Trust me, you need to try this.
Posted on 03/22/2014 8:06:52 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
Love dark chocolate?
Now you can eat it with much less guilt because scientists have discovered why it is so good for us.
Previous studies have found daily consumption of dark chocolate reduces blood pressure and is good for the heart.
Now scientists have discovered why this happens - and its down to how our guts ferment the fibre in cocoa beans.
Researcher Maria Moore, from Louisiana State University said: 'We found that there are two kinds of microbes in the gut: the 'good' ones and the 'bad' ones.
'The good microbes, such as Bifidobacterium and lactic acid bacteria, feast on chocolate.
'When you eat dark chocolate, they grow and ferment it, producing compounds that are anti-inflammatory.'
This naturally forming anti-inflammatory enters the bloodstream and helps protest the heart and arteries from damage.
Bad gut bacteria, such as Clostridia and some strains of Escherichia coli (E.coli) trigger inflammation, leading to bloating, diarrhoea and constipation.
The team tested three types of cocoa powder, the raw ingredient used to make chocolate, in an artificial digestive tract consisting of a series of modified test tubes.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Love it! My favorite treat is Hershey’s special dark chocolate nuggets with almonds ... YUM.
Trust me, you need to try this.
Black Bean Brownies
Makes 16 small squares
2 cups cooked unsalted black beans
10 dates, preferably Medjool but others ok
2-1/2 Tablespoons almond butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup natural nonalkalized cocoa powder
1 Tablespoon ground chia seeds
Combine the black beans, dates, almond butter, and vanilla in a food processor or high-powered blender. Blend until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and blend again. Pour into a lightly oiled 8 x 8-inch baking pan.
Bake/dehydrate at 200 degrees for 1-1/2 hours. Cool before cutting into small squares. Store in a covered container in the fridge for up to one week.
Two of the supermarkets in my hood have grind-your-own almond butter stations, also, the bargain market, Winco, has it too. Otherwise a jar the stuff is killer expensive.
This recipe is from the book Super Immunity, by Joel Fuhrman, MD.
I got it from my library.
There are other Black Bean Brownie recipes online.
Enjoy:)
No. Nutella is hazelnuts and vegetable oil blech!
“Hello, Uncle George.”
For me, dark chocolate tastes terrible.
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