Chocolate is the number-one craved food among women.

And at a certain time of the month, the need for chocolate becomes as strong as our need for extra sleep. We women are wired for it it seems. Though the jury is out on whether this is actually “true”- as some say that it is just our cravings for extra sugar and caffeine to get us through the hormonal slump, and so is best avoided.

The Aztecs who first discovered it considered it a sacred ceremonial food, and most women today have similar reverence for it.

I love the artist and teacher Shiloh Sophia’s sensual approach. She considers chocolate sacred soul medicine to help us to contact our muse of creativity and sensuality. Before she starts painting she puts on her big hat and flowing coat, pours herself a cup of steaming herbal tea, or a glass of tequila, and has a square of rich, dark chocolate to get her juices flowing. She’s my kinda woman!

I have to weigh up the risks, as on the one hand my chocolate needs are high in the pre-menstrual phases – but so is my susceptibility to migraines, which are often triggered by chocolate.

Image credit: www.marksdailyapple.com

 

My mother gave me a great book called: Why Women Need Chocolate, by Debra Waterhouse which is full of fascinating scientific proof as to why we NEED, not just want, chocolate! It was great to have proof for something I had instinctively felt for most of my womanhood… “Chocolate is the number-one craved food among women. And she has found that sensibly indulging your craving for chocolate or any other food is better than depriving yourself. That’s because contrary to popular belief, food cravings are not a problem to be treated. When you carefully give in to cravings, you can actually improve your mood, lift your spirits &, in the long run, develop sensible eating patterns. She teaches the food-mood connection that helps women lose weight, boost energy, & maximize mood-elevating brain chemicals.”

… but it was then totally contradicted by the next book I read Potatoes Not Prozac which is all about sugar, addiction and its role in mood disorders, weight issues and depression which tells us we need to steer well clear!

But what I took from that is the importance of being aware of sugar sensitivity, and cutting it out as much as possible. I’m also cutting out wheat for that reason. And that chocolate is sacred women’s food which provides what our bodies crave and yearn for.

PMS time is here now, and I wanted a snack to nourish me through my wheat and sugar free time.  So check out my PMS no-bake bars over on my baking blog today for the recipe that I cooked up last night (and has been given the seal of approval by everyone who’s tried it!) It requires no chopping or baking, and minimal work, and can be made a few days head when you are still on high post-ovulatory energy. It has no added sugar, but is nutrient rich with nuts, seeds and oats, giving you the nutritional boost you need premenstrually, without the sugar rush. And most importantly a rich, dark, deep hit of chocolate.

Whip up a batch, take some private red tent time, and nurture and nourish yourself, dear love.