NEW! Discover Milk Chocolate with Peach and Mint (Sweets Without)

Last week I was invited to try a very unusual sounding chocolate bar by Sweets Without. I've been lucky enough to try some very interesting chocolate of late, but no low-sugar flavoured bars as yet. Peach & mint makes me think of sipping iced tea in the summer sunshine, but I'd never thought of it as a milk chocolate flavour. I was more than willing to give it a go though, so gladly accepted Sweets Without's kind offer to try Discover's chocolate bar.

But who are Discover? According to their website, they're a small team in Exmoor who produce handmade chocolate. They say: 

"Discover was launched with two goals, we needed to remove sugar from the ingredients and bring a range of flavours to the chocolate market which had not been done before. We achieved this using all-natural ingredients in the innovative and exciting varieties of healthy no added sugar, stevia sweetened, palm oil and Gluten free chocolate bars we have on offer. We also ensure that our chocolate is ethically sound and environmentally friendly."

I loved the wrapper to the 50g bar, and could smell the refreshing mint from beneath the brown paper. Uncovering it I was further impressed by the colour and glossy sheen to the chocolate. 

I then turned it over and discovered that the flat side was completely covered with peppermint leaves, giving it a grassy appearance. Embedded within the chocolate were a few dried peach slices too. I'd never seen a bar quite like it!

Biting into the chocolate I was met with a creaminess that I really hadn't expected. I thought that the Cavalier bar was good quality, but this was far better. The chocolate was every bit as sweet as its full-sugar compadres, however there was a big problem with the bar...

I just couldn't get over the gritty texture from the mint leaves, which although flavourful, completely counteracted the wonderful velveteen chocolate. It's a shame because the mint flavour was good and worked well as a combination with the chocolate. As for the peach slices, they offered very little to the bar apart from a slight chewiness and sweet edge. I couldn't really taste them against the chocolate and mint combination -such a pity.

I feel very glum to be writing such criticisms of what sounds like a wonderful company. I love their ethos, but for me this just doesn't quite work. Sweets Without are selling all sorts of their exciting sounding bars though so please do check out their website if you like the sound of no-added sugar fig & cashew/coffee & cardamom dark chocolate or rose petal & lavender milk chocolate. I think the cherry & walnut and cinnamon milk chocolate bars sound particularly special!

6/10

**Thank you to Sweets Without for the sample!**

Cavalier Stevia Hazelnut Milk Chocolate (Sweets Without)

Are you diabetic, simply trying to cut down your sugar intake, or following a low carb* diet? Still craving sweets and chocolate? Sweets Without might be your saving grace. Just take a look at their website and you'll discover a huge selection of sweet treats that'll help curb your cravings without the sugar content of traditional sweets and chocolate. Now if you follow me on Instagram you'll know that I eat a huge amount of sugar, and so when Sweets Without asked me if I'd like to regularly review their range I accepted, thinking that it would be interesting to compare their products to their sugar-laden counterparts. 

"Belgian milk chocolate with broken hazelnuts with sweeteners."

The first product I received was an 85g bar of Cavalier's no added sugar hazelnut milk chocolate. Stevia is used as the sweetener, which I'm sure you're aware is a natural sugar substitute extracted from the stevia plant grown in Bolivia and Paraguay. 

The 85g tablet was in a thin format, similar to Lindt's larger bars. It looked very similar to normal milk chocolate, save for the small chopped hazelnut pieces that studded it. 

In terms of cocoa content, Cavalier haven't substituted quality - the bar contains a minimum of 36% solids, as well as a minimum of 30% milk solids. 

The content is evident in the eating experience; the chocolate is silky with a pleasant melt-in-the-mouth texture, broken up by the small but crispy nut pieces. As for the sweetness, the bar was just as sweet as your usual chocolate, but did have a slightly different taste to its 'normal' sugary cousins. If you've been reading this blog since the beginning you might recall that I reviewed a similar bar by Chocologic. Cavalier's bar is far, far, superior. 

I have to say that I was thoroughly impressed with this Cavalier bar. Im not about to give up my beloved Côte D'Or, but it's a brilliant substitute for those who can't/don't want to eat sugary chocolate. 

8/10

Sweets without sells a range of Cavalier's Stevia products including a delicious sounding white chocolate, mango & raspberry bar, boxes of sea shell pralines and even varieties of 85% dark chocolate for those of you who are inclined towards the dark side! Prices start from just £2.69 for this bar, and delivery is free if you spend over £10! Check the range out here.

Thank you to Sweets Without for the sample!

*For those interested, carbs per 100g:
Cavalier's Milk Chocolate Hazelnut = 31.8g
compared to 
Cadbury's Whole Nut Dairy Milk  = 50g

JimJams Healthier Jams & Spreads (Tesco)

You can't open the papers or turn on the news without hearing how bad sugar is for our health. It's being squarely blamed for the obesity epidemic and we're all regularly told how we're addicted to the stuff. I'll openly admit it, I certainly am a sugar addict. One look at my instagram feed will attest to that.

