Chocolate, Fruits and Botanicals Month

Chocolate, Fruit and Botanicals Month
August 7, 2016

While not every food item benefits from being mixed with chocolate, most fruits, seeds and edible plants/flower can be blended successfully with chocolate in some way. I've been researching this subject for 10 years and have eaten chocolate with 100s of other plant-based (and non-plant based items).

Fragrant black peppercorns? Chili peppers? Dried fruits, flowers? Nuts? Herbs and spices? Yes, all of these, and many more.

Pure dark chocolate is a plant food after all, made from the ground seeds (aka beans) found at the center of a fruity-pulp lined pod. So perhaps its ability to complement and/or enhance other botanical items isn't a surprise.

As part of the countdown to my 10-year anniversary of eating a different chocolate every day (September 10-11, 2016), I'll be featuring chocolates that incorporate other plant items for the next month. 

Kit's Organic - Dark Chocolate Peanut bar - Aug. 7, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Clif Bar and Company
Kit's Organic
Fruit + Nut Bar - Dark Chocolate Peanut
Good
Weight: 1.62 oz. (46 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 190 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $ missing information in 1 bar
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Peanut Butter Theme Week.

Today's Kit's* Organic Fruit + Nut Bar - Dark Chocolate Peanut bar was made in Canada and distributed by Clif Bar and Company (Emeryville, CA).

This bar was moist and dense and had a naturally-sweet (but not too sweet) chewy, fruity and nutty brownie texture and taste.

I also enjoyed trying a few Chimes Peanut Butter Ginger Chews today. These small, individually-wrapped candies (available in original ginger and other flavors) had only four ingredients: cane sugar, ginger, tapioca starch and peanut butter. Simple, flavorful and, along with the Kit's bar, a good trail/walking snack.

*Kit Crawford is the real person (and co-owner of Clif Bar and Company) behind the line of Kit's Organic Fruit + Nut bars.

Cytosport - Muscle Milk High Protein Bar - Aug. 6, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Cytosport, Inc.
Muscle Milk High Protein Bar
Chocolate Peanut Caramel
Good
Weight: 2.6 oz. (73 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 320 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $0.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Peanut Butter Theme Week.

Today's Muscle Milk Chocolate Peanut Caramel bar made for Cytosport, Inc. (Benicia, CA).

This generously sized, gluten free, high protein bar was covered in chocolate and contained a dense, chewy, core with 25 grams of protein and peanut pieces.

For additional protein and peanut flavor, I added (dipped the bar in) a little extra high-quality peanut butter.

Fun Facts about Peanut Butter

Like cacao, peanut butter dates back to the days of the Aztecs and Incas. However I would like to say thank you to American inventor, George Washington Carver, who is said to have promoted over 300 uses for the humble goober pea (legume), including peanut butter and/or paste.

Fun fact: Peanut butter is called pindakaas (peanut cheese) in the Netherlands—instead of pindabotr (peanut butter)—because the word butter refers only to products that contain real (dairy) butter.

Clif Bar - Organic Chocolate Peanut Butter Energy Bar - Aug. 5, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Clif Bar and Company
Nut Butter Filled - Organic Chocolate Peanut Butter Energy Bar
Good - Good+
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 230 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $1.79 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Safeway, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Peanut Butter Theme Week.

Today's Organic Chocolate Peanut Butter Energy Bar was a member of a relatively new line of nut butter filled bars from Clif Bar and Company (Emeryville, CA).

This oat-based chocolate energy bar with a peanut butter filling made me think: what a great idea. I'm surprised I haven't seen more like this sooner.

The organic bar had a soft but substantial chew and wasn't too crumbly. And I liked that it was not ultra-sweet.

I recently sampled Clif Bar's hazelnut chocolate nut butter filled bar (where the chocolate was on the inside), and it was quite good also.

Note: There was no guarantee this bar was gluten free, but it contained no wheat ingredients.

Pure Protein Bar - Chocolate Peanut Butter bar - Aug. 4, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Pure Protein Bar
Chocolate Peanut Butter
Good +
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 200 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $3.99 for 1 box of 6 bars
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Peanut Butter Theme Week.

Today's Gluten Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Pure Protein Bar was "Carefully manufactured (in Canada) for Worldwide Sport Nutritional Supplements, Inc." (Bayport, NY).

The slightly chewy, slightly crunchy bar with satisfying chocolate and peanut flavors contained 20 g. of protein—from peanuts, whey protein and soy protein.

The higher protein content made this bar more satisfying/filling, and helped balance out the sweetness level, so it didn't taste like a pure chocolate candy bar.

Heart of Shasta - Peanut Butter Organic bar - Aug. 3, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Heart of Shasta
Peanut Butter Organic Raw Chocolate Bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .325 oz. (9.2 g.) / 1.3 oz. (36.8 g.) in total bar
Calories: 48 calories (estimate) in 1/4 bar
Cost: $3.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Peanut Butter Theme Week.

Unlike other chocolate and peanut butter blends and items this week, today's Peanut Butter Organic Raw Chocolate Bar from Heart of Shasta (Mt. Shasta, CA) had a slightly more delicate flavor. The peanut butter filling was a smooth blend of honey, coconut oil and peanuts, and had pleasant, almost floral notes to it.

And the chocolate (made from 100% cacao powder and cocoa butter) was more subtle than chocolate made from roasted cacao beans.

Unilever - Magnum Double Peanut Butter ice cream bar - Aug. 2, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Unilever
Magnum Double Peanut Butter ice cream bars
Good +
Weight: 3.38 fl. oz. (100 mL) / 10.14 fl. oz. (100 mL) total box of 3 bars
Calories: 340 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $4.59 (estimate) for 1 box of 3 bars
Purchased from: Safeway, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Peanut Butter Theme Week.

Today's box of Magnum Double Peanut Butter ice cream bars were from Unilever (Englewood Cliffs, NJ). (The company's Magnum ice cream bar line includes several options, including Double Chocolate and Chocolate Infinity.)

This bar had a peanut butter ice cream center, dipped in a "chocolatey" coating, "peanut buttery sauce and milk chocolate." There was plenty of peanut butter + chocolate flavors—layered to satisfy creamy as well as crunchy-melty cravings.