They come in two flavors: Cherry Orange and Double Chocolate Chip and have 5 grams of protein and a low Glycemic Load/Index of 18-29!

They differ from all other cookies and Biscotti in two ways; they are a little softer than traditional Biscotti, and they use healthy ingredients that are heart healthy and low glycemic. There is NO XANTHAN GUM/GUAR GUM or corn.

Most importantly, they are made with love in a GLUTEN-FREE FACILITY! No cross-contamination.

The main ingredients are Gluten-free Oat Flour(high protein/high fiber/heart healthy), Coconut Palm Sugar(low glycemic index) and YUMMY! Most ingredients are organic too.

I love it when I go to the coffee houses that carry my Biscotti and the employees ask me, at the check out, if I’ve had the “delicious” Gluten-free Biscotti! The employees love them even if they are not Gluten-free! So, they are for everyone. I had one employee buy them for her children’s lunches as a healthier choice for a treat! Yeah!

New DVD: Chocolate Cooking Class with Chef Lauren!

The other big news is that I have just released a DVD Cooking Class on chocolate! It includes learning to make Chocolate Ganache, Frosting, Fondue and Truffles! They are all Gluten-free and Dairy-free and low glycemic index/load! So, you can finally have a cooking class with Chef Lauren in the comfort of your own home on your time schedule. Don’t know what to buy as a gift for the Holidays or a birthday for someone who is Gluten-free, Dairy-free or reducing their sugar intake? It is also for everyone who loves Chocolate. The Truffles are the perfect, inexpensive gift. Just make the Truffles and put them in cute Chinese take out containers or bags and tie a beautiful bow and you will have a great gift.

I wish you all happy and healthy holidays. Remember to just do what brings you peace and joy.  Go to the Buy Cookbook/Lauren’s Biscotti/DVD page to make your purchases. Thank you for your support. Many Blessings.

May you have a Valentine’s filled with love and chocolate. No Wheat No Dairy No Problem has an abundance of chocolate recipes for you just in time for Valentine’s Day, but who needs to wait for that? I’ll be making Chocolate Truffles this week and hot chocolate for this rainy Sunday. Those of you who don’t cook or bake can even handle the Hot Chocolate recipe! For those who love to bake; the Molten Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Decadence Cake are a little peice of Heaven, especially with Raspberry Sauce.

Substitutions in No Wheat No Dairy No Problem Cookbook: Yes, you can use low glycemic index Coconut Palm Sugar in my cookbook in all the recipes that call for sucanat, date sugar, maple sugar-just use the same measurement 1 to 1. It is now available at the Beehive and Asian supermarkets and health food stores. Agave has not been proven unsafe, but be sure you use raw blue agave for the least amount of processing. And, make sure to read ingredients and that high fructose/corn syrup has not been added in. The Maple Agave at Trader Joe’s has corn syrup-so, do not use this-buy the blue agave there instead.

Stores: Staff of Life in Santa Cruz is moving across the street on Soquel and is much bigger! I love this store for all the unique and familiar healthy food and the best prices around. It is worth a trip even if you live “over the hill”!

Jones and Bones in Capitola has brought in a line of gluten-free flours-such as sweet potato and mesquite. They have a german line of the healthiest non-stick cookware pots/pans-it has ground diamonds. They are so amazing and don’t scratch. They’re worth the price-not inexpensive but an investment. Jennifer always has one of a kind gifts and gourmet goodies that are fantastic gifts. You can order at www.jonesandbones.com and she will pack and ship it for you. She still has rare olive oils and vinegars too.

Product News: Bob’s Red Mill now has a Gluten Free line-including GF Oats. Well, I have been waiting and now it is here-GF Bisquick! Some Costco locations are now carrying Bison(Buffalo) ground and steaks and roasts for the best price! I found a delicious GF/DF  Chocolate or Carrot Cake, with a fine crumb texture, at Sprouts in Arizona by O’Doughs a Canadian company- It will be carried at Sprouts and the Beehive in San Jose, CA.

Warning: Green and Black’s Chocolate has added Milk Powder to their dark chocolate bars! They have reformulated, too bad. ;(

Bread: You can finally have a baguette that will transport you to France, but it is made in Italy of course!;) It has a crispy crust and soft inside. Makes a great hot dog roll, baguette slices, bruscetta and sandwich roll. It is called Schar and they also have dinner rolls and sliced bread. Yes, it has brown rice flour and psyllium. I don’t suggest you eat it all the time, but it will definately satisfy your yearning without a need to cheat! You just heat it up in a toaster oven or regular oven at 400 degress for 5 minutes.  It is available at the Beehive in San Jose, one of the best gluten free independant health food stores.

Dariy Alternative: Mimicreme has release their Dairy-free/Vegan Whipping “Cream” made with nuts! Yeah, we can have fluffy whipped “cream” again. Try it on top of any of my desserts and my Hot Chocolate recipe-mmm. You can also make the Meringue in my cookbook for a great alternative.

Sad things: Clementine’s Kitchen store in Monterey closed. We wish David and Drew all the best and thank them for providing us with one of the most beautiful cooking stores ever. Lots of Love and best wishes.

New Gluten Testing Lab: Cyrex Labs finally opened! They specialize in the most comprehensive and up to date saliva and blood testing for gluten sensitivity/celiac’s disease  etc…No more endoscopies-that is no longer the gold standard-thank you Cyrex! See the page on this site for Naturopathic Doctors(Dr. Bradley West) who use Cyrex.

Personal News/Blessings & Coming Soon: I will be posting a few of my television apperances on ABC Live in Sacramento and Chicago for you to watch.