I love most sweet foods, and whilst I'm aware of the health problems such as Diabetes (hi Dad!) that too much sugar can cause, I'm not quite ready to give it up yet. I am however prepared to try to make healthier swaps for lower sugar products, and that's where JimJams come in...

JimJams is the brainchild of Kellie and Kevin Bath, who decided to create their own lower sugar jams and spreads after spotting a gap in the market. They say:

"My family wanted delicious Jams without all the sugar, so we made them…
One morning at breakfast we were enjoying a few slices of toast & jam, like many other families every day. Whilst looking at the packaging of well-known brands we were shocked at the amount of hidden sugar in such a small jar.

Our kids deserved better for their breakfast, so we set about making our own to see if we could make the same tasting Jam and Fruit content without all the sugar.

JimJams was born and we know that there has never been a better time to eat less sugar…"

In the dying months of 2016 I kept seeing their products pop up all over instagram, and so when JimJams offered to send me a jam and spread to review, I jumped at the opportunity. Less than a week later a jar of strawberry jam and chocolate hazelnut spread arrived -thanks JimJams!

Strawberry Jam
JimJams jams contain 35% less sugar than standard jam, and contain 55g of fruit per 100g. Flavours include blackcurrant, orange marmalade, raspberry and strawberry, but I opted for the UK's favourite flavour jam -strawberry*! 

Now I'm not sure what I was expecting from JimJams, but I have to admit that I was suitably impressed! The jar's contents looked and tasted like a good strawberry jam. I mean, it doesn't taste as good as my homemade rhubarb & vanilla jam, but then I am biased, and I'm absolutely sure that JimJams' jam is kinder to my teeth. 

Thumbs up for the jam!

8/10

Chocolate Hazelnut Spread 
Now this was the jar that I was super excited about. If you know anything about me you'll know how much I love nutella (almost as much as peanut butter). I even carry an emergency spoon on my house keyring -you know, just in case it's one of those days. 



Containing 83% less sugar than Nutella, could this really even compare on taste? Surely something had to be compromised. The hype on instagram suggested otherwise, but then I've also seen many people rave on there about the utterly disappointing Reese's Rounds, so I needed to make my own mind up.

Yikes. The instacrowd aren't wrong. Although it has a slightly grittier appearance than Nutella, it certainly doesn't taste any different. In fact I'm sure most people would be baffled that they were sampling two different spreads if offered a blind taste test of both. The JimJams spread melts well too, making it the perfect topping for toast or your morning porridge. Otherwise make my favourite: a banana and JimJams toastie. If you're not a hazelnut fan, no worries, they also make a milk chocolate version too! 

I can't see why I would buy Nutella anymore, I'm a JimJams convert! 

10/10

JimJams are available to buy from Tesco, Morrisons, Whole Food Markets, Ocado, Dobbies, Holland & Barrett, The Protein Pick & Mix, and Elveden. P.S their chocolate spreads are currently on offer in Morrisons for £2 per 350g jar, I'll certainly be stocking up!

Thanks for the samples JimJams!

*The very best flavour for making PB&Js ;). 

NEW Chocologic No Added Sugar Chocolate

When I read that a new brand of no added sugar chocolate was due to launch in Tesco, my heart sank. I don't agree with the sugar tax concept, and I believe (as a marketing and advertising student) that imposing a tax on unhealthy food will have minimal impact on the general public's consumption of sugar.

I definitely couldn't imagine that a chocolate sweetened with stevia instead of sugar would be enjoyable, and so the company behind the new 'no added sugar' confection -Chocologic- offered to send me a sample so that I could experience it for myself. True to their word; a few days later the post heralded a Chocologic chocolate and hazelnut bar.

I decided to take it to university as my friends all have a similar love of chocolate, and I thought it would be interesting to also take their views into consideration. The bar is quite thin, similar in design to the Lindt 100g bars.

The chocolate surprised us all because it is silky smooth and unexpectedly sweet, despite the obvious lack of sugar, and certainly doesn't taste like a health(ier!) treat. It's not as rich as galaxy or milk chocolate which sadly means it's closer in flavour to supermarket unbranded chocolate. One of my friends thought it tasted bitter and more like a dark chocolate, but I have to disagree and thought it tasted rather milky. The hazelnuts were finely chopped, but luckily retained enough bite to enhance the bar's texture.

In all honesty, I wouldn't buy this particular bar in favour of my usual chocolate bars of choice, but all of my fellow students were in agreement that the taste far exceeded our expectations.

I think, however, that it's a fabulous product for anyone needing to watch their sugar intake -especially diabetics- and a vast improvement to the lower sugar chocolate I've tasted in the past.

 Their range comprises of: the milk chocolate with hazelnuts, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, a Neapolitan wrapped assortment and Belgian seashells filled with hazelnut cream. I am suitably intrigued by their white chocolate (only currently available in their Neopolitan selection) and the seahorses though, and I'd buy them if I saw them.

 Chocologic will be available for purchase from Tesco stores this week- so keep your eyes peeled!

6/10