Welcome to "CHOCOLATE LOVER"
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CHOCOLATE TRIVIA:
King Louis XIV of France established the position of "Royal Chocolate Maker to the King"
How many times have you been eating those chocolate chip cookies with milk when you look over and see those soulful puppy dog eyes staring at you? While the saddest begging look creeps across his face and he lets out the most pathetic whimper, a dog wanting chocolate can weaken the most stoic dog owner.
Don’t give in, ever. You must stay firm.
First and foremost, it must be said that dogs must NOT eat chocolate. No matter how pathetic he looks at you, no matter how much he whines, let me repeat, dogs must NOT eat chocolate. Keep ALL forms of chocolate out of his reach and locked away at all times.
Don’t let them get the taste for chocolate. Keep in mind that once dogs have tasted chocolate, they want more. The problem, according to veterinary experts, is that eating just a speck of chocolate leads a dog to crave more. They become addicted to it very easily. It can mean that your dog will jump at any opportunity to get any type of chocolate and chocolate can kill.
Causes
Chocolate poisoning is caused by excessive intake of the methylxanthine alkaloids . Methylxanthine alkaloids are naturally occurring drugs (primarily theobromine and caffeine) that can be found in chocolate, coffee, tea, cola beverages and some over-the-counter stimulants. Chocolate preparations contain different concentrations of these active compounds. One of the methylxanthine alkaloids is an element called theobromine, which is lethal to dogs, and another is theophylline, which is similar to caffeine.
The amount of theobromine found in chocolate is small enough that chocolate can be safely consumed by humans in large quantities, but dogs metabolize theobromine slower and can easily consume enough chocolate to cause chocolate poisoning. Dogs are the most common victims of theobromine chocolate poisoning.
The poisoning affects many organ systems, and animals of all ages are susceptible. These drugs cause constricted blood vessels; rapid and weak heart beat; and stimulate the nervous system. Nervous system stimulation leads to hyperactivity, tremors, and seizures. The heart rate becomes increasingly rapid and irregular. The theobromine will remain in their bloodstream for up to 20 hours.
In most cases, dogs are poisoned by eating the processed chocolate used in sweets, baked goods, and chocolate bars. Since these products contain high concentrations of theobromine and caffeine, and dogs love the way they taste, poisoning is common because of the way they gobble down just about anything and everything.
Puppies and young dogs are especially susceptible as they may be more likely to ingest large amounts of unusual foods. Since chocolate is very often available and dogs enjoy the taste, access to chocolate goodies has become a real problem, with more and more cases of dog chocolate poisoning on the uprise.
The quantity of theobromine will vary with the different types of chocolate. This list starts with the type of chocolate that has the largest quantity and moves down to the type of chocolate with the least amount.
Cocoa Beans
Cocoa Powder
Baking Chocolate
Dark Chocolate
Chocolate Cocktail Mixes
Chocolate Syrup
Milk Chocolate
Chocolate Milk Mixes
White Chocolate
Symptoms
The first symptoms of chocolate poisoning in dogs include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and increased urination. These symptoms will occur 2 to 4 hours after intake, and chocolate in the vomit may be obvious. Excessive urination may result from the diuretic (water clearing) action of the chocolate.
Advanced signs of chocolate poisoning include cardiac arrhythmias, hallucinations, stiffness, epileptic seizures, muscle twitching, excitement, extreme responses to noise, light, and touch.
Internal bleeding, heart failure, weakness, coma, and eventually death can occur 12 to 36 hours after intake.
Chocolate poisoning can be confused with many other types of poisoning or conditions. Life threatening chemical poisoning can cause very similar effects.
Chemicals such as strychnine, amphetamines, pesticides, and some rodenticides can have mirror effects.
A typical 40 pound dog will normally experience intestinal distress after eating less than 8 ounces of dark chocolate, but won’t necessarily experience bradycardia (a slow heartbeat rate) or tachyarrhythmia (an increase in heart rate) unless it eats at least a pound of milk chocolate.
According to the Merck Veterinary Manual, approximately 0.023 ounces of baker’s chocolate per pound of a dog’s body weight is sufficient to cause symptoms of toxicity. For example, a typical 1 ounce baker’s chocolate piece would be enough to bring out symptoms in a 40 pound dog.
