Done With Chocolate

Last night was a rough one.

While we were out last night, Yasha took it upon herself to rip open my luggage and found a dark chocolate bar that I don’t even remember packing. She, of course, ate the whole thing.

Talk about a *fun* surprise to come home to…

This wasn’t Yasha’s first experience with chocolate poisoning–> she actually got into a bag of chocolate chips when she was younger, which led to an evening full of violent seizures and a trip to the emergency room. Not fun. So you can imagine my state of mind, seeing an empty chocolate wrapper staring back at me when I got home…

I instantly broke in to tears, fearing it was too late to save my little girl.

Considering it was after midnight when I discovered Yasha’s break-in, all I could do was contact an emergency vet by phone. We assumed it had already been well over two hours since she had eaten the chocolate, which meant that inducing her to vomit may not be all that productive at that point. Instead, we had to give her lots of fluids, lots of walks to empty her bladder– and lots of hugs and belly rubs, trying keep her as comfortable as possible.

I also gave her a 1/2 teaspoon of Sonne’s #7:

For those of you unfamiliar with Sonne’s #7, it’s a Benonite Clay, suspended in spring water, and is thought to be useful in removing toxins from the body. I learned of it during my training with Natalia Rose, and have kept it in my medicine cabinet ever since. The recommended dosage is 1 teaspoon per 50 lbs of body weight, so Yasha got just a 1/2 teaspoon, for her little 25 lb body. Now, I have NO IDEA if this stuff helped get her through the night– and I’m certainly not recommending it, since I’m no vet expert– but Yasha did make it through the night much more successfully than her last experience with chocolate poisoning. She had no seizures, and no vomiting.

While we’re not out of the woods yet, I’m keeping positive. Yasha’s heart is definitely still racing a bit– as if she drank two pots of coffee– and she still needs a LOT of walks… but other than that, she’s acting like her normal, crazy self. Here’s hoping it stays that way.

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While I laid in bed, praying that Yasha would make it through the night, I swore that I would never keep another bite of dark chocolate in the house. EVER. I’m obviously not responsible enough to remember where I stash it, and Yasha seems to be cunning enough to find it! (twice!!)

I love Yasha way more than I love chocolate. So, I’m packing up my stash as we speak, and mailing it to my mom!

So long, chocolate. It was fun while it lasted.

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The jury is still out on using cocoa powder in my kitchen–> I have a brand new bag waiting for me, and Yasha is much less likely to get into that, considering I don’t “stash” it anywhere (like in a purse, or in a suitcase). I’ve always been insanely careful with cocoa powder, knowing that it’s pure poison to my little pup! But, it’ll probably stay hidden away in my cabinets for the time being…

Luckily, I have lots of delicious recipes that don’t involve chocolate. Vanilla-cado milkshakes. Blonde macaroons. Frozen chai lattes.

And tonight, I even tried something new:

A sugar-free cheesecake! I was inspired by Jenna’s recent recipe for a yogurt-based cheesecake–> it sounded so light and creamy!

Of course, I had to adapt her original recipe to make it detox-friendly… narrowing it down to a mere four ingredients:

Into my mini-food processor went:

• 6 oz. plain, goat-milk yogurt
• 1 egg
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon NuNaturals Liquid Vanilla Stevia

Blend until nice and frothy, then divide the filling into two individual-sized ramekins:

No need to grease the dishes, since we’ll be enjoying these “custard-style.” (a.k.a. sans crust–> my family always enjoyed “custard-style” desserts as I was growing up! I guess we weren’t crust-people… we just wanted the delicious filling!!)

Place the two dishes in the middle of your oven, and bake for 30-35 minutes at 350F. The cheesecake is ready when the edges begin to pull away from the sides, and the top begins to crack a bit, but the center will still be slightly jiggly. Let cool, then place in the fridge to chill for two hours.

Serve chilled! (and perhaps drizzle with melted dark chocolate–> that is, if it’s still allowed in your house. )

Upon first bite, this was absolutely perfect– a little tangy, with a subtle sweetness– just like cheesecake.

After a couple more bites, though, the texture started to feel a little “egg-y” to me. This is probably due to the fact that I omitted sugar AND cornstarch, which Jenna’s recipe called for. I think, for next time, I might try using the NuNatural’s Baking Blend instead of the liquid stevia, to provide a bit more structure to the cheesecake.

Good thing I don’t mind taste-testing desserts for you guys.

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Okay, I’m off to walk Yasha for the billionth time today… it’s been a loooong 24-hours, to say the least.

Here’s hoping we actually get some rest tonight!

Related posts:

1. Chocolate & Kale
2. Raw Chocolate-Swirl Cheesecake Bars
3. Mock Chocolate
4. Cherry Chocolate Almond Dream
5. Healthy Hot Chocolate