Categories: candy

21 Feb 2017, Comments (0)

Seattle Chocolate Company chocolates

Author: Healthnuttxo

Time for one of my favorite reviews… Chocolate!!! I got some yummy goodies by Seattle Chocolates. They also sent some cute little tubes of coffee flour, cocoa nibs and cherry pulp which was awesome to see, as it is what makes up this delicious chocolate.

Super Chocolate Dark Chocolate Truffle Bar by Seattle Chocolates. This one is “powered by coffee flour & cocoa nibs” , Non-GMO, vegan, gluten free, and Rainforest Alliance Certified.

Upon opening, the aroma of chocolate is extremely strong, and quite delicious. I don’t think I’ve ever had such an overwhelming chocolate aroma by opening up a wrapper before! It is a dense chocolate, but softer on the inside (the “truffle” aspect, I am assuming). The taste is quite good- definitely a dark chocolate, but not super bitter. While it isn’t a melt in your mouth kind of chocolate (that’s the nature of dark chocolate), it is enjoyable, and I am not a huge dark chocolate fan. It has a semi-sweet sort of feel, kind of like when you pick the morsels out of cookie dough when making homemade chocolate chip cookies. It is sweet, but not overpoweringly so. I really enjoyed this!

4 stars.

1/2 bar is 190 calories, 15 grams of fat, 17 carbohydrates, 12 sugars and 2 grams of protein.

Next up, the Jcoco Chocolate (also by Seattle Chocolate Company). I was given two, the Noble Dark, which was 72% dark chocolate with cocoa nibs, and the Arabica Cherry Espresso in Dark Chocolate. I liked that when I opened each package, there were 3 mini bars inside, all individually wrapped, with fun pictures on each one. On the back it says “one bar= one serving to one in need” , where various donations are made, which you can read more about here.

Both bars are all natural, non-GMO, vegan, and gluten free. The box the chocolate comes in is on 100% recycled paper, and the products are Kosher. Talk about win-win-win for anyone with restricted needs trying to find some yummy chocolate, that ALSO is for a good cause!

First up, the Noble Dark. Make no mistake, this was definitely a dark chocolate. A tad on the bitter side for me, but honestly, I still liked it. And let me repeat, I am NOT a dark chocolate fan. The cocoa nibs added a nice crunch and some texture to the chocolate. Again, not a melt in your mouth chocolate, but still good. Definitely a strong cocoa flavor, but tasted so fresh and pure, with mild sweetness.

3 1/2 stars

Next up, the Arabica Cherry Espresso in Dark Chocolate. This one definitely had a nice cherry undertone to it, which provided both sweetness and a nice flavor. This chocolate seemed to be smoother, and more “melty” in consistency. Not as bitter as the other 2, and a tad sweeter. I really liked this one. My favorite of the three.

4 stars

 

Overall, some pretty darn good chocolate. What’s better than satisfying a chocolate craving, while also giving back to those in need? Plus with dark chocolate, you get a little antioxidant boost that the news, etc. always raves about. Win-win! I would definitely give these a try, even if you are a milk chocolate fan like I am, because they are worth it, and please check them out if you like dark chocolate, you will not be disappointed!

 

This is an unbiased review. I received these samples to try for free.

 

18 Nov 2016, Comments (0)

Olba’s Herbal Tea, Lozenges & Pastilles

Author: Healthnuttxo

img_5664

 

With the cold weather coming (um… eventually… it’s 60 here mid November, but I’ll take it!), having some delicious tea to warm you up or lozenges to soothe the inevitable cold thats “always going around” are ideal to have.

Olba’s sent me some of their instant Herbal Tea, lozenges, and Pastilles to try.

Let’s get started!

The Tea is gluten free and made from 20 herbs. It is is instant…I never had instant tea before. I always used bag tea. Hmm. How do I work this?

Simple! You take a teaspoon (or more, dependent upon your preference) and place it in a mug, and add hot water. The “pellets” instantly dissolve and voila! Tea! No annoying waiting! No annoying tea bags! No annoying burning of the tongue! Just kidding. I still did that. The tea however, was delicious. I am not a *huge* tea person per se, I like my caffeine in coffee form (a little too much may I add) but this one is a keeper. It was slightly sweet and had almost a honey taste to it, and almost a chamomile hint to it as well. Me like. Me like a lot. Like I said, I normally am not a tea drinker, if I do, it’s a honey lemon and it has like 6 packets of sugar added to it (kind of takes away the “health” of tea, doesn’t it?)

