SPA INDEX NEWS / FEBRUARY 21, 2001
ISSN: 1533-6417
WWW.SPAINDEX.COM
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OUR SPONSOR FOR THIS ISSUE
This issue of Spa Index News is brought to you by our sponsor, LiFIZZ
Effervescent Vitamins, the official vitamin of the PGA
Tour, the Senior PGA Tour, and endorsed by Celine Dion. This
wonderful product was developed for those who have
difficulty swallowing or digesting typical capsule or caplet form vitamins.
No upset stomach, no bitter aftertaste, and sugar
free natural fruit flavors which surprised our entire staff with their good
taste. Choose from eight different types from Multi-Vitamin, to Echinacea+C+Zinc. LiFizz is available online at www.lifizz.com.
GREETINGS FROM THE SPA INDEX TEAM
In this issue, news about Chocolate Festivals about to waft your
way in February and March, food facts, recipes, and spa
treatments, and of course, our recommendations for wonderful spa facilities near
the festivals.
Straight from Spa Index's Rationalization Department comes the news that
according to an article printed in a recent issue
of the British Medical Journal, a study conducted on 7,841 men averaged at
65-years-of-age, chocolate and sweet eaters
live longer than those who don't indulge. The study revealed that those who ate
candy one to three times a month lived
longest, next came the group of people who ate it two to three times a week, but
the highest mortality rate occurred in
those who never ate sweets.
The discovery is the result of two researchers from the Harvard School of Public
Health, I-Min Lee and Ralph S Paffenbarger
Jr. Over a five year period, they monitored the consumption levels and responses
of the men. The researchers then
calculated that if the men were 95 those who indulged in sweets enjoyed an extra
year of life.
Although the researchers could not clearly differentiate between sweets and
chocolates in the study, they suggest that the
presence of antioxidant phenols in chocolate may lower the risk of coronary
heart disease. Drinking red wine in moderation
is also thought to lower the risk of coronary heart disease. A 41g piece of
chocolate is said the contain the same amount of
phenol as a glass of red wine.
From www.ScienceNews.com, we also
learned that a hunch, little more, prompted two researchers to document
two
chemicals in chocolate which they believed could provide therapeutic insights
into treating a host of ails, including
depression. Chocolate is one of the world's most widespread passions. Not only
is this "the food most commonly craved by
women," observes Adam Drewnowski, director of the University of Michigan's
Human Nutrition Program, but there are some
hints that chocolate may possess natural analgesic properties, Drewnowski says.
His own studies indicate that eating high-fat, chocolate foods can trigger the brain's production of natural opiates.
Individuals wishing to self-medicate with nonprescription-strength chocolate
should reach for cocoa -- or dark chocolate,
which can contain two to three times as much of the key compounds, per ounce, as
milk chocolate.
Chocoholics already know this, however. When people strongly crave chocolate,
Drewnowski's data show, inexpensive, low-quality candy won't do. "They want very high fat, dark chocolate."
But we already knew that, didn't we?
SPA GETAWAY SUGGESTIONS FOR MARCH
NEW YORK STATE CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL
March 30 - April 1, 2001
New Scotland Avenue Armory
Albany, New York, USA
Chocolate lovers are all headed for the New York State Chocolate Festival.
Don't miss all the vendors, demonstrations,
tastings. Albany, New York, USA is conveniently located at the crossroads
of the Northeastern USA, with scenic byways
leading you through the area finest outdoor activities, including historic
riverboats, festivals, living history, architecture, and
the hospitality of New York's Capital Region. The town of Ballston Spa is
located 20 miles north of Albany, and only 5
miles from Saratoga Springs, a year round vacation resort. Regardless of the
season, Ballston Spa provides the visitor a
scenic countryside, excellent restaurants, historic homes, fishing and
boating on scenic Lake George or Saratoga Lake,
see the NYC Ballet, Philadelphia Orchestra and special appearances at the
Saratoga Performing Arts Center. For more
information on the New York State Chocolate Festival event, visit www.equinoxcinc.org.
For information on tourism in New
York State, visit www.iloveny.state.ny.us.
Spa Facilities near Albany:
Complexions Spa for Beauty and Wellness
6 Metro Park Rd.
Albany, NY 12205
518-489-5231
Kimberly's... A Day Spa
637 New Loudon Rd.
Latham, NY 12110
518-785-5868
CHOCOLATE AND CHAMPAGNE GALA
March 30, 2001
Spokane, Washington, USA
Here you'll find a silent and live auction, chocolate sampling and dancing to a
live swing band. Now, you can indulge in your
favorite sin, or one of them anyway. The cultural, financial, retail, and
medical center of the inland Northwest, Spokane's
parks, museums, outdoor recreation, and scenic beauty delight visitors. For more
information, visit www.tourism.wa.gov.
