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Guilty Pleasure #3: Warmed Dark Chocolate and Popcorn |
I am a firm believer that we all need to indulge from time
to time to revive our spirits, rejuvenate our soul and nurture our psyche.
Hence my belief in identifying and celebrating my own “guilty pleasures.” The
trick is to find those luscious pleasures that do no harm to our healthy
lifestyle but instead actually support it.
The goal is to make a guilty pleasure
one that makes you sigh with satisfaction while putting a rye smile on your
face without the consequences of overindulgence. With that in mind I have
started thinking about things I do in my life that could qualify as guilty
pleasures. What do I love to do that allows me to feel secretly indulgent,
carves out a moment of pleasure and ends with me sighing with satisfaction,
ready to take on my daily life again? I was surprised how many I could come up
with. It kind of made me smile with satisfaction.
Guilty Pleasure #3 has got to be a bowl
full of warm popcorn with slightly melted dark chocolate chips. It is oh so
delicious and rich in flavor. There are
several reasons why is qualifies as a guilty pleasure. On the scale of
satisfaction it rates a “Ten Plus” for me. It is simply the perfect combination
of various sensations that add up to shear pleasure. And the added benefit
is that it is easy to prepare and actually really good for you—popcorn is
loaded with fiberand antioxidants while chocolate is high in antioxidantsand minerals good for heart health, brain function and healthy skin.
What adds up to total guilty pleasure
satisfaction for me is the combination of sensations the warm popcorn with
slightly melted dark chocolate chips provides. The texture is both crunchy and
soft. You can smell both the aroma of the popcorn and the chocolate. The taste
is savory, a bit sweet and also rich, thanks to the dark chocolate. The experience
of eating the popcorn is amazingly complex, pleasing our eyes, nose and taste
buds as well as being very tactile as you eat. Not only does your stomach end
up feeling harahachi bu (which is a Confucian saying that means “80% full”) or
just at the point of being full; you also end up emotionally satisfied. Can’t
beat this pleasure. Below is the simple recipe for you to use and enjoy.
Warmed Dark
Chocolate and Popcorn
Recipe
Ingredients~
- 4 cups air popped popcorn (you can use store bought-- just be aware of the calories and choose accordingly)
- 1 tablespoon dark chocolate chips (Nestle)
Directions~
- Measure your popcorn and place it in a microwave-friendly bowl.
- Measure the dark chocolate chips and toss them in with the popcorn.
- Place mixture in the microwave for 30 seconds or until the dark chocolate chips begin to soften and melt slightly. Serve warm. Eat immediately.
Serves: 1. Calories: 194.
Bottom line--you can feel decadent and
indulge without over indulging. You just need to discover your own guilty
pleasures that fit with living a healthy lifestyle while adding to the spice in
your life. Join me in having delicious
fun as you explore the number of guilty pleasures you can identify and indulge
in as part of enjoying your life more.
Enjoy! And Live Vibrant!
#LiveVibrant
#Livliga
#Popcorn
#Chocolate
#GuiltyPleasure
#MovieNight