Keeno Pixies - Sept. 26, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Wonder Food Co.
Keeno Pixies
Good - Good +
Weight: 2 oz. (57 g.) in 1 package
Calories: 320 calories in 1 package
Cost: $3.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Sigona's, Palo Alto, CA

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

The Organic Popped Quinoa at the hear(s) of these glossy, bee-bee sized dark chocolate pearls, from Wonder Food (Palm Desert, CA), were light and slightly crunchy.

The 70% dark chocolate coating had a deep, slightly earthy flavor, helping bring down the sweetness level to one that I enjoyed. And, I did appreciate the lack of extra additives and preservatives -- that allowed authentic flavors to shine through.

The package was adorned with two adorable golden tamarind monkeys ("Coco" and "Keeno") who serve as the mascots for the company's Coco Keeno product line -- made up of several products. Stay tuned tomorrow for another Coco Keeno quinoa and chocolate offering (with colorful candy shells).

Mountain Trail Mix + Quinoa - Sept. 25, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Deerfield Farms (Walgreen Co.)
Mountain Trail Mix
Weight: 1/4 cup (1 oz., 28 g.) / 10.5 oz. (298 g.) in total bag/package
Calories: 148 calories (estimate)
Cost: $2.49 (estimate)
Purchased from: Walgreens, Palo Alto, CA

Today was the final day (Day #7) of Chocolate and Cashew Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Quinoa Theme Week.

Since I was in eating-chocolate-for-breakfast mode this morning, I added a scoop of today's Deerfield Farms Mountain Trail Mix from Walgreens (Deerfield, IL) to a single-serving sized pouch of gluten-free, wild blueberry quinoa cereal from cocomama.

The Mountain Trail Mix contained raisins, peanuts, chocolate candies, cashews and almonds. And, I also added a few extra  cashews to today's portion. All this made for a very festively colored bowl of cereal. I enjoyed the nut and fruit flavors together with the chocolate highlights.

Torn Ranch - Milk Chocolate bar - Sept. 24, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Torn Ranch
Organic Signature Milk Chocolate bar
Good +
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 210 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $4.50 (estimate)
Purchased from: Torn Ranch table at event, San Francisco, CA

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Cashew Theme Week, and I combined a sea salt roasted cashew nut mix with milk chocolate.

The Organic Signature Milk Chocolate bar from Torn Ranch (Petaluma, CA), did, in fact, taste like it was made from ethically sourced and carefully selected, high-quality cacao beans. It had a rich, complex chocolate flavor (often not found in a milk chocolate) and a smooth texture.

Raw Revolution bar - Sept. 23, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Raw Indulgence Ltd.
Raw Revolution - Chocolate Coconut Bliss bar
Good +
Weight: 1.8 oz. (51 g.) in total bar
Calories: 240 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $1.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Sprouts Farmers Market, Mountain View, CA

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

Cashews frequently turn up in raw items, likely due to their smooth, and sweet, rather delicate nutty flavor. Cashew bits were pressed together with sunflower seeds, agave, dates, cocoa, almonds and coconut in this organic live food bar from Raw Indulgence (Hawthorne, NY). The result was sweet (but not too sweet), densely moist and satisfying -- and gluten free, kosher and vegan as well.

Trek Mix - September 22, 2013

Chocolate of the Day:

Trader Joe's
Just a handful of Simply Almonds, Cashews and Chocolate Trek Mix
Good
Weight: 1.5 oz. (43 g.) in 1 bag / 15 oz. (425 g.) in total package of 10 bags
Calories: 260 calories in 1 bag
Cost: $5.49 in total package of 10 bags
Purchased from: Trader Joe's, Mountain View, CA

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

Today's "Just a handful of Simply Almonds, Cashews and Chocolate Trek Mix" from Trader Joe's (Monrovia, CA), helped power my day.

Nuts and chocolate are natural bedfellows when it comes to trail mix, or in today's case -- trek mix. I happen to be a hiker, so I'm fond of packing a small bag of trail mix when I depart on a day trek, photo safari, or just a local amble around town.

This package of 10 individually-wrapped single servings was designed for grab-and-go convenience, and may also help limit consumption. (It's all too easy to reach into a large plastic bag and grab an overly large handful of of toasted, lightly salted almonds and cashews and semi-sweet chocolate chunks.)

SunRidge Double Nutz mix - Sept. 21, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

SunRidge Farms
Double Nutz and Coconut Chews (bulk mix)
Good - Good +
Weight: 3 oz. (84.9 g.) / 6.88 oz. (.43 lbs.)(194.7 g.) in total bag
Calories: 435 calories (estimate) in 3 oz. (84.9 g.) serving
Cost: $4.04 total cost of bulk bag
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

I scooped up a bag of Double Nutz and Coconut Chews (bulk trail/snack mix) from a local market. This mix was likely from SunRidge Farms (Royal Oaks, CA), a company specializing in organic and natural food (fruit, nuts) products. This Double Nutz mix contained cashews, almonds, dried cranberries and cherries, and generous dark chocolate covered chewy coconut squares.

TCHO - Cashews - Sept. 20, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

TCHO
Cashews Drenched in Dark Chocolate
Good+
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in 1 package
Calories: 200 calories (estimate) in 1/2 package
Cost: $4.99 in 1 package
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

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

I enjoyed these Cashews Drenched in Dark Chocolate from TCHO (San Francisco, CA).
The flavor of the cashew nut is delicious, sweet and subtle -- and it is to TCHO's credit that these honey roasted, whole cashew nuts were not drowned out by the dark chocolate covering.

I always feel the temptation to add a little extra salt (applewood smoked salt worked nicely) to savory-sweet treats like this that err on the sweet side. But, I believe most people will like these mild, crunchy "TCHO2GO" nuts with flavorful dark chocolate as is.