Results tagged “chocolate”

SweetRiot UnBAR 70

By: Ellen | Nov 14, 2009

The SweetRiot unBAR 70 is declared the "unofficial bar of the world, having 70% dark chocolate with crunchy cacao 'peaces' and plump raisins." For $2.39, this was a pricey treat, although less expensive than the $3.99 SweetRiot All Natural Dark Cacao Nibs. I'm not the biggest fan of raisins and chocolate, but I wanted to give this a try anyway. After all, when it comes to chocolate, my motto is: the darker the better. I was especially excited for the crunchy cacao "peaces," so I unwrapped my chocolate right away (after buying it, of course).

The 1.34-ounce bar was divided into 4 squares, each of which was quite substantial. I popped one into my mouth and was greeted with a deliciously dark chocolate flavor, crunchy chocolate nibs, and plump raisins as they described. Surprisingly, I found the raisins to be a very nice touch! They weren't overpowering, but they lent a little extra sweetness and chewiness. I loved the overall combination of the ingredients. ... continue reading »

SweetRiot All Natural Dark Cacao Nibs

By: Tanya Patrice | Nov 14, 2009

I love chocolate, but it's dangerously addictive. Whenever I buy a chocolate bar, I always find that, despite my best efforts, it's gone within a matter of hours (if not minutes)! For this reason, I generally don't buy chocolate bars too often. But why should I deprive myself of this delicious treat, especially with all the health benefits of antioxidant-rich dark chocolate? If you're like me, then you might want to check out SweetRiot All Natural Dark Cacao Nibs.

Each tin of SweetRiot chocolate is filled with "100% Dark Cacao Nibs Covered in Dark Chocolate." This all-natural treat is a perfect alternative to plain chocolate bars - it's fun to eat, comes in three fun flavors (flavor 50, flavor 65, and flavor 70, with increasing proportions of dark chocolate). In case you've never experienced the pleasure of eating a cocoa nib before, it's actually roasted cocoa beans with a really subtle chocolate taste and flavor - think a small, bitter piece of chocolate. Make them covered with chocolate, like SweetRiot did - and you'll have a little piece of heaven. While there is still a lot of saturated fat, as with other chocolate treats, I find that I'll eat less of these small baby nibs as a treat. ... continue reading »

Xocai X Power Squares

By: Ellen | Nov 10, 2009

I was at the gym today, and there was a party going on (go figure - a party in a gym? One of the many reasons I love Equinox). Interspersed among the many free foods and drinks offered was a booth offering Xocai X Power Squares. Curious, I stepped over for a closer look (and a free sample). The schtick: chocolate with huge amounts of antioxidants due to a special preparation method. Xocai says, "This boasts eight times the levels of epicatechins and catechins, and four times the levels of procyandins than cacao produced with standard processing. X Power Squares are loaded with antioxidants and have an unparalleled ORAC Value of 3,582 per 6g Square. The Xoçai™ X Power Squares are the most powerful, health-promoting, decadent chocolate ever produced."

These squares may be packed with delicious antioxidants (from cacao, açai berries, and blueberries) and naturally sweetened with raw cane juice crystals, with no artificial colors flavors, preservatives, or fillers, but the real reason to eat this is that they taste delicious. Seriously delicious. They're dark chocolate, rich and melt-in-your-mouth. The only ingredients are dark chocolate (unsweetened chocolate, raw cane juice crystals, cocoa, lecithin (emulsifier)), açai powder, and blueberry powder.

Of course, you have to have willpower when it comes to chocolate. The Xocai X Power Squares are great fuel for a long run - but since 3 squares have 25% of the daily value for saturated fat - you might not want to not snack on them late at night when you're tempted to keep on eating.

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Emerald Cocoa Roast Almonds

By: Emily W | Jul 8, 2009

Chocolate & Almonds is a stellar combo that seems to be making a takeover bid for the title of "Most Popular Desert Combo", from the reigning champions, Chocolate & Peanut Butter. Seriously, just check out our reviews of Almondina Choconut Almond Cookies and Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Unsweetened Chocolate Almond Milk) to see how delicious this sweet & nutty combo truly is. Or you can simply just keep on reading!

