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Dark Chocolate and its health benefits

dark-chocolate
Whenever I think about chocolates my taste buds get active and my saliva starts rolling……. And I guess it’s the same with every one of us. From the time we start understanding our taste buds, chocolate is the most common food we crave for and this craving continues even as we age.

People have different choices in chocolates such as milky, Cadbury, jelly, liquor-filled chocolates, dark chocolate, candies, bars etc., but in all these Dark Chocolate is the most nutritious. In 100 grams bar, it contains 50-70% cocoa and 11 grams of fibre. It also has plenty of iron, magnesium, copper, manganese, potassium, phosphorus, zinc and selenium. However, one should consume it in moderation.

A study conducted by the University of California tested the theory that, as Dark Chocolate is believed to increase your metabolism; these benefits may cancel out the calories consumed. It may not be an obvious food choice for dieters, but research findings suggest that eating dark chocolate in moderation could actually keep you slim. Adults who consumed dark chocolate frequently had a lower BMI (Basal Metabolic Index) than those who didn’t, despite them often eating more calories and not exercising more.

Like tea, dark chocolate contains flavonoids, which are compounds that act as antioxidants. Dark chocolate has the type of fat in chocolate may actually increase the good HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol and will not increase the bad LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol in the blood.

Dark Chocolate is our hearts Best Friend.  Yes!!! You heard it right our Hearts best friend.

A recent Harvard study concluded that eating dark chocolate may have a reduced benefit on blood pressure. This is likely due to the flavanols found in chocolate that contain at least 50 to 70% cocoa, which appear to result in mild blood vessel dilation. Compounds called phenols are present in cocoa-rich chocolate. These antioxidants are the same as the ones found in red wines.

Dark chocolate is rich in brain-boosting chemicals when you have got a tough exam coming up? Boost your IQ and indulge your taste buds at the same time by snacking on a few squares of chocolate which will help you to improve blood flow to the brain as well as improving their ability to form new memories.

Dark Chocolate not only offers many amazing health benefits, it is also a great pick-me-up snack so can help you stay energized for your workouts. It is high in energy-boosting chemicals including theobromine (a stimulant found in many popular energy drinks) and caffeine. Have 1-2 squares of chocolate in the afternoon or before a workout to help stay energized for a longer period of time.

Skin is the most sensitive organ of our body, the skin creams are great for keeping our skin looking more youthful, they can only do so much; to really keep the wrinkles at bay, you need to look to your diet. Research has suggested that, when it comes to fighting free-radicals, dark chocolate could be even healthier than fruit! When tested and compared to juices from ‘superfruits’ such as blueberries and pomegranate, dark chocolate was found to be higher in antioxidants.

Dark Chocolate makes you happy

Dark Chocolate is known to be high in mood-boosting chemicals and findings published in the scientific journal Nutritional Neuroscience have suggested that the food can even help reduce the symptoms of depression. As we talk about the taste buds when the taste buds are stimulated with pleasurable flavours, there are endorphins released in the brain. These endorphins are the feel-good compounds of the body. Chocolate contains chemicals that cause the brain to release compounds that trigger the ‘feeling of love’.

In moderation, if you consume 2 squares of dark chocolate every day you can continue to be healthy as well as fit for a long period of time.

“Note to self- Eat lots of Chocolate when times get rough and eat even more when times are great.” So always keep a smile on your face, a rainbow in your heart and some dark chocolate on hand! To make healthy lifestyle choices click here.

 

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How to get over your Monday Morning Blues!

monday morning blues

As a kid, I remember reading Mark Twain’s book, ‘Adventures of Tom Sawyer’. One of the lines in the book read –“Monday morning comes, and Tom is unhappy—as usual—to go to school”.

I realised it was not only Tom who got Monday morning blues but, it’s the case with most of us. To be honest, nobody likes Mondays, I included. Monday reminds us of the monotonous routine that we need to get back to after a lazy and fun-filled retreat on weekends. It reminds us of our responsibilities, pending tasks and commitments and more often than not about things that we cannot avoid thus triggering the feeling of stress, anxiety and sadness.

Is there a way to get over Monday Morning Blues? With a little effort, we sure can!

Here are ways to get over Monday Morning Madness

Get over the “Will do it on Monday”:

Very often over the weekend, we tend to procrastinate our tasks and pile it up for Monday. Have a few calls to make or prepare a document? “Ah! Will do it on Monday”. But, as Monday nears so does our anxiety regarding the pending work. It’s better to plan in advance and not leave out anything and finish most of the work by Friday evening.

Have something exciting to look forward to:

As simple as it sounds if we have something more exciting to look forward to, Mondays would become less harrowing. For example, if you bought a few good looking clothes on Sundays then definitely you’d want to show up in them at work the next day, that would give you enough excitement, though, buying new clothes every weekend may not be so economical, we can try other methods too. Like cooking something delicious for our lunch box or thinking about pitching the new business idea to the boss.

