Who knew?

At our recent PLC conference, Dr. Ed Seguine, one of the world's leading chocolate tasters, taught our Chocolatiers how to really taste chocolate - much like one tastes wine. Since I didn't get to go (but benefited from the knowledge of some of my Chocolatier buddies who did attend), I decided to do my own chocolate-tasting comparisons. It involves acquiring several different varieties of chocolates and tasting each one very carefully and mindfully, which is, of course, just plain fun. I highly recommend this to all chocolate lovers - not only did I truly enjoy it, I learned a few things and discovered what I like and do not like.

According to Dr. Seguine (and a couple of other sources I consulted), one makes note of these things about chocolate:

• Aroma
• Bite/snap - the texture when you bite it or break it
• Mouthfeel - how it feels when it's dissolving in your mouth
• Taste/flavor
• Finale - what lingers after the chocolate has left your mouth?

One recent afternoon, armed with water and pretzels to cleanse our palates, my husband and I set out to taste five different dark chocolates (mind you, he doesn't care for dark chocolates, so he could easily pay attention to the tasting without just getting caught up in the "I'm eating dark chocolate!" giddiness to which I fall prey occasionally), and our findings are below. We forgot to note appearance, but we did make notes of the other characteristics:

Dove Chef-Series Dark Chocolate:

• Aroma: noticeable, pleasant, sweet, chocolate
• Bite/snap: firm, crisp, solid; not brittle
• Mouthfeel: smooth, creamy, silky
• Taste: intense chocolate, balanced sweetness, not bitter
• Finale: sweet, clean, lingering flavor with no bitterness

Ritter Sport 50% Cocoa Dark

• Aroma: very faint, almost floral
• Bite/snap: hard, not chalky
• Mouthfeel: powdery, smooth, a little chalky
• Taste: fruity, floral, not intensely chocolate
• Finale: left a dry feeling behind

Ghirardelli  Evening Dream (60% cocoa)

• Aroma: cocoa-y (not really a word, but the best I could come up with)
• Bite/snap: crumbly
• Mouthfeel: smooth, but not creamy - more liquid
• Taste: sharp, bitter, almost burned
• Finale: dry, acrid, very unpleasant

Hershey's Special Dark

• Aroma: sweet, not very chocolate, faintly floral
• Bite/snap: soft, not crumbly, a little waxy
• Mouthfeel: chalky, powdery, gritty
• Taste: floral, mild, bland
• Finale: not much aftertaste; passive

Lindt 50% Cocoa Dark

• Aroma: no remarkable aroma (or maybe our noses were worn out by then!)
• Bite/snap: soft, but slightly brittle
• Mouthfeel: smooth, slightly waxy
• Taste: sweet, intense, but with a sort of strange, sharp, unidentifiable flavor
• Finale: slightly sweet; not bitter

I never had any idea that dark chocolates could taste so vastly different! I guess I hadn't much paid attention before, or had never tried them side by side. I can't tell you how many bars of Ghirardelli Evening Dream (and darker) I've consumed in my life, but I probably won't touch the stuff ever again. I was totally surprised that it was my least favorite, and I've rarely seen my husband make such a face as he did while it melted in his mouth.

Not surprisingly, the hands-down favorite: Dove Chef-Series. I might be biased, but I like to think I can employ a certain amount of objectivity. I actually hoped I'd discover another dark chocolate I like as much (for emergency purposes), but even the second favorite, Lindt, didn't come close enough for either of us to want to eat it. 

Next adventure: milk chocolate! I can't wait to see what we discover about that.

The Power of Chocolate (Duh...)

About a year and a half ago, before I started my business, I had an idea. I thought seriously about inviting all of my friends over with their favorite chocolate desserts and having an all-chocolate party. To me, it sounded like the ultimate healing and empowering experience, and I desperately needed some healing and empowering at the time! I thought about it more and more, and eventually began to wonder if I could parlay such an idea into a business so I could support my family doing something GOOD for people, which I enjoy immensely.

Enter Dove Chocolate Discoveries™.

Fortunately for me, someone else had the same idea - and did all the "hard stuff," so now I get to reap the benefits and still bring my vision to life. A Chocolate Tasting Party is indeed a healing and empowering experience - at least it is for me, and I try to make it so for all who attend. Laughter and chocolate combine with a spirit of community to create an atmosphere of shared love and worthiness. When I share chocolate with people, I am a goddess. It's my goal to give each person at a party the power to see in herself (or himself, even!) the beauty, strength, and grace within - enough to feel that she deserves the best of everything. OK, maybe that's setting the bar a little high for one evening's chocolate tasting, but each party is an opportunity to create a spark which can, in turn, grow to a flame of self-recognition.

