Dairy Free Chocolate bars or... the blog post that isn't!

This is the blog post that isn't!

'How so?' you may well ask. 

Well, read on, and you will see!

This post was going to be about a range of choccy bars, by Go Max. 

When I spotted them in my local health food shop, I thought that all my chocolatey dreams had come true! Only the other day I was agonizing on Twitter about my need for the chocolate bars I had enjoyed in my previous life (you know - the one where I could consume gluten and dairy freely... and to my heart's content).

The chocolate bars I spotted were dairy free (Vegan, in fact) and gluten free as well. 

Joy! Joy! Joy!

I wasted no time in filling my sticky little mitts and making my way to the counter - despite noting that each one cost £1.99!! (Well, you'd never dream of paying that for a Snickers or Mars Bar, would you?? Well... not this year anyway - although, one day, no doubt they WILL cost that much, as my Dad can remember when Mars Bars were just 3p each!!)

I was so excited, when I realised that one was like a Snickers, one like a Milky Way etc. etc. that I completely forgot to read the rest of the label... until I was about to get my money out. Then it hit me - I hadn't checked for soya! 

All I was expecting/hoping to see was 'soya lecithin' - I can cope with that. However, what I actually saw was 'soya protein' on each and every packet. NO!! NO!! NO!!

If I could have lain on the floor and threshed and wailed like a two year old, I would have. 

I was going to abandon this post, until I thought, 'Hang on! I can't have these, but others might benefit.'

So here we are and here is a selection of dairy free choccy bars that you might like to try, if you've got that craving...

Now, if the Go Max bars are a little bit pricey for you, there is a somewhat cheaper range of chocolate bars, by Organica. You can find these by going online to the Vegan Store, Alternative Stores or similar. Organica's range is more limited, but if you can cope with dark chocolate, you can get a 'Bounty' style bar, a nougat bar (my personal fave) and a marzipan bar. At £1 each, they're half the price of the other bars, by Go Max.

Here's one of the Organica bars: 

Mmm! Organica's Nougat

I used to really like these... until I realised I was reacting to them. 

Once I'd looked at the ingredients, realisation hit - they contain soya powder (*sighs* *sobs quietly inside*). I hadn't read the ingredients' label properly! I look for 'gluten free', I look for 'dairy free,' but often neglect to look for soya!

The other thing I always neglect to look out for (strange as it may seem) is milk - on Vegan products anyway. Despite having been caught out several times before, I always think Vegan products should be completely milk free. However, Vego, caught me out yet again!

It's a hazelnut chocolate bar that I came across at Alternative Stores. It states that it's Vegan and gluten free! 'BONUS!' I thought, when it caught my eye. I bought one 'cos I really fancied eating some nutty chocolate. It was quite pricey (£3.50), but HUGE (150g) and tasted yummy (more 'milky' than some dairy free chocolates)! 

Just as I was in the middle of munching some, I idly examined the packet and suddenly spotted 'may contain milk'! *sighs yet again*. 'From now on,' I thought, 'I'll have to stick to Moo Free Honeycomb bars - at least I know where I am with them!'

Oh, and if you want those other Go Max bars, you can get those at Vegan Stores too :)

Posts with a similar theme:

Sweets for my Sweet
Oo! Ah! Chocolat!
The Great Big Dairy Free Easter Egg Hunt 2014

Oo! Ah! Chocolat!

Apparently this week is Chocolate Week!! To know me, is to know that I absolutely LOVE chocolate!

Now those of who who read my post about broccoli might be forgiven for thinking that I was going eschew the dark stuff forever, but well, I really don't think I could do that - everything in moderation, you know!!

So where do I go to get my dairy free chocolate fix?

The answer is... all kinds of places!

There is so much out there!* 

When I'm not munching my way through Baby's stash (outlined in blog post 'Sweets for my Sweet') these are my favourites:

Booja Booja
Until quite recently, I was a Booja booja virgin. I thought that all their products were made with cashews (which I can't tolerate), so I gave them a wide berth. Then I discovered these!!




Having now found that their Banoffee Toffee Chocolate Truffles, are perfectly okay for me (since The Hub bought some as a treat) I am converted. Incredibly moreish, the truffles are/were amazing. They didn't last very long, at all! 

You only get nine in a box that costs £6.99, so work out the sums for yourself!

Unfortunately, if you are a nut allergy sufferer, you'll need to give these a wide berth, as apparently they contain nuts :( not that I noticed any!

