Chocolate- Heart Healthy Candy

     Today is Valentines Day and February is also heart health month. In recent years studies have been conducted on the benefits of chocolate on the heart and since this month we see a lot of both of those I thought it be best to look at which kind of chocolate is good for you and how to eat it appropriately.

What does chocolate have that benefits our health?
- Chocolate is rich in a plant nutrient called flavonoids and the main type found in it is flavanols.

 Flavonoids- work at protecting the body from toxins as well as repairing it. They can be found in fruits as well as vegetables and have somewhat of an antioxidant effect.

**Antioxidants are important in preventing oxidative damage to the body from cigarette smoking or other toxins. An example of the power of an antioxidant would be putting lemon juice over an apple. The acidity prevents the apple from browning and is similar to how these things can function in your body to prevent cellular damage and toxins. They can be found in many fruits and vegetables. 

Flavanols- the main type of flavonoid in chocolate and is thought to have potential influences on heart health include: improving blood flow (especially to the heart), lowering blood pressure and decreasing the risk of blood clots.

How much chocolate is good for you?
- Most commercial chocolate products process their item so much that much of the flavanols are lost during production. Candies that are loaded with sugar are not a good source of these plant nutrients. Your best bet would be buying dark chocolate over milk chocolate. You can also get flavanols from wine, fruits, vegetables and more.

- Although chocolate has fat in it, it is made of fats that have good benefits on your bad cholesterol. The real fat comes from the other ingredients in chocolate like the caramel, marshmallows, etc.

Try to eat about 1 ounce of dark chocolate if desired and avoid those calorically loaded chocolate candies. 

Happy Valentines Day! 

Tackle those Super Bowl Calories

  It is Superbowl week and according to the national chicken council this year an estimated 1.25 millions servings of chicken wings will be consumed on super bowl Sunday. That is quite a lot of calories, and empty ones none the less. The question is if you are one of those chicken wing consumers how many calories can you expect to consume?

   Chicken wings tend to be a popular dish and consist of chicken (with the skin or fried), a thick sauce and the occasional dipping side. Although they are small these little guys can stack up to quite a lot of calories, especially because we don't only eat one or two of them. I did some research and found some baffling numbers. A local fast food chain that does serve chicken wings provided their consumers with the nutritional information. The information is as follows:

Serving size- 6 wings (classic)
Calories- 1170

Fat- 69g

Saturated fat (bad fat)- 16g

Sodium- 3780mg 

= HOLY S*&T

** Keep in mind these values are from one fast food chain and might not be the same for other places.

Consider this...
   You got to a party on Super Bowl Sunday and find out that surprisingly (not) they are serving chicken wings. You go and take about 10 wings but this also means that you are now consuming 2x the above values! So you have now eaten...

Serving Size- 12 wings

Calories- 2,340

Fat- 138g

Saturated fat- 32g

Sodium- 7,560mg

= HOLY S*!T x 2 

   Mind you this is WITHOUT the side dipping sauce which will naturally add on some more fat, sodium, calories and more. So how can we fix this? How can we satisfy our Super Bowl Sunday craving and cut back on those oh so bad calories. You have a few options...

1) If you are going to a party and the food is served limit your serving and take smaller portions. Set yourself a limit of 4-5 wings throughout the night and eat one at a time at a very slow pace so you can really enjoy each bite and not feel like you are missing out.

2) Make your own wings below is a great alternative hot chicken wing recipe provided by Hungry Girl's newsletter.

Provided by: http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/921


Ingredients:
8 oz. raw boneless skinless lean chicken breast, cut into 10 nugget-shaped pieces
1/4 cup Fiber One bran cereal (original), ground to a breadcrumb-like consistency in a blender or food processor
1 oz. (about 14 crisps) Pringles Light Fat Free Potato Crisps, Barbecue (or another fat-free BBQ-flavored potato chip)
3 tbsp. Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce
dash onion powder
dash garlic powder
dash cayenne pepper
dash black pepper
dash saltDirections:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Crush potato crisps completely and, in a small dish, mix with cereal crumbs. Add a dash of each of the seasonings and mix well. 

Place chicken pieces in a separate dish, and cover and toss with Frank's RedHot. Spray a baking pan with nonstick spray. 

Give each chicken piece a shake (so it's not dripping with RedHot), and then coat it evenly with the crumb mixture. 

Lay the battered nuggets on the baking pan. 

Place in the oven, and bake for 10 minutes. Then flip the wings over, and return them to the oven for 10 more minutes, or until outsides are crispy and chicken is cooked throughout. 

MAKES 2 SERVINGS

Serving Size: 5 wings (half of recipe)  Calories: 175 Fat: 1.5g Sodium: 1,153mg** Carbs: 14g Fiber: 4g Sugars: <1g Protein: 27g     ** Depending on your individual health concerns, if any, a healthy diet doesn't consist of eliminating but merely moderating your dietary choices. Whether you choose to decrease your chicken wing portion size or create your own healthier recipe try to remember that a little isn't too bad its too much that is. Enjoy your Super Bowl Sunday!          GO GIANTS!!!!!

Check out both links provided for some interesting other statistics, recipes and facts.
http://www.hungry-girl.com/
http://www.nationalchickencouncil.org/chicken-wings-a-hot-topic/