INGREDIENTS:
- 4 red, firm, slightly tart, but sweet crisp apples, e.g. Fuji, Honey Crisp, Pink Lady or McIntosh
- 3 bars TazaTM brand stone-ground Dark Chocolate (Best chocolate; non-alkalized)
- Vanilla extract
- Toasted chopped walnuts or pecans
DIRECTIONS:
- Core apples, then slice each apple into 6 (or 8) wedges and place in a large bowl
- In a fondue pot or double boiler, melt chocolate over simmering heat until melted and smooth; remove from heat then add 1⁄2 to 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract. Let cool.
- Using long-handled fondue forks, dip apples into chocolate, covering the entire apple; let excess drip off into pot. Dip chocolate-covered apples wedges in chopped nuts
DARK CHOCOLATE
The health benefits of dark chocolate are related to its high content of flavonoids contained in cocoa. Flavonoids are antioxidants that circulate in the body; they gobble up free radicals, thus helping to prevent or reduce inflammation. Medical research has discovered that inflammation contributes to or directly to many diseases, e.g. high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, arthritis, autoimmune. Flavonoids are found in the pigments of fruits and vegetables; it gives them their color; the darker and deeper the color, the more flavonoid it contains. Cocoa is derived from the dark-brown cacao bean, the fruit of the tropical tree, theobroma cacao. The higher the amount of cocoa/cacao, the more flavonoids the chocolate contains. That’s why people are encouraged to buy dark chocolate 72% or greater.
NUTS
Nuts, especially walnuts are very high in Omega-3 EFAs, another essential anti-inflammatory substance.
APPLES
Not only do apples contain essential vitamins, minerals, fiber, and water – they taste good. More importantly, apples contain a good amount of ‘natural aspirin,’ a compound called salicylate. Aspirin was originally derived from the herbs meadowsweet and willow bark and later synthesized in a Lab by the pharmaceutical industry to create a patentable product – to increase profits. These natural compounds are then marketed as drugs – drugs that can sometimes cause side-effects that food and herb sources do not usually cause. Fortunately, many natural foods contain salicylates or salicylic acid, the active ingredient found in Aspirin. An Apple a Day…!
