Mini Vitalicious VitaCake Fudgy Chocolate

It's been many years now that I have been hearing about Hungry Girl and her advertisements on the Vitalicious brand that I guess she promotes. To be honest, I am not exactly sure what she has to do with the brand and whether or not she does more than advertise for them. But because of her, I have been hearing about Vitalicious cakes for years and I am amazed that it took me this long to try some.

I guess I was taken aback for trying these because of the fact that they are sort of expensive and I figured that a diet cake will not taste as good as a real one. They usually run around $4.50 a box. But I finally found some on sale for about $2.00.

So the I happened to get the Fudgy Chocolate mini Cake. Immediately I thought of the Weight Watchers cakes that you can buy, only because they looked the same. They look like mini pound cakes. They come in the freezer section.

Vitalicious advertises their products as "vital and delicious," which is probably where they get the name for their product. Each cake has lots of fiber and some vitamins and minerals. Each of the fudgy cakes have 50 calories and 6 grams of fiber.

So now for the taste of the cake. As you can imagine, it is not going to taste like a brownie or chocolate cake. But it does have the essence of chocolate cake and it does not taste bad. I guess if you have a sweet tooth and you can handle not having the quality flavor of a chocolate muffin or cupcake, then this is a great option. There is just a weird taste to the cake that tastes artificial. There is also an overwhelmingly sweet-like flavor to it that does not come from sugar or the chocolate.

Overall, I guess it is a healthier dessert, but even though it is advertised as natural, I would say that it is just better to have some fruit for dessert. I can't imagine myself buying this again for $4.50, but maybe I will try the brand's other flavors if they end up on sale.

Cocoa Pebbles Treats

I like Rice Krispies today, just as much as I liked it before as a kid. As a kid my parents could never afford to buy me packaged kind so we always just bought the cheapest cereal on the shelf and mixed it with marshmallows and butter to make our own homemade krispy treats. Granted they were quite delicious, but one thing I hated about them is the fact that if you did not eat finish them within two days after they were made, they tasted stale. Oh how I wished we could just buy the packaged kind.

And now that I am all grown up I and can take my ass to the store, I can pick whatever the hell I want to buy. To tell you the truth, I did not set out for Rice Krispies on my last trip to the grocery store. I was just on the search for something new to try and review.

I found Post Cocoa Pebbles Treats, thinking they were a new product because they still had the "New!" sign on them. Turns out they aren't that new considering that they were invented in 2006.

Well I paid $1.50 for a box of them which contained 8 bars. While I was there I also chose the Fruity Pebbles version as well, which I will review in another post.

So I opened the box and these tiny ass things came out. They were smaller than Snicker's candy bars, and therefore can hardly be called a treat.

Nevertheless I opened one and noticed the lovely chocolate drizzle at the top. I almost protested that the chocoalte drizzle was a waste of calories, and should be taken out to simply increase the size of the bar. But we all know that they threw in that drizzle to make this crap look more appetizing - which it truly does. But then I took a bite and realized that, for once, the chocolate was not a waste. It actually added a nice burst of chocolaty flavor to the bar.




Despite the delicious chocolate at the top, the bar still lacked the delicious chocolate flavor that I was craving from the Cocoa Pebbles. One thing about Cocoa Pebbles cereal that I love is the heavy-chocolate flavor compared to, oh let's say, Cocoa Krispies. But I cannot say which is better: Cocoa Pebbles or Cocoa Puffs. I have never had both at once to compare. Another project for later =]

The texture of the Cocoa Pebbles Treats were just as chewy and delicious as Rice Krispies. Many people actually prefer these to Rice Krispies, but, even a chocolate lover like me, has to say that I prefer Rice Krispies treats (the plain ones not the chocolate ones).


There is something oddly salty about this bar. Obviously the answer is that it is completely artificial; containing all the hydroginated oils and unnatural sugars. You can hardly say this bar is a healthy snack.

Don't be fooled by the 6 vitamins and minerals that are contained by this bar. You can get the same and more of those vitamins from a 10 calorie bite of an apple.