This tea as 3 carbs/sugars per teaspoon. I used about a tablespoon (go big or go home!!) for 8-10 ounces of hot water and found that to be my ideal “cup of tea” (hah… Ok I’m tired, I try to be funny when I am tired).

I do wish the bottle listed how much caffeine was in the tea, however!

Tea gets 4 stars

Moving on!

Olba’s Pastilles were green and looked as if they were sugar coated. They had a medicinal taste and well…tasted a bit like a generic cough drop. My brother tried one and said “they taste like they work” (LOL) which was a good thing for him, as he was currently battling a cold.

The Black Currant lozenges were honestly pretty good. Clear (which is cool— no artificial colors!)

Let’s put it this way. Have you had a menthol lozenge? Hall’s perhaps? I tend to not buy those (LOL) because I can’t stand menthol, BUT…these were actually good. The menthol wasn’t overpowering. The black currant flavor was very mild, but persistent throughout. These are an ideal cough drop for me. The lozenges contain 10 mg of menthol, so they are both a cough suppressant and oral anesthetic.

The lozenges are warming and soothing, but not overpowering, which is KEY for me.
I hate when cough drops make me feel like I have freaking ice down my throat. Overly mentholated–> no bueno in my book. Olba’s lozenges–> bueno!

Overall, I give these 4  stars for both efficacy and flavor.

 

DISCLAIMER: I received these products from Olba’s for free of charge. This is an unbiased review.

24 Jun 2016, Comments (0)

Heavenly Organics Chocolate Honey Patties

Author: Healthnuttxo

HO_family shot closeup

Hi!

I got some awesome goodies from Heavenly Organics. They created these chocolate honey patties in a few varieties, with minimal and sustainable ingredients.  The chocolate shell is made from 100% cocoa and raw Himalayan honey. They are gluten, dairy, and soy free, with no additional sugar added (aside from using the honey).  The honey is 100% organic, obtained from free roaming beehives.  The bees are in areas that are not near pesticides or pollutants, which is awesome, because then that stuff won’t get into YOUR body!

They come in a bunch of flavors. I got the Ginger Chocolate Honey Pattie, Mint Chocolate Honey Pattie, Almond Chocolate Honey Pattie, DOUBLE Dark Chocolate Honey Pattie, Pomegranate Chocolate Honey Pattie, and the Peanut Chocolate Honey Pattie!  Here’s what they looked like up close. IMG_3064

bitten into, of course!

The chocolate shells all taste the same. The chocolate is relatively bitter, not that smooth, but the honey flavor definitely shines through. I am not a huge fan of the chocolate, as it breaks like a shell would on ice cream (that hard chocolate shell you put on and it freezes), but I also prefer a smooth milk chocolate over a dark chocolate. The shell reminds me more of a bitter dark chocolate.

Each pattie has an inside filling. The Pomegranate is super sweet and supple, tasted like pure, silky honey with the sweetness of pomegranate juice. The Double Chocolate is exactly what it sounds like, more of a dark chocolate flavor, with honey. It is creamy and sweet, but again, the outside shell ruined it a bit for me. The Peanut Chocolate pattie inside is very good. Reminds me of a traditional peanut butter cup, but with a nice honey twist. I loved the inside, wanted to eat it by itself. The Mint Chocolate honey pattie is the dark chocolate shell, with honey completely oozing out the middle. There is a hint of mint as well. I didn’t really care for this one, as the chocolate is very bitter and the mint made it more bitter. However, the honey is excellent, and incredibly smooth and creamy. The Almond Chocolate Honey Pattie is pretty good, it has that almond joy type of almond flavor, like almond extract or a toasted almond, alongside the chocolate and honey. It goes well with the honey flavor in my opinion. Lastly, the Ginger Chocolate Honey Pattie. I actually really liked this one, but you have to enjoy ginger. I used to eat ginger chews as a kid, so I love candied, dry ginger. It mellows out the bitterness of the chocolate, and goes wonderfully with the honey.