I found 100 calorie packs of Emerald Cocoa Roast Almonds at Target tonight and could not pass them up (I have had great experience with flavored almonds). I decided that $2.79 for (7) 18 gram baggies of dark chocolate nutty goodness was well worth every penny. Was I correct?

You bet your bottom dollar I was! The second you open your flavor-packed pouch, the aroma of dark cocoa powder consumes all of the air in at least a 2 foot radius around you. You almost wouldn't have to eat them to get your chocolate fix (however, I wouldn't go that far because you would really be missing out). The crunchy, smooth, nutty almond base is the star of the show with the dusting of cocoa offering a subtle chocolate essence (the smell is what really makes these little gems so superior). Furthermore, after consuming your special treat, you will possess a chocolate satisfaction without having to go through the sugar roller-coaster that many sugary treats take you on.

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Skinny Cow Chocolate Truffle Bars

By: Ellen | Jun 18, 2009

Skinny Cow Low Fat Ice Cream Sandwich and Skinny Cow Vanilla Skinny Dippers have already received rave reviews, so when I saw the Skinny Cow Truffle Bars - available in chocolate and French vanilla flavors, I picked up a box (of the chocolate flavor) right away. a 6-pack box cost me $5.99, which was a bit pricey but less so with a coupon from the website.

After unwrapped the bar, I found a pleasingly large chocolate bar drizzled with crisscrossing patterns of chocolate ribbons. I took a bite and savored the flavor. It was rich, not icy, and the chocolate was perfect. That said, I didin't experience the same flavors as a rich truffle ice cream but it was good regardless.

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Weight Watchers Smart Ones Mint Chocolate Chip Sundae

By: Delia L | Apr 22, 2009

I usually eat ice cream by itself without any embellishment to savor the ice cream for its own merits, but I also don't like keeping a hodgepodge of barely used ice cream toppings in my small kitchen. Since Mint Chocolate Chip is one of my favorite flavors, I decided to try the Weight Watchers Smart Ones Mint Chocolate Chip Sundae.

Each Sundae has a swirly dollop of mint ice cream on a bed of chocolate cookie crumbs with fudge and mini chocolate chips on top. The ice cream was nice and creamy, and I liked the combination of the ice cream and the toppings. The cookie crumbs were kind of bland and didn't really mesh with the ice cream well. I would have preferred having a whole cookie as the base rather than the crumbs, but it was still a tasty dessert for the most part.

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Guiltless Gourmet Bananas Foster Dessert Bowl

By: Sarah J | Apr 19, 2009

I have no self control when it comes to sweets. None. Give me a cake and I will try my hardest to not eat the whole thing. Bad for my diet, bad for my health, and bad for my poor tummy! Knowing that, I look for portion controlled sweets. Usually I am left with little options, and a big craving for something sweet. Betty Crocker tried to win me over with her Warm Delights Mini Dessert Bowls, but 150 calories for a small bowl and a long ingredients list, which didn't fill me up just wasn't going to cut it.

Then I heard about Guiltless Gourmet's Dessert Bowls. These all natural, portion control desserts come in 3 decadent flavors: Bananas Foster, Hot Chocolate Brownie, and Black Velvet Cake. I tried the Bananas Foster Cake. The taste was delish! No way did this taste like "low fat." The banana flavor was complimented perfectly with the rich caramel sauce. I didn't microwave mine for the full minute, causing my cake to be a little more 'doughy', ut I did this on purpose because I like it better that way. It tasted like real cake batter!

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South Beach Living Fiber Fit Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

By: Tanya Patrice | Feb 19, 2009

South Beach Living Fiber Fit Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies come in pre-portioned 100 calorie snack packs, and while I am not a big fan of this snack size (who says snack are supposed to be 100 calories?), I was impressed that they managed to pack 20% of the daily recommendations of fiber into each serving, so I was excited to try it.

