Three Apps for Chocolate Lovers

ChocolatesGuest Post by Ashley Cranston

Chocolates are often associated with love and happiness. That’s because chocolate contains a chemical called phenethylamine, which is the same substance that the body releases when a person falls in love. Chocolates also contain dopamine, which is a natural painkiller, and serotonin that helps the body release chemicals associated with feelings of pleasure.

Thanks to the digital age, mobile apps were developed to help people find various kinds of chocolates. There are even companies that give away chocolates to users who would participate in gimmicks. One time, Shopmium offered free Lindt chocolate samples to its newly-registered users. Conversely, mobile gaming hub Pocket Fruity gave chocolate prizes to users during its Valentine’s Day and Christmas promos. With literally hundreds of chocolate-related apps to download, people would never run miss out on cool promos, free samples, or new products created by their favorite chocolate brands!

iChocolate  (iOS, $0.99)

iChocolate is a recipe recipe app that not only offers chocolate desserts but savory chocolate main dishes as well. It also provides vital tips on how to cook chocolate perfectly, and a built-in ingredient conversion measurement chart.

World Chocolate Guide (iOS, Android, Free)

The World Chocolate Guide lets users find the best chocolates shops near them, and around the world. Users can also filter their search by shop features like if a shop sells cakes, pastries, or hot chocolate. It also features detailed description of each shop, photo galleries, and customer ratings.

The Chocolate App (Android, Free)

This app is developed by Philadelphia Candies, a company that has been manufacturing the finest milk and dark chocolates since 1919. In it, users can browse the company’s finest selections of boxed chocolates, specialty chocolates, and gifts for every occasion. Users can even order through their Android-powered smartphone, and checkout with PayPal. The Chocolate App ships to customers all over the world.

Ashley is a self-confessed foodie. She loves trying out new restaurants and admits that she doesn’t go out of the house without a snack or two in her bag. She loves watching the food channel and feeding new dishes to her two little boys.

Pittman & Davis Peaches Review

Pittman & Davis Disclosure

A package of peaches from Pittman & DavisIt’s amazing the impact that receiving a package can have on someone when they work from home.  Especially someone with a love of peaches like mine!

Pittman & Davis has been offering deliciously juicy tree-ripened fruit and gifts since 1926.  Recently, they were kind enough to send me a shipment of California Peaches to taste and tell you all about!

Packaging

Pittman & Davis California PeachesBefore receiving the shipment, I was a bit worried about the condition of the fruit once it arrived here.  I know that, because of California agricultural regulations, they were shipping from within California so it wouldn’t be that far of a commute from the tree to my mouth.  Each individual peach was packaged in it’s own foam pod with plenty of foam spacing between them to save the delicate skin.

There was also a protective slab of foam on the top, as you can see here, to further make sure that the peaches were not damaged in shipping.  Upon careful examination of each peach, there were a couple of little bruises, but I expected much worse considering how easily peaches tend to bruise when just hanging around the kitchen minding their own business, let alone being shipped.

Taste

Pittman & Davis California PeachesTree-ripened apparently makes a huge difference between the peaches I normally pick up at my local Safeway and these Pittman & Davis peaches.  They were immediately juicy, sweet, and the perfect texture.  Opening the box was heavenly just for the ripe fresh smell, which I definitely didn’t expect considering the amount of cardboard and foam involved.  Sometimes peaches can be a bit grainy, but these were everything you’d want in a peach.  I was very impressed that they were ready to eat upon receipt.  I assumed that they were likely shipped slightly under-ripe and would need a day or two to ripen.  It seems that the growers ship them at just the right time so they’re perfect by the time they get to your door!  When their website says “with each bite the sweet juice will be dripping down your elbows”, they’re not kidding!

Price

A shipment of 9 sweet California peaches from Pittman & Davis costs $44.85 with free standard shipping.  While this seems a bit pricey, consider the packaging costs to make sure these delicious gems arrive in good condition and the convenience of getting them straight to your door.  Yellow peaches at my local Safeway are currently $2.49/lb. so while they are cheaper, they’re not as good as these peaches.

Verdict

While the cost may be prohibitive to make Pittman & Davis your every-day supplier of peaches for your smoothies, it’s a great gift for a friend or loved one who could use a little sunshine in the form of a juicy, fragrant, soft peach.

Freschetta FlatBread Pizza Giveaway

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Freschetta. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey boys and girls, have I got a gift for you!  I was contacted by Freschetta® Pizza and they asked me to review their new Freschetta FlatBread Pizza variety.  Being an every day fan of Freschetta®, I had no problem giving this new variety a shot.  I normally prefer a thicker crust on my pizza, but after a great experience last summer giving real New York City thin crust pizza a try, I was definitely willing to check out some other crust options with this FlatBread variety.

Freschetta® FlatBread PizzaNot being a fan of a lot of toppings on my pizza, I gave the Five-Cheese a shot.  A small, crispy pizza seemed like a perfect light lunch for a Sunday afternoon.  I really liked the crust for a change of pace… it was light and crispy.  It didn’t seem like the traditional pizza to me, but it was still tasty.  Though I didn’t go for one of the topping heavy varieties, the cheese was very good and the sauce was light, again contributing to the lightness of the pizza.  I know my husband will appreciate that there are a variety of flavor combinations (Zesty Italian, Roasted Garlic and Spinach, Pepperoni, and the Five-Cheese I tried) so when I get these in the future there’s something we’ll both like.  The frozen pizzas we usually eat are Bagel Bites and Mama Celeste, so hopefully I can ween him onto this since it’s SO much better.  And despite the coupon, they really weren’t that expensive anyway…less than I’d thought.

Lucky for you, Freschetta® sent me coupons for a FREE Freschetta® pizza so I could try it out.  I have 3 left to give away, so the first three comments on this post will receive the coupons via mail.  They’re only good until 5/31/10 so be sure to follow up your comment with an email with your address so I can put the coupons in the mail for you.  United States and Canada residents only, please, as I don’t believe the coupons are valid internationally.

Don’t worry – if you’re not one of the first three to request the free pizza coupon, you can always go online and  get a coupon for $1 off Freschetta® Pizza! So leave your comment, send your email, and I”ll send YOU one of these 3 coupons for a FREE Freschetta®Pizza!