Weeknight Dessert Idea (making up for lost time)

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. All opinions are my own. #LetsMakeSmores #CollectiveBias #Sponsored

Hello my loves,

Before we get to this:

I have a confession to make.

My name is Mabel. The first time I ever had a S'more in my entire life was last summer, at the age of 30. 

Can u believe that?!

Not sure if this is an excuse by any means but I grew up in a Hispanic household and (sadly) S'mores are not necessarily a common dessert within our culture. Growing up, the treat was something I only saw in 'American movies'. Funny, huh?! Thankfully, one of my best friends saved me from my 30 years of S'mores celibacy when she invited me to a get together at her lake house last summer. We spent two blissful days enjoying gorgeous weather and some quality time by the campfire. At my very first taste of S'mores I fell in love and came to the conclusion I had to make up for lost time. There's probably a lot of delicious treats I should be catching up on. 

I would love to say that I was able to eat more S'mores again shortly after that experience but the truth is, I didn't get another chance until recently. During a trip to Walmart the other day I came across all the necessary ingredients to make this delicious treat. And so, candid memories from last summer started coming back. I don't have any camping trips planned (yet) and I don't live anywhere near a campfire (my apartment is up in a NYC high rise!). However, after 2 seconds of contemplation, I came to the conclusion that there is no rule saying a campfire is needed to make S'mores. And so, I bought everything I needed, determined to find a way I could make these at home.

In case you are curious, here is where I found each item:

Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bars (6 pack)- Candy Aisle 34 (second shelf from bottom up)

Honey Maid Graham Cracker Squares (exclusively at Walmart)- Crackers/Cookie Aisle 11 (bottom shelf)

Kraft Jet Puffed Marshmallows- Coffee, etc. Aisle 19 (bottom shelf)

I came home excited to make these at some point during the week after a long day at work. I always look forward to a delicious sweet treat after dinner. My sister is in town for work so I invited her to pass by my apartment and make S'mores with me. Needless to say, no much convincing was needed. She was a bit skeptical about making these at home. I insisted- Who said that S'mores can only be made by the campfire?

There is nothing an oven and a very creative imagination cant do. And guess what, this entire process took less than 10 minutes!

Ingredients:

• Oven with a 'broiler' option
• Hershey Chocolate 6 pack
• Jet Puffed Kraft Marshmallow
• Honey Maid Graham cracker square
• A sweet tooth and a creative imagination

Preparation:

• Pre-heat over to 350 degrees, set to broiler (I used my very convenient counter-top oven).
• Place aluminum paper over the oven-friendly pan
• Place marshmallows to taste
• Let marshmallows heat up for about 6-7 minutes until brown

Did anyone request toasted marshmallows? yum.

Make sure you have all the needed ingredients spread out nicely on a plate (you know, just makes it quicker and easier to dig in to this heavenly treat). 

Now, take one graham cracker square, ad a square of the Hershey chocolate, add a warm marshmallow, add the other side of the cracker on top, and watch how it all melts in to perfection:

Optional- Organize it nicely for your guest:

Mandatory- Take a bite and take the time to savor it, life is good:

...this was the end result:

An evening well spent.

I had such a fun time making this in my apartment and sharing the experience with my sister, whom I don't get to see often. We had a mini get together in the middle of the week and I couldn't have been more excited. I look forward to making more of these over the summer, as I mentioned before- I have a lot of catching up to do. Any day can be a S'mores day!

 I encourage you to do the same. Tell me how it goes :)

Thanks for reading.

Love,

Mabelle

Love chocolate bars? You may love them a little more after you read this

Good day sunshine.

Another early morning for me. Had time to prep myself some breakfast and read a bit of the paper before starting work today:

Cinnamon-raisin whole wheat English muffin & some avocado, boiled eggs, cafe w/ soy milk.

I read a very interesting article in the Wall Street Journal yesterday and feel the need to share.

As a lover of chocolate (who isn't?!) I was happy to see chocolate executives appear to be listening to the new wave of health-conscious consumers-- the consumer that makes a legit effort to eat less processed foods and  be a bit healthier, without having to fully sacrifice the flavor of things we know and love.

This week Nestle announced that by the end of the year they will completely eliminate artificial flavors and colors from their most popular chocolate bars which include Nestle Crunch, Butterfingers and other popular flavors. For example, the company will replace the artificial flavor 'Vanillin' from it's crunch bar with actual natural vanilla flavors. They'll also replace the artificial food coloring from Butterfinger with actual 'Annatto'-- which is a natural fruit which comes from the seed of Achiote trees.

Despite the fact that the company admits this new strategy to make chocolate bars less processed will require more operating costs for Nestle; they will not be raising prices.

The article explains that it may be easier for Nestle to carry this out as it is a small company which has about 5% of the 'chocolate bar makers' market share. To put this in to perspective, bigger companies such as the infamous Hershey's and Mars own a whooping 65% of the market combined. Sometimes it is more difficult for larger companies to implement such changes as it can become increasingly costly and cumbersome. Nonetheless, this doesn't mean these companies wont be following the same footsteps.

As a matter of fact, this past December, Hershey announced their plans to replace High Fructose Corn Syrup with actual sugar in all its candies. Mars (makers of M&Ms) also indicated that, although the food coloring in the famous candy is deemed 'safe', they are exploring the possibilities of using natural colors in the future. Neither Mars nor Hershey have specified specific deadlines for said changes to take place.

After Nestle is done with 'reinventing' their chocolate bar ingredients they are said to move on to also making changes in the ingredients of other products such as Nerds and SweeTARTS, which they also own. As many of you may have heard; the issue with artificial flavoring is not simply that is artificial but that it seems to trigger allergic reactions and hypertension in some children and adults. Not to mention we are putting 'fake' stuff in our bodies with every piece of deliciously made chocolate we pop in to our mouths.

Although the argument that popular food coloring such as 'RED40' is not good for us has been around for a very long time; truth of the matter is that the ingredient has been used for many years and has been deemed safe by the FDA.So my question is, is it the artificial flavors that are making kids hyperactive? would natural sugars in candy change this? Something worth exploring for all health-conscious moms out there or simply health-conscious lovers of chocolate like myself.

Have an amazing day!

Tell me, what are your thoughts on artificial colors or flavors? Would you feel better about eating these standard chocolate bars if you knew their ingredients were more natural?