Friday Food Face-Off: Chocolate vs. Carob “Chocolate”

I enjoy chocolate.  Whether it’s milk, dark, plain, bubbled or filled with dried fruit and nuts–I like it all.  As much as I like it, I’m not crazy about it.  I’m not one of those women who, if I’ve had a bad day, crave chocolate. If I’m PMS-ing, I would rather have a savoury, salty something rather than a chocolate bar. But every so often, I enjoy a high-quality piece of European chocolate.

Much like “cheese”, “chocolate” is something that I would rather not eat.  ”Chocolate” is nothing like chocolate. It’s kind of dry, powdery and it does not melt on the tongue like regular chocolate.  It doesn’t smell like chocolate and it certainly does not taste like chocolate.

But people argue that carob is a healthier substitute.  Carob-chocolate contains no caffeine,  does not contain large amounts of sugar, butter and/or cream, and since there are no fermented cocoa beans used, there is less likelihood of additives or  contaminants in the product. 

Obviously, no one should be eating heaps of chocolate, but on average there are only about 30 grams of caffeine in a chocolate bar–the same amount of caffeine contained in two cups of green tea. 

The verdict is two big thumbs down for “chocolate”. I would rather never eat chocolate again than munch on this sorry substitute. With all of the variety available to us these days–organic, free trade–am I really hurting anyone (myself included) by indulging in this decadent treat every few weeks?

Plus, there are some organic chocolates that are made with raw cane sugar, butter and other whole, organic ingredients. With these options available, I think I will keep chocolate in my diet, but as an occasional treat.

Friday Food Face Off: Pretzels vs. Kamut Pretzels

Last week I had two friends over for lunch–Sonya and Melina.  They both brought food for me to try: Sonya brought spiced cashews, which were amazing. Melina brought Kamut mini-pretzels.  Kamut contains no wheat and it is slightly sweeter and higher in protein than modern wheat–and can be used as a wheat substitute. 

I’m not a huge fan of regular pretzels: I find the massive salt crystals a bit intimidating and I hate that they leave my mouth so dry, but after weeks of not having any real snack food, I thought the kamut alternative was great.  

In terms of fat, sodium, carbohydrates and sugars, there’s not much between them.  In 28 grams of kamut pretzels there are 110 calories, 1 g fat, no cholesterol, 320 mg of sodium, only 2 g of fiber and 1 g of sugar.  In 45 grams of the President’s Choice Blue Menu multigrain pretzel alternative has 170 calories, 0.5 g of fat, no cholesterol, 390 g sodium, 2 g fiber and 1 g sugar.  The major difference is the ingredient list.  The kamut pretzels have a much shorter ingredient list and all of the ingredients are whole foods like unbleached kamut flour and organic barley.

Obviously, pretzels are a treat–and while the kamut pretzels are not nearly as pleasing in colour, texture or saltiness, they are the “healthier” choice.

The final verdict is that kamut pretzels get one thumb up–they’re not great, but as an alternative they’re great.

Friday Food Face Off: Restaurant vs. Vegetarian Restaurant

Thanks to Breanna, my friend Nicki and I went to Cafe 668 to beat the cold weather.

While the location of this restaurant is a bit odd (885 Dundas St., West), it’s worth visiting. The atmosphere is relaxed and while the waiter wore jeans, a dress would not be out of place (for me, not the waiter).

Let me tell you how great it is to go to a restaurant where I can eat almost anything off the menu. Everything looked so good, but we finally settled on soup, some black bean eggplant and taro wrapped yam.  Things were a little bit pricey (we paid $50), but for the sake of this post, we did order more than we usually would. Normally, the soup alone would suffice as the portions are very generous.

I have only two criticisms:

First, the bathrooms–while clean–have very low ceilings and I bumped by head. I’m tall-ish for a girl, but I was wearing flats.

Second, there were a lot of foods in quotes on the menu. You know, brown rice and assorted vegetables with your choice of  ”beef”, “chicken”, or “salmon”.  I hate it when vegetarian food is made into “meat.” I may be wrong, but for the most part, I’m assuming that since vegetarians have chosen to give up meat, they would not want to eat things that look and feel like meat, but don’t taste like meat.

While I normally prefer to head out to restaurants that serve meat, fish and vegetarian entrees, Cafe 668 is an excellent vegetarian/vegan alternative. The food is well-flavoured, fresh and they offer a lot of choice–including vegetable sides that can be steamed or stir-fried (Meghan would be so proud!)

Normally, vegetarian restaurants get a bit of a thumbs-down from me, especially when they serve “meat”, but the final verdict for Cafe 668 is Four Thumbs Up–two from me and two more from Nicki.

Not into restaurants and prefer to cook at home? No problem! Check out these courses from Meghan Telpner:

Cooking Party Program

February 17th (Tuesday) marks the start of my 4-week cooking program. If you can’t commit to four Tuesday, you are free and welcome to choose just one that fits with your schedule or split it with a friend where you can each come to two. How awesome is that?  $210.00 for four classes, $60.00 for a single. Book it! or  Click here for more info.

Weekly Healthy Meal Prep

March 1st or April 5th, (Sunday) 2:00-4:00m. A splendid afternoon full of yummy food and lifestyle altering information. Get easy, simple and quick ways to healthyify your life every day of the week with minimal time and effort. Learn the secrets to my ridiculously healthy way of life and how you can apply them to your own.  $55.00 Book it! or  Click here for more info.