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Chocolate And Valentines: Like Birds Of A Feather They Stick Together

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Why are about 1.1 billion boxed chocolates — that’s about 58 million pounds of chocolate candy — sold in the United States during the week before Valentine’s Day? Why not twizzlers or gummy bears?

What Is It About Chocolate That Makes It The “Romantic” Candy?

Chocolate infatuation began around 2,000 years ago. The higher echelon in the Mayan and Aztec societies infused cocoa beans with water which formed frothy chocolate drinks that were both drunk on special occasions and used as sacrifices to the gods.

Montezuma, the Aztec ruler, was of the belief that chocolate was an aphrodisiac.  He routinely drank it before dallying in his harem, which cemented the association of chocolate with love and romance. Years later there is scientific evidence that the chemical phenylethylamine found in chocolate is linked to feelings of excitement and attraction.

Aztec society also used cocoa beans as money and as gifts. In the 16th century, the Aztec’s reverence of chocolate prompted Christopher Columbus to take some back to Queen Isabella of Spain. The love for chocolate and its mystical powers spread throughout Europe. Chocolate’s power was believed to be so strong that nuns were forbidden to eat it and French doctors used it as a treatment for a broken heart.

In 1822 John Cadbury opened a tea and coffee shop in Birmingham, England and soon began selling chocolates. In 1861 his son Richard created the first heart-shaped box to fill with chocolates for Valentine’s Day. This year more than 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate will be sold.

Chocolate: The Good And The Not So Good

A pound of milk chocolate has 2300 calories, 140 grams of fat, 270 grams of carbohydrates, and 31 grams of protein. Although a lot has been said about chocolate’s heart healthy benefits, it’s still a high calorie, high fat food.

Isn’t Chocolate Good For Me?

In moderation—and, depending on the type—the answer is yes, although there is no “prescribed dosageamount.” The health benefits of chocolate come from cocoa, and dark chocolate has a greater concentration of cocoa than milk chocolate.  White chocolate, without any cocoa in it, is not really chocolate.

Chocolate, especially dark chocolate, contains flavonols which have antioxidant qualities and other positive influences on heart health.  But Valentine’s chocolates are often not high quality chocolate and are moderately high in fat, one-third of it the type of saturated fat that isn’t heart healthy. Extra ingredients like crème and caramel fillings can add lots of extra fat and calories.

Oh Those Calories:  Valentine’s Hearts And Kisses

There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a treat of some Valentine’s chocolate.  A whole box might be a different story!

Here’s an idea of what the calories might be in some of the more common Valentine’s chocolate:

  • Hershey’s Kisses, 9 pieces:  230 calories, 12g fat
  • Hershey’s Special Dark Hearts, 5 pieces:  220 calories, 7g fat
  • Reese’s Peanut Butter Hearts, snack size:  170 calories, 10g fat
  • Russell Stover boxed chocolates, 2 pieces:  150 calories, 4g fat
  • Dove Dark Chocolate Hearts, 5 pieces:  210 calories, 13g fat
  • Godiva boxed chocolates, 4 pieces:  210 calories, 12g fat

Are You Ready For Some Conversation (Hearts)?

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“Be Mine,” “Kiss me,”  “Sweet Talk, ” “Tweet Me.”

Candy hearts, originally called motto hearts, the brightly colored heart shaped candy with the stamped red sayings, have been iconic Valentine’s Day treats since 1902.

Also known as conversation hearts, motto hearts, and sweethearts, they’re manufactured by NECCO, the New England Confectionery Company, which has been in business since 1847.

How Did Candy Conversation Hearts Get To Be A Symbol Of Valentine’s Day?

Giving a gift of candy with a message inscribed on it can be traced back to the American colonists who gave homemade hard candy with messages etched into the surface to their sweethearts.

Years later, Oliver Chase, the founder NECCO and his brother Daniel, who developed the process of printing red vegetable dye mottos on the candy, turned this tradition into a business.

The candy’s original shape wasn’t a heart, but a seashell shape called a “cockle.” A message was written on a colored slip of paper that was wedged into the cockle’s shell. NECCO started producing candy with mottos stamped on them in 1900, but the candy was in shapes like horseshoes and baseballs that allowed for longer printed sayings like “How long shall I have to wait?” and  “Pray be considerate.” The candy called Sweethearts wasn’t shaped as a heart until 1902.

Sweethearts And Motto Hearts

The original candies with printed sayings were called “motto hearts.”  The sayings and flavors have been updated over the years with new ones added periodically. Some of the newer flavors are strawberry, green apple, lemon, grape, orange, and blue raspberry and new sayings include “Tweet Me,” “Text Me,” “You Rock,” “Soul Mate,” “Love Bug,” and “Me + You.”

NECCO still uses their original recipe, process, and machines they used at the turn of the century. Putting out approximately 100,000 pounds of candy a day, it takes about 11 months to produce the more than eight billion pieces — or about 13 million pounds – of colorful candy sweethearts that are sold in the six weeks before Valentine’s Day.  The little hearts with messages account for 40% of the Valentine candy market, just behind – you guessed it – chocolate!

