Frequent Chocolate Flyer Programs

As I've mentioned earlier, I am a sucker for coupons. And I am the dream shopper for the designers of frequent flyer programs for chocolate lovers.

But, I gotta tell you, Lindt's program is WAY better than Godiva's. For example, today I stopped by Godiva because after my big expenditure at Easter I got a free two piece box and my free chocolate (you get one a month).

Of course, their plan works well, because I usually buy something when I'm in there. This is my free stuff (gold box and heart marzipan) and the stuff I bought for $10:

A lot of their new spring flavors are fruit - mango and peach and pear, and I just didn't want to try them. I did get some new ones I'll review soon though. I was glad to hear that they thought the best Godiva egg was the almond butter - that's the one I liked so much. Always nice to have some back-up!

Then I went to Lindt and look at this haul!!! The entire back row - the giant bag of assorted Lindor truffles, the two bags of assorted Fiorettos (pralines with either a caramel, cappuccino or hazelnut nougat filling wrapped in crunchy crisp and Lindt milk chocolate), and one of the bars were free! Now THAT'S a rewards program! Get on this, chocolate lovers! Also Lindt gives you free samples just for going in - Godiva gives you one a month if you have their rewards card. I got all this for $37. I LOVE LINDT!!!

That's a bag full of those hazelnut filled ladybugs on the left and behind it is another bag with ten pieces of assorted chocolates. Who's my daddy? Lindt!!


Since we just reviewed every chocolate cherry thing under the sun - I thought I'd review their cherry bar:



This was good, but not as good as my fav, the Perugina chocolate covered cherry. I like it when there's some cherry in there, not just the liquid.

But damn, I love that chocolate!!!!!

And remember marzipan, which for the most part I didn't like? Well, this is marzipan as it should be done from Godiva:

The dark chocolate was thick enough to really enhance the flavor and this marzipan was good - has a rich almond flavor with no weird after taste. I gotta give Godiva credit for this one - completely delicious.

Oh - those little Lindt eggs in pistachio and amaretto and mandorla that I loved? All sold out very fast - they were a huge hit. So I'm doing pretty good at picking the winners! Of course, I'm sure I've picked a few dogs only I love. ; )

I can't tell you how much fun I have with the Lindt employees at Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh - they are so much fun every time I go in and are so excited about their products. Joy and enthusiasm and fun really are contagious - make sure you're a carrier! And sign up for these rewards programs - there's free chocolate waiting for you!

http://www.lindtusa.com/

http://www.godiva.com/

Pretzel M & Ms are Out!!

I just returned form a trip to Walmart (my Administrative Professionals have been eating up my chocolate) - and I saw the Pretzel M&Ms! They were in the candy aisle in ginormous bags - but they are there! Look for the blue bags.

I also found a six pack of Mars bars - I haven't seen them in forever and I LOVE them - yay!!

Several of you asked me where to find them - ta da! I hope you can get them - I wasn't blown away by them - would love to know what you all think.

Yay for candy!

Milk Chocolate Eggs (and a Carrot)

These are the most beautifully packaged chocolates I've yet to see:

Each of the eggs is slightly larger than life size and the color Mylar wrapping is tied with a golden cord:

I found them at Williams-Sonoma and they are Florentine Chocolate Eggs. They even have their own little plastic pedestal!

They were hollow and I find it hard to compare hollow chocolate to solid chocolate. I know - it shouldn't matter, but the thinner pieces let so much air get in and the smooth surface changes the texture. This is a wonderful silky milk chocolate - I'd place it between Lindt and Neuhaus (see below). Not quite as earthy as Neuhaus, but wonderful and delicious.

I found these Madelaine chocolates in Kohl's of all places (chocolate is everywhere - life is good!):

I really like these springy, tropical foil wrappers - they just scream aloha!

This is a solid milk chocolate. Good.

They also made these large solid milk chocolate eggs:

Very pretty, very good.

Isn't chocolate a beautiful thing?

These Hershey's Bliss eggs (in the stolen Cadbury packaging) are pretty good:

Mostly because of the "meltaway center":

It gives them a smooth, creamy richness. I really liked these.

Palmer has an egg assortment (we already reviewed caramel and peanut butter). This one is fudge:

Because it's more like a truffle with the fudge filling than their solid egg (below) it's better, but it's still got the outer waxy mockolate shell. These are just too sugary sweet and not chocolately enough. But the assortment was fun overall.

Palmer's regular solid mockolate eggs are just plain bad:

So waxy and just awful. Not worth the calories. Not even close.

I got this carrot which was originally $4.95 for 47 cents. I couldn't say no to it.

I'm showing you the back because I thought it was interesting to see all the drizzle marks:

This carrot was made by Seattle Gourmet Foods and was richer and creamier than both the Madelaine and the Harry and David Milk Chocolate Easter Eggs (I see why it was originally $4.95 - it was very good. I think they didn't sell because it was a carrot. No one wants to think about carrots when they are indulging in chocolate). The H & D Milk Chocolate Eggs:

In fact, I couldn't tell this one and the Madelaine eggs apart. They tasted exactly the same to me.

