Spoonful of Sugar Free

Registered Dietitian

health

Kuna Cocoa

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I’ve talked about the benefits of chocolate before on my blog; but while driving home today I listened to another great testimony of chocolate’s wonderful health benefits, so I decided to talk about it again.

I don’t know exactly what radio station it was on, but I found an article that talks about it similarly HERE. I recapped what I learned and what I thought was the most interesting below.

(Picture Source) 

A medical professor at Harvard University, Dr. Norman Hollenburg, spent years researching the Kuna tribe in Panama. Some of the Kuna people still live on an island off the coast of Panama, but others moved on to live in the mainland. Dr. Hollenburg found that four of the most common killers, stroke, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, affected fewer than 1 in 10 of the Kuna living on the island compared to the much higher percentage of people living on the mainland. He also said that he has yet to find a Kuna from the island with Alzheimer’s. What’s the difference? Those living on the island drank an average of 5 cups of cocoa every day. 

This cocoa they drink is not the Hot Chocolate we are used to. This is pure chocolate scraped fresh from the pods and made into a paste to make the cocoa drink. No milk. No sugar. Just pure chocolate. Chocolate contains a powerful flavanol called epicatechin, which can also be found in tea, wine, chocolate and some fruits and vegetables.

So get your chocolate on!

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Grain-Free Bitter Chocolate Cake for One

Chocolate Covered Almonds

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

What is the darkest chocolate you will eat? If you don’t like chocolate, your crazy.

I can’t eat anything less than 100%. I like it bitter.

Fungus Experts Needed

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I received these three packages of organic mushrooms from my Organic Co-Op this week. The problem is, I have never heard of these mushrooms before. I don’t know what they taste like, and I don’t know how to cook them. Frankly, I am a bit intimidated by them.

I’ve got some…

Maitake (Hen of the Woods)

Bunapi (White Beech Mushroom)

Eryngii (King Oyster Mushrooms)

I’m in the mood for mushroom soup, but I don’t know if these mushrooms will taste good in the creamy soup. My second thought would be to simply stir fry them, but again, I have no idea what these babies can do.

Does anybody have any experience cooking these mushrooms? Any good recipes to try?

High Protein Cookies

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I’ve made High Protein Cookie Dough…

So the logical thing to do is make High Protein Cookies! Duh!

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High Protein Cookies

High Protein Cookies

~These cookies are high in protein because of the garbanzo beans. Don’t shy away from it, though, because it tastes fantastic! Dairy-free, vegan, gluten-free, and, of course, sugar-free

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas, well-rinsed
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
  • 1/2 cup nutbutter (I prefer making it a Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough by using peanut butter)
  • 1/4 cup nondairy milk (I used almond milk. Water will probably work, too)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

Instructions

  1. First, drain and wash chickpeas well. Make sure they are well-washed so that the cookie dough doesn’t taste like beans.
  2. Add all the ingredients except chocolate into a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Adjust liquid as needed. Stir in chocolate chunks.
  3. Drop dough by Tablespoonfuls on an un-greased cookie sheet.
  4. Bake at 400* for 15 minutes or until the bottoms are nice and brown.
https://www.spoonfulofsugarfree.com/2011/06/15/high-protein-cookies/

These cookies make fabulous “protein bars.” I eat them before and after I work out. For my taste buds, they are perfect because I love bitter chocolate and non-sweet peanut butter. However, those who do not like unsweetened things may not like the flavor. I suggest adding a mashed banana to the batter. Not only would it taste fabulous, but it would add a bit of sweetness.

 

Health Benefits
  • Chocolate: Click HERE for a post I did about all the benefits of chocolate.
  • Chickpeas: Click HERE for a post I did about all the benefits of chickpeas.
  • Peanuts: These legumes are full of protein with 7g per ounce. They also have a great monounsaturated fat content that helps your heart and brain. Peanut is a good source of Coenzyme Q10 which protects the heart during the period of lack of oxygen example high altitudes and clogged arteries. It also has a high antioxidant and high niacin content that helps in the recovery of cell damage and provides protection against Alzheimer’s disease and age-related cognitive problem.

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day: 

After you work out do you crave carbs, fat, or protein? Do you crave sweet or savory?

I am always hot and sweaty after I work out, so I crave cold drinks like smoothies or a V8.