It’s my birthday month. Yes, the whole month of March. Why not I ask?  I know it’s birth + day = birthday. So, it’s ‘supposed’ to be celebrated on one day. I know. But, what the hey? Particularly as it makes me happier and a little more special. I get to decide what I want and what I want to do during the month. Not that I don’t the rest of the year. It’s just nicer as it’s the only time I feel like it’s alright to give myself permission to be indulgent and self-immersed.

With all the things happening on the personal, national and global levels – all of which are incredibly worrying, troubling and frightening – more so, when it’s outside my control, it’s comforting to still be able to make micro decisions that make a difference to my everyday life. An almost happy normal amidst turbulent emotions and unfurling events near and far.

This year like all the previous years, I’m excitedly expecting chocolate to feature prominently in my birthday celebration. My reputation precedes me. I have no issue downing family-size bars of Cadbury or Lindt or M&S or a 200gm sharing bag of M&M’s, by myself. In one seating. For breakfast, lunch and/or dinner. No help needed. No ‘jelak makan’ or feeling sick from overeating. Or that sense of diminishing returns. None.

I think or rather like to believe that chocolate has its fair share of nutrients. It almost fits into the 5 main food groups. Dairy. Protein. Carbohydrate. Fat. Vegetable.  Milk is good for the bones. Nuts in chocolate offer protein. There’s carbohydrate – essential for energy. There’s fat. Also needed for energy and to absorb certain vitamins. Albeit not the extra-virgin kind of goodness. And, the star ingredient – cacao beans. They grow on cacao trees. Trees, yes. That means it could be vegetable and/or fruit. All five food groups ticked. Hmm…

This paragraph is true. “The USDA estimates that 28.3 gm of milk chocolate (my favourite) contains 153 calories and 8 gm of fat. The same serving also has 17 gm of carbs. Due to its milk content, milk chocolate has slightly more calcium (54 mg) than dark chocolate (though neither is a significant source of this nutrient), and milk chocolate contains 0.7 mg of iron[1].

I love chocolate and I’m in good company. Apparently, “Every ten years or so, a typical adult eats their own body weight in chocolate… Typical chocolate consumption ranges from about 4.4 kg a year in the United States to 8.8 kg a year in Switzerland. On average, it takes only a decade to eat a person’s weight of the delicious dark brown[2]. 

Any wonder that the chocolate industry is expected to be worth about $200.4 billion in 2028, up from $138.5 billion in 2020.The growth drivers include demand for chocolate and chocolate-based products, attractive packaging, retail display strategies that trigger impulse buying, and increased chocolate sales during the holidays.

Interestingly, US-based Mars Inc. is the number one chocolate company in the world, with over $18 billion in revenue per year. They sell Twix, M&M’s, Snickers, Milky Way. My top picks are Twix and M&M’s peanuts. Western Europe produces 33% of the world’s chocolate – with Germany, Belgium, Italy and Poland on the leader board. Using cocoa mainly imported from West Africa, which provides two-thirds of global cocoa beans. But there are no major manufacturers among countries that produce and export cocoa[3]. Hmm… food or is that chocolate for thought.

I thought Godiva chocolates were overpriced. Not true. Definite fall-off-your-chair prices are Le Chocolat Box at a staggering $1.5 million for its box of chocolates with bracelets, necklaces and rings from Simon Jewelers[4]; and a whopping $10,000 for the Swarovski-studded chocolates that contained 49 pieces of dark chocolate studded with Swarovski crystals etc[5]. The stratospheric prices were for the chocolate plus the many opulent add-ons and grand packaging. Just give me the chocolate. Hold the rest.

Recently, sister number 4 gifted me a little book on quotations for chocolate lovers that is worth sharing. The quotations, I mean, not chocolate.

• Chocolate is the answer, who cares what the question is.
• There is no ‘we’ in chocolate!
• If anyone tells you to stop eating chocolate, stop talking to them. You don’t need that kind of negativity in your life.
• I want it all and I want it covered in chocolate.
• A little too much chocolate is just about right.
• I could give up chocolate but I’m not a quitter.
• Don’t bite off more than you can chew unless its chocolate.
• Did you ever notice there are no recipes for leftover chocolate.
• Chocolate is not a matter of life and death, it’s more important than that!
• Thank you for being the reason I smile!

Funny. Apt. And, true.