd’ya think of ’em?
http://www.facebook.com/HungryGirl?v=feed&story_fbid=266498302257

No surprise, of course, her loyal followers were gushing all over them! One naive woman even compared them to cocoa puffs, thinking they were healthier.

Are people really that stupid, or is it just laziness? Do people even bother to read labels anymore? What, so it carries the Cheerios name, and it automatically HAS to be healthy right? WRONG!

Take a look at the ingredients for both Cocoa Puffs and Chocolate Cheerios, and try to figure out which is healthier. Same calories and portion size. The Chocolate Cheerios have a little less sugar and fat. The Cocoa Puffs have more fiber along with more fat, but it’s mono-saturated fat.

The ingredients list on both products is almost identical. But because one is named “Cheerios” people automatically assume it’s healthy.

Chocolate flavored cheerios is not healthy, it's just as bad as cocoa puffs

Chocolate Cocoa Puffs are just as bad as chocolate Cheerios

My big problem with Hungry Girl and sites like hers, is that her followers are substituting so-called bad foods with what they think are better alternatives, instead of figuring out how to reduce the bad foods, and only eat them occasionally as a treat.

Why not just reward yourself with real chocolate once or twice a week, but just in a smaller portion? For about 100 calories I can eat 6 squares of Green & Black Milk Chocolate and it satisfies my sweet craving and I am not putting dangerous chemicals like BHT into my body.

I just don’t eat chocolate every day! But these people are eating Chocolate Cheerios every day for breakfast and/or snacks. And then everyone wonders why the US is so overweight and obese. Hmm, and kids are eating this crap too! Not good.