Posted on by Debbie

Keep calm and eat chocolate!

Life this week

How have you been this week?

I hope you’re OK but probably you’re like me, and feeling a bit anxious and overwhelmed at what’s happening in the world at the moment.

I find chocolate helps!

I wrote a poem during the week which explained my feeling of being in a cocoon and feeling quite comfortable but leaving the cocoon is quite scary. Getting the words out of my head helped me anyway.

Are you doing things to help yourself, like staying in touch with others, writing your thoughts down, exercising, keeping a diary of these days, taking up a long forgotten craft maybe, learning a new skill, using the time to clean out cupboards….let me know how you’re managing. I’m always interested in what’s going on in your world too.

Whatever the question is, the answer is chocolate 🙂

It’s time for #Lifethisweek with Denyse and the optional prompt is Chocolate.

My favourite is probably chocolate covered Turkish Delight – so sweet!

This week I’m looking at all things chocolate related, and sharing a few stories:

Eating out when you can’t actually go out

Due to Government guidelines at the moment, local restaurants and cafes are restricted to takeaway/delivery only. And we can’t actually go out, so ordering in was a great option.

Our area was badly hit by bushfires earlier in the year. Local businesses have only just started to pick up a bit and everyone has been looking forward to the Easter holidays to bring people here – but not anymore due to COVID-19.

So to continue to support the locals we ordered takeaway from a local restaurant over the weekend and it was delivered to us. We were very impressed with our meal, especially as it included a complimentary slice of Choc Mocha Tart! As the Mathematician has a dairy intolerance he couldn’t possibly eat any of the tart could he??? I can confirm it was delicious! And what a sweet note to add to our meal, it certainly made us feel good about ordering.

  • Choc Mocha Tart
    Choc Mocha Tart
  • Supporting locals
    Supporting locals

I like the way everyone is getting creative and trying to do things differently. The locals here are very supportive.

Earlier days

When my girls were little I used to make a bunny cake for Easter following on from my mother-in-law’s tradition. Now that I have grandchildren I might have to revisit this tradition. What do you think?

Despite the look on my youngest’s face (at the time of this photo she was the youngest) she did enjoy herself!

Easter Egg story

Years ago the Mathematician bought me an Easter Egg but I didn’t eat it. The next year he refused to buy me another egg as I hadn’t eaten the one from the year before. All I can say is that I must have had strong will power back then because there’s no way I could leave chocolate lying around for a year anymore!

Easter egg broken open
There’s a story here!

What do zucchinis have in common with chocolate?

I’ve just remembered I forgot to include the fabulous Chocolate Zucchini cake I’ve made recently using up lots of zucchinis a friend gave me – so delicious and kind of healthy too! If you’re interested in the recipe leave me a message!

Are you a lover of chocolate too?

I do enjoy chocolate and usually dark chocolate is my go-to. What’s your favourite?

All I can say is at the moment Keep Calm and Eat Chocolate!

Stay safe out there my friends!

Deb xx

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75 Replies to “Keep calm and eat chocolate!”

  2. I have a very strange relationship with chocolates. Sometimes they would lie in my fridge for days and days, and sometimes I could just eat 2 or 3 bars in a single day. This makes me worry about my sugar intake but I really can’t help it. Chocolate is a guilty pleasure, especially if you have no control over your appetite like me!

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  3. I love chocolate! I am the keeper of the chocolate in our house, which means I get to ration it so our stash lasts until the next online grocery delivery! That tart sounds amazing and I think it’s great you can support some local businesses.

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  6. We’ve been trying to support local cafes and restaurants too. I can only imagine what they are going through with everything happening, then needing (to whatever degree they do) to stay open when there’s a pandemic happening. It’s a lot. And to be honest, we haven’t eaten/prepared every meal at home since never, so why change that now!

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  8. Chocolate soothes me and I do have a little each day. Way back though I would eat beyond full. Not so great. At least the benefit of my mouth surgery and gut issues, a little goes a long way. Not an Easter Egg fan but our kids and grandkids are. Was thinking about how to be the Easter Bunny from this distance…then dropped the idea, too hard, too melty and I am sure the EB will find them anyway.

    Thank you for linking up for Life This Week. Next week, the optional prompt is 14/51 Self-Care Stories #2. 6.4.2020 and I hope to see you link up then too. Denyse.

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  9. Like so many people I absolutely love chocolate and it seems to really like me. Always hangs around my waistline for weeks afterwards refusing to leave! Not a massive dark chocolate fan but anything milk is in trouble if I’m around. Not sure how you managed to leave an easter egg uneaten for a year! A day would be tough for me!

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  10. I don’t know if it is true for Australia, but when we moved to a new church several years ago, part of the advice we got was, “If you don’t like zucchini, lock your car doors!” We are experiencing many of the same th igns you describe, except we did not have the horror of the brush fires, but restaurants doing take out only, needing to support the local businesses. Great article, chocolate is always the answer, whatever the question. Blessings, Michele

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  11. I used to make bunny cakes too Deb but I can assure you any chocolate eggs were consumed straight away! wonderful that you are supporting local businesses. Here we can get small breweries to deliver to the door. 🙂

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  14. Deb, I had to chuckle reading this today. I realized last night that I have no chocolate in the house! OMG. How did this happen? I usually have something stashed away, but since we were traveling back from Florida, I hadn’t picked up any “extra” stuff grocery shopping down there… and then we hit the shelter in place here. No picking up on-sale valentine’s chocolate, on-sale easter chocolate… so no chocolate in the house. I’m considering a grocery run … but then worry, is chocolate worth that? Maybe!