My favorites were the Ginger, Pomegranate, and Peanut patties. But as a whole, these are pretty good, but you have to be a fan of bitter/dark chocolate. I wish they had a milk chocolate version 8)

Each patties is roughly 50 calories, which isn’t too shabby! Especially when you need a luxurious sweet treat.

Overall, 3 1/2 stars.

15 Jul 2015, Comments (1)

“That Sugar Film” Documentary Review

Author: Healthnuttxo
sugar                                              Picture courtesy of That Sugar Film

 

This film is showing starting on July 31 on demand and in select theaters from Samuel Goldwyn Films.  I got a chance to watch the film ahead of time before the release. Below is a brief synopsis of the film as well as my thoughts.

The film was very eye opening with the amount of sugar we eat on a daily basis (and it’s pretty gross how much!) Hugh Jackman makes an appearance (never a bad thing in my opinion!) and the film has some light hearted humor as well.

The film follows the main character, Damon, who basically used to eat a lot of “sugar and pizza” as well as cigarettes, but then fell in love with his girlfriend who was into healthy eating. He then changed his diet to all healthy eating and cut out refined sugar. He has a baby on the way with this woman, and he wants to know if sugar is really as bad as it seems. So, he does an experiment but RE adding sugar back into his diet, with 40 tsp of sugar per day to match the “Australian averages”, WITHOUT eating things that are known as “sugary”, such as candy. For example, he’s eating sugar with hidden sugar, such as “healthy” low fat yogurt which is actually loaded with sugar.

He has to keep all other factors the same, such as the amount he exercises.

Within 12 days, the main character already gained weight, and all around his stomach specifically. He does some pretty comical things to eat the required sugar intake, which was rather hilarious at his reactions. He displays not only physical, but physiological and psychological changes and adverse effects as well.

After his 60 day run, he had some pretty bad results with his liver, blood work, mentality, as well as weight changes. Damon notes he was eating the same amount of calories beforehand as he was with his high sugar diet, however, still gained weight. I think this is alarming, but also have to take into account water weight here. Carbo-HYDRATE, so water weight gain comes with sugar and carbs that are ingested. His diet was relatively higher in fat as opposed to carbs beforehand, so that is something important to note. However, you can see a rather large change in his physical appearance, which is alarming as well.

Overall, a very interesting documentary, and worth a watch. It was not boring at all, and the information was presented in a fun manner. Read your labels, peeps!!! Those food companies WILL trick you to thinking their product is healthy so you will buy it. Buyer, beware!

 

I was able to watch this for free. This is an unbiased review.
8 Jun 2013, Comments (0)

Buddha Chocolate Raw Organic Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups

Author: Healthnuttxo

Finally!!! Someone has made an almond butter cup instead of a peanut butter cup! Don’t get me wrong… I’m all about the peanut buttah, and just jumped on this whole almond butter bandwagon rather recently. However, it’s refreshing to see almond butter be a star in a product other than just a jar. Now…when will they make powdered almond butter…? But that’s another story.

The kind folks at Buddha Chocolate asked if I would like to try their Raw Organic Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups. Obviously I obliged. I am a Type 1 Diabetic on a rather strict diet, with little wiggle room for sweets. However, an occasional bite of a treat I think is healthy for both my sanity and my sanity. (Did I say that twice?)

I got one single cup, and then a package of two cups, with one to eat and one to share (awww).

I opened the single one, wrapped generously in a pretty gold foil.  It’s a decently sized piece of candy, with the circumference almost being my entire palm. Its vegan, fair trade, dairy free, gluten free, and soy free, 78% cacao, and made in Brooklyn according to the label.

The chocolate part is quite bitter, so hopefully you are a dark chocolate fan if you decide to try these. It has it’s sweetness, but the potency of the bitterness of dark chocolate overwhelms the sweetness. The cup however, is very soft and smooth, and almost melted in my hand as I held it. The almond butter on the inside was the perfect compliment. Salty and a teeny bit gritty, it provided a good amount of flavor and really gave it a salty kick.

