Posts Tagged ‘chocolate’

Happy Halloween to all my healthy friends out there!

I love Halloween - and it's not because I get to dress up, carve a pumpkin, roast pumpkin seeds or hand out candy to cute neighbourhood kids - it's because I get to rummage through the Halloween candy box from the store and pick out all the Coffee Crisp chocolate bars, and unconsciously devour them all IN ONE EVENING.

And then I'll feel gross and guilty for a good 24 hours. And I'll kind of hate myself for a little while because I'll have just derailed myself from good nutrition track.

Does this happen to anyone else?

Coffee Crisps will be the death of me!

Here are 10 things I'll keep in mind tonight to keep me from overindulging as I'm handing out Halloween candy.

1. The more chocolate I eat, the more chocolate I crave. It's like it undoes all my hard healthy-eating work!

2. Sugar highs rock, but sugar lows sure suck!

3. My teeth will sing from all the sugar and feel furry. Gross.

4. The calories will go straight to my hips.

5. Eat dinner before I hand out candy - that way I'll be too full for chocolate (right?).

6. Remember that I bought the candy to hand out to the kids, not to eat all on my own.

7. Invite my sister over to help me hand out candy. Maybe I won't eat as much junk for fear she'll judge me?

8. Remember that I'm in control.

9. Give the left overs to my partner to polish off. I'm sure he'll finish them up before end of day tomorrow! And for some reason the chocolate never seems to go to his hips. Grrrrr.

10. Allow myself to select 4 of my fave mini-sized treats to enjoy - two for tonight, and two for tomorrow. I'm allowed to treat myself a little bit.

How do you try to stay in control when you have a bowl of Halloween candy starting you in the face?

How come chocolate happens at every holiday? Easter is coming, and as a result many coworkers are getting tempting samples of all sorts of delicious treats.

On Friday, this happened:

If I was a liar I'd tell you I didn't eat any of that chocolate.

Hershey's sent my coworker a HUGE box filled with chocolate. I sampled lots of it. There were tasty, crunchy Eggies. Delicious, velvety and peanut buttery Reese Eggs. I even sample one of those Oh Henry! Eggs and I usually don't even like Oh Henry! bars. I'm not complaining. This is definitely one of the perks of my job. It's just that ... um ... I had another midweek meltdown.

Honestly - how do you resist your office temptations? I'm waiting for some sage advice people!

Don't forget to enter my current giveaway. You could win a copy of Heidi Swanson's new cookbook Super Natural Every Day.

That's right, chocolate is healthy. Shhh ... don't tell me otherwise or I'll be sad.

The other week I gave you a great last-minute gift idea, as well as tantalized your taste buds with a chance to win six Green & Black's dark chocolate bars.

Congrats to Cheryl who absolutely astounded me with her love for chocolate.

Cheryl said:
"I am so crazy for chocolate that many years ago when I worked at McDonalds and got a free burger on my breaks, I would open up the bun, stop at the ice cream sundae machine, and give the patty a good squirt of chocolate syrup! I've been a vegetarian for many years now and that sounds disgusting but back in my have chocolate with anything days, that was the only way to get my hamburger edible for me."

Now that's dedication, Cheryl.

I hope you enjoy your delicious chocolate bars!

Do you usually need some last-minute holiday gift ideas? I do.

Two words: Dark chocolate.

Want to know a secret? Dark chocolate is also good for you.

I just high-fived you, because if the health gods tell me I can eat dark chocolate without guilt then I am one happy gal. I bet you are too!

Think how happy your loved one will be to get some tasty dark chocolate this holiday season. A healthy gift is a happy gift. I usually stuff my partner's stocking with dark chocolate, then eat it all myself. I have a dog, so it's really easy to pass the blame. (Don't worry, she actually doesn't eat the chocolate. I do. Chocolate is bad for doggies.)

1 reason why dark chocolate is healthy
Dark chocolate contains powerful antioxidants. And antioxidants are good for us because they help prevent disease and protect the heart.

It's all very scientific. And I don't really get science.

But who cares? Chocolate is good for you, that's all that matters here. So eat it (in moderation, of course).

Do you want to win some chocolate? Green & Blacks Organic Chocolate was thoughtful enough to provide me with 6 of their tasty and healthy dark chocolate bars. This fabulous prize back includes the following bars:
• Ginger
• Maya Gold
• 70 % Dark
• 85 % Dark
• Cherry
• Espresso

(I was tempted to keep them all for myself!)

For a chance to win, simply subscribe to The Health & Wellness Blog and leave a comment below telling us if you are coo coo for chocolate. Well, are you?

I'll announce a winner here on Monday, December 20.

Congratulations to Jeannine, who has won our February 27 contest. Her prize is a copy of  Dr. Georgia Andrianopoulous' book, Retrain Your Brain, Reshape Your Body: The Breakthrough Brain-Changing Weight-Loss Plan.

We asked what stresses you out and sends you snacking. Jeannine told us:

"Retraining my Brain and Reshaping my Body is exactly what I need….I’m getting married this September!

What stresses me out and sends me snacking? Oh gosh, what doesn’t? Let’s see…

planning my wedding
financial strain
my 10 yr old
having just put down my ill cat
my noisy upstairs neighbour
the chance I might lose my job
not having enough put into my RSP

…should I go on?

Yes, I know I’ll feel better while on my honeymoon…but then again I’ll be stressed out worrying about my child while I’m away. Then again, I’ll be worrying about the bills that will be waiting for me too! Ahh! Help me!

I take comfort in chocolate. Chocolate good. Mmmm."

Yes, chocolate good, indeed. Congratulations, Jeannine!

Today, I ate a chocolate for breakfast.

There was a whole box of them sitting on the kitchen counter, beckoning me with their sexy, mysterious fillings. I was powerless to resist their charms.

Although I was able to eat just one, I felt like I was being personally scolded when researchers reported (even more) evidence today that breakfast is indeed the most important meal of the day.

The findings, reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, support past studies that found that breakfast eaters are less likely to be overweight — and that eating a high-quality breakfast, rather than mindlessly mashing a chocolate into your greasy gob, is the key.

Using data from a national health survey of U.S. adults, researchers found that people who ate lower-calorie foods for breakfast tended to have a higher-quality diet over all.

Unfortunately, the study reported no findings about slackers with no willpower who start their day off by eating crap. I can only presume that they tend to be fat and sad over all.

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