ChocolateBet: May 13, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:

1 piece/coin
Vegas Image
Milk Chocolate Jackpot - Milk Chocolate Quarters
Good +
Weight: .16 oz. (5 g.)/"2 oz. (60 g.)" total package of 12 milk chocolate, silver foil-wrapped "quarters"
Calories: 27.5 calories in 1 silver foil-wrapped quarter
Cost: $4.99 for total package
Purchased from: Hudson News, Las Vegas Airport, Las Vegas, NV

Las Vegas themed chocolates seemed to be a fitting way to end (Day #7) Chocolate and Fun and Games Theme Week. This may be one of the only slot machines where you're guaranteed to be a jackpot winner.

ChocolateBet: May 12, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1 card/piece
Astor Chocolate Corp.
Playing Cards - A Milk Chocolate Souvenir
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .22 oz. (6.2 g.)/2 oz. (56 g.) total package of 9 "cards"/pcs.
Calories: 32.2 calories in 1 card
Cost: $6.99 for box/package of 9 cards
Purchased from: Hudson News, Las Vegas Airport, Nevada

The Joker was a perfect chocolate card choice for Day #6 of Chocolate and Fun and Games Week. The chocolate itself was quite good, for a novelty item -- where the value of the packaging and cleverness is often of higher than the quality of the chocolate.

ChocolateBet: May 11, 2010

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

1.) Splendid Chocolates - Milk Chocolate Reindeer
(1 pair of chocolate reindeer antlers)
Good
Weight: ~ .3 oz. (8.49 g.) in 1 set of chocolate antlers; (1.4 oz. (40 g.) in 1 reindeer)/ 5.6 oz. (160 g.) in total package of 4 reindeer
Calories: 45 calories in 1 set of chocolate reindeer antlers
Cost: $0.69 (post-holiday sale)
Purchased from: World Market/Cost Plus, in Mountain View, CA

2.) Pieterman - Holland - Chocolate Flavoured Crayons
(1 crayon)
OK+ - Good
Weight: .087 oz. (2.5 g) in 1 crayon; .87 oz. (25 g.) in total package of 10 crayons
Calories: 13 calories (estimate) in 1 crayon
Cost: $2.50 per package of 10
Purchased from: Candy Baron, at Pier 39, in San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Fun and Games Theme Week. Today's chocolates came from Canada (reindeer) and Holland (crayons).

Reindeer Games....No, not the movie, but an animated holiday TV special with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, from many years ago. That's what came to mind when I looked at these Splendid Chocolates milk chocolate reindeer that I purchased during a blow-out post holiday sale a few months ago. I couldn't say no to a package of four tiny reindeer who seemed to be pleading through the clear plastic wrap. Save us! -- for a limited time only, 69 cents.

The Urban Dictionary (see urbandictionary.com site) defines "Reindeer Games" as activities that are enjoyed by a clique or a select group. (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer wanted to be like the other reindeer and play in their reindeer games.) I ate just the antlers from one reindeer (before picture), because I was having two chocolates today. So, now I have a doe (after picture). This was probably not what poor Rudolph had in mind.

Moving on to the second chocolate of the day...Please don't eat the crayons. As children, we learned that crayons, paste, and bugs were off the menu about the time we started to toddle around upright. Well, rules were made to be broken. These Pieterman crayons are edible; and it was fun to try to draw with them on hard surfaces. Parents will appreciate this. (Probably not.)

ChocolateBet: May 10, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1/3 bar
The Walt Disney Family Museum, LLC
Milk Almond Chocolate Bar
Good +
Weight: .66 oz. (19 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) total bar
Calories: 57 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $2.50
Purchased from: The Walt Disney Family Museum, in San Francisco, CA

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Fun and Games Week. Walt Disney brought Mickey Mouse and many other critters to life in his animated cartoons, to the delight of millions. This milk chocolate and almond bar pays tribute to the man, the mouse, and The Walt Disney Family Museum based in San Francisco, California, where I visited recently. The Museum contained an interesting collection of Disney memorabilia. Items on display included one of the few multi-plane cameras that were used to shoot elaborate multi-layered animated scenes. This camera can be found near the gift shop, where I bought this chocolate bar.

ChocolateBet: May 9, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Gamesformation/Ferrara Pan Candy Company
Good
Weight: .17 oz. (5 g.) (estimates) / 5.4 oz. (154 g.) net weight, total box
Calories: 26 calories (estimate)
Cost: $21.95
Purchased from: Company of Nuts and Candy, in San Diego, CA

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Fun and Games Theme Week. What chess piece has a horse's head? Why, a Knight of course. This trivia question and more were included in the game of Trivial Pursuit -- the Chocolate Edition that is. Each of the 32 "cards" was a thin, wrapped rectangle of chocolate.

ChocolateBet: May 8, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1/5 bar
Wonka Exceptionals
Domed Dark Chocolate Bar
Good
Weight: .7 oz. (19.84 g.)/3.5 oz. (99.2 g.)
Calories: 102 calories in 1/5 bar
Cost: $1.99 (sale)
Purchased from: Walgreen's, in Palo Alto, CA

I was enticed by the idea that I might win a trip around the world. However, alas, there was no golden ticket inside this Wonka Exceptionals bar.  Even so, this dark chocolate bar with "milk chocolate medallions" topping each square, and a pleasant fudge-like consistency, was still fun to open and to eat. Make sure you have someone to share this with, as it is a lot of chocolate for just one person. Fortunately, I was able to give some to friends after a movie, otherwise I would have ended up having to toss the rest.

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and Fun and Games Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: May 7, 2010

Chocolate(s) of the Day:
2 oz. total
Coco-luxe Confections
1.) Country Fair Peanuts
Very Good
1.5 oz. (42 g.)/3 oz. (84 g.) total package
Calories: 225 calories (estimate)
Cost: $6.50 for total bag/package
Purchased from: Coco-luxe Confections, in San Francisco, CA

2.) Block Party Almonds
Very Good
.5 oz. (14.15 g.)/3 oz. (84 g.) total package
Calories: 75 calories (estimate)
Cost: $6.50 for total bag/package
Purchased from: Coco-luxe Confections, in San Francisco, CA

Coco-luxe's Country Fair Peanuts (cayenne candied peanuts in milk chocolate) had a mildly addictive quality to them. "I'll just have a few" turned into "I'll just have 1.5 oz." To anyone who might be sensitive to spicy items: the cayenne flavor was quite mild in these. I also had a few Coco-luxe Block Party almonds, which I'd tried last month (4/7/2010) as part of a wine and chocolate tasting. I like them because they're not overly sweet.

Today concluded (Day #7 of) Chocolate and Spicy Theme Week, and marked the beginning of Day #1 of Chocolate and Fun and Games Theme Week.