Basically, go into this knowing that you are getting nothing more than a brownie would give you.

Don't be misguided by my negativity though. These are delicious, but would probably taste better dipped in chocolate (Doesn't everything?). I at the whole box, if that means anything.

Lambertz Coco-Fleur

Henry Lambertz is a brand that I have not heard of until this Holiday season. It's a German company that makes cookies. They create their products all year around but seem to distribute them more during the Holidays.

Well the first thing I tried by him is the Coco-Fleur cookies. As you can read on the box, they are "Coconut Cookies Topped with Semi-Sweet Dark Chocolate and Sprinkled with Coconut". Sounds delicious right? You'd expect it to taste like a Mounds bar minus the almond.

Well that's what it looked like when I opened the package. There were about 4-5 cookies in each little circle/cup distributed throughout the tray.

And that's the other side of it. They are thin, almost cracker-like. They are pretty small, but if you eat a couple of them nothing will happen.

They tasted pretty good. The only thing you really taste though is the dark chocolate, which is delicious no doubt. It is full of flavor, rich and creamy. You do get only the slightest nutty hint of coconut, but mostly you feel the big pieces between your teeth.

They say the cookie part of this cracker thing is supposed to taste like coconut, though I taste no coconut in it at all. It just tastes like a regular butter cookie, but you cannot really taste that anyways cause of the overpowering dark chocolate.

I liked it. It was a pleasant treat next to coffee. I would like to see Lambertz mail over some of the chocolate at the bottom as a bark of chocolate instead of in a cookie form. That, I would give a 10/10.

Slimfast Chewy Chocolate Crisp

SlimFast is never a diet plan that I ever imagined to go on mostly because their products are so expensive. Not to mention that they are all processed. But, as with South Beach, Weight Watchers, and NutriSystem products; I occasionally find them on sale and buy them to try them.

I thought bought a pack of these Slimfast thinking that they would be great as an on the go meal. They are only 200 calories but have 8 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber to keep you full. Now that's some good nutrition from a processed bar for only 200 calories.



The bar itself is a pretty good size and has a nice chocolate swirls on top with some raw oatmeal sprinkled on top. It looks like a chocolaty Rice Krispie.

But they taste nothing like Rice Krispies. They have a much tougher, chewier texture. The chocolate flavor is nice and strong. There is that familiar whey sweetness in the background of the bar. A large part of the sweetness of this bar comes from that. I don't know if there is any artificial sweetener in this but the bar itself is quite sweet.

The chocolate flavor is deep, but not exactly chocolaty. It's just sweet. I wouldn't say it has much of a real flavor of anything. Just that protein powder like flavor. But it's good.

I was amazed by the taste at first. But after eating a couple more this bar got pretty predictable. Though I still enjoyed it every time I ate it.

But I would only buy it again if it is on sale. The box is $5 at Walmart with only 5 bars in it. That's means each bar is a dollar a piece, and that is pretty expensive.

Sambazon Protein: Chocolate

So I was at Whole Foods when I saw that they had  a sale on Sambazon drinks. I've never got into the acai hype that occurred two years ago because the products were so expensive. But since it was on sale, I was interested in splurging and trying something new. Plus, I'm in a position where I do not have a blender and thick drinks are something I crave at times. 

This particular shake is in their protein line, but you should not be expecting too much protein out of it. The bottle only contains roughly 10 grams of protein, which you can get for cheaper out of a glass of milk. But then again it is enough protein for this drink to be a little snack, along with almost 7 grams of fiber in this drink. The protein in there is hemp protein. 

It is made with over 100 acai berries which are blended in there. I don't know how big acai berries are but it can be hard to believe that there are 100 of them in there, but a company would not lie right? =/

Okay so texture wise, it is super thick, and slightly gritty. But the grit clearly comes from the berries and not the protein. It tastes chocolaty, but not too heavy in chocolate. It's dairy free so they use soy milk and chocolate powder to get that flavoring. You honestly do taste that soy milk in there, but it is super thick. I personally do not like soy milk that much, I've tried it many times but I can only down so much of it before I start getting sick of it. It's too think for me, but mixed with all this berries and whatever else is in there, it tastes delicious.