Hotel Chocolat 
70% chocolatey darkness, Hotel Chocolat's dark chocolate range and really deserves a post all of its own! You have to like dark to like these. There's no milk in their recipe. They say they're suitable for Vegans and I think I would agree, as they've never given Baby any problems - unlike dark chocolates, by some other manufacturers that I've tried.

Yes, there's no denying that they're expensive. I only got into them because The Hub decided to treat me for birthday, Christmas etc. so please understand, I don't get these all that frequently, they are quite definitely only a treat.

Rich and yummy!

After the Hazelnut Buche (I really do recommend these, if you can tolerate nuts - there's a large and a small one of these) I think I like the Vintage Buttons the best (£7.00 a box). I love the fact that they're moulded from real old buttons. I also like the Chocolate Batons (£7.00 a box). The Dark Chocolate Drops are great for fondue/posh cooking (£7.50 a packet) and there's also Mint Puddles - which are perfect for an after dinner nibble.

Last Valentine's Day, they produced an exquisitely moulded chocolate heart - I know, only because The Hub bought one for me. I can't tell you what it was like, as I still can't bring myself to eat it!

Willie's Cacao
Another dark chocolate, it first came to my attention when a television programme was made about this man who was trying to start up a chocolate factory. The programme may have been made before Baby was born, because although I was interested in how he got on, I never thought I would ever eat any of his chocolate, so I thought no more of it - until the Hub bought me some as a treat.

Small quantity, but intense flavour.

I think, to be fair, that although I find it delicious, you might need to be someone who has developed the taste for dark chocolate ( a bit of a connoisseur) to really appreciate it fully - it's very dark and very intense and very expensive (in terms of quantity). It comes in four flavours, which  have been given fancy names, such as 'Venzuelan Gold 72' - rather reminiscent of wine labelling, but then, they are referred to as 'premium'! 

Containing no dairy, or soya, these may, unfortunately, contain nuts :(

A small pack can be bought in Waitrose, for £2.99.

Now, just in case you're thinking that this all looks a bit expensive, you're right, it is! Free From chocolate is not cheap! But there are some more affordable options out there.

I quite like these:

Kinnerton Chocolate Bar 

For 'everyday.'

What I like to call my, 'everyday' chocolate. Nut, gluten, egg and dairy free. This chocolate is dark and sweet. An acquired taste to begin with (for me anyway - I always used to love milk chocolate) I have bought these bars time and again, usually from Sainsbury's.

Priced at about £1.19, they are probably one of the most affordable ways to eat dairy free chocolate. That said, if you can handle 'may contain milk,' there are quite a few more reasonably priced bars out there, in the 'normal' supermarket confectionery aisle.

I did hear rumours some time ago that Sainsbury's were going to stop stocking Kinnerton, but they still seem to be there and in the interests of supporting a brand, I keep stockpiling it just in case. At least that is the intention, but my pile keeps diminishing!!

Fabulous Free From Factory Chocolate Covered Raisins

They really are scrummy!

I have mentioned these already, in a previous post, but they're so good, that I had to give them another mention. I have to go a bit easy on these, as raisins can be a bit strong for my gut. I think that is the only reason I don't eat a packet in one go but it is soooo hard to stop once I've started!

Priced at £1.59 a packet at Waitrose, they're not cheap, for the quantity you get in a packet, but as the packet says they are 'Scrummy, yummy...'

They are gluten free as well as dairy free. There's no mention of nuts or eggs in the ingredients, but they are made with soya flour (which, funnily enough, doesn't seem to affect me) and may contain traces of nuts!



Organica Hazelnut Nougat & Dark Chocolate bar

What I like to call 'pocket sized.'

Not exactly a snappy name, but I guess this is the nearest I have come to a 'Topic' chocolate bar. Organica also produce a Golden Coconut & Dark Chocolate bar (think 'Bounty') which I love too. Not quite a Bounty, but near enough!!

The bars tend to be priced around 89p - which makes me wince when I think that I can remember buying Mars Bars for 30p (in my younger days).

Organica's bars are fairly hard to come by, in my experience. They seem to be found in some health food shops and are available online from The Vegan Store, where, I have just discovered, you can buy them individually or in bulk (now there's an idea)!! 

Caramel Flavoured Choices

For your caramel 'hit.'

