Roshen - Dark Chocolate chopped hazelnuts 56% cocoa (bar) - Jan. 9, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

Roshen
Dark Chocolate chopped hazelnuts 56% cocoa (bar)
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 3.18 oz. (90 g.) in total bar
Calories: 180 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $1.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Crossroads Specialty Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Hazelnut Theme Week.

Today's Dark Chocolate chopped hazelnuts 56% cocoa (bar) was made by Roshen (Ukraine), and imported by Roshen USA LLC (Cranbury, NJ).

This dark bar had a sweet chocolate aroma with a slight pleasant smoky, roasted nut note. Hazelnut pieces added a soft, crunchy nutty texture and flavor.

Taza Chocolate - Dark Chocolate Covered Hazelnuts - Jan. 8, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Taza Chocolate
Dark Chocolate Covered Hazelnuts
Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 4.2 oz. (119 g.) in total package
Calories: 170 calories in 1 oz. serving
Cost: $7.95 for 1 package
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA


Welcome to Day #8 of Hit the Trail with Chocolate Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Hazelnuts Theme Week.

Today's Dark Chocolate Covered Hazelnuts were from Taza Chocolate (Somerville, MA).


The 55% cacao chocolate was stone ground, Organic, Direct Trade, Non GMO Project Verified, Certified Gluten Free, Kosher Pareve, dairy free, soy free, and vegan.

The roasted, organic hazelnuts was crunchy and flavorful and complemented the slightly rustic, flavorful dark chocolate. This was a great winter walk snack and not too sweet (thank you!).

Today's walk outside was extra beautiful. Rainbows by the Pacific Ocean and a walk on the beach to look at elephant seals and surfers. And chocolate.

Ingredients: Organic dark chocolate (organic cacao beans, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, organic vanilla beans), organic roasted hazelnuts.

Nestle - Winter Dark Chocolate and Mint Morsels - Jan. 7, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Nestle
Toll House - Winter Dark Chocolate and Mint Morsels
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 10 oz. (283 g.) in total pkg.
Calories: 161.7 calories in 1 oz. of morsels
Cost: $1.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Hit the Trail with Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's Nestle Toll House Winter Dark Chocolate and Mint Morsels were distributed by Nestle Baking, a division of Nestle USA, Inc. (Solon, OH).

How might these morsels best be transformed into a portable outdoor snack? What other ingredients would they be compatible with? This was this morning's self-inflicted challenge.

The morsels had a pronounced mint and sweet dark chocolate aroma and flavor, but, surprisingly made for a good snack mix that also contained:

• Chocolate Chex (rice) cereal 
• green pistachios and pumpkin seeds
• homemade bits of almond sesame crackers w/ sea salt 

The mint gave this treat an extra refreshing kick during a winter waterside hike today.

Hu Kitchen - Hu Chocolate-Covered Hunks Almonds + Sea Salt - Jan. 6, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Hu Kitchen
Hu Chocolate-Covered Hunks Almonds + Sea Salt
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) /4 oz. (113 g.) in total package
Calories: 170 calories in 1 oz. serving
Cost: $6.95 for 1 package
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Hit the Trail with Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's Hu Kitchen Almonds + Sea Salt Chocolate-Covered Hunks, distributed by Hu Products LLC (NY, NY), made for a high-end trail snack.

Hu Kitchen offers chocolate bars, hunks, gems and gluten-free crackers -- snacks made with simple, healthy ingredients for hu(mans).

The "hunks" (pieces) consisted of whole almonds coated with rustic-looking chocolate (made with house-ground cacao) that lacked the glossy exterior that many chocolate covered items have. By avoiding confectioners glaze, the ingredients list* was made shorter and perhaps more benign. (Hu founders (and siblings), Jordan Brown and Jessica Karp, wanted to leave out glaze that was largely "chemically-treated insect goo" and other iffy additives and substances.)

The chocolate coating (no percent listed) tasted authentic and smooth. Sweetened with coconut sugar, these weren't too sweet (thank you!). And a well-balanced touch of sea salt added a perfect hint of savory.

Ingredients: Almonds, organic cacao, unrefined organic coconut sugar, organic fair-trade cocoa butter, sea salt.

O Organics - Organic Bittersweet Chocolate Chunks - Jan. 5, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

O Organics
Organic Bittersweet Chocolate Chunks
Good - Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 10 oz. (283 g.) in total package
Calories: 150.9 calories in 1 oz. (28 g.) serving
Cost: $3.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Safeway, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Hit the Trail with Chocolate Theme Week.

I made my own organic trail mix today, combining an ounce of Organic Bittersweet Chocolate Chunks from O Organics (distributed by Lucerne Foods Inc., Pleasanton, CA)* with a handful of O Organics Organic Cranberry Nut Trail Mix.

The dark chocolate helped perk up the trail mix, which provided some quick, concentrated energy for a day outside at the Palo Alto Baylands. The combination of smooth dark chocolate, bright dried fruit and crunchy nuts
was appealing, if for no other reason, because of the bright variety of tastes and textures.

Seattle Chocolate - Hiker's Trail Mix Dark Chocolate Truffle Bar - Jan. 4, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Seattle Chocolate Company
Hiker's Trail Mix Dark Chocolate Truffle Bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 g.) 2.5 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 180 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $4.50 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Day #3 of Hit the Trail with Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's Hiker's Trail Mix Dark Chocolate Truffle Bar—with peanuts, California raisins and roasted sunflower seeds in dark chocolate* (no cacao percent listed)—was from Seattle Chocolate Company (Seattle, WA).

The gluten free and vegan bar had a roasted peanut and chocolate aroma and the chocolate had a smooth, creamy dark chocolate truffle melt and mouthfeel. The raisins were moist and chewy, and the nuts and sunflower seeds provided some soft crunchy texture.

This trail mix bar was an enjoyable treat after a beautiful January hike with two lovely chocolate friends by the San Francisco bay.

*Rainforest Alliance Certified, Kosher Dairy, Non GMO Project Verified

Clif Bar - Sierra Trail Mix (bar) - Jan. 3, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Clif Bar and Company
Sierra Trail Mix (bar)
Good
Weight: 2.4 oz. (68 g.) in total bar
Calories: 250 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Day #2 of Hit the Trail with Chocolate Theme Week.

I love being outdoors in the winter. A walk or hike in the fresh air makes food (including chocolate) taste better. So, even though it's January, as long as it isn't raining heavily. I'll be outside this week every day (with chocolate).

Today's Sierra Trail Mix (bar) was from Clif Bar and Company (Emeryville, CA).

The bar contained peanuts, chocolate and raisins; and this hiking snack had a sweet trail mix and granola aroma and flavor, compressed into a crunchy, chewy substantial bar.

*One rumor has it that trail mix was invented by two California surfers in 1968 when they mixed peanuts and raisins together for a snack. I can remember as a child carrying around plastic bags of homemade trail mix, "gorp," and/or granola with chocolate pieces and nuts in California in the 1960s, so this story sounds plausible. 

Many outdoor enthusiasts (my parents included) in the 1960s and early 1970s were creative DIYers. My father, an engineer, made his own wetsuits, ski clothing, trail mix, and just about everything else one could think of. And my mother packed awesome paper bag lunches for family adventures.