New! Ghirardelli LUXE Bars

Something I can always be passionate about is...well, a second thing I can always be passionate about is chocolate. When I was in high school, my best friend and I went to spend a week with her adult cousin in the 'burbs of San Francisco. Coming from a very small town, it was exhilarating to drive into the city and walk around the wharf, see all the fun shops and visit the North Shore and Chinatown. The summers I spent there were so important to cultivating a taste for more than could be found in my little town, and there are so many times that I look back and realize just how fortunate I was to have been exposed to all that.

I remember going to Ghirardelli square and buying all the different little squares of chocolate and being so excited (okay, and a little smug) that I'd be able to go home and tell everyone that this was the real chocolate experience. A little different than buying Kit Kats at our tiny local grocer.

When MomCentral announced that they were looking for bloggers to try out the new LUXE bars from Ghirardelli, I couldn't sign up fast enough. The five bars arrived in the mail and it was very difficult to eat just one square of each; a serving is four squares at just over 200 calories, but I had five and savored every morsel. What?! I had to try them all...it's part of my job!

The varieties are: Luxe Milk Almond, Luxe Milk Hazelnut, Luxe Milk Milk, Luxe Milk Crisp and Luxe Milk Duet. I was a little surprised when I saw the price printed on the wrapper because they were just over $2 each. I was expecting closer to the $3-4 range because these are generously portioned bars.

I have to say that trying out this chocolate did more than just fill my belly with chocolaty goodness. Just prior to the birth of Charlie and for the months following, I have had what you might call a little bit of a sugar addiction which, a la Tommy Boy, leads to 'a little bit of a weight problem.' I had become so accustomed to having sugary foods every day that I wasn't really enjoying them anymore. I was just eating them because they were there.

The night I received my chocolates J was working an overnight. After I put the kids to bed, I turned on a movie, made a cup of coffee and unwrapped my chocolates one at a time. I have to say it was probably the most satisfying dessert I've had in a long time, due mainly to the fact that I really concentrated on each square, letting it melt in my mouth so that I could get all the flavor, and it served to bring me back to the real idea of dessert. It should be savored, it should be coveted, and it should be a treat instead of an entitlement. Quality ingredients with a great rich flavor, the combination can't be beat.

I can't pick a favorite of the five, but I will say the order in which I ate them that night because it's obviously how they must have appealed to me then. Almond, Duet, Hazelnut, Milk and finally Crisp. But it's kind of like ranking which of your children you like better; it just depends what you're in the mood for that day.

Run, don't walk to get your own at Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Borders and Linens-n-Things (although I'm not sure how long as they're going out of business). They will soon be found at Blockbuster Video, Cost Plus and Target.