There is a slight berry - ish flavor associated with the chocolate. Not too heavy at all though, but you can recognize it in the background. 

It is pretty filling I guess. It will hold you out for another hour or two. I would consider it a good snack, not as a meal replacement. Each bottle has 250 calories. 

It's all natural, organic, vegan, and pretty good. I give the product a nice 7/10. I would give it an 8, but it is on the pricey side whether you buy it on sale or not. Let's just say you don't get in on sale, it would be $2.99 regular price. 

Grandma's Double Fudge Chip Cookies

We're all familiar with those Grandma's cookies by Frito-lay. Many of us find them on the little shelves in single serve packages while we wait in line at the store.

These cookies come in a box with 6 individual wrapped foil packs each containing 6 cookies, or two servings of three cookies. This is a popular thing with Grandma's cookies in that there are always two servings in each pack. Usually this is annoying when it comes to their homestyle cookies because I end up eating the whole pack for 400 calories when I could have just had one cookie for 200. But in this case I can have the pack of all size cookies for 300 calories - not too bad.

Since these cookies are foil wrapped you are surprised to find out what they look like when you open them. They look just like they look on the package, or like any traditional double chocolate cookies. They are crunchy, not chewy, which is a disappointment for me because I always prefer chewy cookies.

That was until I took a bite of these. I expected them to have that light cocoa flavor like many double chocolate chip cookies do; but these cookies are as chocolaty as brownies. The texture is almost flaky. Unlike the usual crunchy cookies, these don't crumble in your mouth like chips. Another amazing thing about them is that they don't taste artificial. They actually taste like they were baked by your grandmother.

They pair perfectly with coffee or milk. The best way to eat them is let them melt in your mouth and get chewy.

Temptations by Jell-o French Silk Pie

• For a 140 calories, I am enjoying a French Silk Pie from a cup. Who would have heard that sentence before? I totally believe there is a way to make delicious things taste great for a low calorie count.
• I am pretty sure each Temptations cup is 4 oz, which I personally think is too small
• Each temptations is different. The Strawberry Cheesecake looks like it has a liquid-y gelatin on top with a foamier cheesecake part at the bottom. Whereas this French Silk pie has the mousse on top with extra thick chocolate pudding at the bottom
• the mousse on top tastes exactly like hot cocoa
• The chocolate on the bottom tastes exactly like Jello chocolate fudge pudding that is extra thick and creamy
• The chocolate flavor is the best
• Most people prefer the cheesecake, but I have to say this tastes better.
• The texture resembles ice cream
• No pie crust in there, so that sucks for the pie crust lovers
• It wouldn't be far fetched to say it is like fudge
• Tastes just like French Silk Pie

Trader Joe's Lacey's Cookies Dark Chocolate Almond

• Texture is a lot like brittle, peanut brittle
• Stickiness to your mouth
• Dark chocolate is delicious
• This is the first time I tried a Lacey's cookie
• Great aftertaste
• Perfect with coffee
• Perfect snack to go
• More like candy than a cookie
• Not too high nutrition information
• I can eat the whole box without thinking twice
• Actually I'd probably be really guilty right after
• Doesn't look as good as it tastes
• Tastes best if you suck on it and let the rest of the flavors melt in your mouth
• I keep eating it for breakfast
• Can never get enough
• Yum

Vanilla Clodhoppers with Cocoa Bites

• delicious vanilla clusters that have a moist, yet crunchy texture to them
• flavorful
• leaves a sour-sweet aftertaste that is oddly tasty
• chocolate pieces taste as good as cocoa puffs
• pretty filling
• only thirty five calories
• low in fat
• low in fiber cause only one gram
• low in protein, with only 2 grams
• comes in a flimsy bag so hard to put in purse
• don't eat this in the summer cause the yogurt-vanilla coating melts off
• must have beverage near you, preferably coffee
• kids will love them
• served in schools
• from the Brookside Food Company Inc

