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!
Hageland has really nice chocolate and is delicious. Their dark chocolate has no added ingredients and is fair trade. I can’t believe I found them in Walmart! They are just starting out and are in negotiations with Whole Foods. I hope they make it!
Rashell
Saw this myself. I couldn’t believe it was Walmart and it was clean. I thought surely this was a fluke and being concerned they wouldn’t still carry it next visit, I bought several. Inexpensive (for now) and huge bars. Yay! I love a good find.
Theo – yummers!!!
Vivanni, Ghirradelli baking bars, Marci Sweets (amazing), Equal Exchange (mint is the best), Trader Joes (purple bar, dark chocolate and also swiss dark), TJs unsweetened baking disks, Enjoy life mini chips and big chunks, Nativas Naturals… this list can GO ON!! WFs even has some soy free dark chocolate (I like the coconut almond, and it’s good!!)… I have no problem finding good chocolate bars. Finding other good quality chocolates NOT in bar form though is hard, chocolate sauce, forget it!
Hi! I love dark chocolate and usually choose Perugina or Trader Joes 73% cacao. Could you please explain to me what is so terrible about soy lecithin? Is it the processing or the actual ingredient? I have been following a blood-type diet which recommends a tablespoon of lecithin and a tablespoon of flax oil mixed in a natural fruit juice (which I also mix with seltzer to dilute the concentration). It seems to help with my horrible cravings premenstrually (where I can eat a chocolate bar a day if I wasn’t careful).
Check out my chocolate – Rite Chocolate! I make a spoonable chocolate with raw, organic, and local (to Maine) ingredients! It’s sweetened with honey and can be used in a ton of different ways. My favourite way is to shmear it on my gluten-free brownies!
OK, I’m starting to sound like a commercial, but the title of the post got me all excited. I was sitting over here saying, “Me! Me!” LOL!
I bought it at wal-mart
I recently found “green and black organic dark chocolate 85%” it’s a good price and tastes fantastic.
We get blocks of cacao liquor (not liqueur) and make our own chocolate. I also have a fondness for the nibs sprinkled on coconut smoothies and milk kefir.
Ciao, Pavil
Where Oh Where Has All the Decent Chocolate Gone? – The Healthy Home Economist http://fb.me/EMgEK6FO
We have to avoid the soy in chocolate … a couple suggestions: Naked Chocolate book for recipes of raw goodness; order online from Jem Raw Chocolates; or make your own – one recipe I alter some to make chocolate chunks is http://wholenewmom.com/recipes/homemade-mint-chocolate-carob-chips/. Also check out local chocolate places, in my little town we have a couple that are top notch and quality (one is the Jem Chocolate mentioned above).