Читать книгу Fresh and Wild Cookbook: A Real Food Adventure - Ysanne Spevack - Страница 43

There’s a lot of confusion about whether or not chocolate is good for you. Some people feel that it’s natural, so it’s gotta be good for you. Well, sort of, but then again, lots of natural things aren’t healthy, like tobacco and tarantulas. On the plus side, cocoa is high on the polyphenol antioxidants that protect you from cancer. And it’s high in the phenylethylamine chemicals released by your brain when you fall in love. It’s got lots of iron and magnesium, too, which may be why women often crave good dark chocolate when the moon is full.

On the downside, cocoa also has a lot of caffeine in it and contains another stimulant called theobromine. And almost all chocolate bars are stuffed with saturated fat and sugar. Of course, organic chocolate is a zillion times better than dodgy mass market brands, and is the best way of guaranteeing that you don’t eat artery-clogging hydrogenated fats.

On balance, the feel-good factor generated by the phenylethylamines makes great quality cocoa an acceptable part of a happy and balanced diet – which is lucky, ‘cause I know y’all would ignore me if I said you shouldn’t eat it.

This savoury cocoa recipe will help wean you off the chocolate bars. Don’t grimace – savoury was the original way with cocoa; the one and only way for the Aztecs who invented cocoa powder. Just try this dish – it works. You’ll soon be liberally scattering cocoa onto lots of savoury numbers in your kitchen. It’s particularly good when paired with robust flavours like red meats and earthy vegetables. Cooked with chilli, it’s a marriage made in heaven. So maybe you could eat a few less chocolate bars containing sugar and supplement with your new-found savoury cocoa numbers in between.

On the chilli front, there are conflicting opinions again about their healthiness. But one thing’s for sure – they stimulate the release of the same happiness endorphins as cocoa. That’s why when you eat some really hot chillies, you can’t bear the heat, but you find yourself going back for more a few seconds later. It’s addictive stuff that makes you feel good. It’s also high in vitamin C, although Ayurvedic principles say that some people should go easy. Try telling that to the Aztecs.