by Divinity | Blog News |
All rights reserved ©2012-2014 The Chocolate Date
Did you know? August 10 marks the celebration of National S’mores Day!
So grab your sweetie and make this a special date underneath the stars! Make a campfire, toast some marshmallows and sandwich between chocolate and graham crackers.
Alternatively you can use a toaster oven or microwave to toast marshmallows. Also available is a S’more Maker that comes with a mini burner and all the utensils. Click the image to buy.
If you want more ideas on variations of s’mores you can make go to: http://www.pinterest.com/chocolatedate/national-smores-day-august-10/
If you like this idea please click the buttons below to share this with your friends. Enjoy the yummy gooeyness of love.
by Divinity | Blog News, Savory |
Black bean chili with chocolate and coconut from gimmesomeoven.com
Black Bean Chili with Chocolate and Coconut
For you chili fans, here’s another savory chocolate chili recipe to make for your next dinner date with your sweetie thanks to www.gimmesomeoven.com. Especially made with black beans with chocolate and coconut. Enjoy!
Recipe from: http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/black-bean-chili-with-chocolate-and-coconut
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes
Yield: 6-8 Servings
Ingredients
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large white onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup good-quality chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
8 cups water
1 pound dried black beans, rinsed
1 (4 oz.) can diced green chiles
1/4 cup coconut flakes
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder (use dark chocolate cocoa for vegan version)
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1-3 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo, to taste
toppings: chocolate chips and additional toasted coconut flakes
Method
Black bean chili with chocolate and coconut from gimmesomeoven.com
Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook for 4-5 minutes, until translucent, stirring occasionally. Add in chili powder and cumin cook for an additional 3 minutes until fragrant. Add in the water, black beans, green chiles, coconut flakes, unsweetened cocoa powder, and oregano. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium-low and cover, leaving the lid slightly ajar. Simmer for about 2 hours or until the beans are mostly tender.
Add in the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce by teaspoons until it reaches your desired taste. Season with salt and pepper, and add an additional 1/2 cup or more of water if needed. Then return to heat for a final 30 minutes or until the beans are fully-cooked. If you would like a smoother soup, feel free to use a potato masher or immersion blender to puree. Otherwise, serve as-is with toppings.
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by Divinity | Blog News, Health Benefits |
By Divinity Chan All rights reserved ©2012-2014
“Chocolate – The breakfast of champions” – Unknown
It is well known fact that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. After a sleeping for a number of hours the body will need nourishment to function at an optimal level. It has been strongly recommended by fitness nutritionists to eat breakfast within the first hour of waking up because this is when the metabolism is at the highest.
Organic raw cacao nibs
So why not add chocolate to your breakfast using cacao nibs?
Cacao, known as one of the world’s superfoods is the raw material of chocolate or the bean that has been fermented and roasted before it is processed into chocolate. As one website described them as “nature’s chocolate chips.” http://navitasnaturals.com Nutty flavor with hints of bitter chocolate that tastes like cocoa powder.
What are some benefits of this little bean?
- Contains antioxidants and nutrients that enhance physical and mental well-being that will give you a healthy boost/pick up.
- Rich with magnesium and contains more antioxidant flavoids that red wine, green tea and blueberries.
- Helps release endorphins giving you a natural high or the ‘feeling of being in love’
- Natural snack without sugar, additives, and preservatives.
Not too shabby for this little bean. You can find this gem at health food stores and organic food markets. You and your Chocolate Date sweetie can enjoy both the health benefits and the yummy flavor.
Simply add a couple tablespoons of cacao nibs to granola, cereal or breakfast smoothie for a morning chocolate treat.
Here’s a few recipes to get you started:
Chocolate Supreme Smoothie
From book: The Art of Raw Living Food by Doreen Virtue and Jenny Ross
Raw cacao is high in magnesium and other creativity enhancers. This superfood smoothie is great for unlocking your mind’s potential to create, and it also provides a naturally stimulating energy. The most important thing about this recipe is that it’s balanced by rich green foods.
