Tuesday, April 29, 2008

ChocolateBet: April 29, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:

1 serving
Gelato Classico
Chocolate Hazelnut ice cream
Very Good - tasted like Nutella ice cream
Wt: 1/2 cup (123 grams) serving; 1 pint total (473 ml.)
Calories: 290
Cost: $4.79 total container
Purchased from: Whole Foods, in Cupertino, CA

Well, technically, my Chocolate and Nut-themed week ended yesterday; but I had bought a few more items with chocolate and nuts in them, as part of an advanced planning and buying nut-frenzy last week. So, I'm extending my week by a day or two. So, this would be Day #8...of Chocolate and Nut week.

Monday, April 28, 2008

ChocolateBet: April 28, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:

1 serving/biscotti
Pamela's Products
Chocolate Walnut Biscotti
Very Good (especially for a gluten-free version of biscotti)
Weight: 28 grams
Calories: 120
Cost: $3.29/pkg.
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, in Cupertino, CA

This is, technically, the last day (Day #7) of Chocolate and Nut Week. However, I may have to extend the current theme week at least one more day, to include a chocolate and nut-related item that involves ice cream. Then I think I will have hit all the major chocolate and nut food groups: chocolate candy, trail mix, bars, cookies, brownies, and ice cream.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

ChocolateBet: April 27, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 serving
Whole Foods
Gluten-Free Walnut Brownies
Very Good+
Wt: ~ 2 oz. (57 grams)/16 oz. (1 lb.) or 452 grams in total pkg.
Calories: ~ 270 calories
Cost: $12.39 total pkg. (yikes)
Purchased from: Whole Foods, in Cupertino, CA

And today is Day #6 of Chocolate and Nuts Week on the blog here. These brownies are good. Brownies are one of the few baked goods that seem to taste just fine when regular (wheat) flour is replaced by a gluten-free flour replacement blend. I can't say the same with all other gluten-free breads and cakes.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

ChocolateBet: April 26, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:

1 serving (~ 3 Tbps)
Planters
Trail Mix - Nut and Chocolate
Very Good
Wt: ~33 grams/srvg; 6 oz. (170 grams) total
Calories: 160 cals.
Cost: $2.00 (sale)
Purchased from: Safeway, in Palo Alto, CA

It's Day #5 of Chocolate and Nut items on the blog here. Trying to pick something each day that represents a different chocolate-food-group.

Friday, April 25, 2008

ChocolateBet: April 25, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:

1 serving
Chuao Chocolatier
Caracas - Dark Chocolate Bar with Almonds, Hazelnuts and Pistachios (60% cacao)
Very Good - Yum - I enjoyed this very nice quality blend of ingredients, and being able to clearly taste each type of nut.
Weight: 1.5 oz. (40 grams); total bar = 3.52 oz. (100 grams)
Calories: 211 calories in 1 srvg.
Cost: $6.99 total bar
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, in Cupertino, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Nut Week.

This Chuao bar was a nice find. I was grumbling a bit because some of the other choices this week had nut bits ground down so finely that it was difficult to taste the actual nuts. This was not the case here.

Other nut-related items
I was hoping to submit an online order for a box of frozen Nutty Buddy ice cream cone desserts, but it looks like there are only one or two small outfits (e.g. Purity) that carry these any more; and I couldn't find someplace that will ship to my zip code in time for Chocolate and Nut week here. So the Nutty Buddys will have to wait.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

ChocolateBet: April 24, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Russell Stover
Pecan/English Walnut Cluster
Very Good
Wt: ~16 grams per piece
Calories: 80 calories/pc.
Cost: $2.50* sale price
Purchased from: Walgreens, Palo Alto, CA

*I recorded the cost for this box earlier this week - for first candy eaten from same assortment box.

This is Day #3 of Chocolate and Nut week. I have to admit that this nut theme week is not that exciting. There are lots of good chocolate and nut choices out there. Where's the challenge? No trips to strange parts of town, or to 24-hour stores scrounging to find adventure here... I'm still planning chocolate and meat week, and maybe there will be a chocolate and vegetable week, or a chocolate mice/rat week soon...