Costco All-American Chocolate Cake

We all know that when it comes to a celebration there has to be a delicious dessert that waits for you and your guests at the end of that wonderful meal. If you don't know that, well then you gotta learn that a celebration is like writing an essay. You start off with the Introduction (some nice little appetizers that WOW them), then comes the Body (where you stuff them with all the good stuff), and then the Conclusion (where you leave them with popped out eyes and drooling mouths). IBC people IBC!

Even if you don't like the people who are coming over, impress them anyways. Believe it or not there are ways that you can easily show your guests a great time with less physical effort.

So one of the best "conclusions" you can get for your party is the 7-layer All-American Chocolate Cake from Costco. You know that when it comes to cake, everybody loves chocolate. Even the people who say they hate chocolate secretly like it (Yeah I saw you eating that chocolate bar behind a wall).

This cake is amazing in many ways besides its taste:
(1) It's huge
(2) Only $16
(3) Chocolate inside, and chocolate outside
(4) Stays fresh long
(5) Has a definite WOW factor

It looks gorgeous as it is in the box, but once you slice it, it looks even better with all the layers of chocolate. One of the best things about this cake is the frosting. It is nice, thick and creamy. Usually the cakes I try have some sickening wad of gloppy icing on top that I have to scrape off so I won't throw up, but this stuff is just perfect. It's decorated on the sides with shaved chocolate pieces that taste so fresh and add the perfect touch to this cake. It's like eating a giant brownie. The actual cake part is most and delicious. It sort of tastes like the Costco Chocolate Muffins, but without the chocolate chips on the inside.

This cake leaves such a good taste in your mouth as well. Only a couple bites and you feel satisfied with it because it is so rich. Quality not Quantity guys. It's the true diet cake cause you can only eat so much of it.

Fun tip, this cake tastes way better refrigerated. It reminds me of ice cream.

I just love this cake all around and I think I'm going to have some now for breakfast =]

Carmel Coffee & Co. Chocolate Honey Nut Bar

For my little summer vacation I headed over to Carmel with my aunt and my mother. It truly is a beautiful place if you have never been. The weather is always cool which was a plus because it's boiling where I usually am. We walked around he shops, went window shopping, ate at this restaurant called Portabella. It was a great experience.

Around the late afternoon we needed a little snack from all that walking so we hit the coffee shop. Carmel Coffee & Co. is what they called it. I got a coffee, but I honestly have to say it didn't taste very good. Their 100% Arabica coffee did not taste very fresh, and it has bizarre flavoring to it. I did not like it. I usually drink my coffee black, but even after cream and sugar this stuff didn't taste good at all.

But I did get this Chocolate Honey Nut Bar thing that they had in the little baked goods section. I'm not sure of the exact name of it, and the girl who worked there had no idea herself. All I thought was that it looked pretty damn good.



I'm pretty sure the bottom was an oatmeal cookie base, topped with a thick layer of rich chocolate mixed with coconut and walnuts, topped with another layer of cookie and drizzled with chocolate. My mouth is still watering.

This was about the best dessert I've eaten in a long time. It beats brownies in my book. Up till this bar, brownies were my favorite. This bar surpasses any granola bar that I've ever tasted. It has everything that I can possibly want in there.

The bar itself was so sweet. The texture was moist and chewy. You felt the delicious coconut pieces crunch under your teeth and melt with the chocolate flavoring. The walnut pieces were a perfect compliment to it all. The cookie was so moist, fresh, and delicious.

I can't stop raving about this bar. I wish Starbucks had something like this. I am seriously thinking about driving out to Carmel to get a barrel of these or something.

M&M Coconut

By now everybody has heard of these coconut M&M's, which have come out years before for a limited time only. Once again they were to be a limited time offer a couple months ago, but people liked it so much that M&M's have made it part of their permanent collection.