1 ripe peeled banana or avocado
1 young Thai coconut (water and flesh)
2 tbsp. raw cacao nibs or powder
1 tbsp. maca-root powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract or 1 whole vanilla bean
2 tbsp. hemp seeds
2 tbsp. agave nectar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. SuperGreens or spirulina
1/2 cup ice
Blend all ingredients well in a high powered blender. Pour into a glass lined in chocolate sauce and serve, or sprinkle with fresh cinnamon and garnish with a cinnamon stick.
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Crazy-Good Chocolate Granola with Cacao Nibs, Almonds, and Cherries
http://wayfaringchocolate.com/2012/03/15/chocolate-granola-with-cacao-nibs-almonds-and-cherries/
3 cups (270g) rolled oats
1 cup (120g) slivered almonds
1/2 cup (60g) sunflower seeds
1/4 cup cacao nibs
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup honey (I used Manuka honey, ’cause I’m fancy like that. Agave or maple work for a vegan version)
1/3 cup canola oil
a few pinches of salt
1/2 cup raisins
3/4 cup dried cherries
1.Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F).
2.In a large bowl, mix the oats, almonds, sunflower seeds and cacao nibs together. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, sugar, honey, oil, and salt. This will make a very, very thick mixture, so don’t fear it. Embrace it.
3.Mix the wet mix into the dry, stirring vigorously to make sure it’s all mixed through.
4.Pour the granola mixture onto one or two baking trays, then bake for about an hour, stirring every twenty minutes. (I only had one baking tray so baked the mixture for 1 hour and 20 minutes.)
5.Stir in the dried fruit and bake for five minutes more, although this part is probably completely unnecessary. You could certainly just stir in the dried fruit and be done. Your call. Also, don’t stress if the granola still seems a little bit wet straight out of the oven; as soon as it cools down, it because stupendously crispy.
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Tropical Fruit Salad with Cacao Nibs Recipe
http://www.chow.com/recipes/14112-tropical-fruit-salad-with-cacao-nibs
1 cup banana, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices (from about 1 medium banana)
1 cup kiwi, peeled and cut into medium dice (from about 3 medium kiwis)
1 cup mango, peeled and cut into medium dice (from about 1 medium mango)1 1/2 cups solo papaya, peeled, seeds removed, and cut into medium dice (from about 1 medium papaya)
1/4 cup hazelnuts, toasted, skins removed, and coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons cacao nibs
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon agave nectar
Place all ingredients in a large bowl and gently mix to combine. Serve immediately.
Action: Try these ideas and let me know what is your favorite one. Or if you have any that you would like to share please post them in the comments below. Love to hear your story.
by Divinity | Blog News, Savory |
Nigellas chocolate chip chili from bakedbree.com
I love chili especially on a cold night to warm up the body and chocolate to nourish the soul. With this recipe from www.bakedbree.com you can have the best of both worlds. With chocolate you add a new dimension of taste you would not have imagined. Make it an evening for two in front of the fire place and remember a bottle of red wine. Enjoy!
Nigella’s Chocolate Chip Chili
Recipe from: http://bakedbree.com/nigellas-chocolate-chip-chili
Ingredients
1 1/4 pounds chorizo
3 1/4 pounds boneless beef cut into chunks (I buy stew meat)
3 onions
3 garlic cloves
1 long red chile
1/4 cup vegetable oil
seeds from 3 cardamom pods
2 Tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon dried pepper flakes
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup ketchup
4 (15 ounce) cans red kidney beans
3 (14 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1 cup water
salt and pepper
Instructions
1. Put the onions and garlic in the food processor.
2. In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, cook the onion, garlic, and red chile until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the cardamom, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and pepper flakes.