Overall, I like em! Dark chocolate really isn’t my thing (milk> white > dark in my opinion) but it was still enjoyable. I think especially if you like dark chocolate you will enjoy these. A nice take on the traditional peanut buttah cup! 3 1/2 stars

Here’s the nutritional facts. The ingredients are Cacao, almonds, coconut, palm crystals, mesquite, vanilla bean, and Himalayan Crystal Salt.

15 Sep 2012, Comments (3)

UNREAL 8 Chocolate Caramel Peanut Nougat Bar

Author: Healthnuttxo

A new line of products for me to try, UNREAL has supposedly “Unjunked” candy, and taken out the “bad” stuff like high fructose corn syrup, additives and hydrogenated oils. I got some free samples from the company asking me to try, and I happily obliged. A “healthier” spin on candy? Sure, why not? 🙂

Today’s review is of the UNREAL Chocolate Caramel Peanut Nougat Bar. I’m guessing this is a healthier take on a Snickers bar, for the similar ingredients. First I looked at the nutrition facts. It was by no means a health food, but it was slightly better than the average candy bar. The sugar content was 17 grams for the entire bar, as compared to the 30 grams the website advertises here. However, keep in mind that the UNREAL bar is slightly lighter in weight, thus less calories for it’s smaller size. I definitely think this is a good thing, as it keeps the candy bar from being a high calorie indulgence, but more of a sweet treat to be eaten in moderation that won’t completely derail a diet.

So all that is fun…but how did it taste? It was actually  quite good. Like I stated before, it did taste like a snickers, but I noticed it wasn’t as sugary tasting. It was sweet, don’t get me wrong, but just didn’t have that “I just took a bite of sugar” feel to it, which I liked. It broke apart easily when I took a bite, which was good. It was chewy and had a mild chocolate flavor, and I feel the inner part of the bar had the predominant flavor. The peanuts added a nice crunch and great flavor as well.

Overall, I liked it! I almost wish they came in mini sizes for a treat, because I know I could certainly down that entire bar in one sitting and I do try to abstain from sweets (as a type 1 Diabetic). However, I do like that one bar had 200 calories and 5 grams of protein, and a not too terrible 17 grams of sugar. An everyday kind of thing? No, but certainly a better choice if you need your candy bar fix. 4 stars


22 Apr 2012, Comments (2)

The Ginger People Peanut Ginger Chews

Author: Healthnuttxo

Ginger. I think it’s a love it or leave it kind of thing. As in, too much ginger would totally turn me off – leave it. But just the right amount, like in a gingerbread cookie or a subtle flavor in an entree? love it.

I’ve tried some products by The Ginger People before, mostly the original Ginger Chews. Every now and then I get a craving for them, so when I saw this new peanut flavor (or at least “new” for me) I knew I had to try it. I mean really, when have I ever been one to turn down a peanut flavored thing?

The chews are small, about the size of the tip of a finger, and covered in a white powder that I assume is a sugary coating. They’re dense and chewy and just really good. These are different than the chews I have had in the past. They have a very mild ginger flavor, just enough to leave a nice flavor and a little bit of heat. They have a yummy peanut flavor, with subtle sweetness as well. There were also teeny bits of peanuts that I thought added a nice touch.

What I also noticed about these is they didn’t last as long. Normally, for the other flavors I have tried, the chews last a little while as you chew or let it dissolve in my mouth. These Peanut chews went a lot quicker, and could be eaten quickly like a Starburst candy.

However, I still really enjoyed them. In fact, I bought a second bag already. Yay! Overall, 4.5 stars. Try these! They really remind me Snickers candy bar…imagine if they were chocolate coated?? *wink wink*

What about you guys? love it or leave it when it comes to Ginger?

26 Jun 2011, Comments (8)

Chip’n Dipped Milk Chocolate Pretzel Bar

Author: Healthnuttxo

Ok, how could I honestly pass this bar up and NOT buy it? Milk chocolate and pretzels? together? in a chocolate bar? Needless to say it took me all of .05 seconds to contemplate whether I should buy it or not. I think the end choice is obvious.

Immediately upon arrival at my house, I opened up the bar. I was craving chocolate (that’s an understatement, when am I not craving chocolate?) and was sure this would do the trick.  Here’s what it looked like (the bottom of the bar). I was actually surprised at the appearance of the bar with the lumps of pretzels, I was expecting almost shreds of pieces of pretzels throughout the bar.