When I opened the pack and emptied the contents onto a plate, 6 cookies fell out. They were 6 deliciously sweet and chocolatey cookies, but certainly not enough for a snack by itself. The name says "double chocolate" but it didn't taste any extra chocolatey to me. I also didn't really experience any chocolate chunks - but then again, these were just a little bit bigger than a quarter, and not very thick, so it's hard to distinguish any ingredients. A good use for this, might be coupled with tea (may I suggest Celestial Seasonings Original Indian Spice TeaHouse Chai), or crumbled over some low fat yogurt like Dannon Light n Fit 0% Plus Strawberry Yogurt, and since you wouldn't need more than 2 or 3, it would certainly make this pack last longer.

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South Beach Living Snack Pack Delights Dark Chocolate Covered Soynuts

By: Ellen | Feb 19, 2009

I was in the grocery store in California picking up some staples when I saw South Beach Living Snack Pack Delights Dark Chocolate Covered Soynuts sitting inconspicuously on the shelf. No sooner had I spotted it than it found its way into my basket as I'm a big fan of South Beach Living products (their nutrition bars and frozen meals are pretty good).

As you might expect from 100 calorie pouches of chocolate and nuts, these packs are small; each contains a 2/3 ounce serving of the snack. Size aside, this snack is fantastic. The dark chocolate is smooth and flavorful, and the nuts are crunchy and pair perfectly with the chocolate.

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Hershey's Mint Milk Chocolate Sticks

By: Liza | Dec 10, 2008

I had seen Hershey Sticks for sometime now, but even though I love chocolate I had never really been interested to try these, as I was thinking that they just wouldn't be able to satisfy me. But the last time I was at Wal-mart they were 2-for-1 so I decided to give the Mint Milk Chocolate type a try.

One stick weighs 11 grams and is about 4 1/2 inches long. The box comes with 9 sticks which are individually wrapped. I thought overall the taste was really good. They are sweet but not too sweet, rich and with a subtle minty flavor. Personally, I want my mint chocolates to have a more strong, tingly, minty flavor to them though. The attempt at portion control is commended, but eating just 1 is not enough to satisfy a serious choc-o-holic's cravings.

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Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Sticks

By: Emily W | Dec 10, 2008

I have been eying Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Sticks ever since their debut, but I just didn't get around to trying them until recently. According to Hershey's website, "Hershey's Sticks are a convenient, guilt-free way to indulge in chocolate ... each Stick is perfectly sized, containing only 60 calories." A 60 calorie chocolate stick - count me in!

Each stick is a compact confection offering a smooth and creamy sweetness. The texture provides a smooth and pleasant mouth feel. If you enjoy Hershey's Dark Chocolate (or if you have yet to try it), these are a great way to fulfill your chocolate craving without expanding your waistline. The richness of the chocolate leads to a satisfying ending. Furthermore, the long skinny stick allows for the treat to last longer than a small compact "brick" of chocolate. I think that the shape and size of the bar is perfect, but for someone with serious chocolate cravings - then you're probably going to tear through the entire box on 1 sitting. The sticks are about 4.5 inches long and they are really thin.

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Attune Cool Mint Chocolate Probiotic Wellness Bars

By: Emily W | Feb 29, 2008

While I was deciding on what yogurt to purchase for the week, my eyes were drawn to a box of colorful nutrition bars - in the yogurt section. Of course, I was intrigued as to what these bars were doing in the yogurt section, so trying them was a must. Turns out that these bars are Attune Probiotic Wellness Bars which are supposed to promote digestive health and improve immunity due to the probiotic cultures in the bars - 5 times more than the active cultures of yogurt.

While Attune makes Granola probiotic wellness bars as well, I opted for the Chocolate variety, specifically an Attune Cool Mint Chocolate Probiotic Wellness Bar. Upon ripping off the corner of the package, the smell brought visions of Andes mints dancing in my head. However, once the wrapper came off, the visions subsided as a chocolate bar full of crisp rice tantalized my taste buds. The bar is scored in the middle with the word attune written on either side. Each bite is crispy and creamy at the same time. The smooth chocolate contains a slight hint of minty essence that serves its purpose without being overpowering. This bar tasted exactly like a sinfully delicious chocolate bar. Health was the last thing on my mind while enjoying the minty creation.

