Posted by Reporter on Friday
I have to say if you like chocolate, check out this Deep Dark Chocolate Tart recipe. I discovered it today visiting one of my favorite recipe blogs, The Nourishing Gourmet. The ingredients are mostly crushed almonds, unsweetened chocolate, honey, coconut oil and vanilla. Some others, too, but in all, this appears to be a very easy recipe.
As I read the ingredients, I have to admit a little anxiety set in. Why was I feeling so anxious? Lack of the necessary ingredients? Then all of a sudden, it hit me. All my husband wanted for his birthday in June was Chocolate Espresso Cheesecake and I didn’t come through. I won’t blame it on moving or not having any of my cooking supplies near me. I also won’t blame it on not knowing where the nearest grocery stores were at the time, AND being on foot only. I wished I had a better scapegoat, but the truth was, I just didn’t do it.
Sometimes it is extremely difficult to make a time-intensive, sugar-laden dessert when I know I can’t even lick my fingers in the process. When I’m crushing Oreos for the crust, I want to be eating them, too. I always have in the past, and even though I’ve gone this long (1 year and 7 months!) without sugar, sometimes certain things make me feel resentful. It’s not that I feel this towards anyone, but that I got off sugar in the first place. I actually think there may be a little sugar fairy living in my psyche stimulating the pleasure center of my brain just enough to make me feel tempted to eat sugar. The pleasure juices of my brain start flowing and I can easily anticipate how pleasurable it would be to indulge. Knowing there are a floodgate of opiates just around the corner, ready to release in my brain if I indulge, I have to admit is pretty tempting.
So, sometimes I just don’t want to struggle with the temptation. I KNOW I’m not going to give in, but having the choice at my fingertips, ON my fingertips, is sometimes very frustrating.
All this to say that I am very pleased to find a chocolate tart recipe that I know my husband will enjoy very much, and I will enjoy preparing because I can lick my fingers.
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Posted by Reporter on
ShopNBC, the premium lifestyle brand in electronic retailing, today announced that Mastic Spa, a unique line of Greek beauty products, will debut on ShopNBC Friday, July 31. As the only skincare line based on mastic — a timeless and treasured Greek ingredient — Mastic Spa provides a plethora of health and beauty benefits. Two premiere shows will air at 7:00 am and 2:00 pm EDT. ShopNBC is available anywhere: cable and satellite TV, mobile devices (iPhone and iPod Touch), online at www.ShopNBC.com, and streamed live at www.ShopNBC.TV.
Mastic Spa is a skincare line created by Sodis Labs, which was established in 1875. Sodis Labs has earned a reputation for making ground-breaking discoveries in the development of natural mastic resin based products since the early 1980s. Mastic resin, the key ingredient in all Mastic Spa products, is known for its medicinal properties and therapeutic benefits to the skin. This elixir, which seeps from the mastic tree, is extremely rare and found only in the southern region of the Greek island, Chios. Eleni Zannikos, part of Mastic Spa, will be the special on-air guest for the show’s debut.
Sodis Labs’ George Sodis, pioneer and visionary, said: “Our collaboration with ShopNBC is quite special. From a channel that sells premium lifestyle merchandise, the launch of our skincare line is an honor, reward, and recognition of the extraordinary properties of our mastic-based products. We believe that the unique value of mastic and its properties will enthuse the American public, and we expect that Mastic Spa will earn a place in their hearts and minds as a new discovery and their new beauty choice.”
Donna Tarantino-Loyle, Director of Health & Beauty at ShopNBC, said: “We are excited to bring this head-to-toe, indie beauty line to our channel. Mastic Spa has taken natural, indigenous ingredients and blended them with science to create exceptional products exclusive to Greece. We are very much looking forward to bringing the romance of Greece to our customers through Mastic Spa products.”
Suzanne Coppenrath, CEO of The Rana Group, Mastic Spa’s representative for U.S. television, said: “We are proud to represent Mastic Spa in their first ever television appearance in the United States. ShopNBC provides a wonderful platform to introduce the ancient and mythical mastic, which has been used for centuries by Greeks in medicinal and cosmetic applications. We are confident that viewers across the country will be enchanted with this magnificent product line of cosmetics, bath, and body.”
During Mastic Spa’s two premiere shows on ShopNBC, a variety of skincare products will be featured:
Mastic & Wine 3-Piece Skincare Set (C37000) — This potent anti-aging line from Mastic Spa combines wine with mastic to address the free radicals of our skin with antioxidants. The set includes the Mastic Defense Cleansing Milk, Mastic Defense 24 Hour Moisturizing and Rejuvenating Cream, and Serinkle Rapid Acting Wrinkle Serum.
Mastic Soap 4-Pack (C37006) — Mastic Spa was honored with Shecky’s “Best of the Best All Natural Face Soap” in 2006. This all natural 4-piece collection comes with Chocomastic, Emporios, Merikounda, and Agia Markela soaps.
Mastic Body Sets come in a number of different formulas, including Mastic & Honey (C37003) to achieve relaxation and Mastic & Olive (C37005) for deep hydration. Each 3-piece set includes body milk and two other products centered around its unique ingredient.
To learn more about these and other Mastic Spa products available at ShopNBC, please visit www.ShopNBC.com.
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