Spa Facilities near Spokane:
Spa at Coeur d'Alene
PO Box 7200, Coeur d'Alene,
ID 83816 USA.
800-684-0514
A place of pristine beauty, tree covered mountains and alpine lakes, Coeur
d'Alene is only a 40 minute drive from Spokane,
and is a place to relax, ease tensions, clear the mind and purify the body. The
Spa at Coeur d'Alene offers world-class
facilities in a spectacular setting, the perfect place to bring body and soul
into harmony.
The Spa Index Team is happy to spotlight events and activities throughout the
United States and abroad, and invites event
organizers and spa providers to provide us with advance details by writing to: Newsletter@spaindex.com.
SPA TREATMENT EDUCATION
"I saw your answer about a Hot Chocolate Bath in a newsletter. What
other kinds of chocolate treatments are there if I don't
want to soak in it?" Mary Ann R., Boise, ID.
While spa facilities all share the common goal of pampering a guest to enhance
both health and well-being, the means they
use to achieve this goal differ from spa to spa, just as recipes differ from
restaurant to restaurant. Chocolate themed spa
treatments will differ by spa, but here are a few treatments to tempt you,
courtesy of the Spa at Hotel Hershey (www.800hershey.com). Call your
favorite spa facility and ask them what they can accommodate, if you don't see
it on
their list of available treatments.
The Spa at Hotel Hershey offers:
Whipped Cocoa Bath - Settle into a foaming chocolate milk bath for a
soothing and softening experience.
Milk will soften and renew the skin while you indulge in this chocolate
experience.
Chocolate Fondue Wrap - their exclusive formula of warmed moor mud
and essence of cocoa to revitalize and nourish the
skin as it relaxes the body.
Cocoa Butter Scrub - their uniquely softening and exfoliating body scrub
utilizing cocoa butter, meadow flowers and oats for
an all over body beautifying treat.
SPA AT HOME
We have quick tips, easy recipes, and fun products for creating a home spa
treatment for only pennies. In this issue, make
or use some Chocolate based bath treats!
Cocoa Butter is pressed from the cocoa bean as a byproduct of the chocolate
manufacturing process. Unaltered food-grade
cocoa butter has a pleasant chocolate smell and is readily available online from
handmade soap product suppliers. We've
grated cocoa butter into our own bath water for soft winter skin, since cocoa
butter is an excellent emollient, leaving your
skin soft and smooth. Unlike other oils that penetrate into the skin,
cocoa butter remains on top and lays down a protective
layer, preventing the skin from drying out.
SPA INDEX COCOA BUTTER HAND AND FOOT CREME
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup dry oatmeal
4 tablespoons cocoa butter
3 tablespoons honey
Process the almonds in a blender or coffee grinder until coarsely ground.
In a bowl, combine oatmeal, cocoa butter, honey
and ground nuts. Rub into your hands and feet, cover with cotton
gloves and socks, and leave on overnight. The next
morning, remove the gloves and socks and rinse. You'll be delighted with
your incredibly smooth skin. This remedy is ideal
for soothing hard-working hands and feet because it gently exfoliates old, dead
skin and nourishes new cells.
MILK CHOCOLATE GOAT'S MILK SOAP
If you don't feel like whirling up your own cocoa butter creme, try some
wonderful bath treats from Splash, a whimsical
company making homemade beauty products. Try their Milk Chocolate Goat's
Milk Soap, which has milk, chocolate and
cinnamon, gently scented with nutmeg and cinnamon leaf essential oils. Each bar
is approximately 4.8oz and only $3.70
from Splash. Visit our Product Spotlight page for a link to Splash
Homemade Beauty Products, Inc.
FOOD FACTS, PRODUCTS AND RECIPES
If you can't escape to a Chocolate Festival or indulge in a Chocolate Spa
Treatment, indulge your visual senses by seeing
CHOCOLAT, the Academy Award nominated film currently showing in theatres
all over the U.S. Chocolat is the charming
and visually appealing story of Vianne (Juliette Binoche), who arrives with her
child in a tranquil French town in the winter of
1959. Vianne opens a very unusual chocolate shop, filled with
mouth-watering confections. Her ability to perceive her
customers' private desires and satisfy them with just the right confection
coaxes the villagers to abandon themselves to
temptation.
In an amusing scene with Dame Judi Dench, Vianne offers her a warming cup of
cocoa sprinkled with chili powder "to
invigorate the blood." Chili Pepper and
Chocolate? The duo of chili and chocolate is actually not unusual.