Try a different Monday Morning Ritual:

If you start your week with a cup of your usual coffee and the newspaper then let’s try something different this Monday, how about, staring the day with a lazy cup of green tea and a thrilling fiction in our hand to keep us engrossed. What benefit will that bring? Well, it will take out the monotony of the weekdays, the same monotony that we dread!

Relax on Weekends:

Instead of planning a tight schedule have a relaxed weekend. Fun can bring down your stress but, it can drain you as well. And when you are tired, the idea of your weekday schedule next morning can distress you more, so relax and rest!

Start the Monday with some positivity:

Instead of thinking like, “Oh god, its Monday again!” Try to start the day with more positive thoughts like, “It’s okay, weekends are not going anywhere, they would come again, for now, it’s time to do my best, to rise and shine this Monday!”

This positive note can actually make your day, if only you bring your thoughts to action too.

Make it a musical Monday:

Put on some energetic music that would set you in a dancing mood. Get up to some nice music you usually enjoy and that makes your day. The thumps and rhythms of the music may even send you dancing and at the same time getting you some exercise!

So let’s reset our Mondays in style from now on, in style!

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Confused about healthy snacks….why not go for some scrumptious yogurt recipes

In my earlier blog I talked about the importance of yoghurt, which prompted me to write this second blog on recipes made from yogurt that can be healthy snacks. Many times we are in dilemma to have the right kind of healthy snacks as mid-meal snacks. I too get confused at times. To ease this dilemma, I have here some good and quick recipes for healthy snacks to suffice your hunger.

  1. Strawberry yogurt ice-cream:

1. Strawberry yogurt ice-cream

Ingredients:

1 cup- Plain unflavoured low-fat yoghurt

3 pieces medium sized -Fresh Strawberry

1 tablespoon -Organic honey

Chopped Nuts- to taste (optional)

Preparation

  • Chop strawberries into 4 pieces
  • Grind plain yogurt and strawberries in mixer or juicer.
  • Add honey while mixing in the juicer.
  • Keep it to freeze in deep freezer for 2 hours and again grind it once in the juicer. You can again freeze it or store it till 2 days.
  • Top with chopped nuts to taste.
  • Enjoy your tempting ice-cream

Tip: you can use any fruit from your list of favourites….to enjoy different antioxidants and multivitamins….like blueberries, pomegranate, banana, papaya etc. Any flavour you like to add….

  1. Yogurt veggie bread spread

2. Yogurt veggie bread spread

Ingredients:

Plain unflavoured low-fat yogurt -1 cup

Carrot, cucumber, beetroot chopped- ¼ cup

Black pepper powder- to taste

Cold pressed coconut oil- 1 teaspoon for taste (optional)

Salt to taste

Honey 1 teaspoon

Preparation

  • Beat the yogurt till it becomes creamy.
  • Add honey salt and pepper powder to it and beat again
  • Little strain chopped veggies to remove extra water
  • Add chopped veggies and mix it well …
  • Enjoy your bread spread with brown bread for quick breakfast.

Tips- you can add any flavours seasonings to make it tangy and tasty.

  1. Anti-inflammatory Garlic-spinach Yogurt

2. Yogurt veggie bread spread

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon any vegetable cooking oil
  • 8-10 baby spinach
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
  • 1 1/2 cups plain low-fat Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh coriander
  • Sea salt and black pepper powder to taste/ one green chilli paste

Preparation

  • Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a pan. Add spinach to toss it to remove excess water, then coarsely chop.
  • Mix chopped spinach, garlic, yogurt, coriander, and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium bowl; season it with salt and pepper or chilli. Cover and chill at least 1 hour before serving.

Tip- you can store it for two days.

4.     Yogurt veggies soupy delight

 

soupy delight

Ingredients

  • Low-fat plain Greek yogurt
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 tablespoons sesame seeds, coriander seeds, and cumin seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 2 whole black peppercorns
  • 1 clove
  • 1 carrot, 4 medium tomatoes, 1-inch ginger
  • 1 tablespoon butter or homemade butter
  • Rock salt to taste

Preparation

  • Toast cumin seeds, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, sesame seeds and chopped garlic in ½ teaspoon ghee or butter in a pan.
  • Boil carrot, tomato, clove, ginger, peppercorns into pressure cooker, let it cool down
  • After cooling grind all boiled mix veggies and tossed spices into a fine paste add water to make a thin soup.
  • Once again boil the ground mixture till one boils and add rock salt. Remove from flame.
  • Serve hot topped with desi ghee and add a scoop of low-fat plain yoghurt middle of the soup bowl. Enjoy the delight.
  1. Chickpea-Yogurt Dip

baked-chickpeas

Chickpea-Yogurt Dip- with wheat nachos do you want a tasty dip. Here you go –

Ingredients

  • 2 small garlic cloves
  • Half cup chickpeas, rinsed
  • ½ cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt
  • A large pinch of ground cumin
  • 3 tablespoon olive oil plus more for serving
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Pomegranate seeds (for serving)
  • Coarsely chopped fresh mint (for serving)

Preparation

  • The first step to puree garlic, chickpeas, yogurt, cumin and 2 Tbsp. Oil into a thick paste.
  • Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Top with 1tbsp oil, pomegranate seeds, and mint.
  • Enjoy the treat with wheat nachos.

