Friday, April 27, 2012

My Confession... (Cocoa Almond Spread)

I have a confession to make.  And it may shock you.

Are you ready?

I have never ever, not even once, tried Nutella.

I hear your gasp all the way over here.  I warned you that it may shock you.

I know, I know.  I have no excuse really.  Truthfully, I didn't even know it existed until a few years ago when my students were bringing it with their fruit for snack or lunch.  Even then, I just thought it was some new-fangled kid food, like Crustables.  But then I started noticing people making references to it and its apparent amazingness on Facebook.  It didn't really phase me though, I had lived twenty-some years without it, and I figured I was doing just fine.  Others didn't think so, but I did.

Then I saw a recipe that called for it.  There it was -- my excuse to finally give in and try it.  I headed out to do my grocery shopping with "Nutella" scribbled on my list.  Right after a stop at Trader Joe's I was going to dash over to Safeway to pick some up... but you know how Trader Joe's is, right?  They have these yummy samples all the time.  And my local TJ's doesn't just have one, but they always serve two samples, plus coffee and tea.  (Are you starting to see why I have a love affair going on with them?)  And guess what one of the samples was that day?  Yup, you got it.  The Trader Joe's version of Nutella, served up with pretzels.

 
Creamy, sweet, and chocolately, it was delicious.  I crossed Nutella off my list and grabbed one of these off the shelf, tossing it into my cart.  Basically, from what I found out via those who have studied this intensely (and there are quite a few, surprisingly) the main difference is that Nutella is made with hazelnuts while Trader Joe's Cocoa Almond Spread is made with, you guessed it, almonds.  Calorie-wise they are about the same, both contain no artificial colors/flavors or preservatives, and they are both the same price, at least in my neck of the woods.  But you know what this one has over the other, at least for me?  Convenience.  As you know, I am a shopper of TJ's and if I can get it all in one spot for a low price, why not? 

You know what this means?  I have still never tried Nutella.  Maybe I will someday, maybe I won't.  But I will enjoy chocolately spread because it is so delicious.  How did I go this long without figuring that out?!

(Check back soon to see this bad-boy in action.)

12 comments:

  1. Oh that sounds wayyyyyyyy yummier that nutella!! I prefer the almosnds myself!

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  2. My confession is that I don't like Nutella (gasp)! Can't believe I just admitted that on the Internet. I do, however, love Trader Joe's Cocoa Almond spread. Almonds always win over hazelnuts in my book. Can't wait to see what you make with it.

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  3. This is too funny. I tried nutella once quite a while ago and I thought it was just "ok" Of course that was in a different country, so it wouldn't surprise me if the US version had more sugar or something. Who knows - but congrats on the awesome find :)

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  4. I passed this up in order to try their new Cookie Dough Spread (AMAZING!), thinking that it would just taste the same as Nutella, and not really noticing the glaring difference in nut, lol. So now I'm going to have to try this, too! Oh, and if you're in the mood to try something new, TJ's lemon curd is to die for (I smear it on scones).

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  5. Funny - my husband and I were just discussing Nutella this morning. I believe I may have tried it once in my life, if that! The almond spread sounds delicious.

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  6. You always crack me up. Loved this post. And Nutella is amazing (thanks for making me crave some right now...) yet this spread looks/sounds like pretty much the same thing. Gotta love Trader Joes!
    XO - Marion

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  7. Think I'm heading to TJs! Nutella is really good, but almonds are where it's at! Thanks for sharing.

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  8. Oh my this looks amazing! I'm not a fan of nutella... but I love all things almond.

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  9. I am glad to hear I am not the only one! What a relief ;)

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  10. While Nutella is delicious I think I'd actually prefer the TJ's version better. I can get worn out on the hazelnut flavor after a while but almonds are one of my favorite snacks so I bet this is right up my alley! Now if only Vermont would get a TJ's!

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  11. I've had Nutella. I've also had other versions of a chocolate spread. I grab the other versions every time. There's just something about Nutella that's not, well, awesome.

    Also, my grocery store sells a dark chocolate spread. So. Delicious.

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  12. YUM! this looks delish!! cute blog! if you enjoy mine, i'd love to follow each other!

    xo's, vanessa

    http://fashiongalfireman.blogspot.com/

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