Although you’d be hard pressed to call them nutritious, they are fat free, sodium free, and a caloric bargain at about 3 calories apiece for the small hearts and about 6 calories apiece for the larger “Motto” hearts.

What Will You Eat On Super Bowl Sunday?

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It’s amazing how food has become associated with football — from tailgating to Super Bowl parties.  If you want to, there are plenty of choices for eating deliciously well if you are more mindful than mindless about your choices.

Your best bets are to stick with grilled meat, veggies, baked chips rather than fried, plain bread, a pita, or wrap rather than biscuits or cornbread. Go for salsa and skip the guacamole.  Turkey, baked ham, and grilled chicken are better choices than wings and fried chicken.

What Makes Us Eat Too Much?

Hunger doesn’t always prompt most of us to overeat – especially on holidays or event days. Family, friends, plate size, packaging, lighting, smells, distractions, the environment, and feelings all do. We make about 200+ food related decisions a day.– like deciding between pizza or wings; a sandwich or salad; chocolate chip or oatmeal cookie; light beer or diet coke; kitchen table or chair in front of the TV.  That’s about 200+ daily opportunities to be mindful or mindless – and probably a whole lot more when faced with a flow of food, an exciting game, a halftime show, and some good natured (hopefully) wagering.

Here Are Some Good, Better, and Best Options:

  • Tostada with guacamole:  2 pieces (9.3 oz), 360 calories, 23g fat, 32g carbs, 12g protein
  • Salsa:  1 tablespoon 4 calories, .04g fat, 1g carbs, .2g protein
  • Nacho flavored tortilla chips, reduced fat:  1 oz, 126 calories, 4g fat, 20g carbs, 2g protein
  • Nacho flavored tortilla chips:  1oz, 141 calories, 7g fat, 18g carbs, 1g protein
  • Potato chips:  1oz, 152 calories, 10g fat, 15g carbs, 2g protein
  • Potato chips, reduced fat:  1 oz, 134 calories, 6g fat, 19g carbs, 2g protein
  • Raw baby carrots:  1 medium, 4 calories, 0 fat, .8g carbs, 0 protein
  • Pizza Hut cheese pizza:  1 slice (1/8 of a 12” medium pan pizza), 240 calories, 10g fat, 27g carbs, 11g protein
  • Pizza Hut pepperoni pizza:  1 slice (1/8 of a 12” medium pan pizza), 250 calories, 12g fat, 26g carbs, 11g protein
  • Grilled chicken breast:  one 4.2 oz breast, 180 calories, 4g fate, 0 carbs, 35g protein
  • KFC Fiery hot Buffalo wing:  one 1oz wing, 80 calories, 5g fat, g carbs, 4g protein
  • KFC extra crispy drumstick:  one 2oz piece, 150 calories, 6g carbs, 11g protein
  • Chili (Wendy’s, with saltine crackers):  8 oz, 187 calories, 6g fat, 19g carbs, 14g protein
  • Wheat bread:  1 slice, .9 oz., 65 calories, 1g fat,, 12g carbs, 2g protein
  • Italian combo on ciabatta (Panera):  1 sandwich, 1lb. 7 oz, 1050 calories, 47g fat, 94g carbs, 61g protein
  • Subway 6g of fat or less turkey breast & ham on wheat sandwich:  8.3oz, 296 calories, 4g fat, 48g carbs, 19g protein
  • Chocolate chip cookie:  2-1/4” from refrigerated dough. 59 calories, 3g fat, 8g carbs, 0.6g protein
  • Chocolate ice cream, Cold Stone Creamery:   5oz (like it), 326 calories, 20g fat, 33g carbs, 5g protein
  • Apple:  medium, 95 calories, .4g fat, 25g carbs, .5g protein

Just In Case:  Some Football-themed Exercises To Help Burn Off Those Calories

Try these to burn off those 1200 game day calories (Source:  DietDetective):

  • Drinking six bottles of Budweiser beer means needing to do “The Wave” 4, 280 times
  • One KFC extra crispy drumstick and an extra crispy chicken breast requires 203 end zone touchdown dances
  • Applebee’s chili cheese nachos means 159 minutes of playing non-stop professional football
  • Eating ten Lay’s classic potato chips with Kraft French onion dip means you have to dance to Madonna for 134 minutes

Are You Ready For Some Super Bowl Food Facts – And Some Calorie Saving Tips?

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Will you be joining the ranks of over 20 million Americans who will attend a Super Bowl party?  Do you side with half of all Americans who say they would rather go to a Super Bowl party than to a New Year’s Eve party?

