No not me sadly! My latest discovery for a tasty snack!

Born to be yummy is a business started by Clare Panchoo, who as a nutritionist was irritated to discover the lack of healthy lunchbox snacks available to buy for her own children.

She has produced a selection of 4 cakes, each of which come in packs of 5. They have at least a third less sugar than you would expect, seventy percent less saturated fat and never have any added salt or artificial anything! 

The flavours are chocadoodlechoo, bonkers chocanana, ooeygooey chocolate brownies and flapple jacks. Great fun to say, especially if you make the kids ask for them by name!

The best thing about these though are the cleverly secreted fruits and vegetables! The brownies contain grated carrots, the flapple jacks have pineapple puree, the bonkers chocanana have mashed banana and the chocadoodlechoo have dried apricots. Your little ones will never know!!(PS also good for big ones who don't eat enough fruit and veg too!)

Each cake is individually wrapped so perfect for lunchboxes, swimming bags or keeping in your handbag for emergencies. 

I have a few samples, so do drop in and ask for one if you like, but make it quick as I think they will go fast!

Yesterday I was lucky enough to have Anjali from Choclatl in the shop to give me a tasting. She makes pure hot chocolate straight from the cacao bean. 

She explained to me that most hot chocolates are extremely processed. Often containing cocoa mass, lecithin, hydrogenated fat, palm oil, whey powder, salt, anti-caking agent etc etc... not good.

However her hot chocolate contains simply raw cacao and raw cane sugar. Simply done and simply tasty! They also make a Mayan blend which has blanched almonds and cinnamon bark added to this mix to give a little extra kick. 

But how easy would it be to make? Well, I took a block (yes it comes as a star or a pyramid, not a powder) home with me and gave it a go.

 I put the block in a saucepan with 300ml of boiling water and it melted down really quickly. This is what Anjali describes as a "bouillon". You can drink this as it is, or add warmed milk or cream to it depending on what suits your taste buds. I added about the same again of milk and it was a big hit in my house with adults and children alike. 

What did I like about Choclatl?

1/ Obviously the taste!None of that horrid aftertaste that you sometimes get with other drinking chocolates.

2/ It was no more tricky to make than a latte and I enjoyed the process of making it as I do when I grind my own coffee beans. There is something about it that builds the anticipation!

3/ You are drinking hot chocolate the way it originally was, the way the Mayans and the Aztecs would have enjoyed it. 

4/ Should you be able to resist the chocolate and water mix can be kept in your fridge for up to 10 days and dipped into whenever the urge for a really good hot chocolate strikes you!

Anjali's husband Gavin came across this type of hot chocolate on a work trip to Mexico and the more they investigated it the more convinced they were that England needed to be reintroduced to hot chocolate how it should be. They are passionate about what they do and are committed to lead one of the tastiest revolutions around! 

As they are based near Epsom I am delighted to support them here at The Larder. If you would like to try for yourself why not stop in and pick up a block for when those cold nights have drawn in and you really need a boost!

Yes we made it, as of today we now have our own shiny new Facebook page here at The Larder. You can find us here www.facebook.com/thelardercobham .

Please do pop along and have a look. We will be uploading interesting snippets about our suppliers, fascinating foodie facts and of course our latest offers. Why not use it to let us know about any interesting food you come across, or let us know what you are currently enjoying tickling your tastebuds with! Recipes welcome too as we are always keen to try new ones!!

Hope to see you there soon!

Ruth

I'm very excited at the moment as we have decided to hold a local food festival here in the garden on Monday 7th May (the bank holiday.) 

I have a number of local suppliers in mind that I am hoping to invite along to do tastings and sell their wares, but if you have any suggestions I would love to hear them, so do drop me a line on thelarder@themedicinegarden.com .

We are in the planning stage at the moment, so I will keep you posted as more details develop!

Ruth