6.     Rose delight with Beet Yogurt

beet-yogurt-dish-delicious-persian-borani-food-cooking-recipe-fig-quince2

Ingredients

  • 3 medium red beets, trimmed or grated
  • Sea salt
  • 1 1/2 cups plain low-fat Greek yogurt
  • 8-10 fresh or dried rose petals for aroma and flavour
  • 1 teaspoon rose water

Preparation

  • Just parboil the whole beetroot and grate them coarsely.
  • Beat yoghurt and add rose water, sea salt, mix well.
  • Add grated beetroot in yoghurt.
  • Garnish with rose petals.
  • Rose delight is ready to delight your day.

Health benefits of these recipes:

  1. Boon for improving Gut Microflora.
  2. Acts as anti-inflammatory food,
  3. Loaded with antioxidants.
  4. Veggies provide dietary fibre for better digestion and best for fat loss.
  5. Helps to improve HDL (good cholesterol) and reduces bad cholesterol
    (LDL, VLDL, Triglycerides)
  6. Improves glow of skin
  7. Loaded with multivitamins and nutrients for better health.

CAUTION: Choose the low fat and unflavoured yogurt to get all these mentioned benefits, as flavoured yogurt have more sugars.

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Super Healthy – Pumpkin Seeds

pumpkin seeds 1

Did you know that you can eat seeds? Yes, it’s true you can as they are rich in nutrients. These small but mighty kernels are high in vitamins and minerals the body needs to function at peak performance. Seeds are extremely versatile and can be incorporated easily into a variety of different recipes. There are various kinds of seeds that you can eat and Pumpkin seeds are one amongst them that you can eat.

Pumpkin seeds are green in colour and may have a white outer covering. They are flat and asymmetrically oval in shape. The white husk is edible. They have a distinct nutty and crunchy taste.  You can easily get them in the market.

Can be prepared at home too!!!

They can be easily prepared at home by scraping the inside of the pumpkin with a metal spoon. Take out all the seeds. Wash them under running water and separate the seeds from the mass and other remains of a pumpkin. Boil the seeds in salted water for 10 minutes. Keep the salt minimum. You can use rock salt or Himalayan pink salt. Remove from heat and drain. Roast the seeds in the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Brush the tray with some olive oil and spread the seeds in a single layer. Don’t overlap. Bake for 5 to 10 minutes. Let the pumpkin seeds cool down…Voila!! They are ready to EAT!!!

pumpkin seeds.jpeg

Nutritional facts:

Pumpkin seeds are energy packed. These small seeds are high in calories (approximately 550 kcal in 100 grams). They are a major source of proteins, fibre, niacin, iron, zinc, magnesium, manganese and phosphorus. Apart from that, they are also a good source of Vitamin B5, B6, B9, potassium and sodium.

It is one of the superfoods. It is an essential part of everyone’s diet (Check with your doctor if you are renal patient)

How to eat these energy-packed seeds?

  • Buy or prepare roasted pumpkin seeds
  • These can be included in a variety of things like :

 

  1. Roasted snacks: To make this – Mix roasted puffed rice + roasted chana + roasted makhana + roasted pumpkin seeds + roasted almonds/ walnuts + roasted peanuts. Choose all or two or three of the ingredients. But don’t skip the seeds. Mix and keep in a jar. Eat as a snack. Very healthy!!! Remember all these have to be dry roasted (without ghee/oil) or roasted in homemade ghee according to your calorie needs.

 

  1. Add them to a bowl of curd or oats porridge and enjoy the healthy nutritious snacks.

 

  1. Make pumpkin seeds sweet bars at home. Roast a combination of pumpkin seeds and melon seeds in ghee. Place them on plate evenly. Prepare jaggery syrup. Pour these over the seeds. Let it cool down. After it cools down completely, break into small piece and enjoy eating!!! (This recipe is not advisable for people who want to reduce weight. Good for people who want gain weight or kids).

 

  1. Nutty powder – Mix 50 grams roasted pumpkin seeds + 50 grams roasted melon seeds + 50 grams roasted sesame seeds + 100 grams almonds + Rocky candy (Mishri) as per taste + 25 grams anise (saunf) = Powder them together. Store them in an airtight container. Eat 1 teaspoon daily. Super healthy powder!!!

 

  1. Top it up on your salads. Yummilicious!!!

 

How much can I eat?

As pumpkin seeds are calorie and nutrient dense food, taking too much is not a good idea. You can take up to 2 tablespoons daily (30 grams). This may vary if you have any medical problems.

I hope after reading these facts about pumpkin seeds you will surely include them in your diet. I, myself, eat them daily. I pop in 1 teaspoon roasted pumpkin seeds just before going to bed.

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