Sorry to say, but this site has been so depressing for a few days. I thought I'd ask an average, everyday question....to make us all feel a little more normal today.
I made Eggplant Lasagna, and my BIL and SIL are coming for dinner. They leave for Cali tomorrow to see their beautiful grand daughter.
Sorry, sometimes we just need some REGULAR conversation.......or at least THIS caregiver does.
Went out to dinner at our local Italian place in celebration of our 20th wedding anniversary. Got home just as the wind and the rain set in.
Tonight I am making Jambalaya and in case the younger grandkids don't want it I am making some Mac-n-cheese.
In the start of a winter storm...super cold, I came in from shoveling a bit ago so the Jambalaya will be good!
then it is baking and getting things ready for Sunday
Making my baking/cooking time line list. And I can get a dessert out of the way so the oven is freed up for other stuff.
Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah and Happy Kwanza
Dd texted me yesterday that sil will make their turkey and bring some over to me. I said thank you and can I have the carcass for soup too. They usually throw it out. Sacrilege! Love turkey soup!!! 🦃
My chicken soup was mainly broth and it gelled nicely so there was lots of protein in it. 😋 Some will go into the freezer and I will have a bowl of it for breakfast.
The reason for the heavy metals to be in chocolate - it's in the soil where the beans are grown.
"The cadmium and lead are present in cocoa and chocolate due to soil and that bean cleaning during processing cocoa beans reduces lead and cadmium in chocolate products,”
https://www.pennlive.com/food/2022/12/heavy-metals-found-in-dark-chocolate-including-hersheys-product-consumer-reports.html#:~:text=%E2%80%9CAn%20expert%20investigation%20conducted%20through,chocolate%20products%2C%E2%80%9D%20it%20said.
Also from the same source
"Andrew Stolbach, a Johns Hopkins Medicine toxicologist, told NPR maximum allowable dose levels are set to be “very conservative” to account for people with higher risk due to their age and other medical conditions. The levels of lead and cadmium are not worrisome, especially when chocolate is consumed in moderate amounts, he added.
“The safety levels for lead and cadmium are set to be very protective, and going above them by a modest amount isn’t something to be concerned about,” Stolbach said.
Well, `that's a relief!!! 🍫 😋
Enough for leftovers, yay!
And what is the purpose of the cadmium and lead? Is there one?
https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/22862-report-of-lead-in-chocolate-draws-confectionery-association-response#:~:text=The%20report%20found%20cadmium%20may,or%20cocoa%20genetics%20over%20time.
I was glad to see you posted about the dark chocolate.
I have never really liked chocolate but have been eating an oz a day for the epicatechin to help lower uric acid. I was learning to enjoy it for the last couple of months along with a Brazil nut.
Then I saw the report that Trader Joe’s and Hershey’s had really high levels of the the lead etc.
“According to CR's findings, the safer choices are:
Mast Organic Dark Chocolate 80% Cocoa. CR found an ounce contained 14% less lead and 40% less cadmium than California's allowable limits.
Taza Chocolate Organic Deliciously Dark Chocolate 70% Cacao held 33% less lead and 74% less cadmium.
Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolate 86% Cacao contained 36% less lead and 39% less cadmium.
Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolate Twilight Delight. Lead contained was 61% below the allowable level and cadmium 96% below its allowable limit.
Valrhona Abinao Dark Chocolate 85% Cacao. Lead 63% and cadmium 73% below.”
I am now suffering with kidney stones and have recently read that dark chocolate is extremely high in oxalates … not so good for the kidneys.
Here is the link to the Consumer Reports article with all the numbers.
https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-safety/lead-and-cadmium-in-dark-chocolate-a8480295550/
R sounds like me! Variety is the spice of life! I have my favorites but I love trying new things.
That sounds fabulous! It’s interesting that you added cayenne. I like subtle underlying flavors in recipes.
We have a fantastic ice cream shop here, ‘The Creamery’ that makes delicious homemade ice creams. One of the flavors is chocolate with cayenne. I have had it and like it. My husband doesn’t try the unusual flavors and sticks to the traditional ones.
Need - I have added a ground up orange, peel and all, and heaps of spices nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and a some black pepper and a little cayenne to a basic chocolate cake. It was awesome!
Soup time again. I have 2 chicken carcasses so I boiled them this morning. Now they are cooling so I can get the meat off them. Then I will return the bones to the electric pressure cooker with some vinegar and spices to make the bone broth. After that remove the bones and add some veggies and later the meat. Should have chicken soup by suppertime.
DD says she is only eating fish, not chicken. Her food tastes and texture likes are still off following chemo. She really liked the fish soup. I will double order seafood my next lot of groceries and make one lot for her. It can be frozen in small batches so will last a while. I may switch some of it up into a chowder as well. She can use the extra calories.
Dark chocolate is my favorite! I don’t want to hear bad news about it. LOL
Coffee and chocolate is so good together! Mocha ice cream is delicious! That was actually one my cravings when I was pregnant. That and citrus (I ate tons of oranges) and Chinese food! LOL 😆
I have read recipes that call for espresso in a chocolate cake. Haven’t tried it but it is supposed to bring out the chocolate flavor.
Is it all dark chocolate or just Hershey Corporation?
I'm looking at the small bar of Hershey's special dark I picked up yesterday (265% of the RDA for lead) wondering whether I should eat it, and remembering all the other chocolate I've already consumed.
They were not even cooking chickens yesterday so I called ahead.
They are just running out early. So still cooking what they get in the store.
Even bought a set of pyrex glass storage containers (was on my list) to put the larger pieces into. This is a very easy meal to have in the freezer.
I am the same. I am not a vegetarian or vegan either. I enjoy meat, poultry, dairy and sweets in limited quantities.
I definitely don’t feel the need to eat meat and dairy daily. A plant based diet has plenty of protein.
A lot of people consume entirely too much meat, dairy, everything is smothered in cheese and cream based sauces and they include bread along with everything else on their plate. Bread doesn’t have to be served at every meal either. That’s way too much food for me.
I don’t even use a dinner plate. I eat my food on a ‘lunch’ sized plate.
I am amazed at salads served in restaurants. They have so much meat, cheese and salad dressing on them that they are no longer healthy. It seems like people have forgotten how to eat a salad made from mainly vegetables.
Moderation is the key. I didn’t grow up eating ‘seconds’ at meals. So, I suppose that was my foundation for eating healthy.
I eat to live. I don’t live to eat. When I do have a ‘treat’ I enjoy it. It’s a once in awhile thing for me.
When we were in Israeli we learned what truly kosher was. I thought that would be very hard to accomplish in a home kitchen.
I'm not vegetarian or vegan. I don't eat meat or dairy every day though. I limit it.
Your Chickpeas soup does sound delicious!
I make meals like that in between eating steak so I guess I don't fit in anywhere in the vegetarian or vegan lifestyles.
By expressing my tastes, no offense to vegetarians or vegans was meant.