Something inspirational:

“Understanding is the first step to acceptance and only with acceptance can there be recovery.”

J. K. ROWLING

The benefits of eating dark chocolate have been the subject of many recent studies and the outcome of these is that benefits are now widely acknowledged.

The goodness of chocolate comes from its cacao concentration. Chocolate contains as many as 300 compounds that provide extreme health benefits, including polyphenols, flavonoids, vitamins, minerals and healthy fat. The key is to ensure a high quality chocolate, that contains at least 70% cocoa solids.

What are the benefits of eating dark chocolate?

Studies have shown benefits to include:

Happiness

Similar to exercising, eating dark chocolate raises endorphins, which are known to reduce stress, due to the chocolate’s phenylethylamine (PEA) content. Additionally, cacao also contains tryptophan, an essential amino acid that is used to make serotonin the neurotransmitter that helps regulate moods, making you feel happy. In essence, it acts as an antidepressant.

Lower Blood Pressure and stroke

Dark chocolate is loaded with flavonoids, making it a heart healthy food. Those who consume dark chocolate have lower blood pressure as well as improved blood flow. An improved blood flow to the brain leads to a decreased risk of a stroke.

Protection against cancer

Cacao is also full of polyphenol antioxidants. Amazingly, cacao has higher levels of polyphenol antioxidants than the other so-called “super foods,” such as blueberries, acai berries, and pomegranates. These polyphenol antioxidants protect the body from free radicals, which helps slows the aging process and are known to help protect the body from cancer and heart disease.

Weight loss

According to researchers at the University of Copenhagen, dark chocolate imparts feelings of fullness, in addition to quashing cravings for sweets, fatty foods and salt.

Improved insulin sensitivity

Dark chocolate improves insulin sensitivity, which leads to a healthy endocrine system and a healthy weight. Some studies even indicate that consuming cacao can contribute to helping prevent diabetes.

So, not only is chocolate a sweet indulgence we can't seem to get enough of, but is also good for you. It’s a winning combination.

I'm pleased I'm not seeing my children moving away from home as being a problem. I love the fact that they're independent and mature enough to want to live independent lives.

Given my own upbringing, this is a new and normal thought pattern for me and I’m happy to run with it. I am completely settled with its concept, but I’ve had to do a complete U-turn to change my thought process so that the opportunities I never had growing up, are now afforded to my children instead.

What was their permanent home is now their stop-gap home. There are the usual concerns parents have when their children leave home, but honestly I wouldn’t want it any other way. This is their life and their time, it's right.

Something inspirational:

“Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.”

HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW

We spend our lives making allowances for people. As parents, we make allowances. We compensate or allow for things depending on what our children have to deal with.

As a child growing up with difficulties, an allowance was made on my day out to the hospital each year. A problem with it, is that we’re already being singled us out as being different when all we want to do is fit in, although in that moment it does take the pressure off.

For some our confidence and self-esteem may be hit by the allowances that are made, I know that because as I child I was already dealing with confidence issues. Making allowances seemed to add to my confidence issues. Making any form of allowance will always put a slant on our relationships too as other people will be affected by how we interact with them, through those allowances.

Away from any allowance, I believe that in order to cope better in our lives we have to learn to stand on our own two feet. It’s the only way we learn how to cope with what we have to deal with. As the adult this is exactly what I have chosen to done.

When allowances are made for us we don’t learn, we just accept when something is being permitted and that’s not the same thing.

If you’ve never had something but wish you did, continuing to wish for it won't help. If you know you can’t change something, accept that you can’t, you'll have more peace that way.

If you have something, accept it for what it is and be happy with it. Don’t dwell on the things you can’t change, on the things you don’t have but want and on the things you have, but you wish were different.

Just be okay with things because being okay with things, will serve you better in the longer term.

Something inspirational:

“Friends are the family you choose (- Nin/Ithilnin, Elven rogue).”

JESS C. SCOTT

Avocado salad

Easy to make and deliciously refreshing

Avocado salad

Ingredients:

Large packet of mixed leaf salad

2 roughly chopped red or orange pepper

3 Ripe avocados, halved, pitted, peeled and thinly sliced

2 Large Ruby Red grapefruits, all peeled and pith removed, cut into segments

4 hard-boiled eggs

The Dressing:

3 teaspoons white grape juice

2 and 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup sunflower oil

Pinch of fine sea salt and black pepper

Method:

Whisk first 3 ingredients of the dressing to blend

Gradually whisk in the oils

Season dressing to taste with sea salt and pepper

Arrange mixed leaf on platter

Top with peppers, eggs, olives, avocado and grapefruit

Drizzle with the dressing

Sometimes we do things in our life that we later go on to regret, or something we didn't do that perhaps we should have done.

Over the years, there we’re lots of things I tried to change and address, but none of what I tried to change had any impact on the people who should have encouraged me to aspire to and do things with my life. I am lucky that I have had the strength of character to get past the disappointment.

After years of constantly trying to change my circumstances, I eventually gave in, but knowing I had no choice didn’t make my decision any easier. At the time we come to make our decision, we never think that years later we will come to live with regret over a decision we made years previously. It’s only when the years roll on and we look back that we live with regret.

In my own case I learned that not to let go, would continue to make my life impossible, but I also knew that letting go meant I would have to give up on the idea that I could do something with my life. Hanging on for longer doesn't change our life if our circumstances don't change.

I would always have been caught between a rock and hard place, my life was never going to change. My life would never have been any different. Sometimes it's not for us to live with the regret.

As a child growing up with a disability that I didn’t know I had, I was happy to me. There were things I wanted to change, such as understanding what exactly what was wrong and what my symptoms were.

I didn’t like the fact that I had no working muscle tone on my left side because children in the school playground would stare. I was angry, because my issues were being ignored and I didn’t like the fact that pointing my toes was difficult and with a shortening on my left side, and with no working muscle, I couldn’t pick my leg up, so I would drag my leg around.

I was angry, but I wasn't jealous. I must have been aware, that feelings of resentment, hostility or bitterness, eats away at you until it can no longer be contained. For those who have a predisposition to looking over their shoulder at what someone else has, that they don’t have, or haven’t been able to achieve, things will never work out.

Whilst I understand why there is jealousy, in the spiritual context, we’re all the same. We must work at our own lives and change what we need to change. There is nothing to stop anyone from changing course and changing their lives at any time. We’re not born jealous, it’s something we acquire over time.

A lot of how we are stems from our childhood. If our parents have a chip, or an extended family member with a chip, it would be easy for their jealousy to feed back into the family dynamics. Money is a big issue and is often the catalyst for how jealousy starts, particularly in families.

Where jealousy consists of more than one emotion, such as resentment, anger, helplessness or inadequacy, it will take longer to pull the jealousy back. But you have to remember that without spiraling into a life of jealousy, your life will work out better.

May Easter bring you hope, health and happiness.

Happy Easter everyone.

The bad news is that I had planned to put a recipe on the site today but that will have to be published after Easter due to various technical gremlins that I need help on, but the good news is that I have other things that I’ve been working on that will take its place in the next day, so all is not lost. Have a lovely day everyone.

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