I was excited about these because I knew how much I loved coconut and chocolate.

They come in a nice white package with Ms. Green reclining in the front and Mr. Yellow Peanut hanging off a coconut palm in the back.

They only come in nice 1.5 oz individual packages, with only 210 calories per pack. There are specifically 23 M&M's in each package, making each M&M about 10 calories. This is a good deal and perfect portion. 23 may sound like only a little bit, but actually you'll feel very satisfied after finishing the pack. The size of each M&M is between a regular M&M and a peanut M&M. They come in brown, green, and white; also containing some little tropical pictures on each M&M.

It's sort of disappointing that they don't have little coconut flakes floating around these because that would have just made these so much better, in my opinion at least. The coconut flavor basically comes from the sugar coating that covers a pure milk chocolate center. It's not a heavy coconut flavor at all. To me it tastes just like coconut extract. I think they put too much of it though because there is a slight bitterness to this candy that does not come from the chocolate.

I expected more out of these, but they were delicious nevertheless. I feel like they tasted much better halfway through each package. They different, but I prefer peanut M&Ms.

See's Vanilla Nut Cream

See's offers so many flavors that it is impossible to try all of them. Why is it impossible? Because once you try one you feel the need to buy that one multiple times because you find that you love it so much. I don't think that I would ever get tired of any flavor of their chocolates.

This time I ended up trying the Vanilla Nut Cream. It's filled with vanilla butter cream and English walnuts surrounded by a nice milk chocolate coating.

Yes, it is just as delicious as it sounds. It sort of reminded me of the Maple Walnut kind, but it did have a different flavor to it. The nuts were fresh and crunchy. There was a perfect balance of flavor between the chocolate and the filling. The filling may be too sweet for some, but I have no complaints. It is absolutely excellent!

See's Cashew Brittle

See's Cashew Brittle is one of the most exciting chocolates to try for me personally. It has cashews in it for one, which is one of the top greatest nuts on my list. It also had the magnificent coconut hinted in there, which you can never go wrong with coconut.

The moment I stuck this in my mouth part of me felt joy and happiness, while the pessimistic part of me felt bitter dissapointment.

If no one had told me I would have no idea that there was coconut hiding in this candy. The cashews were at least visible in their famous, delicious, perfectly-crafted toffee; but I couldn't really taste them with the toffee over powering their flavor. Unlike the California Brittle, whose almonds had a significant effect on the taste of the chocolate.

This honestly just tasted like a sweeter version of California Brittle, due to the white chocolate on top, but without the almond flavoring. I do prefer California Brittle to this though because it has a heavier chocolate and nut flavor to it.

But there is no doubt that I love this stuff too. I could eat it all day to tell you the truth. I would definitly include one of these in a custom mix box.

Dove Almond Milk Chocolate

I love chocolate. I love it in all forms. It's so wonderful and I think it is what made me chubby as a kid. My favorite is dark chocolate. The darker the better is all I have to say.

Today though I wanted some milk chocolate. Usually I prefer my chocolate without the nuts in it, but this time I picked Dove's Almond Milk Chocolate Silky Smooth Promises. Silky smooth promises don't taste any different from Dove in a bar form, they just come in smaller individually wrapped squares.

The smell was very sweet, just like most milk chocolates smell. The almonds inside were roasted, and when you bite in to them they are relatively crunchy. They just add a nice crunch to the chocolate, but you can't really taste them because the smooth creamy chocolate overpowers. This is the reason I prefer my chocolate without the nuts. Another reason is I like to let the chocolate lay on my tongue and melt on it's own so the flavor stays in my mouth for a longer period of time.

I do prefer a darker chocolate, but the milk chocolate was delicious as well. Nice and sweet with a hint of cocoa.

This is a enjoyable snack and good to have in a candy bowl for your guests.

Five of these squares are only 210 calories. Another thing that's great is that the ingredient list isn't as long as a lot of other candy products.

It's the best chocolate for a low price.