One of the flavours I've missed since becoming dairy free is caramel. I used to really love my Rolos!! ... And the big purple chocolate in the Quality Street tin, now I come to think of it!! But everyone loves those, don't they? They were always the first ones to go, from the tin.

Well, Choices can provide an option for those of us, who miss that caramel flavour. Not quite as yummy as the big purple sweet, they do however go some way, to providing that caramel 'hit.' 

Although I've not noticed them around recently, I know that I have been able to buy them from larger Sainsbury's in the past, for about £3.50. I believe Morrison's now stock them too.

Dairy, wheat, gluten and egg free, they do contain soya (lecithin). 

Humdinger's Dairy Free Buttons

Something for Baby and me!

I just can't help myself - I'm back to baby's stash! When all is said and done, sometimes the most simplest things hit the spot. With me it's these buttons. They're sold in Tesco (for about 50p) and come in 'white' as well as a 'milk' chocolate.

Baby loves them and so do I! The only problem is establishing ownership!!

Dairy free and gluten free, they are made with soya (lecithin).

They are not made with nuts, neither are nuts used in the factories where they are made. If nuts are a problem for you, then you may wish to follow this link, to see their nut information for yourself.

Well this is a run-down of my favourites, now over to you! I've told you mine, how about you tell me yours!! :)

Well, as long as you don't have any problems with nuts... or soya lecithin, or rice even (food allergies are such a minefield)! Sorry, if I clash with yours :(

Similar post:

Sweets for my sweet...

Food for Thought

'Food for Thought' is such a great name for a whole foods mini market, don't you agree?

We found them, for the first time, on Saturday in Guildford, following a bit of online research by The Hub. And what a find they were!

Tucked away in a side street, literally not much more than a few steps away from a main city centre shopping street, I can't help wishing that every town had one of these. Unfortunately, at the moment they have only two stores, one in Guildford and the other in Kingston.

Not quite as big as The Whole Foods market, that I visited, in Clapham, the other week, they nonetheless make good use of the space they've got and stock a pretty extensive range of specialist foods. In fact, it was a real Aladdin's Cave of goodies, I really had to restrain myself, from spending too much of The Hub's hard earned money!

The staff in the shop were quite friendly - one helpfully suggested that I might like to leave my cold purchases with them (whilst we shopped elsewhere) and return to pick them up later.  Bonus!! Being in town for the day, I happily accepted this offer.

However, I passed up the chance to buy more dairy free ice cream, - I've still got some in the freezer and was uncertain about getting it home. 

Co-yo's chocolate yoghurt soon found its way into my basket, though, closely followed by a larger tub of its natural version. I was delighted to restock my fridge with this dairy free yoghurt and was keen to try the chocolate flavour.

Another familiar face - Lucy's was in stock, as well. This time I bought a packet of mini cookies,  for taking out and about.

Amy's dairy, gluten and soya free macaroni cheese followed soon after - the first time I had seen this stocked any where, other than Goodness Direct or The Allergy Show. Its dairy and soya free version is not to be confused with their solely gluten free version, which seems to be much more widely available. Unfortunately, it's no good for us at all, as that version does contain dairy!

From the States and hard to find over here!

Joy of joys, their chocolate range was pretty good too - they stock my favourite chocolate bars, by Organica. Baby spotted their 'hamster chocolate' (Mini Moos by Moo Free) and, being a girl after my own heart, she made sure that also made it into my basket!!

All-in-all, it was a successful shopping trip. And now I know where they are, I'm sure that sometime or another I'll be back for more!!

Update:

This cream substitute really is quite yummy!

Just to let you know, I have been back. This time my top find was Soyatoo Rice Whip. Just like the squirty cream, I loved as a kid, this stuff is truly amazing! 

If you can't find it in your local health food store, try Amazon, or the Vegan Store. 

Okay, so I know, it's made with rice and there's a whole debate about rice going on right now (generally I avoid it as a daily milk substitute - just to be on the safe side) but I still eat rice, and being gluten free as well, have little choice but to consume it in baked goods too. Therefore, I think that in an occasional treat, like this hot chocolate (made with hazelnut milk) it should be alright.

Related Posts:

New to me - The Whole Foods Market

Avoiding the hop - doing Free From shopping online

Shopping Around
Heaven in a mouthful?

New to me - the Whole Foods Market

Last time I posted was pre-move. I was feeling the ties of our old environment and beginning to wonder why we were putting ourselves through all the stress. Now we've moved, I'm feeling some of the advantages -  a dishwasher, the garden, being closer to family and... to London.

