I don’t think men really know the full benefits of what chocolate can do for a woman.
And I am talking GOOD chocolate, not the industrial kind (although I love Cadbury in Canada but not in the States).. but homemade chocolate or really high quality stuff.
I KNOW there are men out there who love the sweet stuff, but it seems like women are more likely to be into chocolate than any other kind of snack (including chips!)
They even did a poll once (I am remembering this from WAY back), where women said that if they had to pick between Sex or Chocolate, they’d pick…CHOCOLATE.
The best part about chocolate is their supposed health benefits (haha)…
Scientists reported preliminary evidence recently that cocoa and other chocolates may keep high blood pressure down, your blood flowing and your heart healthy.
One study found that a substance in cocoa helps the body process nitric oxide (NO), a compound critical for healthy blood flow and blood pressure.
Another study showed that flavonols in cocoa prevent fat-like substances in the bloodstream from oxidizing and clogging the arteries, and make blood platelets less likely to stick together and cause clots.
Flavonoids are plant compounds with potent antioxidant properties; so far, scientists have found more than 4,000 kinds.
Cocoa beans contain large quantities of flavonoids, and so do red wine, tea, cranberries, peanuts, strawberries, apples and many other fruits and vegetables.
The flavonoids in chocolate are called flavonols.
Generally, science has found that dark chocolate is higher in flavonoids than milk chocolate. The way that cocoa powder and chocolate syrups are manufactured removes most flavonoids.
So basically what they’re trying to say is that dark chocolate is healthier for your heart than milk chocolate. And white chocolate isn’t even really chocolate.
This sucks for me, because my favourite chocolates are usually milk or white. I will only eat dark chocolate in DIRE EMERGENCIES.
I was asking BF’s friend the other day (who loves candy) if he kept a bar of Emergency Chocolate in his apartment (c’mon people, you all know you have one).
He replied that he did, but it usually got replenished pretty quickly.
BF asked me what the hell Emergency Chocolate was, and I told him it was chocolate that you kept on hand, JUST IN CASE there was a snowstorm or something that prevented you from going out (laziness counts) to the local convenience store.
He looked completely baffled.
So readers, do YOU keep Emergency Chocolate stashed in your home?
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I always have a chocolate stash at home (used to have a chocolate drawer!!) and I find that when I have it at home, I don't want it. Therefore it's good for reducing cravings just to have it on hand.
Trader Joe's 72% Cacao Dark Chocolate bars are always, always, always on my grocery list when I go there. I eat 1/4 of a bar about every day, but some days I indulge more than others. I love the concentrated flavor of the dark stuff, so a little goes a long way and dark chocolate is surprisingly high in fiber (6 grams in a whole bar of the TJs stuff!).
My husband usually has a emergency chocolate stash that I can pinch from when needed. When that's depleted, I use a hot cocoa packet to sate the chocolate craving.
Nope, no emergency stash. I have no willpower when it comes to chocolate. I can't even keep baking chips in the apartment for longer than a day without opening them up and snacking. I keep myself as far removed from temptation as I can.
I don't have a stash of chocolates rather a stash of hard candy & gum. I keep it in the bottom drawer in my kitchen and I bring it out when i am stressed. I have things like bubble yum, blow pops and hot tameles. I stocked up during Halloween. 🙂
I don't have a secret chocolate stash, but this post is making me wish I did!
Chocolate is a necessity, absolutely. It's also a huge downfall for me, so I try to find it in the healthiest way possible. I love a protein drink that Bolthouse Farms makes that is called Purely Chocolate. Also, I eat my Amazing Grass bars which are chocolate peanut butter.
I'm not a real girl apparently, because I can take or leave chocolate. Once in a while I'll get into a Cadbury kick (the Duo is my fave; a combo of dark and milk choc goodness), and once in a while if I crave something sweet after dinner I'll have ONE square of dark chocolate (usually Green & Black's Organic–the bar I bought in October is still only half eaten), but that's about it. my real weakness is white cheddar popcorn. I can eat a bag a day easily in the US, and if there were a shortage, I would learn how to wield a gun to protect my share of the rations. Alas, they do not have it here in NZ, so I am left without a vice. Still lookin hard for a replacement, though!
Oh maybe you’re a salty/savoury toothed person.
I am more sugary than salty. 🙂 I find that guys are more salty than sugary, and girls are sugary.
