Hu Kitchen - Almond Butter Puffed Quinoa Chocolate Bar - July 20, 2015

Chocolate of the Day:

Hu Kitchen
Almond Butter + Puffed Quinoa Chocolate Bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 2.1 oz. (59.4 g.) in total bar
Calories: 340 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $6.59 in 1 bar
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate, Grains and Grasses Theme Week, with a focus on alternatives to wheat, barley and other gluten-containing grains.

Hu Kitchen (New York, NY) is an eatery specializing in less processed foods; and they make chocolate bars with no refined or cane sugar. They also minimize the use of grains. Today's Almond Butter + Puffed Quinoa Chocolate Bar was lightly sweetened with coconut palm sugar. No overly sweet sugar taste or sugar buzz. That was refreshing and wonderful.

This 4-ingredient*, vegan and "primal" 72% cacao dark bar was filled with almond butter, and contained no gluten, no emulsifiers or soy lecithin, and "No GMO."

*The 4 ingredients in this bar were: cacao, almonds, organic puffed quinoa and organic coconut sugar.

Nairn's - Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Cookies - July 19, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Nairn's
Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Cookies
Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: .706 oz. (20 g.) / 5.64 oz. (160 g.) in total box
Calories: 90 calories in 2 cookies (per label)
Cost: $5.39 for 1 box of 4 packages of cookies
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate, Grains and Grasses Theme Week.

I found today's Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Cookies from Nairn's (Edinburgh, Scotland) strangely addicting. These crunchy, satisfying sweet oat cookies were peppered with small chocolate chips and had a mild, oaty, chocolate flavor.

And the Scottish know their oats. Nairn's has been making oatcakes since 1896, and produces a line of gluten-free cookies made in a dedicated gluten-free bakery. They are careful to source gluten-free oats, and mention (on the back of the box) that one of their sources, a farm in Wyoming, is owned by a family of celiacs.

The box contained 4 "snack and go" packs (with 4 cookies per pack), a perfect size for a packed lunch, hike or emergency snack.

These cookies were made with gluten-free whole grain oats (50%) dark chocolate chips (14%), palm fruit oil from sustainable sources, demerara sugar, inulin, golden syrup, dark chocolate powder (3%), baking soda and sea salt.

Earnest Eats - Mayan Blend cereal - July 18, 2015

Chocolate of the Day:

Earnest Eats
hot and fit cereal earnest eats
Mayan Blend (cocoa and cashews + pepitas)
Good +
Weight: 1.48 oz. (42 g.) / 12.6 oz. (357 g.) in total package
Calories: 190 calories in 1 (1/2 cup) serving
Cost: $5.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, Los Altos, CA

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate, Grains and Grasses Theme Week.

What did I like best about today's hot and fit cereal earnest eats - Mayan Blend from Earnest Eats (Solana Beach, CA)? It wasn't too sweet. Most granolas seem loaded with sugar. This was not. And there was enough cocoa to really taste some authentic, darker cacao flavor.

Billed as a vegan, wheat-free "Superfood Hot Cereal," made with oats, quinoa and amaranth, this blend was flavored with cocoa, cashews and pepitas (pumpkin seeds).

Heart Thrive - Chocolate Chip Energy Bar - July 17, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

The Healthy Baking Company, LLC
Heart Thrive - Chocolate Chip Energy Bar(s)
OK+ - Good
Weight: 2 oz. (56 g.) for 1 piece / 4 oz. (112 g.) in total package of 2 pieces
Calories: 180 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $2.19 for 1 package of 2 pieces
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate, Grains and Grasses Theme Week.

This package of two heart-shaped energy bars was created by The Healthy Baking Company, LLC (Emeryville, CA), and is a part of a line of heart-shaped energy bars. This was the only flavor with chocolate that I saw at the store.

These energy bars are gluten free, Non-GMO and vegan; and they contain no wheat, dairy, preservatives, cholesterol, trans fats, and/or added oils. They are "naturally sweetened" with brown rice syrup and fruit juices. They are made in a nut-free facility.

These bars contained a smattering of small chocolate chips, but the chocolate was just a mild accent flavor. The bars had a hearty texture, but there was a slight skunky, odd flavor note. I shared a piece of this bar with a friend, and she shared this observation. Otherwise, all was good, and I loved the heart shape.

Theo Chocolate - Forbidden Rice bar - July 16, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Theo Chocolate, Inc.
Forbidden Rice bar
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 132 calories (estimate per label) in 1 oz. piece of bar
Cost: $3.29 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, Los Altos, CA

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate, Grains and Grasses Theme Week.

