All Entries For chocolate

How Much Caffeine Are You Consuming?

You enjoy a cup of coffee with your breakfast, a glass of tea in the afternoon, a sports drink as you recover from your workout and a few pieces of chocolate to sooth your sweet tooth after dinner. Nearly 80 percent of people around the world consume caffeine on a daily basis. Adults in the United States and Canada consume an average of 250 mg of caffeine each day whereas those that live in Sweden and Finland consume around 400 mg per day. People in the UK enjoy caffeine in a range somewhere in between with an average daily intake around 300 mg and the average adult consumes most of their caffeine from coffee, tea, soft drinks, chocolate and medicine. The estimated intake for children is between 150-200 mg per day mostly from soft drinks, sweets, and sports drinks. Do you know how much caffeine you get in a day?

Posted 5/20/2010  12:54:27 PM By: Tanya Jolliffe : 131 comments

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Chocolate: A Little Goes a Long Way to Help Prevent Heart Disease

Chocolate--just saying the word can trigger a craving like nothing else. However, I must confess, for the past two years that hasn't been a big issue for me because every night I have what I like to call my anti-oxidant cocktail. This cocktail consists of one ounce of 70% Lindt dark chocolate with two tablespoons of chopped walnuts. Not only do I enjoy my little treat every evening, these foods contain polyphenols, or chemicals found in plants that can offset free radicals in our bodies, which may help prevent many diseases.

Having been diagnosed with hypertension 6 years and 80 pounds ago, I thought that once I lost the weight and started a consistent exercise routine I would be able to stop my anti-hypertensive medication, but that has not been the case. So I decided to look into other avenues to help keep my risk for developing heart disease low.

Posted 4/14/2010  3:51:02 PM By: Nancy Howard : 176 comments

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How Many Calories are in Your Easter Basket?

Next to Halloween, Easter is the second-largest candy-giving holiday, according to the National Confectioners Association. With overflowing baskets of the sweet stuff lurking in your household, you should know what kind of caloric damage you're in for. Check out the nutrition info for some of the more popular Easter candies--before you dig into your basket.

Posted 4/11/2009  1:21:46 PM By: Stepfanie Romine : 163 comments

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Before You Bite: A Valentine's Day Guide to Chocolate

Valentine's Day is fast approaching. Whether you're celebrating with a sweetie or you're celebrating with friends, you're probably going to encounter sweets and treats, particularly chocolate.

In honor of the day, the dailySpark is giving you a chocolate lesson. You know dark chocolate is the "good stuff," but what should you look for before you take that sweet first bite?

Posted 2/12/2009  2:05:21 PM By: Stepfanie Romine : 92 comments

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Healthy, Homemade Gifts: Chocolate Pretzels

Know another chocolate lover? Surprise him or her with these hearty pretzels. Pretzels are a healthy snack, and when dunked in chocolate, they feel like an indulgence. Turns out they only have 167 calories and 5 grams of fat each!

Posted 12/12/2008  4:13:48 PM By: Stepfanie Romine : 80 comments

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Healthy, Homemade Gifts: Chocolate Spoons

You might say that chocolate isn't a "healthy" gift. We disagree. Everything is fine in moderation, and dark chocolate (at least 70%) contains antioxidants.

Studies have found that dark chocolate helps prevent heart disease and cancer, and has also been shown to improve mood by boosting the brain chemical serotonin. Some even consider chocolate an effective diet food, claiming that a chunk of chocolate before meals diminishes your appetite.

Just be choosy about your chocolate and monitor your portions. That's one reason we love these chocolate spoons. They're easy to make and are instantly portion controlled.

Posted 12/6/2008  3:03:57 PM By: Stepfanie Romine : 131 comments

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Is Chocolate Milk Ideal after a Workout?

Nutrition and sports professionals study every nutrient combination to look for just the right competitive edge. Post workout recovery was critical for Michael Phelps in his record setting Olympics performance, too. Well, this year's Olympics may just have shared one of those little secrets that the rest of us can use as well.

Posted 8/23/2008  8:30:00 AM By: Tanya Jolliffe : 137 comments

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We Ate It: Special K Bliss Bars

Sometimes you just need chocolate.

A little sweet pick-me-up to get you to 5 o'clock, a dark, rich treat to make you forget all the work that's piling up around you, an indulgence to go with your morning coffee.

But who wants to waste hundreds of calories on a sweet? Not me.

Posted 8/17/2008  2:56:02 PM By: Stepfanie Romine : 75 comments

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