My family and I don’t tend to eat much chocolate for the simple reason that caffeine is so incredibly addictive and who needs more strain on already stressed out adrenals in this crazy day and age?
When we go out to a movie as a family, however, I usually make an exception and pick up a bit of quality chocolate for us to nibble and enjoy during the show.
Have any of you noticed that good quality chocolate is getting increasingly hard to find these days?
My husband and I first started to notice that American chocolate was going to the dogs about 20 years ago. Upscale American chocolates like Russell Stover, Godiva and others started to add artificial ingredients and cheapened the quality of the chocolate with milk powder, vegetable oil instead of cocoa butter and even artificial flavors!
To avoid these cheap imitation chocolates, we started to buy chocolate only at a small British shop where we could procure European chocolates like Cadbury’s (only made in the UK – the USA Cadbury’s was bad quality), Lindt and others.
Now it seems the European chocolates have followed suit and gone downhill in quality as well. At our recent family movie outing just last week, my husband could not find a single brand of European chocolate at our local Fresh Market that was free of additives, artificial flavors or rancid vegetable oils.
It seems our only choice for decent chocolate now is at the health food store. Organic brands have so far held the line on cheapening their product. Starbucks used to have quality chocolate as well but I haven’t checked the ingredients list there in a while as I don’t drink coffee and so don’t shop there very often if ever.
I’ve found that even if a brand is ok one day, it might not be the next so frequent checking and rechecking of ingredient labels is necessary to ensure that quality is still intact.
What chocolate brands are you using these days? If you have discovered a brand that is free of garbage ingredients and doesn’t include soya lecithin, please post about it in the comments section.
Since I only eat chocolate now and then, I insist that my chocolate experience be a quality one!
I almost gave up on buying any chocolate because of all the extra crap that was added. I have found one at Trader Joe’s that I think is good (and tastes delicious!) and splurge on here and there. It’s Trader Joe’s dark chocolate, 73% duper dark. The only ingredients are: Organic Dark Chocolate (Organic Cocoa Mass, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Cocoa Butter), Dry Cocoa Solids: 73% Minimum. My favorite part is that there is no Soy Lecithin! That is harder and harder to find these days!
Walgreens and Walmart carry an organic brand, but it/s about $1 more than the Lindt. I do cave sometimes and buy the Lindt 70% because it has the least additives. I’m reading the label now–chocholate, sugar, cocoa butter, SOYA LECITHIN, bourbon vanilla beans. The other flavors (in most brands) have extra additives and even use vanillin.
Whole foods and TJS have organic brands. I was also able to get dark chocolate with almonds at Aldi. It’s german chocolate, and it doesn’t have additives on the label.
Since dropping grains, dairy and starches, there arent many ‘guilty’ pleasures left, but I make chocolate an occasional one. I’ve noticed though that since cutting out all the other stuff, the caffeine keeps me awake at night, when it didn’t used to (this was/is my only caffeine intake, besides the little bit in Kombucha).
I like Green and Black’s organic and a local bar made here, Sinclair and Olive.
I think Green and Black had soy in it…
Askinosie (mentioned above too) is absolutely the best small batch chocolate maker in the US! Extremely high quality, single source from bean to bar. They work directly with their source farmers and make regular trips to visit them and share profits. THE BEST EVER! http://www.askinosie.com
Katescaringgifts.com may have it. I usually only buy my kleen kanteens and other baby items but I know she has chocolate, too.
Where Oh Where Has All the Decent Chocolate Gone? http://bit.ly/qpcxw3 #raw #wapf #realfood #organic #chocolate
Askinosie (mentioned above too) is absolutely the best small batch chocolate maker in the US! Extremely high quality, single source from bean to bar. They work directly with their source farmers and make regular trips to visit them and share profits. THE BEST EVER! http://www.askinosie.com
There are a number of good brands out there, just takes more work to find them.
My favorite is Theo, but it’s too expensive most of the time, so I usually end up with the Lindt 85% bar: http://www.lindtusa.com/product-exec/product_id/44/nm/Excellence_85_Cocoa_Bar
I love both Theo & AlterEco’s chocolate, both are organic & free trade, no gmo’s or soy lecithin. I always have a bar or 2 hidden away that will last me a month or 2, they’re so rich.
Can you specify which ingredients you consider cheap and harmful?