Emergency Chocolate? Absol-frakken-lutely! I have M&Ms, but since my trip to Switzerland in November, I’ve developed a taste for the good stuff (i.e. European chocolate like Lindt). I keep that on hand too.
I absolutely love love love chocolate but I don’t have an emergency stash and that’s because my goal this year is to eat less sweets! :-(. 9 days down, only 356 days to go!
Thinking about it more, there's the chocolate monster and there's the sugar monster. Based on your description and some other posters, it seems more sugar cravings than chocolate. I simply say this because the commercial stuff has so little cocoa in it and more sugar/oil than anything else. If you're a real chocolate fiend, then it's the darker stuff you have seek out. As I said earlier, you do have to work your way up, but once you're up there, it's hard to eat the junky stuff. I usually have a bar of Cocoa Camino sitting in my place – organce & fair trade. Apparently the non-fair trade stuff has some shaddy labour practises like child slavery and such. One has to wonder if they should follow the footsteps of diamonds and call it Blood Chocolate…
Yea I’m a sugar monster then
Actual dark cocoa nibs is not my thing unless it’s covered in milk and sugar 🙂
Haha definitely a sugar monster here! I would much rather have the chocolate IN a home-made cookie than just the chocolate.
People give me chocolate so I have loads of it around and yet rarely eat it. At least they do give me really good chocolate. I love dark dark dark chocolate, the more bitter the better. I also love dark chocolate with red chili in it. Oh, pure heaven! And one of my favorite late night treats is a small bite of dark chocolate and a sip of hot peppermint tea. Mmmmm….
haha! yes i do! right now it's a leftover block of milk chocolate that i'm waiting for my cravings to hit so i can chow it down. and i loveee milk chocolate, not a fan of white chocolate tho and i'm getting myself to eat dark chocolate now.
No stash, per se. But if I run out, I make sure I replenish my supply pretty darn fast!
Thanks to your post…Im going to go eat a piece of chocolate. (I do try to keep some around when I want something sweet but not a big dessert) 🙂
Don’t let me derail your healthy eating! 🙂
lol the problem is, I would find every situation a need for emergency chocolate 😉
You and me both.
“Oh no! I ran out of milk. Time for some chocolate.”
“Oh no! I got some junk mail and I am trying to cut back on junk mail. Time for some chocolate.”
stoppit….your photos are killing me!
I LOVE milk chocolate. I also like white chocolate. And dislike dark chocolate, like you, which sucks for my health!
I must say I'm not a diehard chocolate fan – I'll eat it every few weeks, but it's a treat, and I don't keep stashes 😀 I used to have friends who would eat a bar of chocolate every day. Never understood that 😛 Although I just realised, all week I've been nibbling on the cooking chocolate buttons we bought to use for baking last week.
I am a crazy chocolate fan. But once I buy a big bar of it, I can go a month, eating a bit of it at a time.
BF is the opposite. If we buy a bar of it, he eats it all at once, and I don’t see the fun in that!
LOL I keep my emergency Snickers stash in the cupboard. I prefer white chocolate for non-emergency situations though 🙂
Funny you should say this, I spent this past week polishing off a bar of Symphony milk chocolate I received in my stocking at Christmas. I definitely keep chocolate on hand at all times – you never know when the mood will strike. I try not to have gobs and gobs around, because not only will I eat more, but it will make it less "special." 🙂
I actually keep my emergency chocolate in my desk drawer at work. Actually, I think half of my department does. I don't usually keep it at home because then I'll eat the WHOLE BAR and not nibble. I really like to go to Godiva and get some chocolate. They have a free "member" club now where you get a free piece every month. I tried a white chocolate heart with rose champagne. DELISH.
I am worse at work than at home. No one is monitoring me at home with the side eye saying: “Is that really good for your skin?” 😛
I don't really have emergency chocolate, because our house usually has at least 3-4 different chocolate products in it. Thatprobably explains how I gained 40lbs this pregnancy.
I don't think I'm a normal woman — chocolate has never been my thing, imagine that? I have chocolate chips for baking, usually…and some cooking chocolate now that I think of it, left over from Christmas. Bill's the bigger chocoholic in this family. I'm sure he has a stash somewhere…
Oh! Your husband has a sweet tooth then.
But perhaps you are into salty things instead? Like chips, or things like that?
Yes, it's my only daily vice! When I don't stock up on it, you will find me at the vending machine spending much more than I should!
Definitely!