Coming Soon: This year I will be filming DVD’s of cooking classes for you to enjoy at your convenience and you can watch them more than once, pause, rewind and fast forward all you like! They will be sold on this site and at my classes/events.

New Page Coming Soon: Dr. Bradley West, a Naturopathic Doctor will be writing a page on this blog for all of you on various subjects-stay tuned for that within the next month.

On a personal note: I’m engaged to be married to a man worth waiting  43 years to share this life together!

Be Well and share this site with all you know that can benefit from it. “May you live the life you’ve always imagined” by Henry David Thoreau

Dcocoa pods

Just one bite of luscious dark chocolate can melt away any worries and send you to pure ecstasy-even if it’s for a moment! What’s not to like about that? And if that isn’t enough, it is beneficial to our health!

Chocolate Facts

Chocolate is the most craved food in the United States. Americans consume about 11.7 lbs of chocolate per person annually. Swiss citizens consume the most – 22.4 lbs per person per year.

90% of the world’s cacao is grown by 5-6 million family farmers.

Worldwide production amounts to about 3 million tons. Organic cacao accounts for only a fraction of this. Purchasing organic chocolate will increase this important frontier of sustainability.

Cacao grows within 20 degrees of the equator, and does best when nurtured under the natural canopy of the rainforest. Africa produces 70% of the world’s crop, followed by Latin America and Southeast Asia.

There are three main varieties of cacao
Criollo – Highly prized & rare, thin light colored pods, wonderful aromas.
Forastero – More plentiful, thick pods, pungent flavor.
Trinitario – A cross of Criollo and Forestero, diverse range of characteristics, Good, aromatic flavor and easily grown.

Cacao pods grow out of the cacao tree’s stem and branches, from fragile flowers pollinated by rainforest insects. Cacao pods hold about 50 beans (really seeds). Around 200 beans make 1 pound of chocolate.

There are two main harvests per year, though some amount of cacao can be harvested year round.

Once harvested, the cacao bean and pulp are scooped from the pod and allowed to ferment for about 3-5 days. After this, the beans are dried, roasted, deshelled (winnowing) and ground into a fine paste called chocolate liquor. This is mixed with sweeteners and sometimes milk or other ingredients to make finished products. Click to learn more about types of chocolate, such as milk, dark and white.

Pests and disease destroy about 25% of the world’s cacao each year. Organic methods successfully combat these.

Chocolate and Your Health*

A recent study found that natural cacao powder – which we use in our products – has more antioxidants than alkalized or Dutched varieties.

Some cacao powder is processed with alkali to cut acidity and darken the color. This is called alkalized or Dutch process. We use only high-grade beans with exceptional full flavor, so we do not need to do this. Our cacao powder is “natural”/ non-Alkalized/Non-dutched. We also use natural process cacao in our hot chocolates, coffee beans and our bars. A recent study found that natural process cacao has higher antioxidant levels than alkalized/Dutched cacao. When baking, if you are using a recipe that calls for Dutch process cocoa powder, add 1/8 teaspoon baking soda for every 3 Tablespoons of Dagoba (natural) cacao powder.

· Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) measures total antioxidants. Chocolate has the highest ORAC levels per 100 grams (US Dept of Ag/American Chem Society).
Dark chocolate – 13,120
Milk chocolate – 6,740
Prunes: 5,770
Raisins: 2,830
Blueberries: 2,400
Blackberries: 2036
Kale: 1,770
Strawberries: 1540
Spinach: 1260
Broccoli: 894

· Antioxidant flavanols may help repair damage to smokers’ blood vessels, at least temporarily, according to the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

·Cacao has been associated with decreased diabetes & blood pressure (American Heart Association)

· Cacao is rich in B1, B2 and D vitamins, and magnesium and iron.

· Cacao is associated with improved vasodilation, helping increase stamina during exercise. (Athens Medical School)

· Cacao is cholesterol free. Its phenolic properties may also block oxidation of LDL cholesterol.

· Chocolate is associated with euphoria and reduced depression – due to phenylthylamine.

· Serotonin, a well-studied neurotransmitter, is thought to instill calm and relaxed feelings. Chocolate is associated with increased serotonin levels, a factor that is believed to explain chocolate cravings.

· Some researchers believe that serotonin is related to premenstrual syndrome (PMS), explaining premenstrual chocolate cravings.

· Stearic acid, chocolate’s predominant saturated fat, has neutral effects on blood cholesterol.

· The European Board of Health lists chocolate as a pre-digestive aid.

What about caffeine?
· Rest easy – 1.4 oz of chocolate has only as much caffeine as a cup of decaf coffee.

What about allergies?
Jeremy Drelich, MD assessed a group of 20 individuals who reported allergic reactions after chocolate consumption. After a week without eating chocolate each individual received skin prick and blood tests for allergies to chocolate and component ingredients (milk, soy,almonds, peanuts, vanilla), and consumed unlabeled cacao and non-cacao samples. Sugar allergies were assessed by giving half the participants unsweetened chocolate and half chocolate made with cane juice. None showed definite evidence of a chocolate allergy, though some tested positive for non-cacao ingredients. By choosing organic products made without additives or fillers – such as organic dark chocolate made without refined sugar – you’ll may find yourself happily reunited with chocolate.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.

Chocolate Resources

Dagobachocolate.com is gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free, soy free, vegan, organic and kosher!  Other sources include: www.enjoylifefoods.com and www.sunspire.com chocolate/chocolate chips are also diary free, gluten free, soy free, allergen free, grain sweetened and organic.

Information taken from www.dagobachocolate.com