London is one of those places that I love to visit and dip into, before retreating to the clearer air and space of home. Where we live now, we are close enough to do just that.

Today, The Hub suggested visiting Clapham Junction and the Whole Foods Market. I was up for that. I knew that there was one in Kensington, that I've been keen to visit, but Clapham is nearer and, with Baby, more 'doable'.

It wasn't 'til I got there, that I realised I'd been there some years before with my sister, when she lived just up the road. I'd written it off then as being a bit of a trendy hippy haunt (not my thing), but today, I got to see it with new eyes.

I had a hazy memory of a cafe, combined with a kind of health food store, and yes, it was pretty much as I remembered it, but what did it have in store for me now?

What a treat! A small tub for the journey home!

The first thing I caught sight of was the ice cream cabinet, which stocked all four flavours of my favourite dairy free ice cream. This was soon  to be followed by The Hub locating the only Genius loaf that I can get along with - the old style (unsliced) white. Great start!!

There was a goodly array of fresh fruit and veg. but I passed these by and went straight for the chiller. I was after Co-yo - a coconut based dairy free yoghurt. Yup! It was there! Being unable to tolerate soya, I was delighted to get my hands on this.

Next to the chiller was the freezer. I was slightly disappointed that the only Amy's  Kitchen's macaroni cheese in the cabinet wasn't dairy free - I'm still waiting to get my hands on this one, having passed up the chance at The Allergy Show. I picked up a Burrito though - I'm interested to see if my stomach will take to these.

It was by the freezer, that The Hub noticed that they sold insulated bags, for the transportation of frozen goods. Yippee!! However, it was just as well we bought our cold stuff just before our train was due to leave. The insulated bag claims that food can last up to three hours (depending on how much frozen food you buy) but our ice cream was definitely quite soft by the time we reached home (an hour later). 

As for the rest of the store, the place was a veritable Aladdin's cave. There was so much packed into the space, that I found it difficult to scan the shelves for things that I could have. Funnily enough, having yearned to be able to pick my goodies from the same shelves as everyone else, I found myself wishing for a 'Free From' section, so I could highlight the stuff that was relevant for me! 

Couldn't see this at Whole Foods Market - what a shame!

Unless I was missing something, the chocolate section was sadly lacking. Whereas Booja Booja was well represented, Moo Free seemed to be merely represented by a few of their chocolate bars - there were none of the yummy Organica vegan (but may contain traces of milk) chocolate bars that I used to be able to get in the health food shop near my old home. However, Lucy's egg, gluten, nut and dairy free chocolate chip cookies were a great find! They're sooo moreish!

My selection of goodies made (apart from the cold stuff) the only thing left to try was the cafe.

This proved to be tougher than I thought. There was a disclaimer concerning allergies, so if you're really sensitive or coeliac, you'd probably want to give it a miss. More of a concern for me personally, was whether I would be able to tempt the ever-fussy Baby into eating anything at all.

She wasn't interested in the roast potatoes, or the salmon that I had selected - they had 'bits' on them. I knew the green beans were also going to be a no-no for her, but I selected those, purely for my benefit. Baby did eat some of The Hub's turkey slices, but apart from her share of a slice of a rather yummy vegan raw chocolate dessert, by inspiral, called 'Blackout Tart', that was it, as far as she was concerned. 

Impressive! Blackout - a yummy vegan dessert that is gluten, dairy, egg and soya free. Not nut free though!

Mind you, I couldn't blame her. The potatoes (meant to be hot) were lukewarm and the meat, fish and veg were all from the cold food section - definitely not a winner for her. She did love looking out of the window though - I must say, it was good fun people watching!

I was rather tempted by some of the other hot dishes and was interested to spot that you could buy food to take away, but Baby was never going to let me hang around for too long and so soon we duly departed.

Altogether, it was an interesting visit. I probably wouldn't eat in again - not with Baby anyway. We ended up buying her fries from Kentucky Fried Chicken across the road (you add your own salt - marginally healthier than the very salty fries you get from Mc Donald's) As for the shop, I would definitely go again, for the variety of food stuff you can buy. There's still some things that I've yet to try!!

By the way, the shop is sooo close to the station at Clapham Junction, that if you find yourself making a train connection there at any time (and aren't carting around ridiculous amounts of luggage with you) it would be a shame not to pop in. I've already got The Hub working out how he could pop in there on the way home from work sometime and I didn't even have to ask :)