I have always been a chocolate addict, or something close there to. But surprisingly, I got that from my dad. Way back way back when (before I was even born), my mom thought her kids were getting into her baking chocolate, so she hid it in the closet. Middle of the night she wakes up to the sound of my dad cursing, "Where the hell is my damn chocolate?!" And he was never the kind of guy to curse — even though he had been a sailor in WWII. Needless to say, she quickly brought him the chocolate.
My husband is well aware of my chocolate addiction. He can't have chocolate around me unless he is going to share and I've asked him not to eat it so much around me since I don't need the extra temptation. Heck, once upon a time we had a small stash in a locked box (hubby kept the key) so that I wouldn't just eat it all at once. Though, I've also found that keeping some super dark chocolate also works since, as much as I do like a lot of dark chocolates, I can't eat more than a few bites of the super dark stuff.
Fortunately, my chocolate cravings — as well as other cravings — have gotten much more manageable since going vegan. I have a lot more restraint now when it comes to chocolate (though not complete restraint). And there's a lot of good vegan dark chocolate. Vegan "milk" chocolate is harder to find, but there are some great brands that are as good if not better than the "real" thing.
My husband shares my chocolate addiction so yes, we keep a stash. He's tall and I have poor chocolate self control, so he hides it where I can't see it.
No, I don't keep emergency chocolate in the house. This post really got me thinking that I really should!
Have you tried Ferrero Rondnoir? It's the best dark chocolate ever. Better than original Ferreros.
I don't keep ER chocolate in the house. However, this past holiday season someone gave me Chukar chocolate covered cherries and now I'm hooked! Worst of all, I can't find them any where. My husband thinks I'm nuts, I've been going on and on about them for days. I'm going to have to order them online. It's an emergency!
I haven't really heard of emergency chocolate either, but not to hard to understand. Once in a while, I'll get a penchant for some chocolate. I blame the ex-gf for getting me into dark chocolate. It's definitely something you have to work your way up to as there are different degrees of dark. The Kit-Kats and commercial whatnot are probably around 50%, most gourmet bars are around 67%, then the extravagent get to 80% and for the hardcore (which I haven't tried) 98%. I have tried cocoa in it's raw form and wow is it bitter, but interesting the buzz you get.
I do if the term "emergency" is pretty loosely defined! It's a wonderful thing, isn't it?!
HAHAH!
Anything is an emergency. “I am having a bad hair day. Chocolate time.”
In my home?!?!
I keep emergency chocolate in my home, car, office, and purse! I will be totally set if there’s ever a disaster!
Indeed I DO keep some sweet stuff around!
It's different all the time though… for example right now I have a ton of leftover xmas chocolate, including 2 giant Toblerone bars (mmmmmmmm). That'll keep my stash happy for a while yet!
I love Toblerone, but I hate the nougat getting stuck in my teeth. Pet peeve.
Oh man, now I'm seriously jonesin' for a Cadbury Fruit & Nut (manufactured in Britain proper, please, or at the very least in Canada). I personally can't keep emergency chocolate on-hand, though: I'd eat it in a dang minute. I force myself to buy sweets on a case-by-case basis so that my laziness and the jacked-up convenience store prices will curb my sweet tooth.
I hate anything in my chocolate, especially fruit and nut. My parents are nuts (haha!) for that stuff, but I find it too …. odd with the raisins in there. Just nuts, okay. But raisins fighting with the taste of pure chocolate? No thanks.
I agree that Cadbury HAS to be in Canada or in the UK. It just doesn’t taste as good in the States.
Not necessarily "emergency" chocolate, but I do have a baking cupboard full of various chocolate chip types (my BF was just looking through cupboards, and quizzed me on everything in there yesterday, actually!).
Also stashed in there are the Lindor chocolate truffle things that I buy after holidays, and keep in that specific cupboard, since BF doesn't normally go there … but he discovered them yesterday night. Good bye chocolate 🙁 I need to think of a new hiding place! It's not really "emergency" chocolate though. It's just chocolate waiting to be consumed!
ha! Everyone in my house actually hides their chocolate in different ceompartments of the refridgerator. My mom always seems to try and stash hers near the eggs, I laughed reading this one this morning because its so true! I myself am not big at hiding chocolate, but I do hide my beers!
yes! in my kitchen, in my bedroom, in my handbag…
🙂
Doesn’t it melt in your handbag? The chocolate?