Good and Delish - Dark Chocolate Almonds - Feb. 11, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Good and Delish

Dark Chocolate Almonds

Good

Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total package

Calories: 150 calories in 1/2 package

Cost: $1.99 (estimate) for 1 package

Purchased from: Walgreens

Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate and Nuts Theme Week.

Good and Delish Chocolate Almonds were not picked from a tree. Rather the package they were in was plucked off a shelf at Walgreens; but it is nice to think that both almonds and cacao came from a tree originally.*

Glossy, thick dark chocolate shells contained roasted almonds; and the chocolates had a slightly bittersweet, roasted flavor.

*Besides almonds and cacao seeds/beans, other plant-related ingredients in this product included vanilla, corn, soy. 

The remaining ingredient was confectioners glaze: the substance that creates a shiny protective coating on many candy items. Some of this ingredient (commonly used for candy and to coat pills, and classified as"generally recognized as safe") comes from a resin that certain beetles leave on trees. 

good & delish - Royal Orange bar - Feb. 9, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

good and delish
Distributed by Walgreen Co.
Royal Orange Premium German Dark Chocolate bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .706 oz. (20 g.) / 3.53 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 105 calories in 2 pieces
Cost: $4.99 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Walgreens (El Camino), Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to the last day (Day #5) of Chocolate and Orange Series.

Today's bar was offered under the Good and Delish brand name.*

The Royal Orange Premium German Dark Chocolate bar, distributed by Walgreen Co. (Deerfield, IL), had an orange, almost floral, aroma.

And the orange-infused dark (57% cocoa) chocolate aroma, combined with chewy orange and almonds bits, made this a pleasant confection.

Very rainy weather kept me hunkered down in the chocolate bunker today. (My apologies for the dimly lit photo of this bar. It's much more cheery outside on a bright, sunny day.)

I was unable to find information about the source of the German chocolate in today's German-made bar. The company does offer other chocolate items with German (and Belgian) origins.

*Walgreen Co. is a corporation with more than 8,000 stores, and over 600 just in California in late 2016. Good and Delish (aka good (ampersand) delish) is a brand sold at Walgreens stores.

Good & Delish - Milk Chocolate Cashews - Nov. 6, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Good and Delish
Milk Chocolate Cashews
Good
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35.5 g.)/ 2.5 oz. (71 g.) in total bag
Calories: 190 calories in 1/2 bag
Cost: $1.50 (sale)
Purchased from: Walgreens, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Cashews Theme Week.

Today's glossy, comma-shaped, Milk Chocolate Cashews were from Good and Delish, a nut and food brand in Walgreen Co. (Deerfield, IL) stores.

These attractive roasted cashews were coated with milk chocolate. They looked good, and offered a blend of sweet chocolate and nutty texture at the center. However, I couldn't help but wonder what they might have tasted like with a slightly more flavorful, less sweet milk chocolate.

The perfect milk chocolate might be just flavorful enough to be interesting, and yet not so flavorful (or sugary sweet) that it obscures the delicate, natural sweet nutty flavor of the cashews. A delicate balancing act when combining chocolate with this and other nuts.

Mountain Trail Mix + Quinoa - Sept. 25, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Deerfield Farms (Walgreen Co.)
Mountain Trail Mix
Weight: 1/4 cup (1 oz., 28 g.) / 10.5 oz. (298 g.) in total bag/package
Calories: 148 calories (estimate)
Cost: $2.49 (estimate)
Purchased from: Walgreens, Palo Alto, CA

Today was the final day (Day #7) of Chocolate and Cashew Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Quinoa Theme Week.

Since I was in eating-chocolate-for-breakfast mode this morning, I added a scoop of today's Deerfield Farms Mountain Trail Mix from Walgreens (Deerfield, IL) to a single-serving sized pouch of gluten-free, wild blueberry quinoa cereal from cocomama.

The Mountain Trail Mix contained raisins, peanuts, chocolate candies, cashews and almonds. And, I also added a few extra  cashews to today's portion. All this made for a very festively colored bowl of cereal. I enjoyed the nut and fruit flavors together with the chocolate highlights.

Dark Chocolate Almond Crisps - Aug. 15, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Good and Delish
(distributed by Walgreen Co.)
(Grand) Dark Chocolate Almond Crisps
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 5 oz. (142 g.) total package
Calories: 210 calories in 1.4 oz. serving
Cost: $2.99 (sale price)
Purchased from: Walgreens, Palo Alto, CA

I admit, my head is easily turned by clever packaging. When I spotted a magical nut (almond) sitting upright on a pink-cushioned, black laquered piano bench, poised to play a grand piano with a lid made of dark chocolate, I thought to myself: you don't see that every day.

So, I couldn't resist picking up a package of Good and Delish Dark Chocolate Almond Crisps (distributed by Walgreen Co.) from a local Walgreens store.

I carefully opened the silver, re-sealable pouch, to discover several slim sheets of dark chocolate studded with salted almond bits that were quite tasty. There were no pianos inside or magical piano-playing almonds. However, in fairness, there was a disclaimer in tiny print on the package that read:

"*c'mon, did you really expect each crisp to be shaped like a piano?"

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Music/Audio Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Almond Theme Week.

Note: There were so many great ideas and submissions for Chocolate and Music Theme Week, that I will surely have another similar theme week soon. I'm hoping someone will compose a short (20-second) piece inspired by a piece of chocolate. Ideas welcome.

ChocolateBet: December 14, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:

1 serving
Walgreen Co.
Rocky Road ice cream
Good +
Weight: 1/2 cup, 118 mL (66 g.) / 1 Pint total container
Calories: 150
Cost: $1.69
Purchased from: Walgreens, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Rocky Road Theme Week, and the price was right for this pint of Walgreens Rocky Road Premium ice cream with mini marshmallows and almonds (similar to Dreyer's Rocky Road recipe I'm guessing). The cost of today's Rocky Road sundae was only about 42 cents -- a good value for rocky economic times, and much less than I have been spending lately on other entries. This reminds me of childhood days when we would ride bicycles to corner grocery stores for ice cream that cost ten cents a scoop. Gone are those days, but the chocolate memories live on.