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

ChocolateBet: April 23, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 serving (2 Tbsp)
Ferrero
Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread)
Very Good
Wt: 37 g./serving; total container = 13 oz. (371 g.)
Calories: 190 per serving
Cost: $4.59 for whole container/plastic jar
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, in Palo Alto, CA

Nutella is probably more popular outside the U.S., primarily as a toast and bread spread. (Think of a chocolate hazelnut filling in a croissant and you'll get the picture.) I think I had tried Nutella once before - a few decades ago (maybe in the U.K. or Canada). This tasted better than I remembered. In any case, it's chocolate + nuts, so it's got to be on the list - especially since this is Day #2 of Chocolate and Nuts Week on the blog here!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

ChocolateBet: April 22, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Russell Stover
Fruit & Nut Caramel
Good - I wish I could taste the nuts more. The fruit and nut center is fairly ground down together in the mix.
Wt: ~ 16 grams for 1 piece (The whole assortment box is 24 oz - 1 lb., 8 oz., or 680 g.)
Calories: ~ 80 calories in 1 pc.
Cost: $2.50 (sale). This is very reasonably priced for 2 lbs. of chocolate - which can easily cost 10 times this price.
Purchased from: Walgreens, in Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to chocolate and nut week! This week, every chocolate item I will be eating will have some kind of nuts (or "nut(s)" in the name.

Monday, April 21, 2008

ChocolateBet: April 21, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:

1/2 bar
Cadbury
"Flake" (Dipped) chocolate candy bar
Good+
Weight: ~16 g./32 g. total bar
Calories: 89 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $2.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Cottage of Sweets, in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

There was a bit of a hydrogenated vegetable fat mouth feel/taste; but it was not bad for milk chocolate. And, I liked the name "Flake" for a candy bar.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

ChocolateBet: April 20, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Monterey Bay Chocolates
Caramel Sand Dollar
Good
Wt: ~2.5 oz?
Calories: ~ 330 cals?
Cost: ~$1.57/pc.
Purchased from: Cottage of Sweets, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

ChocolateBet: April 19, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Monterey Bay Chocolates
English Toffee; a bit sweet and thick in the middle, but it's hard to go wrong with this combination.
Good
Wt: ~1 oz.
Calories: ~150 cals.
Cost: ~$1.57/pc.
Purchased from: Cottage of Sweets, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Saturday, April 19, 2008

ChocolateBet: April 18, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:

2 cookies
Pamela's Products
Chocolate Chunk Pecan Shortbread Cookies
(Gluten-free, 95% organic ingredients)
Very Good - these are great for gluten-free cookies
Wt: 33 grams
Calories: 180
Cost: $0.99
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, in Palo Alto, CA

Thursday, April 17, 2008

ChocolateBet: April 17, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Ethel M/ethel's chocolate
Macademia Crunch - Milk Chocolate version (I had the dark chocolate version a few days ago.)
Very Good
Wt: ~.4 oz.
Calories: ~ 75
Cost: $1.50/pc.
Purchased from: ethel's chocolate lounge, Las Vegas airport, NV

ChocolateBet: April 16, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:

1 bite
Shakespeare's Chocolate
(tagline is "Much ado about chocolate")
I-Scream Bar - Mint Chocolate Chip ("Mint Chocolate Chip Scoop piled on top of a Milk Chocolate Sugar Cone")
OK+ - Good - This 2D version of an ice cream cone is a clever concept (and I like their tagline as well); although I didn't really care for hydrogenated fat content. (Note: I just tasted the "ice cream" part and not the chocolate cone cookie part.)
Wt.: ~.3 oz. bite/5 oz. (141.75 grams) total
Calories: ~50 cals.
Cost: ~$6.00
Purchased from: Golden Nugget hotel and casino gift shop, Las Vegas, NV

Note: This scanned image of what the wrapping for this chocolate candy doesn't really do the packaging justice, as it's being shown without the chocolate inside - which looks like ice cream on the top, and a chocolate cone on the bottom.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

ChocolateBet: April 15, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:

1 piece
Camille Bloch
Cognac Noir (Dark Chocolate bar, with Cognac filling)
Very Good
Wt: .5 oz. (14.2 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) total bar
Calories: ~ 75 cals.
Cost: $5.99
Purchased from: Z. Cioccolatos, in San Francisco, CA

Happy U.S. Tax deadline day.