These are sooooo cute! They are a little bit smaller than all the other eggs:

Lindt has some great packaging - this is a little tin box:

These blew all the others out of the water. You just can't beat that super smooth and creamy Lindt chocolate. And this smaller size is great! Very poppable! (And thus very dangerous. Thank God they have the foil wrappers to slow you down.)

These are mini Lindor truffle eggs in the Lindt trademark golden bunny (I reviewed the little bunny that was in the middle in an earlier post - yep, he's gone):

But not forgotten!

Of course, they are fabulously creamy and delicious:

And the larger eggs? Need I even say anything?

So rich, so creamy, so decadent - I don't see how Godiva can stay in business with Lindt out there. There is just no comparison! These truffles are transcendent!

Speaking of Godiva:

I hate to say it, but these milk chocolate eggs are pretty good. They are not as good as Lindt, but they are better than H & D and Madeline.

But yet again, the ultimate winner is Neuhaus - at least in the solid milk chocolate category:

What makes these so good is they really taste like chocolate - that wonderful earthy, complex, rich taste. They aren't overly sweet or cloying. They are just about the chocolate.

You know, I'm really starting to get the hang of this chocolate thing. I see why Palmer is so bad and Neuhaus so good. But I had to pare it down to the essentials - i.e. no peanut butter or caramel confusing things. You really do have to try a lot of different things to figure out what works best for you. And you have to be brave enough to say - I've tried them all and I still like the Snickers bar! If you don't try different things though, you really can't know. That's what the journey is all about - trying things, exploring and figuring how who you really are.

Thanks for taking this chocolate journey with me! And let me know what you think or what you'd like me to review. Kris - coconut is still coming, I promise!!!!!

Chocolate Gifts (It's Administrative Professionals Week!)

This is one of the busiest weeks of the year for us keynote speakers. It's Administrative Professional's Week and there are appreciation luncheons and events galore. This year all my speeches are Motivation by Chocolate! And if any of you are in the Pinehurst area - I speak there tomorrow and near Hickory, NC on Friday - please come! Both events are open to the public and are three hour seminars. Chocolate for three hours - how much fun is THAT going to be? Woohoo!!!

I thought to honor the week - and Mother's Day is coming up and my birthday (and the birthdays of several other chocolate lover's I know - Taureans love their chocolate!) - I thought we'd talk about chocolate gifts. These are all the non-edible kind.

Several of these photos are courtesy of my good friend Diane Fain-Worthen who I don't give nearly enough kudos to. Diane - thank you for EVERYTHING!!!

This is Diane's pic from Cracker Barrel - she turned me on to their cool chocolate stuff - I have dropped a great deal of money here - and the stuff is soooo cute! Diane has also sent me several goodies from here - she is worth her weight in chocolate!!

How great is all that stuff? I love the pink T-shirt - "Put the chocolate in the bag and nobody gets hurt." And they have great lotions and candles with cocoa scent. Diane sent me a gorgeous lip gloss that's chocolate dipped strawberry. Yum! This would be a great place to take Mom or your favorite Administrative Professional or hell, just all your girlfriends! And don't even get me started about their biscuits. Dear God.

This is where I scored my giant Hershey bar - isn't it gorgeous? Thanks for the pics, Di!

Now this isn't from Cracker Barrel. Diane gave me this at Christmas after the hip surgery. It's a custom printed t-shirt - this is the logo on front. How cool is that? It's like I have my own chocolate company! (Diane, you really are the coolest!)

She also sent a pic of this hilarious shirt:

And I snagged this one at The Chocolate Bear - here's the front:

Love the back:

This is a little door hanger from Cracker Barrel:

and I completely agree with that statement.

Although this one cracks me up every time I see it:

Here's a great gift for any chocolate loving woman:

And this is on the inside along the lip of the mug:

My good friend (and fellow speaker and wild woman) Laura Hamilton gave me this cute bowl:

I love it - it sits on my desk and holds all my post-it note pads. And let's face it - chocolate pretty much IS my life. And you know what? I'm okay with that. In fact, I really like that! : )

Harry & David has these adorable kitchen towels:

Perfect for luring small children like Hansel and Gretel into my lair. (Hey - I need SOMEONE to help me eat all the chocolate!)

And I got this guy for $4.97 at Harry & David's after Easter sale. Isn't he the cutest ceramic chocolate bunny candy dish?

And all these magnets are on my fridge (thanks to Diane and Jay Rowe) for some of these babies!

I dropped this one and glued it back together. See the chip? I love it too much to let it go.

Now while this one is a perfect gift for the chocolate lover in your life:

You'll want to be very careful who you give this one to:

I don't think I can ever thank all my friends enough for the wonderful chocolate gifts! Sometimes we don't realize how much a simple gift like a magnet or a t-shirt can really make some one's day. And, unlike chocolate, they LAST! (Although don't get me wrong - I LOVE it when my friends give me chocolate too!)

Happy Administrative Professional's Week! Make some body's day with a little show of your appreciation - I bet it will mean more to them than you can imagine.