The Forbidden Rice Limited Edition bar from Theo Chocolate, Inc. (Seattle, WA) was a 65% dark chocolate bar with Lotus Foods organic Forbidden Rice, a "deep purple, iron-rich ancient grain fabled to ensure longevity."

The bar had a sweet, pleasant chocolate malt aroma. It was fun to taste what black puffed rice tasted like. The taste of this bar was interesting but had a slightly bitter flavor note. It was difficult to know if this was due to the mix of rice and puffed quinoa, or one or both of these additions interacting with the chocolate and/or vanilla beans.

The packaging was adorned with an attractive Art Nouveau style illustration of the Goddess of the Harvest.

Alas, this Limited Edition bar may no longer be available; however, I did see another Limited Edition bar -- a Quinoa Coconut bar -- on the Theo Chocolate website, that would have fit right in also with this week's theme, as a bar with a grain-alternative.

jcoco - Agave Quinoa Sesame bar - July 15, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Seattle Chocolates
jcoco Agave Quinoa Sesame bar
Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $N/A - gift from a friend (thank you Toni!)
Purchased from: N/A - gift from a friend

Today was Day #1 of Chocolate, Grains and Grasses Theme Week.

Grains are malty, neutral-tasting and a bit starchy -- a good foil for flavorful chocolate which has just enough acidic tang and bittersweet zing to liven things up.

Most chocolate and grain items come in the form of baked goods. Before I had to skip all things gluten, some of my favorites included: chocolate croissants, German chocolate cake, eclairs, and other lovelies. Thankfully there are plenty of gluten-free alternatives to these sweets now -- except perhaps flaky pastry items such as croissants.

This week, I'll be focusing on chocolates with grain or grass inclusions or alternatives, such as today's jcoco Agave Quinoa Sesame bar from Seattle Chocolates (Seattle, WA).

Quinoa is from a plant native to South American that's grown primarily for its edible seeds. It has become popular in the last several years in the U.S. However, it is neither grass nor grain, but rather a "pseudocereal." (Chenopodium quinoa is more closely related to the beet family.) However, quinoa can serve, and is serving, as a grain alternative to couscous, bulgar wheat, rice and other starches, and can complement or replace other cereal grains.

Today's non-GMO and gluten-free Agave Quinoa Sesame milk chocolate bar was sweet and a good blend of creamy sweet milk chocolate and crunchy, chewy seeds and quinoa. Agave and sugar glazed quinoa to be precise. A dash of sea salt helped balance the sweetness.

This bar was part of an assortment of 6 small-sized, different flavored jcoco bars from Seattle Chocolates.

Bonnat - Los Colorados Equateur 75% bar - July 14, 2015

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Chocolat Bonnat / Bonnat Chocolatier
Los Colorados Equateur (Ecuador) 75% de cacao (bar)
Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 152 calories (estimate) in 1 oz. (28.3 g.) piece of bar
Cost: $16.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #10, the last day of an extended Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

Today's Los Colorados Equateur (Ecuador) tablette (bar) was made by Chocolate Bonnat (Voiron, Isere, France).

Bonnat is a business with a strong family history in chocolate. Felix Bonnat established a chocolate shop back in the1880s in the French town of Voiron. And the family tradition continues today. The current Maitre Chocolatier (head chocolatier) is Stephane Bonnat.

The company has produced at least 10 single origin chocolates, including today's Ecuador bar.*

This 75% cacao bar was made in France, with unroasted cacao beans shipped in from Ecuador -- from the Santa Domingo de Los Colorados region, so named because of the local colors there associated with the Tsachilas people, who dye their hair (and clothes) with plant materials (achiote and other natural colors).

SOMAChocolate.com

The bar's aroma was subtle and pleasing. One of the Bonnat hallmarks was apparent with the first bite of this bar -- a buttery, creamy texture and melt combined with good flavor (flavorful and balanced dried fruit, floral notes and cream). I also get a tiny whiff of floral-banana-marshmallow with many Ecuador bars, including this one. The overall flavor was quite good and without strong bitterness.

I enjoyed a similar 75% dark Ecuador from Bonnat last year, but the packaging was a different color, the bar title was different; and it's likely the harvest year was slightly earlier. So I don't think this was a repeat.

Just in case, I had a second single origin chocolate today, albeit not from Ecuador. (They were single origin truffles from SOMA Chocolatemaker (Toronto, Canada).) It was fruity and sweet and creamy and quite good. (The tasting notes mentioned wild raspberries and wildflower honey.)

*I was first introduced to Bonnat chocolate bars by Sunita de Tourreil, owner and chocolate curator extraordinaire at The Chocolate Garage (Palo Alto, CA). The creamy, buttery texture and smoother taste of these bars was a nice complement to some of the strong, bold flavors of craft bars emerging from the wave of new American makers several years ago. Thank you Sunita.