What The F*ck Can I Eat?

   We are bombarded by new nutritional information constantly this is a beautiful but also very frustrating thing. I think we all at some time or another have reached a breaking point and were left thinking,what the f*ck can I eat then. Everything seems bad for you one second, good for you another and then the always opportunistic, hell with all this healthy eating rubbish kicks in and you stick to your tried and allegedly true ways of eating. Well not anymore!

   This is the first installment in a series of posts titled What The F*ck Can I Eat. They will be dedicated to tearing apart and demystifying all of our favorite shame based foods or classic recipes. What I write here is NOT the end all be all of eating because I am hardly a guru.  However, this is a good jumping off point for those wanting to make a change.  At some point you will damning me to hell because I am  "taking away" that one beloved food you can not imagine your world without; only to later have you singing my praises because I will leave you with a healthier more nutrient dense alternative.But don't let my need to be a deity confuse you. I know some things are damn good because they are oh so naughty, Bearnaise sauce being one of them, bacon another. I'm proposing balance people!! FYI the whole bacon trend is on its way out in culinary world so impress your friends and get hip to the new fad ingredients. Believe it or not ancient whole grains is one of them (ie. farro, quinoa ,millet). 

  So, in honor of Valentines Day, today's food is........CHOCOLATE shocking, I know! It hurts to have to do this to you, it really does because I ,too, love chocolatey goodness. I have been known to seek out and destroy people's(my ex landlords) secret stashes; to later realize that the bar I just inhaled was indeed from France and there was no way of my replacing it. So I get the whole desperate times call for desperate measures bit. But when you do have your head on straight and chocolate radar isn't in full effect, there is a healthier way to choose and even prepare your own chocolate. 

    

   Now, all chocolate is not created equal. There has been a lot of hoopla about dark chocolate and its antioxidant qualities. In my opinion that whole craze gave way to people justifying all chocolate all the time. When in all actuality your standard chocolate bar, even dark chocolate, is not that much of a nutritional power house. Most cocoa used to make chocolate has been taken from is raw state where it is referred to as cacao and has been heated and or roasted. It also undergoes dutch processing where alkaline salts are used to improve texture and flavor and give certain chocolates their distinct flavor, like Hersheys for example. All of these steps reduce the concentration of flavanols and weaken its high antioxidant value. Leaving the levels of active nutrients and health benefits greatly lowered. Not to mention dutch processed chocolate creates caffeine by a complicated chemical reaction (any chemists in the building?), and therefore can be a contributing factor along with the added sugar to adrenal fatigue.  

   

   So, what the f*ck can you eat? Well,there are great organic, raw, unprocessed chocolate brands on the market.These kinds of chocolate are still in CACAO form and are rich in minerals and chocked full of antioxidants. Some of my fav brands are Lulus ,Zimt , and if your not feeling like chocolate in bar form Hail Merry has some awesome chocolate desserts.  

   

    If you're feeling really ambitious you can make your own home made chocolate. My girl Maria over at Bountiful Body has a great recipe for Everyday Chocolate. I made my version, which is very similar, at Christmas and turned it into bark loaded with pistachios and cranberries. Can you think of anything better than customized chocolate ( the answer is NO!). I promise you this type of chocolate tastes just as good. I don't joke about flavor. Now, go get that chocolate and find someone sweet to share it with.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!