We say regularly in our business "Relax - it's not rocket science, it's chocolate." Oh, but it's so much more. I think that what we do is more important than rocket science, because we change the world at a personal level. That doesn't mean it has to be complicated and difficult, or that one has to go through certification at an ashram to do what I do. On the contrary, anybody with a love of chocolate and a desire to share it with people holds the exact qualifications necessary for this position.

At our recent leadership conference, Dr. Dean Ornish remarked that the real epidemic in this country is not heart disease, diabetes, or childhood obesity - it's depression, fueled by loneliness and isolation. (I'm paraphrasing, but you can find this on a video on the DCD Facebook page.) This feeds into the other physical and emotional problems so prevalent in our society, and I believe a Chocolate Tasting Party has the power to make a difference. If you haven't yet had or attended a Chocolate Tasting Party with me, I want you to. I want to share this experience with you and give you the gift of a delicious moment (or two or twenty-three) among friends and kindred spirits in the midst of a crazy, stress-wracked life. You won't believe the difference it makes.

Some Things are Better Than Chocolate

I like chocolate...this much you know. Sometimes I dream about chocolate, or I lie awake thinking about chocolate (or knitting, or both - has anyone figured out how to knit with chocolate yet?) and what I might do with it or how I might work it into something new and different. There are other things that occupy my mind, though, because I recognize that life holds many, many more treasures: holding my sleeping baby daughter, watching my youngest son build a "tower" with blocks, helping my oldest son with his homework, explaining to my oldest daughter why I don't think she should read Twilight right now, and (probably most valuable of all) going to bed knowing my children are all home, healthy, and safe.

While I do cherish my children every day, I think sometimes I get so caught up in the trappings of life -  business, housework, laundry, taking people here and there, attending meetings, etc. - that I don't stop and just enjoy every moment. Even the "unpleasant" moments hold meaning and offer opportunities to learn, grow, and love.

Believe it or not, you may do the same thing. So...today, join me in appreciating the "Better than Chocolate" things that life has to offer. Take a few minutes, get a piece of really good chocolate (you know my favorite!), sit, and just ENJOY. Reflect and meditate as you let the chocolate melt in your mouth - and know that the wonderful sensation is just the beginning of the miracle.

Chocolate "With" Stuff

DCD came out with a new mix for fall: Gingerbread Mix with chocolate chips in it and a little packet of vanilla sugar in which one rolls the cookies before baking. Mind you, they introduced this product at our conference in August, and to say I considered that particular moment anticlimactic doesn't come close. I don't get excited about gingerbread. I once made a gingerbread house (notice I said once) and discovered that the reason we make candy-covered mini dwellings from gingerbread (as opposed to shortbread, sugar cookies, or something chocolate) is that the house has better-than-average odds at NOT being consumed. Gingerbread is yukky.

...Or so I thought.

Fast forward to Monday night last, when I decided to venture into gingerbread territory with my little box o' mix and the other required ingredients (including molasses, which I think partly accounts for my low heretofore low opinion of gingerbread). I mixed the dough as instructed, and as is my custom, tasted a wee bit. Not impressed. Even when I tasted a bit with a chocolate chip in it, I think I still said something like "meh." Having come this far, though, I soldiered on. I scooped the dough into balls and rolled them in the vanilla sugar. I put them in the oven to bake and remembered that I do appreciate the smell of gingerbread, just not its deceptively bitter taste and cardboard texture.

I took them out of the oven amid much fanfare (kids don't usually seem to care what kind of cookies are baking; they'll gather 'round the kitchen regardless) and waited for them to cool a little bit before I tasted them. I cut one into quarters to check out the inside, then popped a quarter of a cookie in my mouth.

Wow. These little suckers are actually good! I'll admit that I hoped they'd be good, I just didn't go so far as to expect it. I don't know why; I should know by now that DCD just makes yummy stuff. The kids liked them too, and even my non-gingerbread-fan husband (whose arm I had to twist before he'd even try one) said they were good - "not something I'd go out of my way to get, but good." Can you believe it? I liked them even more the next day (after the flavors had all made friends with each other), and just about came unglued when I dipped one into some Spiced Chai Dip. Oooooh.

Who knew? Chocolate and gingerbread actually taste good together. This got me thinking about why they taste good together and what other things go well with chocolate. I started compiling a mental list, and decided I may as well make it a literal one:

• Caramel and pecans (I usually refer to this combination as "the Holy Trinity," hence its prominent placement on the list)
• "Just plain" caramel
• Peanut butter
• Strawberries
• All kinds of nuts: almonds, cashews, walnuts, macadamias, hazelnuts, pistachios...
• Bananas
• Marshmallows
• Pretzels
• Raspberries
• Coffee (Oooh! Coffee!)
• Red wine
• Milk
• Gingerbread (but it has to be soft and rolled in vanilla sugar!)
• Popcorn
• Graham crackers
• Vanilla Wafers, shortbread cookies, etc.
• Cinnamon
• Blueberries
• Cranberries

I know the list goes on and on...no wonder I love chocolate. It's so versatile! It's like that pair of very comfy shoes that go with everything you own - even the gingerbread outfit you never wear. What else? Leave comments and tell me what else YOU love with chocolate!

