We all have our personal lists - of the zaniest/quirkiest/
funniest/ craziest/smartest ... We devote this page to them.
This week, Riani de Wet is an English teacher at the British Council, Dubai, lists ...
It's an easy-to-achieve goal: Make a to-do list every morning that includes "eat some chocolate". Even if your day was a complete disaster and you have not achieved anything, having some chocolate after dinner means you can tick one thing on your list. Eaten a piece? OK, now you're an achiever. Aren't you proud of yourself?
It is healthy: Chocolate also contains iron and magnesium. Research has shown that chocolate can reduce the incidence of cancer and heart disease, so eat up. And if anybody out there doesn't believe the research, conduct your own studies. Count me in as one of your volunteers.
It's good for digestion: Chocolate is made of cacao beans, beans are full of fibre and fibre is good for the digestion. Just what you need after your meal.
It is better than coffee: So you usually have a cup of coffee after a meal. At night, this will only hamper your beauty sleep. Chocolate contains far less caffeine than coffee, so skip the cuppa and go for the slabba.
It's loaded with quick energy: If you're anything like me, you usually still have lots of things to do before you go to bed. Chocolate gives you energy. Fuel up.
It's good for your family: Chocolate contains phenyl ethylamine. (Don't worry, I can't pronounce it either.) However, this I know: it makes you feel good, happy and have more patience and this is good for your spouse and children.
It's a safety blanket for grown-ups: No matter how bad your day was, how unappreciated you feel, chocolate will always be there for you. It won't judge, criticise, tell you what you should or shouldn't have done. It will just offer you smooth, rich, sweet, slightly bitter, familiar comfort.
It's a dessert-on-the-go: If you're in a hurry, chocolate is the perfect dessert. You can eat it while you check your
e-mails, sort the laundry or vacuum the floor! Try doing that with steamed pudding and custard.
The glue of friendship: Entire scrapbooks should be dedicated to reflecting all the emotions - love and heartbreak - shared with a friend after dinner over chocolate. It could be a slab of chocolate, a chocolate bar, a cup of hot chocolate, chocolate covered nuts or marshmallows dipped in chocolate. And for the health conscious, fresh fruit dipped in chocolate.
It helps you get organised: So you've been threatening to organise your kitchen cupboards for months now? Start tonight, straight after dinner. Start with the shelf where you store the chocolate. Eat it. Make space. See, over-achieving again. Have some more.