What You Should Do If Your Dog Eats Chocolate
If a dog eats chocolate, immediate induction of vomiting is the best. This can only be done within the first two hours of ingestion. Vomiting can be induced by putting a small amount of vanilla ice cream in a bowl (for taste!) mixed with hydrogen peroxide (amount depends on the weight of the dog) and a teaspoon of salt.
Whatever you do, DO NOT induce vomiting with salt water. You will induce salt toxicity instead of vomiting and can cause seizures.
Save a sample of the vomit, for analysis, and take both the dog and the sample to the veterinarian immediately.
If, on the other hand, your dog is having a seizure, DO NOT attempt to induce vomiting.
Call your veterinarian immediately for advice, before bringing him in to the clinic.
If a combination of chocolate ingestion, vomiting, nervousness, or weakness are seen, take your dog to your vet immediately and again, if possible, bring a sample of the vomit with you for analysis, since this may aid in rapid identification of the toxic substance.
Your veterenarian will examine your dog’s nervous system and cardiac function. He may want to test the blood and urine for concentrations of sugar(glucose) and the active ingredient in the chocolate.
This type of poisoning progresses rapidly and symptoms may need to be treated symptomatically until a laboratory diagnosis is confirmed.
Cure
There is no antidote for chocolate poisoning.
Your veterinarian may use drugs to induce vomiting if the chocolate was consumed within the previous 2 – 4 hours. He may also use a stomach tube and fluids to flush the stomach of the chocolate, followed by an activated charcoal treatment, to prevent any of the drugs from being absorbed into the system.
In dogs with advanced symptoms, specialized medications are needed to control the seizures and to correct the rapid and weak heartbeat in order to prevent heart failure.
Prognosis
The expected course of chocolate poisoning is 12 to 36 hours depending on the dosage and effectiveness of treatment. Prognosis is good if the chocolate is removed within 2 to 4 hours of ingestion. Prognosis is guarded in animals with advanced signs such as seizures and serious heart dysfunction.
Prevention
The ASPCA, Susan Thorpe-Vargas, M.S, Ph.D. in her article “Poisoned,” strongly encourages pet owners to be prepared for a poisoning.
When time can make the difference between life and death, it is important that you know the immediate steps to take and have the first-aid tools on hand to take those steps.
To be prepared, get knowledgeable. You’ll avoid panic if you have educated yourself. Keep your vet’s phone number handy. Keep the phone number close to the phone at home and enter your vet’s phone number into your cell phone.
Last, but not least, keep the chocolate up high, in locked cupboards, away from your dog. If you leave it lying around within reach, you are tempting even the best trained dog.
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June Tanner was born and raised in Hawaii where she studied and practiced natural healing, lomi lomi massage, alternative medicine, organic gardening and nutrition for over 30 years. She is currently living in New York as a free lance writer for various publications and as an Internet marketer. To read more on the proper nutrition for dogs go to http://www.squidoo.com/healthydogfooddiet This article may only be used in it’s whole, with the author’s Resource Box attached. All links must remain included and no changes may be made to the article without the author’s prior permission. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=June_Tanner |
By Ivy Shawn
Chocolate is one popular food all over the world, and there comes various kinds of chocolate. Chocolate is not only a delicious food to taste, but also a delicate gift to present. With the dazzling variety of chocolates, what’s your choice to take one? Here I’ll give you some advice: the world’s top 10 brands of chocolate in the past year.
1 SWISS THINS(LINDT)
Lindt was built in 1845 in Switzerland. With more than a history of 160 years, Lindt has become the top brand chocolate and sells its product among over 80 countries. Lindt chocolate is refined but not too sweet, so it’s a accepted by both the young and the old. NB: If you want to buy a bar of chocolate for your grandparents or other old men, please pay more attention to its 80% black chocolate, which is neither too bitter nor too sweet.
2 GUYLIAN
Guylian came to the world just 30 years ago, but it has win an international reputation after its foundation. Guylian has a heavily sweet taste, which usually mixes chocolate with milk. You can choose Guylian without hesitation if you are fond of sweet food. What’s more, the price of Guylian ranges from $4 to $50, you can have a huge selection to afford the one that suits you best.
