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Archive for the ‘Foods and Drinks’ Category

There is nothing else that will surely perk you up on a cold and rainy day than a cup of hot and creamy chocolate drink. Thanks to the Aztecs who discovered and gave us this wonderful gift of sweet delicacies that we just love! The Aztecs, during the earlier times of chocolate history, believed that consuming large amounts of chocolate would bring one’s health and power. That is why they did not only call it in “energy drink” but a very strongly defined “divine drink”.

Chocolate Drink Shops Growing Like Mushrooms

And I believe this still holds true until today. No wonder hot chocolate recipes have popped up everywhere, every chocolate shop claiming to have the best chocolate drink ever! But that is highly expected since they must be chocolates experts to be putting up a chocolate shop, in the first place! Home made hot chocolates are most intriguing, though. For how do you turn a simple chocolate drink into something sumptuous, tempting and tantalizing?

Another natural chemical of chocolates that is responsible for that rushing feeling and tingly sensation of homey goodness began many years ago just like a cup of chocolate drink. They started out liquid, would you believe? Now, here are some hot chocolate drink recipes that you may want to try at home for you and your loved ones to enjoy!

However, let us clarify something first. You must know that there is a very huge difference in ordering for hot chocolate and hot cocoa in your favourite local chocolate shops. The chocolate you drink is made out of pure chocolate compound while the cocoa drink you order is prepared using cocoa powder and mixing it with water. An expert would know right away even if blindfolded which drink is served to him, by merely smelling. Indulge in these recipes below and you will surely be delighted and satisfied with the warm and fulfilling sensation these concoctions will give you!

Warming Chocolate Recipes for the Sweet-Tooth’s

If you are born a sweet tooth, then you will surely adore this warm Coconut Hot Chocolate drink! Instead of putting milk on your warm chocolate drink, you can put coconut milk instead. Nothing could taste better than this. It actually tastes like chocolate daiquiri!

Chile Hot Chocolate Beverage

But if you are fonder of eating spicy food and drinking spiced-up beverages than drinking and eating sweets, well, the Chile Hot Chocolate beverage is the right warm chocolate beverage for you! Just add up a little of cayenne, about half a teaspoon, to get the kind of kick in the taste you want. Rest assured the spice will never overpower the sweet taste of the chocolate giving you that tangy and delightfully sweet flavour till the last drop!

Double Anise Hot Chocolate Drink

Or you can also try the Double Anise Hot Chocolate if you still want to keep that spicy tang on your drink! Don’t get surprised though if you get too buffed up about it, everyone else who tried this warm chocolate drink got addicted and never got off the hook! The sweetness of the licorice combined with the bitter taste of star anise is actually the culprit why so many fall into the pit of addiction to this drink!

Peppermint Hot Chocolate Drink

For those who like their chocolate drink minty, get a hold of the Peppermint Hot Chocolate drink where chocolate is blended with compressed peppermint candies for the holiday seasons!

Caramel Hot Chocolate Drink

And last of all, for kids who just adore chocolate drinks, energy drinks, as they call them.

Let them try the delightfully sweet Caramel Hot Chocolate drink. This caramel hot chocolate drink is a must for everyone who wants to feel like a kid once again! Because these heart-warming chocolate drinks just taste so great, they will undoubtedly leave an sweet indelible etch on the history of chocolates!

In our buѕу lіvеѕ todау, it iѕ hard tо lоѕe weight. Many people wоndеr еverydау hоw to burn body fat. Therе аre mаnу diеtѕ оut nоw that аctuаllу dо hеlр yоu loѕе weight and burn fаt. Thеsе аre all natural dіеts аnd thеse dietѕ will not оnly burn fat and mаke you thinnеr, but thеy will alѕo mаke уou hеalthiеr.

The Green Tea Dіet will іmprovе уour hеalth аnd hеlр you lоѕе wеіght. It iѕ an extrеmely easy рlаn tо fоllоw. All уou hаvе to do іs drіnk at lеaѕt fоur cuрs оf grеen tеa а dау. You саn еxchangе hіgh calоriе drinkѕ likе ѕоda аnd сoffee fоr grееn tea. This tеа iѕ very іnеxpensіvе. Yоu shоuld аlwаys get the kind уоu сan brew, because the рremіxеd onеs have ѕugar аnd аddеd cаloriеѕ in thеm. Green tea wіll tаke аwаy ѕugаr аnd foоd cravіngѕ, beсаuse it iѕ а naturаl appetіtе supрresѕоr. It increaѕеѕ metаboliѕm аnd rеgulatеs blооd sugar levelѕ. Studiеѕ show that thiѕ tеa lowеrs the rіsk оf сancer, digеѕtive problemѕ, аnd urіnarу рroblеms.

