ChocolateBet: January 24, 2012

Chocolate of the Day: 

Anthon Berg
Marzipan bar
Very Good
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) total bar
Calories: 220 calories
Cost: $1.49 total bar
Purchased from: Crossroads Market, Palo Alto, CA

For those who like marzipan, I recommend this mork chocolade (dark chocolate) bar filled with marzipan (almond paste), from Danish maker, Anthon Berg.

This half-round bar was covered with a thin layer of smooth dark chocolate, but the clear star here was the center -- not too sweet, not too dry, and lighter than expected.

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Marzipan Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: January 23, 2012

Chocolate of the Day:

Mink Chocolates
1.) Queen Cake bar - Good+
Weight: .176 oz. (5 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) total bar
Calories: 24 calories
Cost: $7.00
Purchased from: Mink Chocolates, Vancouver, BC, Canada

2.) Pas de Deux bar - Very Good
Weight: .176 oz. (5 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) total bar
Calories: 23 calories
Cost: $7.00
Purchased from: Mink Chocolates, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and Almond Marzipan Theme Week.

I'm working my way through the last of several cleverly named Mink Chocolates bars from Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada). Both of today's filled bars were covered with 70% cacao dark chocolate.

The Queen Cake bar was stuffed with marzipan almond paste, and the Pas de Deux bar, my favorite of the two, contained Amaretto and dried cherries in a chocolate ganache base.

ChocolateBet: January 22, 2012

Chocolate of the Day:

Vosges Haut Chocolat
Plum Pudding Truffles
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .4 oz. (11.3 g.)/ 6.4 oz. (181 g.) total 16-pc. assortment box
Calories: 60 calories (estimate)
Cost: $43.00 cost of larger holiday box
Purchased from: Vosges.com

Did you get your fill of plum pudding, or sugar plum fairies, over the Christmas holidays last month? If you missed out...Today's Plum Pudding truffles from Vosges (Chicago) would be a great choice. These kicked off Day #1 of Chocolate and Almond Marzipan Theme Week.

These truffles were constructed with layers of flavor - including plum, Armignac and marzipan, and were coated in 65% dark chocolate, and decorated with a shred of silver.

My apologies for the photo (at right). When I bit into these truffles, they didn't hold together, so this pic will give you only a rough idea about the tasty flavor combination within.

ChocolateBet: January 21, 2012

Sea Link Cafe

Chocolate of the Day:
Premier Nutrition, Inc.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 2.5 oz. (72 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 280 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $don't have info
Purchased from: Sea Link Cafe, Redwood Shores library branch, Redwood Shores, CA

Some days are more chocolate-full than others.

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Nut Butter Theme Week. After a walk, I stopped at the Sea Link Cafe that recently opened inside the local Redwood Shores, CA, branch of the public library, and had some great, Organic rose and jasmine flower tea, and this protein bar. This offering (one of several flavors) from Premier Nutrition (Carlsbad, CA) contained 30 grams of protein; so I felt I could skip having a meat entree today. It was filling and satisfying, but had a hint of an artificial sweetener taste to it -- perhaps because they were using sweeteners other than sugar (like Sucralose).

Madre Chocolate

Nat from Madre Chocolate

On the way home, I visited The Chocolate Garage in downtown Palo Alto,  and enjoyed sampling a few more chocolates, and meeting ethnobotanist Nat Bletter from Madre Chocolate (Hawaii). Nat was speaking and talking about his newest Rosita bar at the Garage, and brought a sample of beans from a "white chocolate" relative of the traditional cacao plant with its own unique taste. Very interesting to hear what he's doing. The company's Triple Cacao bar (with cacao fruit, nibs, and dark chocolate) is still my favorite.

ChocolateBet: January 20, 2012

Chocolate of the Day: 

The Hershey Company
Reese's Select Peanut Butter Cremes
Good +
Weight: .424 oz. (12 g.) 1 piece / 8 oz. (226 g.) total package
Calories: 63 calories in 1 piece
Cost: $ 2.00 (estimate) (Clearance item)
Purchased from: Safeway

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Nut Butter Theme Week. I opened a bag of Reese's Select Peanut Butter Cremes, individually wrapped "Signature Chocolates" that contained milk chocolate covered bite-sized pieces, embossed with an "R" for Reese's.

These small squares, filled with smooth peanut butter filling, had been in my chocolate vault for awhile; but they tasted fresher than I imagined they would, in part due to preservatives.

ChocolateBet: January 19, 2012

Chocolate of the Day:

The J.M. Smucker Company
Jif To Go Chocolate Silk - Peanut Butter & Chocolate Flavored Spread
Good+
Weight: 1.5 oz. (43 g.) 1 cup serving / 12 oz. (344 g.) total package of 8 cups
Calories: 250 calories in 1 cup
Cost: $2.99 (sale price) total package
Purchased from: Safeway, Rivermark Plaza, Santa Clara, CA

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Nut Butter Theme Week.

From peanut butter maker, Jif, comes Jif To Go Chocolate Silk -- a package of individually sealed, small cups of peanut butter and chocolate flavored spread. Does chocolate flavored spread count as real chocolate? I think so.

You could also use this product as smooth, sweet frosting for your cupcakes.  I dunked fresh apple and tangerine slices into my Jif spread. (The tangerine came out ahead in terms of most desirable pairing.)

ChocolateBet: January 18, 2012

Chocolate of the Day: 

Amazing Grass
Green SuperFood Chocolate Peanut Butter protein bar
Good
Weight: 2.2 oz. (63 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 270 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $2.49 total bar
Purchased from: Whole Foods, in Los Altos, CA

Eating chocolate covered wheat grass, barley grass and alfalfa for breakfast didn't sound that exciting, as I don't eat wheat. However, this bar, distributed by Amazing Grass (San Francisco), was marked gluten free, so I gave it a try. Oh, and did I mention it had peanut butter and nuts in it? That helped. This Fair Trade bar was also made with whey protein, and contained higher levels of vitamins and minerals than most chocolate items. It gave me a little bit of a sniffly nose, but then grasses sometimes do that to me. Otherwise, it was a good, healthy way to start the day.

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Nut Butter Theme Week.