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.

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.

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.

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...

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!

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.

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.