Figured that it’s Valentine’s Day, so here we are with the V-Day foodie sweetheart: chocolate. Instead of a recipe with chocolate, I decided to let someone else do the job and review a brand that currently sells some swoon-worthy chocolatey goodness.
However, this isn’t a review of any ordinary chocolate. Lakanto has returned after killing it with their maple syrup and pancake mix game with three variations of sugar free dark chocolate! For the longest time, I was dying to try all three of their 55% chocolate bars, and I am so fortunate that I have gotten to do so! Once my three single bars arrived, I was absolutely elated to start devouring them throughout the weeks to come!
Story time: my package of these bars actually got lost in the mail in Santa Rosa, hence someway and somehow, the post office refused to deliver my package to my designated address. After e-mailing Lakanto about my concerns, the company was so kind and generous to send me another package without me having to pay a penny. Right off the bar, customer service gets five stars from me. But anyways, let’s get into the chocolate, shall we?
Below are the individual reviews of each chocolate bar flavor, as well as a general section of pros, cons, and overall statement of the company and the products. I will also rank each chocolate bar from most to least favorite.
PLAIN
- First off, we have the OG: the plain 55% cacao chocolate bar! It is sweetened with only monkfruit, which is a natural and plant-based calorie free sweetener, and erythritol, a sugar alcohol, so the chocolate is essentially sugar free, just like every other bar. The rest of the ingredients include Arriban cocoa beans, cocoa butter, vegetable fiber, sunflower lecithin, sea salt, and natural flavors.
- Nutritional-wise, half of the bar is 120 calories, 11 grams of fat (6 being saturated), 55 milligrams of sodium, 27 grams of carbohydrates, 9 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar alcohols, 3 grams of protein, 2% of the calcium RDI, and 10% of the iron RDI.
- Oh goodness, the chocolate does not taste healthy. Crisp, sweet, and rich, the chocolate tastes incredibly sweet from the monkfruit and perfectly flavorful. It melted perfectly when I microwaved half the bar in 15-second intervals–the result was so creamy and thick! I mixed the chocolate in my bowl of corn puffs and puffed kamut to sweeten the cereal, which I don’t recommend because the chocolate stuck to the cereal and solidified as soon as it contacted the cold almond milk and cereal. Still incredibly delicious, and I enjoyed munching on the rest of the solid chocolate pieces!
- Did I eat the whole bar in one sitting? Duh.
ALMOND
- This was the bar I was looking the most forward to, so I actually tried it last! The bar is made with the same ingredients as the plain chocolate bar, but has roasted and chopped almonds added!
- Nutritional information is generally the same, except it reads that the bar is 130 calories (higher than both the plain and cocoa nibs bar).
- To tell the truth, I ate this bar all by itself, square-by-square, with a few spoonfuls of sunflower seed butter and peanut butter on top. Nothing special or elaborate. Just a good ol’ dessert to sustain my incredible sleep. Let me tell you that it was ridiculous. By ridiculous, I mean absolutely unbelievably and irrevocably crack-worthy. I love the crunch of the almonds and how the sweetness of the bar was balanced out with the plain sunflower seed and peanut butters!
- Did I eat the whole bar in one sitting? I’m sure you can infer.
COCOA NIBS
- Behold, the chocolate bar with cocoa nibs! The ingredients are basically the same except the bar includes nice and crunchy cocoa nibs! Again, amazing that it’s completely sugar free and made of wholesome ingredients that are rich in fiber, iron, and healthy fats!
- Nutritional information is the same as the plain chocolate flavor.
- Again, I ate this bar exactly like how I did with the almond bar. Effects were similar: satisfied palette, sound sleeping, and a satisfied me.
- Did I eat the whole bar in one sitting? Is that even a question anymore?
RANKING (most favorite to least favorite)
- Cocoa nibs
- Almond (very close second)
- Plain
PROS
Delicious, delectable, healthy, and allergen-friendly for almost everything, no one can ask for a sweet bar with even sweeter macronutrients (you can eat a whole bar for the same amount of calories in half–or even just a few squares!!–a regular dark chocolate bar with even less sugar) and ingredients! Not only does this chocolate taste wonderful solo, but it melts fabulously and would work very well for desserts and baking. Packaging is tasteful, as expected based on how lovely their other products are! In addition, it is rare to find a sugar free chocolate bar that has a cacao percentage lower than 60-70%. Hence, people who cannot metabolize sugar very well will benefit if they eat this chocolate since they won’t experience that sugar dip or metabolic complications due to the monkfruit. Oh yeah, and the bar is free of animal products. Vegans rejoice!
CONS
Prices are incredibly expensive. On the website, each single chocolate bar is sold at a staggering $7.99 with a case of eight being $63.72, and a case of sixty-four priced at $511.36. Given the quality of ingredients as well as the impressive nutritional profile and fantastic taste, then it might be the most reasonable price that the company has established for the bars. Tips: take advantage of sales and discount codes, and/or consider looking on other sites such as Amazon (they are also only sold online). Another con is that despite these bars being completely sugar free, they are very, very, and did I mention very (?) sweet. Since I prefer a stronger bitterness of cacao, these bars were almost too sweet for me to have alone, which is why I love pairing sunflower seed butter or peanut butter with the squares to balance out the flavors. Personally, I prefer a dark chocolate range of 67-85% rather than 55%, but these bars still taste amazing as they are.
OVERALL
Lakanto happens to be one of my favorite companies of all-time because all of their products are so well-crafted with only the most high-quality ingredients that can cater towards those on a ketogenic diet, a plant-based diet, a sugar free diet, or even just any health-conscious way of eating. They have a wide selection of items that include monkfruit-based sweeteners, superfood drink mixes, monkfruit maple syrup (my review of it can be linked here), gluten free and low carb pancake mix (review link here), monkfruit-sweetened extracts, and of course, their monkfruit-sweetened chocolate bars. Guaranteed, you will find at least one product on their website that you will compulsively buy whenever there is a sale, or really, just any time of day!
Chocolate bars: https://www.lakanto.com/collections/chocolate-bars
Site: https://www.lakanto.com/
DON’T FORGET TO CHECK OUT MY OTHER REVIEWS AND RECIPES FEATURING LAKANTO!
- Lakanto: Monk Fruit Maple Flavored Syrup Review
- Lakanto Pancake & Waffle Mix Review + Cinnamon Chia Pancake Recipe
- Chocolate Roasted Kabocha Squash (with a keto option) (features Lakanto maple syrup)
Happy Valentine’s Day! Now go enjoy some chocolate!
superfitbabe 
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