And a little side note: to date, I've lost 33 pounds - and I still eat a little bit of chocolate every day...

Chocolate? Moderation? Really?

I love chocolate. This comes as no surprise to most of you, in fact, you may have groaned and silently said, "Duh..." upon reading it. I suspect many of you share my feelings, which is why you read this blog. I often ask at my parties how many attendees have "a relationship" with Dove chocolate, and most hands go up - mine included. My relationship with chocolate goes beyond a simple epicurean (or admittedly spiritual) interest; it now comprises part of my livelihood. How, then, can I embark upon a weight loss venture and still maintain a relationship with chocolate? 

The answer? Moderation.

We hear this everywhere, but it is good advice, it does work, and it can be done! I have, to date, lost 26 pounds (...in about 7 weeks. I never hoped for such results!) and I eat chocolate every day. No, really! This doesn't mean I inhale an entire pan of brownies or get cozy with a pint of ice cream while I'm watching a movie, but I do enjoy a little chocolate on a daily basis - and not just the sugar free stuff (which sustained me through the first two weeks of this journey). I eat regular full-sugar chocolate. Last night I had some hot chocolate: about 6 oz. of warm milk with 2 tablespoons of Dove Dark Sipping Chocolate. Some days I eat one section of a Chef-Series Dark Chocolate bar, and occasionally I have a Sea-Salted Caramel. I discovered the other day that our Chocolate Covered Graham Crackers are only 100 calories each, and those are incredibly rich and satisfying.

I have shared this with people, and they have responded with, "Oh, I could never do that. I can't eat just one of anything!" Really? OK, I would have said that of myself three months ago, but I've figured out some things. Wanna know how I do it? Here are my tips for enjoying chocolate in moderation:

• Get the good stuff. One piece of really good chocolate (like Dove!) will satisfy you infinitely better than a whole bag of that sad faux chocolate they sell around holidays - or even the bar you're used to picking up in the checkout line. Seriously.
• Have things that are individually wrapped or pre-portioned. Make some yummy Truffle Fudge Brownies when you're really full, then cut them up into wee bites (about 1 inch works well) and wrap them up. Freeze them and take one out once in a while.
• Recognize that some chocolate is actually GOOD FOR YOU. Chocolate is high in antioxidants and also contains iron and calcium. Take it off the "forbidden fruit" list, and you'll be surprised how easily you can "have just one." 
• Speaking of fruit, eat chocolate with fruit, especially other antioxidant rich ones like strawberries, blueberries, cranberries, cherries, and raspberries. I love dipping strawberries in dark chocolate - and one ounce of chocolate will easily coat about 8 strawberries. For extra convenience, get fruit that's already covered in chocolate! ( I know where you can get some...)
• SAVOR. I break off one section of a Chef-Series bar and put the rest in a baggie. I eat it slowly, taking bites and letting it melt in my mouth slowly. One half-ounce section literally gives me about 5 minutes of chocolate euphoria.

My best tip for enjoying chocolate in moderation? Get ready, because this one's "out there" : become a Chocolatier. Stay with me; this will make sense in a minute. Upon hearing about my business, people often say, "Oh, if I did what you do, I'd weigh a ton. I'd eat all my profits!" In my experience, the opposite is true. I think I can successfully incorporate small amounts of chocolate into my diet because I work with it and share it with people. I have by no means become immune to the seductive wiles of chocolate - its enticing aroma, creamy texture, and complex flavors - on the contrary, I appreciate it on many more levels than ever. Think eating chocolate makes you feel wonderful? Try giving it to someone who's had a long day, watch his or her face, and your own spirits will rise to new heights.

The above are tips, not guarantees. I'm certainly not promising that if someone becomes a Chocolatier, he or she will magically lose weight, no more than I would promise that he or she would instantly make a million dollars. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle, like succeeding in business, requires awareness, attention, discipline, and effort. I'm totally not a health and fitness guru, but it seems to me that building a healthy body and building a strong business can go hand in hand, especially if you incorporate your passions into both. I'm working on it - you can, too!  I invite you to join me - together we can accomplish anything!

