Ciao Bella’s Tasty Summer Treats

Every week or so, samples of new products come across my desk. Sometimes, they’re industrially-processed garbage dressed-up in a fancy, expensive package. Other times, they’re tiny start-ups, introducing me to products I would have never normally seen (thank you, Salted Caramel, for your Bacon Bourbon Caramel Corn sample). Last week, Ciao Bella’s PR agency sent me a few of their new products coming out this season: key lime graham gelato squares, belgian chocolate s’mores and blueberry passion sorbet bars.

The key lime squares I could probably live without, and while I’m not the biggest chocoholic, my kids and friends went nuts for the s’mores – deep, dark and chocolatey, they had a nice ribbon of marshmallow tucked into the middle, and the graham crackers were sturdy without tasting too artificial. My only issue was the nutritionals: one square had 11g of fat, (6g saturated) and 24g of sugar. Still, as an occasional indulgence, especially in summer, if you’re a fan of chocolate, you’ll dig the gelato.

My favorite – by a wide margin – were the blueberry and passionfruit sorbet bars. Dairy and fat free, they are only 70 calories apiece. I couldn’t get over how intense the passion fruit was, while also remarkably refreshing, thanks to the icy blueberry puree. This is a guilt-free snack I could have anytime in the summer. I felt even better after reading the ingredient list on the side of the box: “water, blueberry puree, organic evaporated cane juice, tapioca syrup, passion fruit juice, orange juice concentrate, pectin.”