Nigellas chocolate chip chili from bakedbree.com
3. Cook the onion and spice mixture for a minute or two. Take the chorizo out of the casing and add to the pot.
4. Add the beef and cook until it starts to brown.
5. Add the beans, tomato paste, ketchup, diced tomato, and water. Bring the chili to a boil.
6. Once the chili comes to a bubble, add the chocolate chips. Stir the chips in until they melt. Cover the pot and put in a preheated 300 degree oven. Cook the chili for 3 more hours. Give a taste and check to see if you need salt and pepper.
7. Top with cheese and cilantro.
by Divinity | Blog News |
Just want to thank you for being part of The Chocolate Date community. I am so glad to be here serve and support you. Wishing you and your sweetie an awesome holiday. May it be filled with love, romance and lots of chocolate celebrations.
~ Divinity
“The Chocolate Date Diva”
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by Divinity | Blog News |
- by Divinity Chan | TheChocolateDate.com ©2013-2014
This is a great article I just came across by relationship expert James Bauer from Be Irresistible that would be perfect for your next Chocolate Date. If you have friends who would enjoy this too be sure to forward this to them.
Enjoy!
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Here’s a cool date idea for those of you who find yourselves in a long-distance relationship. It costs a little bit of money, and requires a high-speed Internet connection, but if you miss your boyfriend, you might decide it’s worth the effort involved.
First I’ll give you the big picture, and then I’ll go back through the nitty-gritty details needed to make it happen. Here we go.
You get home from work on Friday evening. You change into something that looks nice in anticipation of your date, even though your boyfriend is currently 300 miles away. You go to your fridge and pull out the ingredients you purchased the night before, the same ingredients your boyfriend agreed to stock his own fridge with.
You adjust the special wide-angle WebCam you have attached with a clip to the top of your laptop computer. You check the monitor to make sure the image does not cut off your head when you stand at the stove. And now, with the click of a mouse, it’s time for the fun to begin.
You see your boyfriend’s smiling face light up your computer screen after pressing the “join hangout” button. He seems happy to see you, but he laughs nervously as he repeats his disclaimer about his poor cooking skills. You remind him that, while it’s a group project, only he has to suffer the consequences of any mistakes, so he can relax.
Here’s the idea. Instead of staring at each other for an hour, wishing you could do more than just talk, you’re going to share in an adventure. Your adventure has the advantage of allowing him to see your body moving around naturally as you move around the kitchen, making a meal in tandem but 300 miles apart.
You coach him through the process, adding a fun and interactive aspect to the flow of your conversation. When you’re both done, you sit down to a meal and shared conversation at a more leisurely pace.
Is it silly? Yes, admittedly so, but it’s a lot better than staring at the TV while you wait for his next text message to come through, sitting at home in your pajamas on a Friday night.
This kind of shared adventure brings back much of the realism of a face-to-face interaction. It’s the kind of experience that can get you through until your next opportunity to see each other in the flesh.
The Details
If you want to try this out yourself, and you don’t already know how, I’ve included a few essential details here. If you don’t already have a Gmail account, sign up for one so you can benefit from the “Google Hangout“ function. It’s a slight improvement over Skype, but you can also use Skype if you’re already familiar with that communication platform. If you own an iPad or any of the Mac laptops, you can use the built-in Facetime application, assuming you and your boyfriend both have access to a Mac device.
This date idea will only be fun if you have a high-speed Internet connection and a good WebCam. A small investment in a web cam designed to take in more than just a person’s face can make this activity more fun. Just look at some of the WebCam options on Amazon.com to read more about it.
A few days before your dinner date (or dessert date) you and your boyfriend can both get on Pinterest.com at the same time and look for a fun recipe to try out together. You can use Google’s “hangout” feature to do a shared screen environment where one of you can see the other person’s computer screen as one of you browses through various options on Pintrest.
Once you’ve both agreed on a recipe, you can make a list of ingredients, agree on a time to get started, and look forward to your date during the days leading up to your agreed starting time.
James Bauer – Be Irresistible
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