Un-Chocolate

Perhaps by now you've read about my South Beach Diet experience. I have, at this point, made it a whopping 3.5 weeks into SBD with a weight loss of 16 pounds (hold for applause). Sometime last week at the grocery store, I spotted some of the "South Beach Living" products in the cereal aisle, with the granola bars and other not-so-healthy stuff disguised as healthy stuff. I picked up a box or two of the High Protein Cereal Bars and read their ingredient labels. The S'mores variety contained sucralose (a.k.a. Splenda), and you know how I feel about artificial sweeteners, so I put that one back. I picked up the Chocolate ones. I didn't spot any evil sugar subbies on that list, so I thought I'd give them a try. OK, so I just didn't look hard enough, and when I got home I realized their ingredient list also sports some sucralose, only hidden in the middle among all the other words I can't pronounce. This should have been my first clue that these things are not ideal for human consumption.

I still decided that maybe I'm a little too rigid in my abstinence from noncaloric sweeteners, so I packed one along when I went to pick up my daughter one day. I desperately needed a snack and didn't have time to put almonds in a baggie, so off I went with this "Chocolate" cereal bar. Mind you, the box housing the bars bears the words artificial flavor in wee tiny print immediately following "Chocolate." This should been my second clue.

I'll spare you all the drama of the unwrapping and eating and get straight to the description: chunky sawdust covered with a brown nearly sweetlike substance that comes about as close to chocolate as mustard does. Yeah, I ate the whole thing because I didn't want to faint while driving, but I ate it with the same enthusiasm I normally reserve for something like tearing a paper towel from its roll. Sadly, I have come to accept that most snack foods of this ilk taste somewhat like sawdust (I think it must be the "protein nuggets" or some such ingredient), so I think I was most offended by this cereal bar's sad attempt at tasting like chocolate. Yes, offended. Not that I gagged or anything - it's by far not celery or anything evil like that - but still, I couldn't help but feel like I'd been had. This bar sullies the good name of Chocolate, and should therefore not get to bear it anywhere on its packaging. Chocolate is sacred and should be held in higher esteem than that.

I may have gotten spoiled or I may just not have gotten desperate enough before I tried this "Chocolate Artificial Flavor" bar, but I learned something. Chocolate is definitely chocolate, and this concoction definitely is NOT (duh, right?). Can you imagine if a person (say from a distant land or Venus or Tatooine or somewhere) picked up one of these bars and thought that's what chocolate is supposed to taste like? Boo, foul impostor! From now on, I believe I'll go with one of the flavors of High Protein Sawdust Bar that doesn't even try or pretend to be chocolate.

A Chocolate "Duh" Moment

At 6:00 this morning, I found myself lying in bed (awakened by a wee person, of course) thinking about chocolate. What else am I gonna think about at 6:00 a.m.? Naturally, my thoughts wandered to this whole South Beach Diet business and other ways to incorporate my favorite treat into the bleak carbless landscape of the first two weeks. Suddenly, it hit me like a ton of cacao beans: I have sugar free dark chocolate! Not just any sugar free dark chocolate, though - DCD sugar free dark chocolate, which I have actually tasted and found quite satisfactory. Normally, mind you, I would probably not purchase such a thing, but I got it for free (one of the perks of my job - I get free stuff!) a few months ago and have reserved it for limited sampling at parties.

If not for the toddler I was attempting to get back to sleep, my excitement would have catapulted me out of bed at that very moment to check the calorie & carb count of said discs of promised heaven. As it happened, though, I had to wait. I waited through my sad little breakfast of reheated spinach quiche cups, feeding the babies, and all the other routine morning stuff. At last I had a moment to dig the box out of the pantry (where I keep my sample stash) and check the specs. Calories: 170 in 7 pieces. This equates to a little less than 25 per piece. Since Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet allows 75 calories worth of "sugar free" treats daily, I could feasibly have three per day! WooooHoooo!

Now, since I haven't tried one of these in a while, I felt it necessary to taste a bit at that moment (no, 9:15 a.m. is NOT too early for chocolate of any kind) because 1) I needed to make sure my joy wasn't misguided and 2) I desperately needed some chocolate!

I broke a disc in half, then in half again, and put the little 1/4 pie-shaped piece in my mouth. I let it start to dissolve on my tongue, and instantly began to melt along with it. Heaven! Absolute Heaven! Having gone for a whole THREE DAYS without sweetened chocolate, I cannot imagine any more delightful experience than this one. I know I heard choirs of angels singing (of course, that may have been some alphabet song on Sesame Street) as I stood in the kitchen savoring this moment and feeling as though all will be well.

Ya know what's cool, though? I don't need three of these a day. One quarter of one satisfied me quite well. Thus is the beauty of DCD dark chocolate - when you savor "the good stuff," you don't need as much. This will become my foundation for incorporating chocolate into a healthy lifestyle - and I just might make it through these two weeks.