Monkey Brittle - Coconut, Cacao, Bananas & Sea Salt (pieces) - Aug. 11, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Huggins Family Farms

Monkey Brittle - Coconut, Cacao, Bananas, Sea Salt 

Good ++ 
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total package 
Calories: 120 calories in 1/2 package 
Cost: $5.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Farm Fresh, online order 

Welcome to Day #15 of Chocolate, Berries & Cherries Theme Week.

What is a banana + cacao offering doing in a chocolate, berry and cherry themed week? Believe it or not, bananas are, technically, berries.

Today's "Monkey Brittle" with coconut, cacao, bananas and nuts was from Huggins Family Farms (Hood River, OR).

Aroma notes included: fruity (banana bread), nutty and light cocoa and coconut.

Texture: unique and very light-weight, thin crunchy cookie-like brittle. Think banana-bread-nut brownie wafers.

Flavor notes for these wafer-thin brittle pieces included: light cocoa, banana nut bread and subtle coconut.

I was surprised and delighted by the complexity ?? lightness? suitable as a quick meal (breakfast on the go) or a portable snack for a walk/hike... short list of authentic and organic ingredients (with no gums, preservatives or "natural flavors").

Maker's notes? "Coconuts, Cacao, Bananas, Nuts, Raisins, Sea Salt...& Absolutely Nothing Else."

Ingredients: "Organic Bananas, Organic Tree Nuts (Almonds, Walnuts), Organic Raisins, Organic Coconut, Organic Cocoa, Sea Salt"

Allergen-related information: Contains Tree Nuts (Almonds, Walnuts), Coconuts.

Savory ice cream coconut sundae & Safeway Milk Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel - July 10, 2020

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Sweet and Savory Ice Cream Sundae
Peanut Butter cup ice cream, toasted coconut strips, savory seed and nut blend, cacao nibs
Good ++
(Various vendors)

Weight: Approx. 16 oz. (1 lb.)

Cost: Approx. $10.00
Purchased from: three different suppliers/stores

Safeway
Signature Reserve Milk Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel
Good
Weight: .8 oz. (23 g.) in one piece
Calories: 100 calories in 1 piece
Cost: $0.60 for 1 piece 
Purchased from: Safeway, Mountain View, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week and Day #1 of Chocolate and Savory Theme Week.

Today's chocolate double feature, began with a large sweet and savory, homemade ice cream sundae made using ingredients from several companies.

Savory Ice Cream Sundae
The base vanilla ice cream was embedded with slightly salty flecks of chocolate peanut butter cups. And the toppings included a generous serving of organic, toasted coconut chips, a savory nut and seed blend that added crunchy texture, and a little sprinkle of cacao nibs.

The savory elements balanced out the sweetness very nicely. And layering toppings elements (vs. being homogenized together in one ice cream flavor) added flavor fun and depth and kept the topping textures fresh and crispy/crunchy. I'll be making this sundae again in the future.

Safeway - Milk Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel
I also tasted a Signature Reserve Milk Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel from Safeway (Pleasanton, CA).

Crunchy crystals of salt made this substantial milk chocolate covered caramel seem less sugary sweet--a neat trick given that caramel is mostly (heated) sugar. The caramel stretched into soft points with each new bite. 

Living Intentions - Gone Nuts! Cacao Clusters with Almonds, Blueberries - Aug. 10, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Living Intentions
Gone Nuts!
(Clusters of Cacao - Almonds, Raisins, Blueberries and Coconut)
Good
Weight: 3 oz. (85 g.) in total package
Calories: 400 calories (estimate) in 1 package
Cost: $5.95 (estimate) for 1 package
Purchased from: Safeway, American Canyon, CA

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate, Fruits and Nuts Theme Week, and today's snack (with all three of these components) was Gone Nuts! Clusters of Cacao with Almonds, Raisins, Blueberries and Coconut from Living Intentions (Point Richmond, CA).

My favorite thing about this raw food snack was that it was not too sweet. Crunchy raw almonds were covered with a light coating of cacao, and a bit of coconut, raisin and blueberry.

ChocolateBet: January 19, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
MaryJanesFarm - outpost
Organic High Attitude Chocolate
Flavor: Almond Daze
Very Good
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 194 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $3.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: REI (outdoors store, co-op), in Mountain View, CA

This Almond Daze milk chocolate bar with almonds and coconut was a successful blend of chocolate, nuts and coconut -- a combination of flavors I like.

The coconut flavor came largely from (organic) coconut oil in this bar. From what I could discern, there were no coconut flakes or shreds that you might find in popular candy bars, such as Almond Joy or Mounds bars.