ChocolateBet: April 14, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Ethel M/ethel's chocolate
Coconut Samba
Good+ -Very Good
Wt: ~.4 oz.
Calories: ~75
Cost: $1.50/pc.
Purchased from: ethel's chocolate lounge/store in Las Vegas Airport, NV.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

ChocolateBet: April 13, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Ethel M/ethel's chocolate
Macademia Crunch - Dark Choc. version
Very Good
Wt: ~.4 oz.
Calories: ~75 calories/pc
Cost: $1.50/pc
Purchased from: ethel's chocolate lounge, Terminal C in the Las Vegas Airport, NV

ChocolateBet: April 12, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Ethel M/ethel's chocolate
Raspberry Rhapsody
Very Good
Wt: ~.4 oz.
Calories: ~75 calories
Cost: $1.50
Purchased from: Ethel M shop/ethel's chocolate lounge, in Terminal C of the Las Vegas airport, NV
(picture of chocolate to follow); traveling on business this week.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

ChocolateBet: April 11, 2008



Chocolate of the Day:

1 brownie
Arrowhead Mills brownie mix + Lucerne Cream Cheese + other
= home-baked cream cheese brownies
Very Good
Wt: ~4 oz.
Calories: Probably a lot (300?)
Cost: Total estim. cost for ingreds. = ~$10.00
Purchased from: Piazzas, in Palo Alto + Safeway in Palo Alto, CA

This is Day #8 of eating items that have both chocolate and cheese in them, and this concludes Chocolate and Cheese Week on the blog.

It's on to thinking about the next "theme." I am contemplating - chocolate cats and dogs, chocolate mice, chocolate items of the old West, chocolate and meat (not as bad as it sounds - I think), chocolate cars and trucks, and many more.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

ChocolateBet: April 10, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:

5 pieces
Meiji Seika Food Industry Co. Ltd.
Meltyblend - Green Tea
Very Good
Weight: 20 grams / (total box = 2.2 oz.)
Calories: 120 calories for 5 pieces
Cost: $2.39 (estimate) for 1 package
Purchased from: (small shop in Chinatown, in San Francisco, CA)

This is Day #7 of eating items with both chocolate and cheese. Chocolate and cheese week continues, for at least one more day (tomorrow), and after that I may run out of items. We'll see. I'll have to move on to a new chocolate-related theme.

These chocolate/cocoa powder covered Meltyblend Green Tea confections from Meiji Seiki Food Industry (Shanghai; Product of China) contained whole milk powder, and cream cheese powder. I like tea flavors, so this flavor combination worked for me.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

ChocolateBet: April 9, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:

1 serving
Kraft Philadelphia
Ready-to-eat Cheesecake Filling (Chocolate Dream)
OK+ - Good; very convenient - just spoon into a crust and eat; however, it doesn't quite have the flavor of a home-baked from scratch version. Trade-offs.
Wt: 86 grams in 1 srvg; 24.3 oz. (1 lb. 8.3 oz. (688 g) total container
Calories: 270 calories in 1 serving
Cost: $5.49 for a whole container
Purchased from: Safeway, in Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate Cheese week on my blog. Today, I had a few spoonfuls of chocolate cheesecake - the filling and not the crust (as I can't have wheat).

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

ChocolateBet: April 8, 2008



Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Velveeta Cheese Fudge (homemade w/ Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder)
Very Good - This was surprisingly good
Wt: ~ 1 oz.
Calories: ~ 130 cals?
Cost: $? (cost of ingreds was approx. $8.00 to make a whole batch)
Purchased from: Safeway, other

Day #5 of Chocolate Cheese week. This cheese fudge is surprisingly good.
A similar version of what I made was featured on the "Ellen" show. See below for youtube video clip. Paula Deen makes fudge with Ellen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNUYgi9jv54&NR=1

Below were the ingredients that I used:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
8 oz. Velveeta or processed cheese, cubed (I used slices)
~ 5 cups confectioners suger
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
vanilla flavoring (I used vanilla powder; most would probably use 1-2 tsp vanilla extract)
Melt the first two ingredients and stir while heating - in saucepan (I used microwave). Add the rest and chill in fridge until firm. (You can also stir in chopped nuts before chilling.)