3 FERRERO ROCHER
Ferrero Rocher is a well-known chocolate sweet made in Italia. The spherical sweet consists of a totally-roasted hazelnut put in a thin round shell, which is full of cream and covered with milk chocolate. Usually, they are singly packaged inside a gold-coloured wrapper. With such a golden-glint package, Ferrero Rocher alway offers an image of elegance. Apart from its precious decoration, the novel idea it presents also attracts a great number of consumers.
4 MAXINM’S
Dated back to last century, Maxinm’s is famous for its classic status. It’s a symbol of exquisite and graceful, being a elegant mythology in France. Maxinm’s has a series of productions, such as hazelnut-milk chocolate and milked-black chocolate, etc.. However, all of them have a feature in common: a high price. It is quite wonderful to send Maxinm’s as a gift to friends, but its a would cost you quite much money if you are apt to buy them to eat frequently.
5 DUCD’O
Ducd’O is a kind of compound chocolates with three different tastes; they are milk chocolate, white chocolate and black chocolate. If you like a sweet favor, you can choose the white chocolate, I’m sure it will be as sweet as you like; if you prefer bitter to sweet, then you may enjoy black chocolate; if you want to taste both bitter and sweet, milk chocolate will be in quest.
6 KINDER BUENQ
The bright-coloured (white mixed with orange) package makes Kinder Buenq much more mild, and this kind of chocolate is relatively cheaper for a long-timed consuming. Due to its price advantage in the market, Kinder Buenq seems to be more popularized among the young. Meanwhile, the wafer-rounded chocolate tastes wonderful.
7 DCOSLE
Dcosle is made in Belgium, a country which shares most famous chocolates in the world. Dcosle is a little sweet, but its beautiful shape and package often stand out to catch the eye of consumers. Generally, it’s designed for lovers; and as a result, it has successfully achieved its marketing objects.
8 M&M’s
M&M’s are candy-coated pieces of milk chocolate with the letter “M” printed on them. They are popular in the United States and many other countries. They contain several variations of the candies, including milk chocolate, peanut, mint, and dark chocolate (with or without peanuts). The chocolates are produced in brown, yellow,green, and many other colors which are colorful and interesting enough to be appealing to people.
9 BELGIAN
Belgian, whose name develops from the country it comes- Belgium, has kept carrying on Belgian’s spirit of pursuing perfection and upgrading its technique to produce delicious and tasty chocolate. Nowadays, it has made various kinds of products to cater for consumers, you can go to have a look. Maybe there’s a surprise waiting for you!
10 TOFFKFEE
Toffkfee is the largest production base for chocolate in Germany, and we can call it as the “classic” of Germany. Toffkfee has an ordinary favor, you can try to have a piece if you are not so captious. The price is quite low when compared with the others above.
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Ivy hopes to be a gourmet one day. And this is the reason why she always focuses her eyes on the information of foods and drinks. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ivy_Shawn |
Here is a delicious recipe for those chocolate lovers that also enjoy great chili. With a little experimenting you may even begin a new family tradition.
CHILI WITH CHOCOLATE
Ingredients:
1 lb. beef stew meat, cubed
½ lb. pork, cubed
4 tbsp. oil
1 ½ c. onions, chopped
1 c. green pepper, chopped
2 tbsp. of minced garlic
1 tbsp. of chili powder
1 ½ tbsp. salt
½ tsp. of thyme
½ tsp. of cumin
1 ½ c. of water
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
½ oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 (30 oz.) can kidney beans
3 c. rice
Preparation:
1. Brown the bite size pieces of beef and pork cubes in 3 tablespoons of oil.
2. Add the rest of oil, onion, green pepper and garlic.
3. Cook until soft but not browned.
4. Stir in chili powder, salt, thyme and cumin. Cook 1 minute.
5. Add water, heat to boil.
6. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 45 minutes.
7. Stir in tomato sauce and chocolate.
8. Simmer uncovered 25 to 30 minutes or until thickened.
9. Serve chili on bed of beans and rice.
Want to add a distinctive new taste to your pot roast? Then try this delicious recipe using bitter chocolate.