Visit
Cowgirl Chocolate from Moscow, Idaho. Cowgirl Chocolate makes an
award-winning Kinda Hot Spicy Truffles by
successfully blending the rich, creamy flavor of chocolate with some bolder,
more exotic flavors (like peppers) to create a
taste that you've never had before. A gift tin of Kinda Hot Spicy Truffles
has four varieties - mint, orange, espresso and
super chocolate. You have to taste them to believe them. Visit www.igourmet.com
and order a box for $14.95. Order them,
don't open them, and smuggle them into the film Chocolat. You'll crave it
soon into the film. Trust us on this one.
If you were one of the millions of viewers who tuned into the recent special on
the cable station FoodTV and watched
"Follow That Chocolate" hosted by Gordon Elliot, then you saw
the wonderful profile of San Francisco Bay Area based
chocolatier, Scharffen-Berger Chocolate. The only American
chocolate company founded in the last fifty years, ScharffenBerger has returned to the basics of chocolate making, using restored vintage
machinery imported from Europe. The beans
are carefully selected from small plantations found near the equator and include
the rare Venezuelan Criollos as well as
varieties from Madagascar, Trinidad, Ghana, and Papua New Guinea. After each
variety is roasted to taste in small batches,
the cocoa beans are ground with large-crystal cane sugar and whole bean Tahitian
and Bourbon vanillas before being
conched into lush liquid chocolate. By carefully blending beans from many
origins, they produce a chocolate with a dense
concentration of flavors, a complex fruitiness and long rich finish bring the
best of the world of chocolate into every bite.
Here we share Scharffen-Berger Chocolate's Recipe for:
SCHARFFEN-BERGER RICH CHOCOLATE CAKE
1 cup salted butter
9 ounces Scharffen Berger 62% semisweet chocolate (visit www.scharffen-berger.com
to find a store location near you)
6 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/8 cup brown sugar
3/8 cup cake flour
3 tablespoons finely grated almonds
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Preheat oven to 375 F. Butter the sides and bottom of an 8-inch or 9-inch
springform pan. Line the bottom with parchment
or waxed paper and flour the pan. Melt the butter in a double boiler. Chop the
chocolate into coarse pieces and add to the
butter. It should not get much hotter than 115 degrees F. Set aside. Separate
the eggs and beat the sugars into the egg
yolks until just mixed. While the chocolate is still warm, whisk the egg mixture
into it, then stir in the flour and the almonds.
If the combined mixture has cooled, warm it over low heat, stirring constantly,
until it is barely warm. Warm the egg whites
slightly by swirling them in a bowl above a gas flame or over hot water (the
whites will beat to a greater volume when
warmed). Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites and beat until they look
creamy and form rounded peaks. Spread the
egg whites over the chocolate mixture and fold them together quickly without
deflating the whites. Pour into the prepared
pan and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the cake is completely set around
the sides, but still has a soft and creamy
circle, about 6 inches across, in the center. The cake will rise and crack
around the edge and separate from the softer
center. The center should wiggle just slightly when you shake the pan gently.
Cool thoroughly in the pan. To serve the cake,
turn it out, peel the paper off the bottom, and drizzle with chocolate glaze or
sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar. The cake
keeps very well, if not iced, for three or four days. Do not refrigerate or
freeze, just cover the pan with foil until ready to use.
SPA BARGAINS AND GIVEAWAYS
We are happy to provide our subscribers with a sampling of limited time offers
for special packages, special rates, and
workshops from spas that provide this information to us. You will find a
complete list of Spa Deals page at the home page.
This sampling will be updated as often as possible, or each time major spa
bargains are made known to us. You're
welcome to submit a spa-related giveaway, special offer, or event. Please
e-mail it to newsletter@spaindex.com.
Le Grand Courlan Resort & Spa, Tabago
http://www.legrandcourlan-resort.com
Rates start as low as $250 per night in deluxe accommodations; $275 per night in
deluxe accommodations with an outdoor
Jacuzzi; and $425 per night for a one-bedroom suite with a Jacuzzi. Rates quoted
are per room, based on double
occupancy
Sonesta Beach Resort - Bermuda
http://www.sonesta.com/bermuda
Offpeak rates in effect. Rates are 60% less than peak summer season.
4-day/3-night Spa Sampler package now available.
Through March 31, 2001
WHAT'S COMING TO SPA INDEX IN MARCH 2001
Additional Cruise Ship Spas
Spa Cuisine
Spa Tips for New Spa Visitors
Spa Product Giveaway
NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTIONS
We love it when kindly souls forward our newsletter all over the globe, but we
love it even more when you sign up for your
own free copy. It keeps our sponsors happy. Please visit out
homepage at www.spaindex.com and use the
free newsletter
sign up link, or, send an e-mail to newsletter@spaindex.com
and we'll sign up for you.
