KayHenderson

Hey!

So, yesterday was not a good day atall lol. It was just one of those days where everything goes wrong and a nice bar of chocolate would've made it all better! Instead, my long suffering boyfriend had to put up with me in a very bad mood!

However, i stuck to the challenge, despite going food shopping in Morrisons and seeing doughnuts and cakes everywhere I looked..I resisted!

Ive been busy baking today as id already arranged to have a bonfire party (before deciding to do the challenge!) and its a tradition that we make Parkin (one of my faave cakes) on bonfire night. Ive also made flapjack and cookie monster cakes and lots of other goodies I can't have!

Look how yummy they look:p:(!

Heres some facts i found about how much chocolate we eat!

- The British are the biggest consumers of chocolate in Europe, munching their way through more than 10 kg each every year!

- In the UK on average each person spends £63 on chocolate a year!

- In 2001 Americans consumed 3 billion pounds of chocolate, which totalled $13.1 Billion in sales!

- West Africa alone produces more than 70% of the world's cocoa - the raw material from which chocolates are made- with Ghana alone poised to increase production by as much as 20% over the course of the next few years. Yet, Africa has no premium chocolate brand worth the bother to its name.

Also, an interesting article that caught my eye; Transforming Africa with Chocolate

It talks about African chocolate producers exploring the niche market of luxury chocolate.

"A big chocolate business in the townships of South Africa - where the unemployment rate is pegged at 40% by some observers - serving the enlightened tastes of the world's chocolate aficionados will create thousands of jobs, expand access to vocational education for a great many youth, and provide an entree into other fine brand industries for aspiring entrepreneurs. Simply put it could transform the lives of many in South Africa, and across Africa, by creating a new symbol of hope, pride and achievement."

Thanks for reading! x

Hi

After reading some of the other challenges, giving up chocolate and cake for the week seems as if it should be relatively easy in comparison! However, I choose this because I have a very sweet tooth and, like most women, a weakness for chocolate (as you can see from my profile pic!). So it has been pretty challenging so far! Ill admit that I had a hot chocolate at Costa yesterday as I momentarily forgot and then managed to convince myself that it didn't count because it wasn't a bar of chocolate! oops! I have resisted today so far though!

However, its especially hard with it being Christmas season and so every shop i go into has isles and isles of chocolate from floor to ceiling! Also, as i am at home for the week there are so many homemade cakes in the house!

So much temptation!

This challenge has made me realise how much I take for granted the small everyday things that would be considered as a luxury for someone living in poverty. Also the fact that these products are so readily accessible in the UK makes you realise how huge the development gap is!

Thankyou for reading:) x

My challenge for the week is that I am going to give up chocolate and cake for a week.

I have chosen to give up chocolate and cake for the week because these are two luxuries that people living in poverty are not likely to have. As climate change affects more people around the world - more and more people will live on a very basic diet and not be able to afford the luxuries that we take for granted.

I live in Chester and will ask my MP Stephen Mosley what he thinks about my challenge. What do you think?