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Jell-O Sugar Free Chocolate Vanilla Pudding Snack

By: Lizabeth | Dec 27, 2007

For me, pudding elicits fond memories of lunch boxes and brown bags for me, but since I'm trying to cut down on the calories, I decided to try Jell-O's Sugar-Free Chocolate Vanilla pudding.

There's a layer of vanilla right in the center of this pudding. I suppose I'm supposed to dip my spoon in and come out with the picturesque chocolate-vanilla-chocolate pattern on my spoon. However, stirring it together just until it was swirled seemed more logical to me. The flavor is shockingly good for a sugar-free product: sweet, but without that saccharine metallic after-taste. The chocolate flavor wasn't overwhelming, and I could still taste the vanilla even though I had emulsified it; that in and of itself is a testament.

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Betty Crocker Warm Mini Delights Molten Chocolate Cake

By: Tanya Patrice | Dec 3, 2007

I suppose shopping in my chef's uniform is not the way to go when buying ready-to-eat processed foods. But as someone who practices portion control by weighing everything, I was very intrigued that I might be able to satisfy my sweet tooth and occasional craving for chocolate cake - and be forced to stop after 150 calories, because each little Betty Crocker Warm Mini Delights Molten Chocolate Cake is 150 calories.

Chocolate cake is simple enough to make at home (my dad questioned my buying this when we spent so much time and money on a professional culinary school), but can a pre-made, portion controlled cake taste alright? Well, I must hand it to Madam Crocker, this cake is goo-oo-ood. Super moist, maybe even too moist to be considered a cake, and for a chocoholic like me, this is the holy grail. Sadly, its TEENY TINY. Mini? Yeah, its mini even for a baby.

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Goody2Chews Chocolatey Fruit and Nut Snack

By: Tanya Patrice | Oct 31, 2007

Goody2Chews Fruit & Nut Snack are bite-sized squares made from fruits (dates and raisins) and almonds. They come in 3 varieties, caramel, yogurt and chocolate, which is the one that I tried. The squares are totally delish! I bit into one and I was actually surprised it was so good - fruity in a not too sweet kind of way. Although this says "chocolate" that only refers to the thin coating on the outside of the chewy square (which has cocoa powder in it). So while this may satisfy your sweet tooth, it might not cut it for a chocolate craving.

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Curves Chocolate Peanut Chewy Granola Bar

By: Tanya Patrice | Sep 6, 2007

Curves is a popular fitness center for women only with locations throughout the United States, and they recently partnered with General Mills to lend their name to a new line of products including Curves Granola Bars. I picked up a pack of the Chewy Chocolate Peanut variety on my last excursion to the grocery store (along with Curves Cereal, but that's another review).

I loved the flavor of this bar. It has a sweet chocolatey taste (they used real chocolate chips), and I could taste more peanuts than oats or rice crisp. - think a peanuty, chocolatey candy bar. Plus it has the perfect perfect texture - not too chewy, not too hard. It was so good that I thought it would have a ton of calories, but a closer look at the label reveals that it's 100 calories per bar. Granted, the bar is small at only 25 grams - anything shy of 40 grams just leaves me hungrier.

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JellO Sugar Free Chocolate Mint Fudge Pudding Snack

By: Tanya Patrice | May 15, 2007

After having reviewed the JellO Fat Free Pudding Snack I still wasn't a big fan of pudding because the texture weirds me out. Nevertheless, a few comments recommended I try the Sugar Free Jell-O pudding cups, so I grabbed a hold of the Chocolate Mint Fudge Sundae variety.