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  15. I AM a chocolate-lover. Although now, since I am on a no added sugar diet for cholesterol, my chocolate intake is severely limited. I did sample one of the chocolate creme eggs Hubby bought for himself and it was heavenly!

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  20. Yum to this post Deb! Lindt, dark chocolate, Turkish delight, dark mint, cherry ripe … the list goes on. Couple it with a short black coffee or a glass of red and I’m a happy girl. Thanks for the chocolate vibes my friend. Stay well. 💙

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  21. Yes! All the chocolate! One of my fav treats is a frozen Dove raspberry sorbet covered with dark chocolate! Do you have Dove brand frozen ice cream bars in Australia? Trust me on this! It’s irresistible, delicious, and satisfying!

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  22. I’m not a huge chocolate fan – although I enjoy a few squares each night with my coffee. I am a HUGE chip fan and need to keep myself on a tight rein when I’m anywhere near a fried and salted potato.
    I’m actually really enjoying this staying at home business, there’s still plenty of food available, all my commitments have been put on hold, and I’m just revelling in reading, blogging, jigsawing (started doing online ones for fun) and generally chilling out – I think this is my perfect life (except for not getting to hug my kids and grandbabies).

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    1. Chippies… I love them too especially chicken chips and never have them in the house for that reason! I understand the staying at home business, it’s hard to get motivated to go out for essentials sometimes! I’m loving all the extra staying in touch with everyone and my girls are sending me daily pics of the grandchildren so I get to smile every day. Take care x

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  24. I love chocolate and might have had a bit more than usual to ease my coronanxiety! We never usually get takeaway but we’ve had a few – it’s such a treat and it’s feels good to be able to support local businesses. I am feeling quite anxious – so much uncertainty – but I’m finding lots to be grateful for and plenty of silver linings. I’ve got a book stash, a wine stash and a chocolate stash so I know if we get locked down I’ll survive 🙂

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    1. I totally understand your feelings of anxiety Sammie, it’s so stressful and the not knowing how it will end is very difficult. I’m definitely eating more chocolate but I’m also exercising more and being active so it’s balancing out a little. Take it easy and thanks for your thoughts. 🙂

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  26. Deb this is a gorgeous post. I do love a family tradition, and especially your bunny cake tradition. I think you should resurrect it for the grandchildren. I would love your zucchini cake recipe. I have 10 zucchini’s one the fridge and picked 6 more today. There are many more coming. I’m planning on making zucchini relish, have frozen a couple of zucchini slices, but a zucchini chocolate cake sounds lovely #Lifethisweek Sharing

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    1. Hi Jennifer, so pleased you enjoyed my post! I know you’re going well on your no chocolate challenge and I applaud you! I have just put the recipe in a reply to Jo’s comment. Let me know if you can’t access it and I’ll type it out again. Thanks for sharing too 🙂

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  28. ummm of course I’m interested in the recipe lol! We’ve been doing takeaways too – it’s important to support these guys not least so they’re still open when this, as it will, passes.

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    1. Yes it’s so important to continue supporting local businesses isn’t it?

      OK the recipe is: 1/2 cup castor sugar,
      1/2 cup brown sugar,
      1/2 cup neutral oil,
      1 tsp vanilla extract,
      2 eggs,
      pinch salt,
      1/2 tsp cinnamon,
      1/2 cup cocoa powder,
      1 cup plain flour,
      1/2 tsp baking powder,
      1 tsp baking soda,
      1 1/2 cups firmly packed grated zucchini (4 small).
      Preheat oven to 180 deg. C, line a loaf tin with baking paper. Place sugars, oil, vanilla, eggs, salt, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl. Whisk together until combined. Sift in the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and baking soda. Fold dry mixture into the wet mixture until just combined. Add the grated zucchini and stir through. Cook in oven until firm to touch about 30mins.
      Yummy and moist due to zucchini 🙂

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  29. That’s a sweet Easter bunny tradition you have Deb. The take-out restaurant was smart to add a dessert and a thank-you note to your order. I like chocolate but don’t crave it. Where I live all non-essential businesses are closed so it’s quiet. I stick to my daily routine with minor adjustments. I’m grateful that my family and I are all well so far. #lifethisweek

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    1. Thanks Natalie! I thought it was very smart of the restaurant too and their note made me stop and think a bit more about the situation. I have since recommended them to other friends as a result. I’m so glad all your family are well so far and hopefully it continues that way. Take care xx

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  31. I love chocolate. I even had a temp job in a sweet factory on the easter egg run one year! Our son and daughter-in-law had a chocolate wedding cake, our daughter made her own wedding cake; one of the tiers was chocolate.

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    1. It was great to see and hear you Donna, a lovely way to stay connected during this time of isolation. You live in a beautiful part of the world and it was a fabulous way to start my day. Glad to hear you also had a bunny cake tradition! I must say I only eat healthy chocolate 😂😇

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  33. Turkish delight and chocolate coated ginger are my favourites Deb. It is wonderful to see the community trying to help cafes and restaurants during this time of isolation. My daughter bought some takeaway dinner to support one of the school parents who own an Italian restaurant. It is a lovely way to show support and help those businesses who will struggle. xx

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    1. It is such an important thing to do especially within our little town so I’m happy to support local businesses. Thanks for your understanding and I’m thrilled to know we have a joint love of Turkish delight! You can eat all the ginger though 🙂

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