See's Maple Walnut

The thing about See's chocolates is that you can eat eat eat and eat more until your are sick and say, "Well at least gaining weight was worth it!"

That's is not a far fetched thought. I would commiserate over weight gain if I knew it was because of cheap fast food or something.

Now these maple walnuts are filed with creamed brown sugar, maple syrup, and English walnut pieces all covered in See's signature dark chocolate. This doesn't taste like the ordinary maple syrup in a bottle. The maple is fresh, strong, and a perfect compliment to the raw walnuts which also contrast perfectly with the extra sweet buttercream brown sugar filling.

Like the Marzipan, the filling is more crumbly than creamy. But it has more of a smooth crumble to it.

It has a truly interesting flavor.

See's Coconaut Special

Angel flake coconut held together with honey and covered with dark chocolate. Can anything sound more heavenly? I don't think it could.

Lucky for me I found four of these in my gift box. I could really get obese off of these.

Look at that filling, I'm drooling! The moment I deposited the first one in my mouth I think I heard inspirational music turn on, and I am pretty sure the lights in the room got brighter.

The filling is amazing, with chewy sweet coconut in every freakin' bite. The dark chocolate went puuuurrrfectly with the filling. I savored each bite and chewed on those coconut flakes for a long time.

If you love the person you are buying See's for, including yourself, put these in there.

See's Marzipan

See's Marzipan is filled with almond paste, honey, and powdered sugar and covered with dark chocolate. Like all of See's chocolates, the dark chocolate coating is smooth, strong and delicious. The filling of the marzipan tastes pretty fantastic, but it is not nearly as sweet as most of the other options at See's.

The filling is not exactly creamy, but more on the crumbly side. But it's still feels good in your mouth

The filling and the coating pair nicely. The only complaint I have is that it doesn't have much of an aftertaste. I would like it much more if I could savor the taste in my mouth for at least a couple minutes after it falls down my throat.

See's California Brittle

I found some California Brittle in the gift box someone bought me from See's. For those of you who may not know what California Brittle is, it is toffee with almonds covered in milk chocolate. It's probably called California Brittle cause it was invented here, although I wouldn't know for sure.

Turns out this is one of the most popular item See's candies sells. It's been said to be the best in the world.



I don't think I could disagree. The milk chocolate on the outside was flavorful and smooth. The filling was crunchy, yet tender. But it didn't stick in our teeth like most other toffee does. It had a fresh, buttery flavor.

I can't imagine even thinking anything from See's tastes okay.

See's Dark Chocolate Cherry Cordials

Remember your first encounter with a maraschino cherry? I do. I was 7 years old and excited to be in a restaurant. They brought me this pink lemonade with the most pure red and plump cherry that I have ever seen floating on the top. I thought it was going to be the highlight of my meal. I finished whatever I ordered and drank all the drink and saved that cherry all the way until the end so I can top off my meal with something wonderful.

The time came and I slowly put it in my mouth, deciding to savor its taste. My smile turned into a frown as the nasty chemical taste of the cherry filled the sensory receptors of my tongue and nose. Yuck!

Maraschino cherries are the most deceitful foods out there.



Until this chocolate of course. I just pick this one out of the box that I had got as a present, having no idea what the filling was. I took a pinch of the corner just to see what I was getting into, and boy was I dissappointed to see that maraschino cherry sitting in there. I was kind of angry at myself for picking what I thought would be the nastiest one out of the whole box as my first chocolate.

But I ate it anyway, assuming that somebody must have liked it for it to be produced. It did also help that my parents taught me never to waste food either. So I ate the rest of it and it turned out that maraschino cherries have deceived me again!

This is one of the best chocolates I have ever tasted. The dark chocolte covering was smooth and delicious. The bottom of the filling had some nice thick cherry paste that the whole maraschino cherry rests on. Bite into it, and a delicious syrup coats your mouth as the chocolate slowly begins to melt in your mouth. The cherry is sweet, flavorful, chewy, and a the true highlight of this product.