Some Amazing Super Bowl Food Facts:

  • About one in twenty (9 million) Americans watch the game at a restaurant or a bar.
  • Americans double their average daily consumption of snacks on Super Bowl Sunday, downing more than 33 million pounds in one day.
  • The average Super Bowl watcher consumes 1,200 calories. (Source: Calorie Control Council). Potato chips are the favorite and account for 27 billion calories and 1.8 billion fat grams — the same as 4 million pounds of fat or equal to the weight of 13,000 NFL offensive linemen at 300 pounds each. (Source: ScottsdaleWeightLoss.com).
  • Nearly one in eight (13%) Americans order takeout/delivery food for the Super Bowl. The most popular choices are pizza (58%), chicken wings (50%), and subs/sandwiches (20%). (Source:  American Journal).  Almost 70% of Super Bowl watchers eat a slice (or two or three) during the game.
  • The amount of chicken wings eaten clocks in at 90 million pounds or 450 million individual wings. It would take 19 chicken breasts to get the same amount of fat that you usually get from a dozen Buffalo wings.
  • On Super Bowl Sunday Americans eat an estimated 14,500 tons of potato chips, 4000 tons of tortilla chips, and eight million pounds of avocados. Five ounces of nacho cheese Doritos equals around 700 calories. You’d have to run the length of 123 football fields to burn them off.  You’d have to eat 175 baby carrots or 700 celery sticks to get the same number of calories.
  • Stew Leonard’s, a local chain of southwestern Connecticut grocery stores, sold more than 40,000 pounds of chicken wings and 10,000 pounds of barbecued ribs and 60,000 pigs-in-blankets ahead of Super Bowl Sunday in 2012.  This year they are slso offering some healthy alternatives along with the traditional game day food.  Choices include: grilled or roasted Mediterranean vegetables, hummus instead of high-fat and high-calorie sour cream onion dip, pita instead of potato chips, and provolone salad on crostini made from aged provolone diced with roasted peppers, carrots, red onions, parsley, basil, olive oil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, white vinegar and a touch of brown sugar on pieces of fresh, crusty bread.
  • And, according to 7-eleven, sales of antacids increase by 20% on the day after Super Bowl.

Super Bowl Party Calorie Saving Tips

  • Stick with grilled meat, veggies, or baked chips rather than fried.
  • Turkey, baked ham, and grilled chicken are better choices than wings and fried chicken.
  • Plain bread, pitas, or wraps are less caloric than biscuits or cornbread.
  • Go for salsa and skip the guacamole.
  • Minimize calories by dipping chicken wings into hot sauce instead of Buffalo sauce.
  • Try using celery for crunch and as a dipper instead of chips.
  • Try fruit for dessert.
  • Go for thin crust rather than thick doughy crust pizza. Choose the slices with vegetables, not pepperoni or meatballs.  If you’re not embarrassed, try blotting up the free-floating oil that sits on top of a greasy slice (soak up even a teaspoon of oil saves you 40 calories and 5 grams of fat).
  • Alcohol adds calories and dulls your mindful eating. Try alternating water or diet soda with beer or alcohol.  That can decrease your alcohol calories (alcohol has 7 calories/gram) by 50%.

The next post will give some examples of Good, Better, And Best Super Bowl Food Choices.

Do Football And Food Have Equal Footing On Super Bowl Sunday?

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Did you know that the first Super Bowl was in January 1967?  Although not an official holiday, Super Bowl Sunday certainly has assumed the trappings of one — both in the US and in many expat communities.  The Super Bowl broadcast is the most watched annual television program in the US and Super Bowl Sunday ranks second (Thanksgiving is first) as the day for most food consumption. Over 20 million Americans attend Super Bowl parties and half of all Americans say they would rather go to a Super Bowl party than to a New Year’s Eve party.

Game Time Food Is Everywhere

Think of all the hand to mouth munching on chips, dips, and wings; a swig or two or three; a cookie here and there.  And then there’s the “real food” at halftime – or maybe there was pizza first followed by a selection of subs. By the end of the game do you have a clue about how much – or even what — you have popped into your mouth?

You may – or may not – be riveted to the TV screen rooting hard for your team, but you may also be going along for the ride – happy to be at a party where there’s plenty of food and shouting and enthusiasm – a classic set-up for mindless and distracted eating which often happens when there is no “structure” and a lack planning and when you give into “head hunger” as opposed to actual physical hunger.

Regardless of how or how much you eat, it’s amazing how food has become associated with the day — from tailgating to the food for the game – and how inescapable the assault is on your senses from the TV, online and print advertising, and from the markets and bars trying to tantalize you with their “food for the game.”.  Many people just give in to the notion of eating all through the game – with an attitude of “it’s Super Bowl and I’m going to eat what I want” and they don’t give a hoot about quantity, quality, or calories.

That’s fine if that’s your choice.  Some lighter eating days before and after will probably take care of the extra calories. But, if you don’t want to overeat or eat overly caloric food there are plenty of good and tasty choices.  You can do just fine if you have a plan and don’t get sidetracked by the array of very caloric and usually very fatty foods.

Check back:  the next two posts will have some fascinating Super Bowl food facts and some alternative lighter calorie choices for your game day pleasure.