There were pieces of chocolate clearly without any pretzels. It was almost as if they layed pretzels out on a conveyor belt and then put chocolate over it and cut it into a rectangle. There also were no “squares” of chocolate throughout the bar, which I kind of missed. There was no typical “3 squares after breakfast, 3 squares after lunch, 3 squares after dinner ” deal. Now it was more of, let me just eat half of the bar now… 😉

However, on a positive note, this bar was really, really good. A creamy, sweet chocolate that melted in my mouth. It was super smooth and had a slight vanilla flavor. The pretzel was nice and crunchy, and when eaten with the chocolate it was absolutely irresistible. Just like chocolate covered pretzels that I used to eat when I was little. Very good.

Overall, I liked it! I just wish there were smaller pieces of pretzels scattered throughout the bar rather than the huge chunks which left some of the bar with no pretzel at all. 4 stars

Fill in the blank. My favorite food combination is chocolate and ________. I think mine is obviously peanut butter 😉

24 Apr 2011, Comments (2)

Figamajigs Candy Coated Dark Chocolate Covered Fig Candy

Author: Healthnuttxo

What’s Easter without a little chocolate? (Or, if you don’t celebrate Easter, what’s ANY day without a little chocolate? 😛 )

In light of the holiday, I felt this review was appropriate.  A healthier way to enjoy chocolate- why? Because there is FRUIT – FIGS – in this chocolate. But- it’s really good! I gave up chocolate for Lent (NOT doing that again. I didn’t realize how much chocolatey things I consumed on a daily basis!), so it is finally welcome back with open arms into my life. HURRAY!

Enter Figamajigs Candy Coated Dark Chocolate Covered Fig Candy. They were pretty big, probably twice the size of a normal M&M, and came in yellow and orange. They were pretty sweet, with a crunchy coating on the outside, followed by a thin layer of sweet chocolate, and then a fig “ball” on the inside. When eaten as a whole, rather than taking  a bite, I really didn’t notice the fig too much. Only when I let the candy dissolve slowly in my mouth did I detect the fig flavor, which surprisingly I thought had a slight cherry flavor to it. It could be my imagination, but I also thought the yellow colored ones were sweeter than the orange colored ones 🙂

Overall, 4  stars. Really good, and great for when a chocolate craving comes along. I liked that they had fiber and fruit in them. What I didn’t like was that there were dyes in the ingredients. I do wish that they could have used something more natural to color their product with, but, regardless, I’d eat them again.

40 grams is 150 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of carbohydrates, 26 grams of sugar and 1 gram of protein.

When eating colored candies, is there any color you won’t eat? Or any color that’s your favorite? When it’s fruity candies, I always eat the red ones, but when it’s chocolate candies, my favorite are the bright colored ones!

I was provided to try these candies for free.

15 Mar 2011, Comments (0)

Chocolite Chocolate Crispy Caramel

Author: Healthnuttxo

I happen to be a fan of some of the products made by Chocolite. Some of the ones I tried have been sugar free and a tasty option for me compared to standard chocolate. Along with the others I was sent for free to try, I also received the Chocolate Crispy Caramel candies. There are 2 of them in a pack, and rather decently sized. They were bumpy in consistency and covered with chocolate.

I took a bite of one of the candies and noticed it had a slight crunch to it- perhaps this is where the “Crispy” part comes from in the name. It was sweet and very chewy from the caramel. I have a love/hate relationship with caramel. I like the flavor, but too much of it turns me off because it’s so chewy! However, these chocolates had just the right amount of caramel to give it flavor, without making me chew too much. The chocolate on the outside was smooth and tasted like milk chocolate. I noticed as I ate these they had somewhat of a salty flavor to them- I NEEDED a glass of water!

Overall, pretty good.  I liked that they were sugar free and had 6 grams of fiber per piece! 4 stars.

Are you a fan of caramel? If so, what’s your favorite food/treat involving caramel?

1 piece is 30 calories, 2 grams of fat, 8 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of sugar, 1 gram of sugar alcohols, 6 grams of fiber and 1 gram of protein.

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