Thеre іs the Graрefruit Dіet, which is аlso cаlled the Hollуwoоd Diеt. Grареfruіt іncreаѕeѕ metаbоlіsm, which burnѕ fаt quicker. Thіs dіеt іѕ alѕo goоd for diаbеtісѕ, beсаuѕe іt regulаtеѕ bloоd sugаr аnd lowеrѕ іnѕulіn lеvel.

You cаn еat as mаnу graреfruіts аs уоu lіke each dаy. In ordеr tо gеt rіd оf fat аnd tоxіns уоu have tо drіnk 64 оunсeѕ of watеr eaсh day. Therе arе оther fоodѕ thаt are rеquіrеd for thіs dіеt tо work еffесtіvelу.

Grарefruit Diet Plаn:

Breakfаѕt – 1/2 a grареfruit or 8 oz. of grарefruіt јuiсe

2 eggs cоoked anyway

2 ѕlіces оf bacon (bаcon burnѕ thе fаt)

Lunch – 1/2 а grapеfruіt оr 8 oz. оf grаpеfruіt јuісе

ѕalad аnd аnу dressing

аny tуре of meаt

Dinnеr – 1/2 а grаpefruіt оr 8 oz. of grарefruіt juiсe.

salаd

greеn or rеd vеgetаbleѕ

mеat or fish

1 cuр of tеа or coffее if desired

Bedtime ѕnack – 8 oz. оf low fat mіlk, ѕkіm mіlk, оr tоmаtо јuicе

Nо starсhу vegеtablеѕ аllowed.

Thе Lemonadе Dіet is а fast clеаnѕing рlаn that takes tеn to fоrtу daуѕ. It iѕ аlѕo knоwn аs thе Mаѕtеr Clеаnѕe. Thіs dіеt gets rіd оf toxіnѕ vеrу quiсklу. Yоu сan lоѕе uр tо 2 рounds a dаy on thіs рlan. It wіll рurify yоur body’ѕ syѕtеm. Yоu hаve tо drіnk the fresh ѕquееzеd lеmonаde fоr 36 hоurs, and then yоu brеak thе faѕt. Yоu wіll then add rаw fruitѕ, rаw vegetаbles, аnd ѕoupѕ tо your diet. Yоu need tо еat рlеnty оf fоods ѕuсh as уogurt tо reрlеnіsh your dіgеstіve ѕyѕtem. You сan thеn ѕtаrt eаting normallу again. Juѕt аvоіd sweets, роtаto сhiрs, and оther junk foodѕ. Yоu wіll аlѕo hаvе to uѕe а salt wаter fluѕh аnd drіnk grееn оr peppermint tеа, tо help get rіd of tоxіnѕ in yоur bоdy. Thеre аre other foodѕ that are recоmmended fоllowing thіѕ diet, to maіntain your weight lоѕѕ.

Thе Lemonade Dіet Plan:

Lеmоnade Drіnk Mix: (makеs one gallon)

Fresh squeezed lemon juiсе оf 5 lemonѕ.

1 and 1/4 cup оf orgаnic maрlе ѕуrup

1 tѕр. оf rеd сауenne рeppеr

10 cuрѕ of рurіfіed wаter.

You сan рlаce уоur lemоnadе іn a gallоn cоntainеr and drink on it through thе daу. Onе gallon will last all dау long. You neеd to drink thе ѕalt flush when уоu wake uр еаch mornіng. The salt fluѕh is 2 tеаspоonѕ оf non іodized ѕeа sаlt аnd onе quart of lukewarm watеr. You nееd to drіnk the greеn or рeрpеrmіnt tеa еvеry night befоre bеd.

As with аnу dіеt prоgrаm, аlwауѕ conѕult yоur рhуѕісiаn bеfоrе beginning а new dіet. Remember also that wіth аnу dіеt, уou nеed routine exerciѕe tо keeр уour wеight lоsѕ undеr contrоl. Happy Dіetіng еveryоnе.

My farthest memory as a child takes me back to when I was still about five, and my dad would bring home some chocolates. Once, I forgot to bring the chocolates he gave me to school, and while at school, it made me so anxious to have a bite especially gazing upon a classmate opening her Hershey bar. Getting a glimpse of her enjoying eating her chocolate, I started to drool inside my mouth, like a bone-deprived puppy! And there was this other classmate who turned out to be one big chocolate lover like me! He tried asking her to give him a piece but my classmate refused! When she turned around for a while, he went to her seat, discreetly opened her lunch box and took some. That day I knew what surprising effects chocolates can have on anyone!

It is so unimaginable that one can become a thieving criminal for the love and passion for chocolates. Though I understand how a chocolate lover feels towards these sweet and delightful delicacies of goodness, I cannot bear to imagine that it can go as far as stealing. Or maybe it was just part of being a child. One thing though that became crystal clear to me now is, never deprive someone of what they so love. And never to keep chocolate lovers from away from them!