First of all, if you are not a fan of 'artificial sweeteners', then this might not be the product for you, because they use a little bit of almost everything - xylitol (sugar alcohol), sucralose (Splenda) and acesulfame K - no aspartame. All those sweeteners contribute to a very sweet taste but surprisingly, I didn't detect any off flavors or 'chemical' taste. The 'mint' flavor was very light and honestly, I didn't even detect it until I re-read the box and realized that it was supposed to be there. I am not even going to spend too much time commenting on Jell-O's use of the word 'fudge' and 'sundae.' I will simply say that those two words do NOT belong on the product description. I am not even sure which of the two layers is supposed to be the fudge and which the sundae.

One thing pudding is good for, it's to thicken protein shakes - some people don't like using bananas, and so I made a Double Chocolate Shake with GNC Pro Performance Chocolate and Caramel Whey Protein - so head over to IntheGym.net and get the recipe [link].

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Healthy Choice Fudge Bar

By: Ann H | Mar 19, 2007

I have not had positive experiences with Healthy Choice products, but after reading the rave review from Nutritious Junk [link] about these Healthy Choice Chocolate Fudge Bars, I decided to try them for myself.

The verdict: These bars are "shimmy-like-you-have-ants-in-your-pants-good!" They are smooth, creamy, and chocolate-y. If I was given one without knowing that it was a "fudge" bar, I would definitely think that it was a full-fat chocolate ice cream bar. Delicious, two thumbs up and ahh-mazing! . My only gripe is that I wish it were larger (mostly because it was so good I wanted more). Next time I go to the store I am seriously going to buy 2 more boxes to hoard in my freezer for fear that there will be a Healthy Choice Fudge Bar famine once people catch on to how utterly terrific these bars are.

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Healthy Chocolate Review Week In Review

By: Tanya Patrice | Mar 18, 2007

March 12-17 was all about Healthy Chocolate Products. Can anything with chocolate be healthy - or at least not-bad-for you? Does having a chocolate flavor mean good taste? Well, this week everything reviewed was chocolate-y! The products reviewed were:

1. CocoaVia Chocolate Blueberry Snack Bar
2. Kemps Fat Free Chocolate Frozen Yogurt
3. Stonyfield Farm Fat Free Chocolate Underground Yogurt
4. Stonyfield Farm Organic Lowfat Mocha Latte Yogurt
5. Silk Chocolate Soymilk
6. Deans Milk Chug Chocolate Milk

The Good:
CocoaVia Chocolate Blueberry Snack Bar . Small but delicious, made with the real deal and under 100 calories . AND Silk Chocolate Soymilk. You will never go back to 'cows' milk' after trying this .

The Bad:
Kemps Fat Free Chocolate Frozen Yogurt and both Stonyfield Farm Fat Free Chocolate Underground Yogurt and Organic Lowfat Mocha Latte Yogurt. These products all taste pretty bad, but Stonyfield does have some other great tasting flavors - and the comments say their chocolate frozen yogurt is good.

The Ugly:
Deans Milk Chug Chocolate Milk. Both taste and nutrition are terrible. This shouldn't even be called milk! I call it a total waste of money.

CocoaVia Chocolate Blueberry Snack Bar

By: Tanya Patrice | Mar 12, 2007

CocoaVia is supposed to be "healthy chocolate." There have been quite a few reviews of their products, including some good [like here], some not so good [here] and some complaining about the wee size and the expensive price [here]. I myself question whether chocolate should be promoted as healthy mostly due to the fat, but if you can satisfy your chocolate craving and only get 80 calories from one Chocolate Blueberry Snack Bar, plus only 2 grams of total fat and 1 gram of saturated fat, no trans fat and 8 grams of sugars - I say I'm all for it! The only other thing that remains to be seen, is how it tastes, and I say, it's damn good!

CocoaVia Chocolate Blueberry Bar is smooth, crispy, dark chocolate goodness. The bar is crispy and if I had any complaints, it would be that although I can clearly see that there are blueberries in the bar, you hardly taste them, because the taste of the chocolate is so prevalent. But this bar is sure to satisfy any sweet or chocolate cravings you might have without giving up too many calories.

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