Recipes from The Chocolate Puppy Puzzle

Chocolate Chat
Hale And Heart-Y
JoAnna Carl

The good news about chocolate is—it's good for you.

Chocolate contains phenolic chemicals, the same chemicals behind red wine's well-documented ability to fight heart disease. Japanese research indicates that phenolics fight diseases such as cancer and heart disease by increasing immune function and suppressing cell-damaging chemicals.

A 1.5-ounce chocolate bar contains as many phenolics as a five-ounce glass of cabernet. As might be expected, dark chocolate contains more phenolics than milk chocolate, and white chocolate contains very low levels.

But watch out! Chocolate may ge healthful, but the fats and sugars mixed with t may counteract its value. For example, contrary to folklore, chocolate apparently does not promote tooth ecay, higher cholesterol, acne, or hyperactivity. Alas, if you mix chocolate with sugar, all these things may result.

As for weighty matters: New products have been introduced over the past few years claiming to offer chocolate in low-sugar, low-fat, and low-carb versions. Just remember to read the labels carefully. "Low-sugar," "low-fat," and "low-carb" products are not always "low-calorie."

More about The Chocolate Puppy Puzzle
JoAnna Carl

WITH TASTY CHOCOLATE TRIVIA!

Barks and Bites

The lakeside town of Warner Pier, Michigan, is tickled pinker than a strawberry truffle. Flashy Aubrey Andrews Armstrong has just swept into town, dropping celebrity names and claiming he’s an independent Hollywood producer. For his next project, he says, he’ll make a movie based on a local author’s romance novel—right here on location, as they say in Tinsel Town...

Armstrong makes older ladies blush and giggle like schoolgirls. He’s promised the high school drama club bit parts in the movie. And his constant companion, his chocolate lab, Monte, is quite the charmer. But sensible Lee McKinney, business manager at TenHuis Chocolade, would bet her last chocolate coin that Mr. Armstrong is a doggone phony. Even though it’s the shop’s busy season, Lee’s always up for some sleuthing. But when it leads her to a dead body, dogging the killer could fetch a whole lot of danger...

(A Chocoholic Mystery)
Signet (Mystery), December 2004
240 pages ISBN: 0451213645
Paperback
$5.99

Also by JoAnna Carl:
The Chocolate Frog Frameup, December 2003
The Chocolate Bear Burglary, November 2002
The Chocolate Cat Caper, March 2002
And the Dying is Easy, June 2001

(Notify me via e-mail when JoAnna Carl releases a new book.)