There's Nothing Sexy About Veggies...

When I think about Valentine's Day, I think about chocolate, wine, whipped cream, extravagant desserts, and lavish dinners at fancy restaurants.

To change Valentine's Day would be to take away all the sweets and desserts and replace them with vegetables. And so I say... There's nothing sexy about veggies...

One might argue that it's the act of romance that makes the moment but let's be honest. Can you seriously tell me that if you covered your body in lettuce leaves and cucumber slices, it would be as sexual as if you were covered in strawberries and chocolate? I just have a hard time envisioning the act of love making as if one were dining on a chef's salad. Bad visual... Forks...

And so I ask the question: How do we make the Chocolate Holiday a healthier one?

Well let's begin by not throwing that box of chocolate out just yet. Chocolate actually has some health benefits, as you may have heard in the news. It's been controversial for some time, but here are some thoughts to ponder:

• Chocolate contains antioxidants which are chemicals that help to reduce the number of free radicals in the system. Increased levels of free radicals can cause damage to our DNA and are the reason for some cancers
• Dark Chocolate has a higher level of antioxidants than milk chocolate does
• Some recent research suggests that dark chocolate could be used to fight hypertension (that's high blood pressure)

It's not chocolate that's been getting such a bad name, it's actually the sugar in the chocolate. Most chocolate is very little natural cocoa and very much sugar or high fructose corn syrup, which if you know me, is the DEVIL!

The recommendation is to purchase a chocolate that is atleast 75% cocao chocolate. Some of the more highly recommended bars can be found here

However, I have decided that I will take one for the team and do a sample of higher cocao bars for you before Valentine's Day. Since that is only this Sunday, I may not get to all of them, but I promise I will give you the scoop on which ones would be the best for melting and which ones would be best left on the shelf.

More on this topic tomorrow...