Chocolate week; Day 4; Lindt EXCELLENCE 85% cocoa - extra dark; REVIEW

before I was vegan, i probably was one of the only people to say that i didn't like lindts lindor truffles. I really didn't see the difference of them and hershey kisses (well, besides the shape). But today i felt a little adventurous so i spent 4 dollars on Lindt excellence 85% cocoa chocolate bar.

the front of the package is pretty basic. It has a picture of the chocolate, and a description, Nothing new.

When i opened the package the chocolate was wrapped in foil like almost all "specialty" chocolates are. Also there were little "lindts" all over the foil (similar to the green and blacks).

   

When i opened the foil the chocolate was very thin. about as thick as my iphone (about 4 mm) and the squares were big (about 1.3x1.3 in). When i took my first bite (as well as my last) i got a shock of bitterness. it had no flavor what so ever. i had to eat a whole bowl of earth balance mac and cheese just to erase the flavor a little, its still in my mouth and i have eaten the whole box of Earth balance mac and cheese, 2 bottles of water, and even 3 hand fulls of trix just to erase it a little!
I cant believe i gave their chocolate another chance, so unless you love bitter stuff, this so called "chocolate" is not for you.

i give them credit for making a vegan chocolate. But like anything i try, i always give at least one star to any food item i review because the company made an effort to make the product. But the rest of the stars are for flavor, and this "chocolate" has absolutely no flavor except bitter

that is why my rating for Lindt EXCELLENCE 85% cocoa - extra dark chocolate bar if only 1 star.

I think the manufacturers of this "chocolate" need to go back to 2nd grade to learn what chocolate, and excellence is.

*********************************RATING-1 STAR*********************************

Chocolate week; Day 3; Endangered species 72% dark chocolate bar REVIEW

for a while i have been skeptical on trying this, i really don't know why, but a week ago it was on sale so my mom let me get it and i actually tried it.

When i first look at the package i notice that there is a monkey on the front. Then i read it more and realized that they donate 10% of their profits to help preserve endangered species! If only i knew before then i would have gotten this ages ago.

But the package doesn't just end there. When i opened it up i noticed there were tons of facts about chimpanzees (the endangered specie on the package of the one i got) on the other side of the wrapper. (haha! now i'll have an excuse to eat chocolate if i have a project on chimpanzees, lol).

The chocolate was wrapped in foil like most "fancy" chocolates are. I noticed the chocolate squares have little engravings of bamboo stalks on them, clever!

when i tasted the chocolate i was surprised. it tasted like an aero bar without the bubbles! Actually even a little less bitter (id say it tastes more like a 65% dark chocolate bar than a 72%.) I
 can't believe i have been missing out on this! and the fact that its organic, non gmo, donates money to save animals, and obviously vegan, i'd have to rate this chocolate bar 10 stars.


*******************************RATING - 10 STARS*******************************

))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) I WILL ADD PICTURES TOMORROW!!(((((((((((((((((((((((((((

Chocolate week; Day 2; Choco Nono's milk like chocolatey candies (veganM&Ms) REVIEW

For atleast a few months i have wanted to try these, but like most foods i want to try, i wait a month then see if i still want to. So more than a month passed and suddenly it was valentines day, so i used that as an excuse to order these (its $9.95 for a 3 pack on amazon) And now i finally got to try them!

So the package shows them as balls of milk-less chocolate covered in a colorful sugar coating, Basically vegan M&Ms. Also they mention that they are milk, gluten, nut, and egg free. also it states that they contain "no artificial colors or flavors". and that they are "vegan approved". Well i hope those vegans weren't wrong.

when i opened the package i noticed that they were brightly colored, Unlike most naturally dyed candy. Also they ere actually almost perfect balls. hmm

(they look brighter in real life, but for some reason they came out like this on my camera)

When i tried the first one i suddenly was struck with a sugary taste, but then slowly the chocolate flavor over came it. they were easy to bite into, thin crisp shell, almost just like an M&M. Premium Chocolatiers did an amazing job veganizing and "natural-afying" M&Ms. So since it has to be the best vegan milk chocolate i have ever tasted, i have to rate Choco Nonos 9 stars

**********************************RATING-9 STARS*******************************

Chocolate week; Day 1; Green & black's organic Dark chocolate 70% cocoabar REVIEW

So for a few weeks now i have been at the store with my mom shopping, and every time i went down the chocolate isle i have wanted this. But i never actually got it, until just the other day.

the package states "Made with fine Trinitario cacao beans for an intense taste" But honestly i really don't see the difference, whatever.

when i first opened the paper i noticed it was in a gold wrapping, interesting.

when i took a bite, it was strange. it tasted more sour and bitter with a hint of chocolate taste than an actual chocolate bar. Usually i eat a whole serving of anything before i review it, but this was honestly too gross to even eat more than 2 squares.

So my rating for Green & blacks 70% cocoa chocolate bar would be 3 stars. Because it tastes gross, but still has a hint of chocolate taste.



********************************RATING - 3 STARS********************************

All Vegan cereals list (well almost all.)

I was bored, so i decided to see what common cereals were vegan. I was surprised to see how many popular cereals were vegan, check it out!: (eh hem, please respect the fact that it took me 2 hours to gather all of this information and i had to go to each brands site and read the ingredients one by one, so please, cut me some slack if i missed a few, although i don't think i did.) I ONLY GATHERED CEREALS FROM THE BIGGEST CEREAL COMPANIES (general mills, kelloggs, quaker, and MOMs) I did not do the smaller/ organic ones because usually they are easy to figure out whether they are vegan or not, also there are just too many sites for a 13 year old to go to.