As a chocolate lover when I was a child, I grew up into an adult still enjoying that passion for chocolates. When I buy them, it is as if there will be no next time.

Today, I keep stocks of chocolates on my fridge and even have chocolate luncheons with my friends once a month. When one of my friends arrived from Europe a few months ago, he gave me boxes of chocolates from Italy, France and Belgium. Too bad, his trip didn’t include Switzerland, because if there is one brand of chocolates I truly really love, it’s Lindtt from Switzerland!

With each chocolate, I carefully unwrapped one chocolate at a time, with each chocolate wrapped in intricately designed chocolate box; my eyes feasted on the beautiful bite-size pieces. It was almost painful to take a bite because they were so beautiful and they liked so good all jammed up in my fridge. I guess the chocolate lover in me has quite turned me into the chocolate monster that I am now.

Now, my interests in chocolates have drifted to liking gourmet chocolates. I am particularly interested about how they are made; the best variations they offer, and of course, the best makers there are. And here is a list of the famous
gourmet chocolate shops all over the world where you will meet the best chocolate makers and get to mingle with fellow chocoholics like us!

La Maison du Chocolat– Paris, France

Robert Linxe opened La Maison du Chocolat in 1977 and now it has several shops in the romantic city of Paris. He was often called “ganache-magician” as he uses bitter-sweet chocolate, about 65% cocoa and specializes in mendiants, ganaches, fruity bars and truffles.

Geneva, Switzerland – Arn Chocolaterie

Forget the Alps! If you eat anything from Arn Chocolaterie it would be like you are floating way above the snowy mountains of Switzerland. Experience being served an array of coffee and tea with their specialty of champagne truffles.

Escriba –Barcelona, Spain

It is but fit to find one of the best hot chocolates in Barcelona. Anyway, it is the first country that ever developed chocolates. Barcelona is lucky to have Escriba, a humble chocolate shop opened in the 1900′s by a coal worker. People who have experienced the luscious goodness of hot chocolate in Escriba can only sip in silent awe because it is just so unlike any other. But apart from their mouth-watering hot choco, they also have a wide selection of desserts you can choose from!

Neuhaus– Vlezenbeek, Belgium

Neuhaus has been around for 150 years and its popularity has never waned. They now have an online store which will delightfully deliver their best Belgian chocolates right in front of your doorstep. But why do that when you can visit Vlezenbeek and enjoy magical sceneries while indulging in chewy chocolate delights?

L.A. Burdick Handmade Chocolates– Massachusetts, USA

Situated at the very heart of Harvard University, the chocolate café is a haven to chocolate lovers in this part of the East Coast. Aside from the Cambridge store, they also have one in Walpole, NH which also serves main courses.

New York, USA – Marie Belle

The beautiful pieces of chocolates from Marie Belle is so perfect, it is painful to even have a bite. But you will be surprised as to how much better they are when you eat them than when you simply look at them!

Melt– London, England

Try checking out Melt, a store in Nothing Hill, not just because of the instant popularity the town owes to Julia Roberts but because of their own hotly served great chocolates at very affordable prices. And just like the name of the store, their chocolates promise to melt in your mouth with the finest tang you will ever experience! These are all the seven heavens in my life being a choco lover! I wish I could go visit many more gourmet chocolate shops in the future!

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Baking homemade brownies is one of life’s sweetest delights. The smell of the brownies baking in the oven never fails to attract every family member to the kitchen to await the finished treat. When they are finally done it doesn’t take but a few seconds for them to disappear, having been devoured by everyone who could get a hold of one.

The only hard part of preparing brownies is the preparation and the cleanup afterward. It takes longer to prepare and bake brownies than it does for them to be eaten, especially if they come out delicious. For this very reason many people prefer to buy brownies from the store and miss out on the deliciousness of home-made brownies. Following these simple tips ensures that you will have delicious brownies that the whole family can enjoy with little or no hassle.

1. Don’t over mix when preparing the batter and if possible mix the batter by hand. This will ensure that the brownie does not come out bland or too dry.

2. Spay the bottom of the pan with non-stick cooking spray, making sure to cover the surface evenly. You can also dust the pan lightly with cocoa powder. Using cocoa powder ensures that you won’t have white residue on your brownies as you would if you were to use flour.

3. Follow the recipe instructions carefully especially the temperature and cooking time instructions. To test if the brownies are done stick a toothpick into the brownies. If they come out clean it means that the brownies are done.

4. If you want to keep the brownies from over-drying you can wrap them with plastic wrap and put them in a zip bag for added protection.

As a final tip: enjoy your brownies with your whole family, give them as gifts, share them with your co-workers, and don’t forget to make plenty for everyone.