Not so sweet truth about Chocolate

The chocolate you were used to has been changing over the years. The produces constantly are looking for ways to simplify their production and cut costs. While you are still thinking of some products as chocolate their name has changed as they do not longer qualify as chocolate products. Surprised?

Chocolate vs Chocolate-like Products

Whether we are consuming chocolate or chocolate-like product it’s all down to the proportions. Pure chocolate typically contains pure chocolate, added cocoa butter, and some sugar. The chocolate-like products will contain a very small percentage of pure chocolate and cocoa butter and will be loaded with additions such as sugar and sweeteners, dairy, vanilla, emulsifiers, and other flavourings.

Health Benefits of Chocolate 

Good quality chocolates are made with cocoa butter, a fat comprised of oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat that is also found in olive oil. Oleic acid actually helps lower bad cholesterol levels in the blood. Interestingly, although stearic acid is a saturated fatty acid (SFA) it does not affect blood cholesterol negatively.

Cheap replacements

Lecithin

Lecithin is very important to chocolate because it reduces viscosity, replaces expensive ingredients such as cocoa butter, improves the flow properties of chocolate, and can improve the shelf life for certain products.

In chocolates you will most often find soy lecithin, however some chocolates use sunflower lecithin (Perugina, Enjoy Life, Pacari, Madre). There are only few brands that do not use lecithin and instead use more expensive cocoa butter (Ritual, Camino)

References:

http://www.chocolateuniversityonline.com/lecithin-in-chocolate/

Practice of S.T.R.O.N.G.E.R.

Mornings can be very hectic! Rushing to eat something, packing for work and school, getting kids through the door on time… Things can get even more stressful if we pressed the snooze button one time too many or when kids drag their feet with their morning routine.

But there is a better way to start off the day - plan ahead and get ready the day before.

T is for Time Management

Letter T stands for - time management and getting organized. Getting things organized the night before takes a lot of pressure away and allows to start the day in a calm and relaxed way.

The morning routine that helps save time is knowing what to prepare for breakfast. For us it’s usually oatmeal. While it cooks, it leaves enough time for a quick shower and reheating lunches.

Typically I prepare lunch boxes the day before, and in the morning I just reheat the food and pack them in the bags. It has become a routine that saves me a lot of stress and prevents decision fatigue early on in the day. Also, all backpacks are packed the night before and just quickly re-checked in the morning.

Planning ahead is still hard some days but all we can do is our best each and every day.

Morning routine - deep breathing

Practice of S.T.R.O.N.G.E.R.

Very often as soon as we hear the alarm clock we jump out of bed as it was on fire...or keep pressing the snooze button until it is time to jump out of bed.

But there is a better way to start off the day and it take just 1 minute.

S is for Sacred Time

Letter S stands for - sacred time - deep breathing. The fast breathing as you jump out of the bed will not cut it! Before you step out of your bed take several deep breaths, and smile.

I set up a vibration on my Fitbit - 5 minutes before my alarm clock goes off. This gives me enough time to do the breathing. 

Taking deep breaths as soon as I get up sets a relaxing tone to my morning. Although sometimes I still forget to do it and I jump out of bed if my life was in danger. But like everything, it take time to get the new routine in place and fully benefit from the change.

Morning routine - inspirational reading

The morning routine for success

We often do not think much of our morning routine - the goal is to leave the house on time. Our mornings are frequently executed on an autopilot as we madly rush through the door to school and work. 

The autopilot routines might work as well as nothing goes wrong, but what if you burn a toast in the morning, or someone cuts you off on the road? These little things can bug you and even spoil your whole day.

Practise of S.T.R.O.N.G.E.R.

Over the last several months I had been actively redesigning my morning routine. Although there is still work to be done on my part, I am going to share what made a big difference for me and how you can implement it.

R is for Reading

Letter R stands for - morning reading. It does not involve reading a newspaper, work or personal emails, or Facebook updates. The goal is to read a quote, a paragraph, or a short chapter of something that will inspire you or provide motivation for the whole day. Right now I am reading sections of the "The Little Book of Inner Peace" by Ashley Davis Bush as I sip on my first glass of water for the day. 

My personal experience so far is great, it helps me have a great day every day. If something bad happens I feel more capable to shake it off fast and move on enjoying the rest of the day. 

Too much screen time?

How much Screen Time is OK

There has been a lot of heated debates how much screen time is good for each age group. The general consensus is the less the better, and I agree with that 100%. Whether it is 1 hour or 2 hours it is still debatable. I am going to provide a solution I implemented in my house that reduced the screen time to 10-15 minutes a day, and an occasional longer movie.

From my observations I noticed that kids, 4-7 years old, that are my son's peers no longer know how to play. They get bored extremely fast with toys (often after 10-15 minutes), want to be disruptive, and crave the attention from adults as we we tend to provide the entertainment for them. Often they run to the TV or reach for an iPad to find distraction, but they do not really watch it in a meaningful way.

How some YouTube channels succeeded

Have you noticed how many subscriptions and likes some channels targeting kids have? And all they do is show different toys, open kinder egg surprises, and do other things that I perceive as non valuable to the young brain development.

My solution

While banning iPad or TV is an option, I did not want to be the parent that stops kids from being able to watch things. Hence I went a completely different route - that would teach them a smart decision making.

My son is allowed to watch as much as he wants of any content acceptable for his age. However, after the video is done we pause and have some homework to do! And unless the homework is completed to the satisfactory level no new videos are allowed.

1. Discussion after the video

We talk about the video and its content. What was the plot, what happened. What is good about the video, what was bad about it. This discussion helps in the critical evaluation of the content, and also facilitates development of the storytelling skills.

2. Writing the story

My son is in the kindergarten, hence I ask him to write one to two sentences about the video. It can be anything related to the video content, feelings about the video, or any thoughts associated with it. This process helps in the evaluation of the video and internalise the feelings associated with it. Also, it helps in strengthening the storytelling, and improve writing.

Where the idea came from?

I derived this idea from my own experience of watching documentaries and journaling about it afterwards. It really helped me is being selective and critically evaluating content.

I think the mindless watching is the worst thing we had introduced to our lives as it waste our time, adds stress, and discourages interpersonal communication. It took me some time to figure out why watching a comedy was often actually stressful for me rather than relaxing.

While not all content is bad, and even bad content can help in developing critical thinking; hence shutting it all off is not really an answer, but being selective is important. The media is competing for our attention from all angles, and learning to deal with it in a smart, not threatening way is the best way forward.

Plant-based Oatmeal

Plant-based Oatmeal, is it possible?

Some people wonder whether they will need to give up oatmeal once they start their plant-based or vegan journey. The answer is: of course not!

While there are many alternative plant milks on the market, all of them have additives that I am less than comfortable consuming on a regular basis. Hence, I go with milk and mylk-less version of the oatmeal, which tastes delicious.

Cocoa Nibs

I love cocoa nibs as they are the most pure form of chocolate. They come straight from cocoa beans, and have a delicious nutty flavour, with superb crunch that I just love!

Cacao nibs are one of nature's richest dietary sources of magnesium, excellent source of iron and dietary fiber. 

If you did not try them yet, I think your should! 

Here is the recipe for the oatmeal from my food blog. Enjoy it!

http://easyfoodcreations.blogspot.com/2017/03/vegan-oatmeal.html