All bran Buds

All bran Complete Wheat flakes

All bran Original

Alpha Bits

Apple Jacks

Apple cinnamon cheerios

Apple cinnamon chex

Banana nut cheerios

Berry berry kix

Bran flakes

Cap’n Crunch

Cap’n Crunch Crunch berries

Cap’n Crunch Peanut butter Crunch

Cheerios

Chocolate chex

Chocolate toast crunch

Cinnabon Cereal

Cinnamon burst cheerios

Cinnamon chex

Cinnamon toast crunch

Cocoa krispies

Cocoa pebbles

Cocoa puffs

Cookie crisp

Corn chex

Cracklin Oat bran

Crispix

Dora the explorer stars

Dulce de leche cheerios

Fiber one original

Fiber one raisin bran clusters

Froot loops

Froot loops Bloopers

Frosted cheerios

Frosted krispies

Frosted toast crunch

Fruity cheerios

Fruity pebbles

Good Morenings Waffle crunch

Grape nuts

Ice cream pebbles

Jif Cereal

Jif PB&j Strawberry cereal

Kellogg’s Corn Pops

Kellogg’s Corn flakes

Kellogg’s Frosted flakes

Kellogg’s Frosted flakes ChocoZucaritas

Kellogg’s Mini wheats UNFROSTED

Kellogg’s Raisin bran

Kellogg’s Raisin bran Omega-3

Kellogg’s Raisin bran with Cranberries

King Vitaman

Kix

Life Cinnamon

Life Maple brown sugar

Life cereal Original

Malt-O meal Apple zings

Malt-O meal Berry Colossal crunch

Malt-O meal Cinnamon toasters

Malt-O meal Coco roos

Malt-O meal Cocoa Dyno-bites

Malt-O meal Colossal crunch

Malt-O meal Corn bursts

Malt-O meal Corn flakes

Malt-O meal Crispy rice

Malt-O meal Frosted flakes

Malt-O meal Fruity Dyno-bites

Malt-O meal Peanut butter Colossal crunch

Malt-O meal Peanut butter cups

Malt-O meal Raisin bran

Malt-O meal Raisin bran clusters

Malt-O meal Scooters

Mom brands Shrek Ogre O's
Mueslix

Multi grain cheerios

Multi grain cheerios peanut butter

Opp’s! All Berries!

Post Raisin bran

Post Shredded wheat Original big biscuit

Post Shredded wheat Original spoon size

Post Shredded wheat Spoon size Wheat'n bran

Product 19,Quaker Corn bran Crunch

Quaker Oatmeal squares Brown sugar

Quaker Oatmeal squares Cinnamon

Quaker Oatmeal squares Golden maple

Quaker Puffed Rice
Quaker Puffed Wheat

Quaker Toasted Oat bran

Quisp

Reese’s puffs

Rice chex

Rice krispies

Special K Chocolate almond

Special K Cinnamon pecan

Special K Protein

Special K Red berries

Special K Vanilla almond

Sponge bob square pants fruity splash

Sprinkles cookie crisp

Total

Total Raisin bran

Trix

Vanilla chex

Waffle crisp

Wheat chex

Wheaties

Apple jacks, Cap'n crunch, Cinnamon toast crunch, Trix... I've gotta start eating cereal for breakfast again. (what was i thinking when i stopped!)

NEXT WEEK IS CHOCOLATE WEEK

Every day for the whole week starting This Friday, i will be reviewing all different vegan chocolates every day for seven days. Why? because for some reason for the past week i have tried all these different vegan chocolates, and i thought "might as well review them all!" so that is why i have declared that next week will be chocolate week. (ah, if only every week could be chocolate week, lol)

so stay tuned!

Up-cycled rings made from soy milk corks (or any other kind of plantmilk product)

So i was sitting at the counter (well, standing) waiting for my earth balance vegan macaroni and cheese to finnish cooking. As i was STANDING there, i thought to might as well get the soy milk and margarine ready. Measured the margarine and opened the fresh carton of soy milk and measured that aswell. then i was bored again. so i start playing with the cork from the soy milk, then i got an idea....

Up-cycled  rings

            What you will need :
*  AT LEAST one soy milk cork (see picture below)
*  Scissors
*  A rubber glove
*  Paint, Puff paint, Glitter, etc (anythig to decorate it with) ** METALIC COLORS LOOK BEST**
*  A glass, plastic cup or plastic bottle.

 

first, blow up your rubber glove, this will be used almost like a manikin. 

Blow it up and tie it right above the thumb (check the image below to see how i did it)

The next step is optional, but it makes it much easier to paint the ring.

push all the air from the finger into the glove and twist the finger. Then tie the finger and cut it off . repeat this for all fingers EXCEPT the ring finger or middle finger.

Now that you've got your finger manikin, to keep upright, cut the top of the plastic bottle off and push the glove into the bottle like i did in the image below.

Now its time to start making the ring. Take the cork and cut the cap part off  (so that the only thing left is the ring-like hoop)

Now if your like me and your finger cant fit through the loop, make a slit in the ring like i did in the picture below:

Now its time to decorate! you can paint it, glitter it, design it with puff paint or glitter glue, be creative! Go crazy! 

Here are 2 that i made a few weeks ago :

And there you go! you've made a beautiful up-cycled ring! Now i know what you may be thinking, "thats not alot of plastic to waste. But like with anything recycled or up-cycled, it all adds up. imagine if everyone recycled or up-cycled every soy milk cork, imagine how much plastic we'd save from landfills?!

But all and all the most important steps of all are HAVE FUN, AND BE CREATIVE!