Monday, April 7, 2008

ChocolateBet: April 7, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:
1 bite
Royal Family Food Co., Ltd.
Mochi-Choco - Cheese
OK - Good; a bit strange, but what I bit into looked exactly like the illustration on the box. You have your orange cheese center, with a white starch/mallow-like layer surrounding the cheese, and then the chocolate coating. I would have eaten more, but I thought the "starch" listed in the ingredients might be wheat starch. (I don't do wheat.)
Wt.: ~.2 oz. bite; total box = 7.4 oz. (210 g.)
Calories: ~20 cals.
Cost: $1.59/box
Purchased from: ? , a little Chinese grocery store in Chinatown, in San Francisco, CA (shame on me for not getting the name; it's not listed on the receipt. I'll try to update this info. later.

Today is Day #4 of Chocolate & Cheese week on my blog here. I went hunting for chocolate cheese in Chinatown in San Francisco yesterday after hearing about (Chesdale?) chocolate cheese slices that are sold in Taiwan. While none of the shop keepers that I asked knew what the heck I was talking about, I did find these Mochi Choco and & Cheese treats. (These are also from Taiwan.)

ChocolateBet: April 6, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 small taste
Z. Cioccolatos
Chocolate Cheesecake Fudge
Very Good
Wt: ~ .2 oz.
Calories: ~ 25 cals.
Cost: $0 - free sample
Purchased from: Z. Cioccolatos, in San Francisco, CA

Day #3 of Chocolate & Cheese week; I'm not sure how much cream cheese this fudge really has in it (the girl who was working behind the counter wasn't sure); but it's not bad.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

ChocolateBet:: April 5, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:
1 oz. serving
Carr Valley Cheese
Cocoa Cardona Cheese
Very Good
Wt: 1 oz.
Calories: ~110? cals.
Cost: ~$14.00 (for a fairly large order)
Purchased from: Carr Valley Cheese (online order)

This is Day #2 of Chocolate & Cheese week on the blog here. This semi-firm (goat) cheese has a cocoa "crust" and is very tasty.

ChocolateBet: April 4, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:

1 piece
Lillie Belle Farms
Smokey Blue Truffles (organic chocolate, smoked blue cheese, and toasted almonds)
Good - Very Good
Weight: .8 oz. ea./4 oz. (112 g.)
Calories: 140 calories (guesstimate)
Cost: $12.00 (estimate) for a package of 5 truffles
Purchased from: Lillie Belle Farms (online)

Welcome to Chocolate and Cheese Week!

We kicked off this theme week with a Smokey Blue Truffle (pictured to the right - in missing man formation) -- blue cheese with a touch of toasted almonds. This combination might seem bit strange; but these truffles were good, and might pair well with red wine.

Friday, April 4, 2008

ChocolateBet: April 3, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1/4 bar
Cadbury
Caramello
Good +
Weight: .4 oz/ 1.6 oz.(45 g.) total
Calories: 52 calories (estimate) for 1/4 bar
Cost: $?
Purchased from: ? (purchased in 2007?) I had this in my back-up stash bag of chocolate items purchased in advance.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

ChocolateBet: April 2, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:
5 pieces - tea assortment
Charles Chocolates
1 Charcoal-Roasted Oolong Tea Truffle - Very Good+
1 Baochong Tea Truffle (fire-roasted Oolong) - Very Good
1 Osmanthus Tea Truffle - Very Good
1 Jasmine Tea Truffle - Very Good - Yum
1 Lichee Tea Truffle - Very Good +
Wt: ~.4 oz. x 5 = 2.0 oz. total for 5 pcs.
Calories: 75 x 5 = 375 calories for 5 pcs.
Cost: $1.35 x 5 = $6.75
Purchased from: Charles Chocolates, in Emeryville, CA

Nice design with the characters (which I believe indicate the type of tea) on top of each chocolate

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

ChocolateBet: April 1, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:

1 small "brownie"
UliMana
hemp berry brownies w/ mulberries
(Organic and Raw)
OK-Good - Hemp brownies
Weight: .5 oz. for brownie I had; 5.5 oz. total container
Calories: ~75 calories?
Cost: $11.99 (pricey for a small container)
Purchased from: Piazza's, in Palo Alto, CA

I thought this organic hemp brownie with mulberries was a good choice for April Fool's Day. While the package assures me that "Hemp is the most complete source of protein of any plant known!" I'm not sure that raw hemp makes for the tastiest brownies if you're used to traditional baked goods; but I'm open minded. 
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