Chocolate Naive - Kefir Probiotic Milk Chocolate (bar) - Mar. 12, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chocolate Naive
Kefir Probiotic Milk Chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Day #1 of Milk Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's Kefir Probiotic Milk Chocolate (bar) was crafted by Chocolate Naive (Vilnius, Lithuania).

This creative, well-executed, rich dark 57 percent milk chocolate (bar) was made using two fermented foods: cacao and kefir. The dark milk chocolate had a smooth creamy melt and texture, and a balanced, fruity tart chocolate flavor.

High-quality, small-batch, dark milk chocolates are pricier than bulk, sugary milk chocolates containing 32 percent cocoa or less. And when you find one like today's, it's well worth the quest.

Clio - Strawberry Greek Yogurt Bar wrapped in chocolate - Feb. 15, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

Clio Snack Company
Strawberry - Greek Yogurt Bar wrapped in chocolate
Good +
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 140 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: missing information

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

Today's chilled Strawberry Greek Yogurt Bar wrapped in chocolate were made by Clio Snack Company (Roselle, NJ).

The company's line of chocolate covered bars are described as: "greek yogurt (with a cheesecake texture and a sweet and tart flavor) meets chocolate in a bar." Indeed, all this was true, and the strawberry greek yogurt complemented the chocolate quite nicely.

This bar was marketed as containing "billions of probiotics" and 8 grams of protein. It was very tasty, although a bit on the sweet side for me. However, if you're looking for an elevated, gluten free dessert with some extra health benefits sprinkled in, this would be a great choice.

Note: Photos that accompany this entry have been delayed.

Health Lab - Cacao Matcha Probiotic Ball - Dec. 29, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Health Lab
Cacao Matcha Probiotic Ball
Good
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) in 1 ball
Calories: 181 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $0.69 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #8 of Holiday Tea and Spirits Theme Week.

Today's Cacao Matcha Probiotic Ball was made in Australia for Health Lab (Melbourne, Australia).

This satisfying (gluten free, vegan, low sodium and low carb)* snack ball had light matcha green tea flavor, substantial chewy texture and cacao flavor. And, it was not too sweet (thank you!).

It deserved a spot on the dessert table rather just stuffed in the hiking backpack.

Ingredients: dates, cashews, organic coconut, cacao nibs, "1 billion vegan probiotics," organic matcha green tea. 

Sodium in 1 ball was 4 mg; and total carbs were 7.6 grams (3.3 grams of which were fiber).

Sunbiotics - Probiotic Chocolate Bar - Ginger Spice - April 7, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Sunbiotics
Probiotic Chocolate Bar - Ginger Spice
Good +
Weight: .625 oz. (17.5 g.) / 1.25 oz. (35 g.) in total bar
Calories: 82 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $3.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Spices Theme Week.

Today's Ginger Spice probiotic* chocolate broke with a well-tempered snap.

This bar had a warm ginger spice aroma and flavor; and the dark chocolate was sweetened with coconut sugar. It was quite tasty.

*The probiotics did not contribute any noticeable aroma or flavor.

Freed Foods - NurturMe Organic Ancient Grain Cookies - Cocoa - Mar. 21, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Made for Freed Foods

NurturMe - Organic Ancient Grain Cookies - Cocoa

Good

Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 5 oz. (1?? g.) in total box

Calories: 130 calories in 1 serving (7 small cookies)

Cost: $ missing information

Purchased from: missing information

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

Today's NurturMe Organic Ancient Grain Cookies - Cocoa - were manufactured for Freed Foods (Austin, TX), and were made from a flour blend of millet, sorghum and quinoa—considered "ancient grains" here (as well as potato and tapioca starch).

Quinoa is a plant from the Andes with starchy seeds that looks like a grain. Technically it's a pseudo-cereal, that has become popular in the U.S. in recent decades. Today's small cocoa-flavored cookies were crunchy, and not too sweet (thank you).

Quinoa can add a satisfying crunchy texture to baked goods, especially cookies. The cocoa gave these cookies a rich flavor. These were a bit on the dry side, but it was nothing a glass of water, milk, coffee, or companion beverage of your choice wouldn't be able to address.

Did I mention these cookies included probiotics? The probiotic(s) listed: GanedenBC30(R) (Organic Inulin, Bacillus coagulans GBI-30 6086). Sounds technical. We weren't sure what this beneficial bacteria is used for in terms of digestive or overall health. But, it didn't seem to affect the taste of these small cookies.

Sunbiotics - Organic Probiotic Raw Chocolate Bar - June 28, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Windy City Organics
Sunbiotics - Organic Probiotic Raw Chocolate Bar
Good
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 g.) in total bar
Calories: 164 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $missing information
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Cacao Nibs Theme Week.

Today's Sunbiotics Organic Probiotic Raw Chocolate Bar was distributed by Windy City Organics (Northbrook, IL).

The 65% cacao dark chocolate bar was just the right size for a single serving. It had a sweet and mild, authentic raw (un-roasted) chocolate flavor with a hint of vanilla bean marshmallow.

