Are the raw chocolate bars a rip-off?

[Amii]

All the raw chocolate bars and treats I'm seeing are ridiculously expensive!! A 40g bar for £2.50? 40g is TINY!
You can buy a 250g bar of ordinary SAD chocolate for £1.50..
Raw chocolate is literally at least 5 times more expensive.

This is so annoying because I can't afford RAW treats. Is anyone else seeing this too?

[somelikeitraw]

Yes, they are definitely cost prohibitive! For me it doesn't matter though as all of them contain agave, which I am not into eating. Consequently, I have not eaten chocolate in about 15 months! I would never have thought I could do that but I did without really even trying to. I do have some raw organic cacao powder from Sunfood Nutritionals but I haven't done anything with it. I also have Gold Mine truly raw organic carob powder and have mixed that with dates, nuts and OJ for a tasty diversion.

[CathyA.]

it's cheaper to make your own treats. check out the recipies. My big thing lately is chocolate shakes. MMM yummy and good for you.

[Dimond]

Speaking of raw chocolate in general: they're not all a rip-off, but you may not like most of them as they seem to only cater to a very select group of people. If you're going to splurge, it's best if you're able to sample it somehow or go with something highly recommended by multiple people. Also try to get a good idea of the flavor in advance as that is key. What they sweeten it with can matter too. Ulimana is the brand Alissa use to carry and is one of the best ones. There's a couple others I'd recommend as well.

[RawKnitster]

Definitely best to get a sample first. I've tried several kinds, most I would not buy, (or buy twice). The cashew-goji Gnosis bar is my favorite. At $8.95-$10.00 it is only for really special needs. Even Gnosis has flavors I don't care for. If you think it is a lot of money, imagine spending the money on a flavor you don't like. :eek:

[RawKnitster]

Another point I forgot to make, raw chocolate bars go a lot farther than regular chocolate bars. Two little squares (about 1/4 a bar) of Gnosis is as satisfying as an entire standard chocolate bar. Not such a rip-off when you take that into consideration. :)

[Dimond]

I agree with everything RawKnitster said. If only I could stop at a couple of squares though. :rolleyes:

Another tip is that depending on the chocolate, some only tastes good at room temperature or slightly warm/melted, while others taste better refrigerated. And for chocolate desserts, there's a 3rd type that either only taste good frozen or freezing enhances the flavor. So it can be a bit misleading to try something only one way. I know I figured out that one reason why many treats taste good at raw events is because they're sitting out in the sun. Often those won't ever taste good unless you have a dehydrator to warm it up.

Once you've found the good ones though, you'll find it worth it to treat yourself occasionally or to have them on hand when you need them.

[katchmoleen]

I've only bought it once and thought it was disgusting. What a dissapointment! My homemade is much better.

[Rick2009]

I've only bought it once and thought it was disgusting. What a dissapointment! My homemade is much better.

Would you please share a recipe that includes raw cacao ?

[Lilly2010]

No! I have to have chocolate. It's great how I can eat chocolate and still be raw :)
Def. worth it to me

[rawmom2006]

They are a ripoff the only people usually who say they are not are the ones who are selling them or own part of the company.
I notice a lot of raw snacks are a ripoff. As someone on here said it is better to make your own.

[Revvell]

Most of those who make raw chocolate have very small businesses. They don't have the option of purchasing ingredients in huge quantities such as some of the larger 'SAD" companies. Take into consideration that they also have to come up with the packaging, etc. There's a lot more going into the production that you'd think of.

Whether it's a "rip-off" or not? *shrugs* Personally, I don't purchase something like that for $10-$12 but then, I don't spend whatever it costs to purchase a lot of things which others my find worthwhile.

[lovenlife]

I love my won raw choco things the best. I have never bought the other only very lil pieces in a raw food cafe fr one dollar a piece.

Mine are so yumm.

[Dimond]

They are a ripoff the only people usually who say they are not are the ones who are selling them or own part of the company.
I notice a lot of raw snacks are a ripoff. Untrue. When you find amazing-tasting pre-made raw foods they can be well worth the money. The problem is that there are many that aren't that price them too high. So it really just comes down to experimenting when you're able to.

Obviously it's always cheaper to make your own food, but it's nice to have options when needed. My most favorite raw dessert isn't something I can re-create so I'm going to spend the money on it and I love it every time.

[Green_Woman]

I love the Sacred Heart chocolates, and buy them as a treat on occasion.

We love chocolate in this raw house.

IMNSHO, it's all in your perspective - both the "affordability" and your own ability to a) attract abundance and financial provision into your life or b) repel it.

[Aleesha Sattva]

everyone in my family gets treats for yule/christmas... so (if i'm not fasting) i order myself something wonderfully delicious as a treat for myself. that way... i get something special too.

otherwise, i make my own treats.

[rkk]

I agree that raw snacks can be extremely expensive. However, I will still buy them as I feel that if it can help me stay raw for another day, then it's worth it. Hopefully a few years from now I won't need to use such snacks as a crutch... as I hope to be eating more and more unadulterated foods in their whole state. But as someone 2 months into my all raw diet/lifestyle, it's most certainly worth to have raw dehydrated snacks/chocolates at this point in time.

[Evie]

I make my own raw cocoa bars and treats. It is much cheaper and I can make them the way I like them. ALso, they are easy to make.:)

[klomasius]

Are they a rip off? It depends on what YOU perceive as a rip off.

As Revvell said, small businesses have FAR more constraints on them than larger businesses bulk purchasing wise and other aspects.

I'd like to add that most raw chocolate is organic and fair trade, which means it's ingredients are often sourced directly from farmers, who are paid a fair amount for their work. This is not the case for most conventional chocolate (look up chocolate, slave trade and child labour on the net and you will find much info on this).

Cost wise, if you are going to eat chocolate it's always best to make your own (so you're not paying for labour and packaging, legal costs of running a food business, rent for premises, transport etc). But if you want to and you can afford it, buy some commercial raw chocolate if you want it.

Sometimes the fact that SOME ELSE is making food for you is worth it's weight in gold!

Remember, while they might be more expensive, there's often a multiple number of good reasons behind this that are hidden from view (i.e. organic versus conventional). The true cost of our food has been hidden from us for a long time, as the Food Inc movie says, if you knew the story behind your everyday conventional SAD food, you might not want to eat it.

Of course, there's justifiably more expensive and there's ridiculous, some raw chocolate prices are simply ridiculous! Check if it's been imported, this might have made the cost ridiculously prohibitive.