Health Benefits of Chocolate, Recipe

In response to Jeanne's post on the health benefits of bananas I decided to check some for chocolate. Joan posted that she wished someone would do that. I'm pretty sure she was being facetious but her are a few I gleaned from Gene's Google search and put them here at his suggestion:

1. You'll need to do a little research if you have any health concerns about eating chocolate. But with products like gluten-free and sugar-free brands finding their way onto supermarket shelves, you're sure to find some form of chocolate you can enjoy with a clear conscience. (From The Health Benefits of Chocolate: Can Chocolate Benefit Your Health? http://www.momscape.com/articles/chocolate.htm )
2. Quite a few studies have found that chocolate contains flavonoids, a type of polyphenol antioxidant. Research conducted at the University of Scranton has demonstrated that the quality and quantity of antioxidants in chocolate is relatively high when compared to other high-antioxidant foods. Cocoa powder ranks the highest of the chocolate products, followed by dark chocolate and milk chocolate. According to the Chocolate Manufacturers Association, dark chocolate contains about eight times the polyphenol antioxidants found in strawberries. (Health Benefits of Chocolate? http://www.healthcastle.com/chocolate-cocoa-benefits.shtml )
3. "Take a candy bar and call me in the morning." I knew it all along: Those of us who've been self-medicating ourselves with a few chosen chocolate candies were simply ahead of our time.
   

   (Chocolate's Potential Health Benefits – and its Effect on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Patients http://www.prohealth.com/library/showarticle.cfm?id=3464&t=CFIDS_FM )

You can search on Google and find many, many more. Have fun. And go grab a chocolate covered banana from the freezer to snack on while reading this.

From About.com, southern food:

Chocolate Covered Bananas

Ingredients:

• 6 ripe bananas
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  

Preparation:

Peel bananas; cut in half crosswise. Insert a wooden stick into flat end of each banana half. Lay bananas on a shallow pan or baking sheet; freeze for about 3 hours, until very firm. Melt chocolate chops over hot water. With a spatula, quickly spread melted chocolate over each banana, coating well. Chocolate will become firm right away. Wrap each banana in foil; store in freezer.

**After reading about chocolate, we should substitute dark chocolate chips for greater health benefits, right?