Goodbody - Mint Chocolate Chip - Oct. 11, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Goodbody Baked Goods
Mint Chocolate Chip cookie bites
Good +
Weight: 1.35 oz. (38.3 g.) / 5 oz. (140 g.) total package
Calories: 167 calories (estimate) in 5 pieces
Cost: $5.99 (estimate) for 1 package
Purchased from: Abe's Market, online order

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

These gluten-free, Mint Chocolate Chip cookie bites from Goodbody Baked Goods (Boulder, CO), were soft with just the right degree of softness and slight chewiness.

The small, square-shaped bites were sweet, without being too sweet. They were, in fact, labeled as low-glycemic treats. (The ingredients listed included almond flour, coconut flour, chocolate chips, coconut nectar, eggs, and peppermint flavoring.)

Seth Ellis - Dark Chocolate Mint Cups - Oct. 10, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Seth Ellis Chocolatier
Dark Chocolate Mint Cups
Good
Weight: .375 oz. (10.6 g.) / 1.5 oz. (42 g.) total package of 2 cups
Calories: 50 calories in 1/2 cup
Cost: $1.69 for 1 package of 2 cups
Purchased from: Whole Foods, Palo Alto, CA

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

How do you start your day? This morning I started mine with a light breakfast, and part of a Sun Cups Dark Chocolate Mint Cup from Seth Ellis Chocolatier (Boulder, CO).

These dark cups contained a peppermint-flavored white chocolate filling; and the organic, nut free and gluten free cups may provide a chocolate candy alternative for those who can't eat nuts.

John and Kira's Mint square - Oct. 9, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

John and Kira's
Drew Elementary Garden Mint chocolate
Very Good
Weight: .383 oz. (10.86 g.) in 1 piece / 5.75 oz. (163 g.) in total box
Calories: 57 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $ part of larger assortment (Figs + Every Flavor) box set
Purchased from: John and Kira's, online order

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

John and Kira's (Philadelphia, PA) 15-piece "Every Flavor Collection" box was a grand sampler (10 different flavors). Made with Valrhona chocolate, these pieces showcased ingredients from
small producers/farmers and local gardens.

Today's Drew Elementary Garden Mint square, filled with a creamy mint ganache (filling), was named after mint grown at a local school garden. Students learn about the growing process, and funds from mint sales to John and Kira's help fund the continued operation of school gardens.

Flavors were fresh and natural tasting, and the ganache was smooth and flavorful. The Valrhona chocolate shell was thinner (than the company's ladybugs, bees, mushrooms, and other molded shapes) -- a plus. A thinner shell meant I could taste more of the ganache.

John and Kira's Mint Ladybugs - Oct. 8, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

John and Kira's
Garden Mint Ladybugs
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) for box of 9 pieces
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) for 3 pieces/ladybugs
Cost: $29.00 for a 1 box of 9 pieces (3 different flavors)
Purchased from: John and Kira's (online order)

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

I continued to sample another flavor (Garden Mint) in the 9-piece Chocolate Ladybug Medley box from John and Kira's (Philadelphia, PA) that I'd ordered recently. Last week I tried the yellow, honey lavender ladybugs and really enjoyed this flavor combination. (I'll finish up the raspberry red ladybugs in the near future.)

Kids of all ages will like the bug facts printed on the cardboard underneath each chocolate... Ladybugs may fly 100 miles for food, and hibernate under leaves during the winter. Ladybugs also come in different colors. 

Each of today's green ladybug shells (made with 62% Valrhona dark chocolate) were filled with a creamy, natural mint infused flavorful ganache, with tiny sparkle notes of coffee (in the chocolate) and cucumber (in the mint filling). All very pleasing.

As part of their mission statement, the folks at John and Kira's source ingredients* from small family growers/farmers/producers and urban gardens.

*Note: to those avoiding gluten and artificial ingredients, these ladybugs do contain some glucose syrup, and some artificial FDA #'d colors.

Bees And Beans Mint Bar - Oct. 7, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Bees and Beans
Mint Bar
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .3 oz. (8.6 g.) / 1.8 oz. (52 g.) in total bar
Calories: 45 calories (estimate) in 1/6 bar
Cost: $5.00 (estimate) in 1 bar
Purchased from: Bi-Rite Market, San Francisco, CA

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Honey Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Mint Theme Week.

Mint and dark chocolate is a classic combination. Done right, this pairing is wonderful, refreshing and sophisticated. This (seasonal) Mint Bar from Bees and Beans (Portland, OR) was done right. It contained a great blend of fresh flavors -- a 70% dark chocolate shell enveloped a creamy, honey-kissed, natural tasting mint fondant center.

Bees and Beans founder Faith Dionne has made a line of small-batch artisan candy bars that incorporate fresh, local ingredients from Oregon (honey, mint, filberts, raspberries, etc.). I also look forward to trying Dionne's dark chocolate covered "Honey Bar" with honey caramel, salted filbert and "honey nougat and a sprinkling of sea salt" in the future.

Lappert's Rocky Road + Honey - Oct. 6, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Lappert's Ice Cream
Rocky Road ice cream
Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 1 Pint container
Calories: 71 calories (estimate) for 1 oz. ice cream
Cost: $7.99 (estimate) for 1 pint container
Purchased from: Lappert's Ice Cream, Sausalito, CA

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Honey Theme Week.

I loved taking a chocolate field trip to Hawaii earlier this year. I found some delicious items at local farmers markets there, thanks to friends who farm Kona coffee and fruit there.

One sweet discovery: Big Island Bees (Kealakekua, HI) and their three single source (single flower origin) honeys.

I've been making smaller portioned desserts in shotglasses this year. This afternoon I found a bee-themed sake cup that was just the right size for a micro-ice cream, Hawaiian-themed sundae.

I started with a 1 oz. (28 g.) scoop of Rocky Road ice cream from Lappert's Ice Cream (from the mainland, Sausalito, CA, store). I added a dab of Ohi'a Lehua Blossom (a spiky, reddish flower) organic, raw honey from Big Island Bees; and topped this tiny sundae with Hawaiian cocoa nibs.

Aloha.

Honey Lavender Ladybugs - Oct. 5, 2013

Chocolate of the Day:

John and Kira's
Honey Lavender Ladybugs
Very Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.)
Calories: 150 calories (estimate)
Cost: $29.00 for 1 9-piece box
Purchased from: John and Kira's (online order)

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

This morning was filled with scrumptious chocolate bugs from John and Kira's (Philadelphia, PA) -- not real bugs of course (although chocolate-covered insects do exist).

Today I enjoyed three fresh, sunny yellow, John and Kira's Honey Lavender Ladybugs -- part of a Chocolate Ladybug Medley (9-piece box of 3 different flavors*). The company blended a touch of lavender with local (Pennsylvania) honey in their creamy, Valrhona chocolate ganache centers.

Thank you to a reader who pointed me to John and Kira's. I love receiving news of chocolates I haven't yet tasted. It reminds me just how abundantly and chocolate-filled this world is, even after seven years of sampling all that I can find.

* The other two flavors were garden mint (green) and signature raspberry (red)