Karen Mendes

Dark Chocolate Healthy Benefits Heart-healthy chocolate--it's not a myth, but processing and added ingredients can turn the results of cacao production into a sort of metabolic poison, adding to the obesity and diabetes epidemic in developed countries. Cacao is commercially grown in third world countries, and the search for healthy ingredients begins there. The "Food of Mayan Kings" is Bitter The theobroma cacao plant produces fruit that bears cacao beans, from which cocoa and chocolate are manufactured. Raw cacao beans are extremely bitter--most people would spit them out quickly. But the bitter-tasting substance contains powerful antioxidants such as resveratrol, polyphenols, and...

Baking with Honey Baking with Honey has become pertty common.  It's hard to go a few hours these days without hearing about some new study indicating that honey may help fight bacterial infections, prevent allergies, and even help reduce obesity rates. It's no wonder many bakers are becoming more and more interested in substituting honey for refined sugar when creating their sweet treats. Before jumping on this bandwagon, however, there are a few things you need to know. Use Less Honey than Sugar Ounce for ounce, honey is sweeter than sugar, both because it contains more fructose than sugar does and because it contains less air. Substitute 2/3 to 3/4 cup of honey for each cup of sugar...