ChocolateBet: April 21, 2012

Chocolate of the Day:


Gefen
Chip de Chocolate
Macaroon Classics
Good - Good +
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) / 10 oz. (284 g.) total container
Calories: 70 calories for 1 macaroon
Cost: $ info not available
Purchased from: Safeway, in Palo Alto, CA

Some theme week ideas on this site bubble over beyond a seven-day week. Thus, it was the case for this chocolate and coconut themed week. Who knew there were this many different flavors/permutations of macaroons? Today was Day #8 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

These gluten-free, Gefen Chip de Chocolate macaroons (Brooklyn, NY) were made from sulfite free coconut, invert sugar, and more sugar, egg whites, potato starch and chocolate chips. While these were, like many macaroons, on the sweet side, I did enjoy biting into the chocolate chips.

ChocolateBet: April 20, 2012

Chocolate of the Day:

Manischewitz
Rocky Road Macaroons
Good+
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.)/ 10 oz. (284 g.) total container
Calories: 220 calories in 4 small macaroons
Cost: $ info not available
Purchased from: Safeway, in Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week. This means....more macaroons! These little coconut cookies seem to be available in many more flavors recently.

Today's sugar sweet, lactose free, Rocky Road Macaroons from Manischewitz (Newark, NJ) were made from (unsulphured) coconut, chocolate chips, cashews, and dutched cocoa, with tiny bits of what looked to be marshmallow bits.

ChocolateBet: April 19, 2012

Chocolate of the Day: 

Edna's
Triple Chocolate Coconut Macaroons
Good +
Weight: 1.33 oz. (37.6 g.)/ 8 oz. (226 g.) total container
Calories: 172 calories (estimate) in 1 macaroon
Cost: $6.99 total container of 6 macaroons
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, in Palo Alto, CA

The fantasies of coconut palm populated islands, surrounded by impossibly white sand and turquoise blue water continued today, with Edna's Triple Chocolate Coconut Macaroons. Generous in size, and large on (unsulphured) flaked coconut taste, these macs contained semi-sweet chocolate chips, cocoa, and a drizzle of semisweet chocolate topping.

ChocolateBet: April 18, 2012

 Chocolate of the Day:

Tropical Valley Foods
Next Organics
Dark Chocolate Coconut
Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 4 oz. (113 g.) total package
Calories: 125 calories (estimate)
Cost: $5.99 total package
Purchased from: Gluten Free Grocery, in San Francisco, CA

These thick strips of coconut (from Haiti), covered in (70% cacao) dark chocolate, from Tropical Valley Foods (Plattsburgh, NY), maintained a strong sense of original coconut flavor, shape and chewy texture.

These organic, smile-shaped treats were made with no additives or preservatives, although the chocolate did have some soy lecithin -- likely used to give the chocolate a smooth texture.

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: April 17, 2012

Chocolate of the Day:

Food On Purpose
Choco Roonies
Good
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) (estimate)/ 3 oz. (85 g.) total package
Calories: 70 calories (estimate)
Cost: $6.99 total package/bag
Purchased from: Gluten Free Grocery, in San Francisco, CA

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.
Since I believe in a balanced diet, I had one Choco Roonie and one "Bird In The Nest" -- both diminutive raw macaroons from Food On Purpose (Santa Fe, New Mexico). These mostly organic, gluten free, dairy free bite-sized coconut treats were sweetened using agave rather than refined sugars.

The Choco Roonie macaroon was a wee bit dry, but good; and it contained a barely detectable pinch of maca powder and Celtic sea salt.

The Bird in the Nest macaroon (seen stacked on top of the Choco Roonie in picture at right) was made with raspberries and coconut, and contained no chocolate. It was quite good -- not too sweet, a quality I always appreciate.

ChocolateBet: April 16, 2012

Chocolate of the Day: 

Alter Eco
Dark Coconut Toffee Organic Chocolate bar
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1.128 oz. (32 g.)/ 2.82 oz. (80 g.) total bar
Calories: 168 calories
Cost: $3.99 total bar
Purchased from: Whole Foods, in Los Altos, CA

This Dark Coconut Toffee (47% cocoa) Organic Chocolate bar from Alter Eco (San Francisco, CA) was well liked by friends and family. Made with bits of dried coconut, raw cane sugar, and a touch of butter and sea salt rounded off things nicely.


I gave extra points to Alter Eco's work with cacao cooperatives in South America. This chocolate originated from "organic trees in the Peruvian Amazon." This Fair Trade, GMO free bar was made with milk, but "no soy or gluten ingredients," artificial flavors or emulsifiers.

Also extra points for the monkey hanging onto the UPC code on the back of the package because, what the heck, I just like monkeys.

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

ChocolateBet: April 15, 2012

Chocolate of the Day: 

Jennies Gluten Free Bakery
Chocolate Sugar Free Macaroons
Good++
Weight: .56 oz. (16 g.) / 8 oz. (226 g.) total container
Calories: 70 calories in 1 macaroon
Cost: $ close-out sale price
Purchased from: Andronicos, Palo Alto, CA (now closed)

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

These Chocolate Sugar Free Macaroons, from Jennies Gluten Free Bakery (Moosic, PA), were free of a number of things (lactose, wheat, gluten, casein, soy), but packed with surprisingly good taste and texture.

I enjoyed the fresh coconut taste of these macaroons, and a slight, but very appealing, crunchiness from flax seeds/meal. Sweetened with maltitol (a type of sugar alcohol), I detected no artificial flavor that I've experienced with some other sugar free products.