POT ROAST WITH CHOCOLATE
Ingredients:
3 lb. rump of veal or bottom round roast
3 tbsp. of olive oil
2 cloves of crushed garlic
1 tbsp.of flour
1 bay leaf
1 c. of water
1 lg. of sliced onion
1 1/2 tsp. of salt
1/2 c. dry of white wine
1/2 tbsp.of vinegar
1 tbsp. of grated bitter chocolate
Preparation:
1. Brown the meat in olive oil in a casserole or dutch oven.
2. Add the garlic and onion and cook until they are soft.
3. Blend in the flour and salt and stir until smooth.
4. Add the remaining ingredients except for the chocolate.
5. Cover and simmer gently for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
6. Remove meat, add chocolate to sauce and cook until thickened and smooth.
7. If too much liquid has cooked away, add enough water to make about 2 cups.
8. Add salt to taste.
Meat recipes that have chocolate in them have aroused a lot of attention. Little do most people know that these chocolate-related recipes have been around for many years. Since the Aztecs valued the chocolates so much and believed in its power-harnessing abilities, they’ve used chocolate in practically everything!
Imagine this: your favorite meat and the luxurious taste of fine, smooth chocolate combined in one recipe that would leave you mouth-watering. We have all that here in Mole.
A Saucy History
Mole is a Mexican delicacy that is Aztec in origin. It came from the word Molli, which means sauce. It wasn’t until mid-17th century that chocolates were added to mole and we now know them Mole Poblano.
Chocolate Mole became such a sensation, a staple during the holidays and special occasions, that it eventually became a national dish. It is normally served as a sauce for chicken and has bittersweet, nutty and spicy flavors.
The Hot Ingredient
Mole is made up of about 10-30 ingredients, most of which are spices – specifically chilies. Varieties such as Pasillas, Guajillos, Chipotles, Anchos and Mulatos are commonly used, each giving out very different flavors that, when mixed, is simply scrumptious.
Other ingredients may include Ceylon Cinnamon from Mexico which is also called canela, a type of sugar called Pilloncillo, plaintains, pineapples, ground nuts. You may replace raisins with dried apricots, tortillas instead of almonds, or yams instead of plaintain.
Toast them Chilies
The secret to successfully bringing out that nutty, charred flavor in mole is to partially burn most of its ingredients. Nuts, chilies and all the other spices need to be toasted in a pan, while tomatoes have to be charred until their skins are dark.
- – - Other Mole Recipes – - -
Mole Verde
Ingredients such as cilantro, tomatillos, epazote, romaine lettuce, and pumpkin seeds give this recipe its distinct green color.
Mole Coloradito
Spices include almonds, sesame seeds, garlic, ancho, pasillas, or guajillo chilies banana, sugar, tomatoes, pumpkin seeds, garlic and crackers. The color should be rich red.
Mole Rojo
Mole Rojo is much like Mole Coloradito but lighter in color. Do not be mistaken by its lightness though, because Rojo is much spicier! Use the same ingredients as coloradito but add more chilies, onion, pecans, and chocolate.
Mole Amarillo
The ingredients to make this mole are garlic, cumin, onion, cilantro, black, pepper, Ancho, Guajillo and Costeno chilies, chilcoxle, hoja santa and green tomatoes.
Mole Chichilo
This variety has a distinct ashy flavor to it. The chilies used in this dish are pasilla, Chilguacle Negro and Mulato. For anise flavor, they use avocado leaves.
Mole Mancha Manteles
You often see this mole partnered with pineapple or plaintain and has a strong Ancho flavor.
Mole de Cacahuete
The mole you add to chicken is literally a peanut sauce mixed with chilies.
Today, moles are readily available at local supermarkets and specialty stores and usually come in bottles of green, yellow or blackish paste. Although popular as a sauce for various preparations of poultry, any other meat could do well with a little mole flavor. This delicacy is popular at weddings, holidays, Cinco de Mayo and Quincenneras . The Mexicans also offer Mole to their dead during Dia de los Muertos.
Clearly the world just couldn’t stop thinking of the many ways to use chocolates. Any excuse to indulge in this tasty delicacy seems appropriate! As if picking out bags of chocolates weren’t enough, this delightful piece of heaven has also found its way to our kitchen as exciting, uncommon but sumptuous chocolate-related recipes!