Wednesday, June 29, 2011

This is Guilt-free Pure Decadence:
Sweet Spice and Chocolate Fantasy
Review and Giveaway!

Today I have two delightful new treats to share with you. I stumbled upon each of them completely by chance, and both are making life so much more delicious! Both of these culinary treasures will bring sweetness to your life without adding unnecessary calories, sugar, or fat. You can enjoy them together or on their own, and the ways in which you can savor them are limited only by your imagination.

Heather McClees is the creator of The Soulful Spoon's Sweet Spice, a special blend of five sweet spices. Heather started using her favorite sweet spices like cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg pretty much every day, and then began learning about and experimenting with other exotic spices. She honed in on two spices that are beneficial to health and taste great together with cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. These two "secret" spices make up the remainder of ingredients in Sweet Spice, a truly unique blend, unlike any other five-spice.

What are some of the ways you can enjoy Sweet Spice? Well, in smoothies, for one. It has added a delightful flavor to every smoothie combination I've tried so far. (You'll LOVE the recipe below!) It's also fantastic in hot cocoa. (More on that in a minute.)

Sweet Spice is perfect for adding a touch of exotic flavor to baked goods like cookies, muffins, dessert breads, and cakes. I'm going to try adding it to a coconut nog scone recipe I'm working on, and I can hardly wait to taste the results!

I heard about Inspired Foods Dark Chocolate Fantasy Sweet Ground Cocoa from one of my readers. This lovely product evolved out of Daria and Darrin Danielson's passion for food and beverages. Daria grew up in a home immersed in tea culture, as her mom was a wholesale supplier of tea for many years. Daria and Darrin launched Eclipse Beverages (a Sparkling Tea company), and during their research into healthy alternative sweeteners, they discovered and fell in love with stevia. With their increasing passion for healthy and convenient beverages, they discovered the health benefits of cocoa and knew they needed to create a stevia-sweetened cocoa powder. The result is a delicately sweetened, ethically traded African rainforest gourmet cocoa that has just 9 calories per serving.  


You can use Chocolate Fantasy with your favorite non-dairy milk beverage. I make the most delicious cup of hot cocoa ever with Dark Chocolate Fantasy Sweet Ground Cocoa and So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk. A 12-oz cup has just 84 calories, but is so rich and chocolaty, it tastes fantastic. Add half a teaspoon of Sweet Spice, and now you've got an exotic hot chocolate! (See, I told you these are great alone or together!) I'm sipping one right now!

I also make a delectable smoothie with Trader Joe's Very Cherry Berry Blend, but you could use any frozen berries, cherries, or any other fruit you like. It tastes like something out of a dream!


Choco-Cherry Spice Smoothie

2 ripe bananas
1 cup So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk
1 Tbs Dark Chocolate Fantasy
1 cup frozen cherries and/or berries
1 medjool date
1 handful spinach
1 tsp Sweet Spice

Blend all together, pour into two tall glasses and serve!

You can order your very own jar of exotic Sweet Spice online right here. To fulfill your own Dark Chocolate Fantasy, click here to order. But wait—would you like to win a delicious prize pack? One lucky winner* chosen at random will receive a free coupon for their favorite So Delicious Coconut Milk, a jar of Sweet Spice, and a container of Dark Chocolate Fantasy! To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment below telling me how you might enjoy these lovely treats. To earn extra entries, you can do any or all of the following. (Please leave a separate comment for each one you do):

1. Follow my Hungry Vegan Blog by clicking the "Follow" link in the upper left-hand corner of this page.

Good luck!

*Sorry international readers—Giveaway open to US residents only.