Even though this chocolate bar came loaded with "10 billion active probiotics," there was nothing different about the flavor. And if you didn't get enough "biotics," Yacon* root powder added some prebiotics.

*Yacon is a plant that grows wild in parts of South America. It is grown for its edible root. The older/previous technical name for Yacon was Polymnia sonchifolia (Edible Goddess).

New Earth Superfoods - Hazelnut Nougat - Nov. 13, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

New Earth Superfoods
Hazelnut Nougat with Cream
Good - Good+
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) serving
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) for 1 oz. (28.3 g.) of package/bar
Cost: $ N/A - gift (Thank you David)
Purchased from: N/A gift

Today was the third day of Raw Chocolate Theme Week.

Family members brought to my attention probiotic chocolates from New Earth Superfoods (San Luis Obispo, CA). Thank you to my brother David (and my sister, Katy).

Today's Hazelnut Nougat with Cream was in bar form in a sealed package (refrigerate for best results). The "Cream" in this case was not conventional cream, but rather dairy-free coconut (kefir) probiotic yogurt.

This raw, organic filled chocolate bar had a subtle sweet, fermented, ripe fruit aroma and initial spiced berry flavor. (Normally raw chocolate has a "flatter" taste profile; but the filling in this one helped add a bit of zest.) The chocolate had a rapid and smooth melt and texture.

I didn't taste hazelnut specifically, but the filling in this probiotic bar was made with coconut probiotic yogurt, ground nuts and a variety of spices and seasonings. So having the nut flavor get a little lost was not a complete surprise. Overall, this was an interesting, satisfying bar.

This chocolate was labeled as Gluten Free, Soy Free, and with No GMOs.

ohso - Orange ProBiotic chocolate - Jan. 12, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Goodnesse Ltd.
ohso
Orange ProBiotic chocolate
Good
Weight: .5 oz. (14 g.) bar/ 3.45 oz. (98 g.)
Calories: 70 calories in 1 small bar
Cost: $9.99 for package of 7 small bars
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to the last day (Day #7) of Chocolate and Orange Theme Week.

These (oh so tiny) Ohso Orange Probiotic chocolate bars were only about 6.5 cm x 3.3 cm*—yet, they were scored into even tinier squares like you'd find in larger bars. Cute!

The 53% cacao Belgian dark chocolate Ohso bars had an interesting origin story. The chocolate was a "product of Belgium," manufactured by Goodness Ltd. (Little Yarrowfield, UK), and "proudly distributed by Solgar Vitamins" (Leonia, NJ)...And I bought them at Country Sun, what we used to call a "health food" store. (Wouldn't it be great if all stores sold "healthy" food?)

Interest in probiotics has been growing in the last decade, as more is known (or is now part of public discussion) about one's microbiome**.

This is interesting,  but I admit, I was a little apprehensive when I read on the label that each Ohso, oh so tiny, bar "contains around 1 billion Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium bacteria." Maybe I'll just have one then, I thought. (What happens if someone overdoses? I pondered.)

The gluten-free and nut-free chocolate was smooth, sweet and orange flavored, as promised. The bars came in a package of seven—one for each day of the week.

----o----o----o----

*6.5 cm x 3.3 cm is approximately 2.5 x 1.25 inches in size

**Each person has their own diverse microbiome, a variety of microorganisms within our body that includes microbes in our gut that help protect us from harm, and break down food into nutrients and vitamins. Some bacteria, fungi and viruses can be beneficial, others not so much—especially if there is an overgrowth of certain "bad" ones. Probiotics seek to keep this world in balance by introducing bacteria known to be beneficial, such as you might find in yogurt or certain fermented foods. (Chocolate is a fermented food; without microbes we wouldn't have chocolate as we know it.)

The content and images in this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

Attune Milk Chocolate Crisp Probiotic bar - August 5, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Attune Foods, Inc.
attune Probiotic Chocolate Bar
Good+
Weight: .7 oz. (20 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 90 calories
Cost: not known (misplaced receipt)
Purchased from not known (misplaced receipt)

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Health Theme Week.

Another trend in the health foods (and chocolate) sections in local stores has to do with a growing awareness about probiotics, fermented foods, and the importance of "good" gut flora/bacteria in our digestive system. (Some research studies have shown that this good bacteria can also help displace less desirable bacteria and yeasts.)

This Attune Probiotic Milk Chocolate Crisp bar was from Attune Foods, Inc. (San Francisco, CA). The convenient, pocket-sized bar provided a dose of milk chocolate and healthy Howaru probiotics (from Danisko). Crispy pieces of rice were embedded in smooth milk chocolate, adding a light, crunchy texture. Another plus: added calcium provided 25 percent of the adult recommended daily allowance.

This one bar included "6.1 billion probiotic CPUs of three of the most clinically tested strains: bifidobacterium lactis HN019, lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM and lactobacilus casei LC-11 along with inulin, a prebiotic."