I’m a huge fan of Raisinets. They are always my “go to” snack at the movies and usually even when we watch movies at home. Since I am also a big cranberry eater, I decided that I would try Nestle’s new Cranberry Raisinets.
Honestly, there wasn’t much of a difference in the taste of the cranberry from the regular raisins. They may have been just a little bit more tart, but certainly not as tart as regular cranberries. I love that cranberries are full of anti-oxidants, which makes these a great little treat. You can actually even get them in 100 calorie packs. The nutritional information is almost the exact same for the regular Raisinets and the regular Raisinets. While I will still primarily stick with my traditional Raisinets, I will absolutely mix it up every now and again with the Cranberry for a little different flavor.
JELL-O has released a new product called Mousse Temptations. Although my Kroger is not yet carrying it, I was able to pick up a package at Marsh. They come packaged just like their regular refrigerated pudding cups (6 to a pack). They have three flavors that I could find: Dark Chocolate, Chocolate Indulgence, and Caramel Creme. The best part is that they are sugar free and only 60 calories–a perfect snack or dessert if you are on Weight Watchers!
I opted for the Dark Chocolate and figured that I would give them to my family for dessert last night. I’m the biggest pudding eater in the house, but everyone was up for trying something different.
The texture was definitely between a real mousse and pudding. My daughter first thought it felt like a brownie when she stuck her spoon into it because it was so thick. But then when you taste it, it is actually very light. The Dark Chocolate had a true dark chocolate taste without the sweetness of milk chocolate. However, my kids do not normally like dark chocolate and they gobbled the Mousse up. In fact, with a family of 4, we were all fighting about who was going to get the other 2 cups (I’m eating one as I type before the kids get home from school!).
If you are watching your waistline but love chocolate, I would definitely recommend the Mousse Temptations by JELL-O. No diet taste or consistency at all. They might be a bit hard to find right now but are definitely worth looking out for.
I just got word that a product from one of my favorite merchants (EdibleGiftsPlus) is going to be featured on the Rachael Ray show on September 25 as her snack of the day.
Choc Stix are chow mein noodles dipped in smooth chocolate. You can choose from either milk chocolate or white chocolate. They come packaged in a cute little Chinese takeout box.
At less than $10, this would make a really cute and original gift. Who I am kidding? I’d have them eaten before I could give them away! You can check out these and lots of other really cute treats (I’m partial to the Brownie Stix) at EdibleGiftsPlus.com.
I was walking through the snack aisle at SuperTarget looking for some trail mix to throw in my suitcase for an upcoming trip. I happened to see a box of Emerald Cocoa Roast Almonds. I vaguely remembered Hungry Girl mentioning them. Because they were in 100 calorie packs, I figured that I would buy a box (of 7) and give them a try.
Curiosity got the best of me before I even left for my trip. The call of “Dark Chocolate Flavor” was too much for this chocoholic. I opened the package not knowing what to expect (except that it seemed a little small for 100 calories).
Inside were about a handful of perfectly roasted almonds with just a touch of cocoa flavor. It was a little sweeter than if they had been rolled in plain cocoa, but not too much. Definitely not a “milk chocolate” taste. The package reads that it is 100 calories and 8 grams of fat. I guess that it to be expected from a dry roasted nut like an almond. I don’t think that the cocoa added much to that.
If I were looking for a real chocolate fix, I don’t think that this would do it for me. As it was, I was looking for a healthy snack (and with 2 grams of fiber, I think it was) with a little chocolate kick. I will definitely be throwing these in my carry-on for trip this weekend. And a couple to share because I have a feeling my travel companions will be curious about them as well.
As we get closer to Valentine’s Day, many of us start thinking about chocolate covered strawberries. Because it can be hard to find them locally, I usually end up ordering mine online. However, I recently discovered that not all chocolate covered strawberries are the same. In fact, some of them are actually fake chocolate!
I’m not going to go into specific brands, but I think this is important information for those of you who might be ordering chocolate covered strawberries online. The last time that you shopped online for chocolate covered strawberries, what was the actual description of the product advertised. Did it include the word “chocolate” in the ingredients? I’ve recently found out that many of them do not. Many say things like “hand dipped strawberries” or “covered strawberries.” Chocolate isn’t mentioned when you look closely. Why is that? Because those companies are not using real chocolate and the FDA won’t allow them to say “chocolate covered” unless they truly are.
I talked to the owner of ccberries.com to get educated about the differences. Apparently most companies use a candy coating rather than chocolate on their strawberries. In order to be advertised as “chocolate,” the coating must contain cocoa butter…and a lot of cheaper coatings do not. Instead, they use vegetable oil as a cheaper filler.
So if you are looking for chocolate covered strawberries this Valentine’s Day, educate yourself and make sure that you are getting what you pay for. Read descriptions of products called “hand dipped strawberries” carefully and check out their ingredients. Find sites like ccberries.com that actually sell real chocolate covered strawberries so that you or your recipient will not be disappointed.
