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Backpacker Magazine – February/March 2013

Backpacker-Friendly Chocolate

Cocoa packs high energy and healthy antioxidants, and our testing revealed the best-tasting, most-meltproof varieties for the trail.

by: Kristy Holland

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Best-tasting, most melt-proof chocolate varieties (Photo by Andrew Bydlon)

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Best-tasting, most melt-proof chocolate varieties (Photo by Andrew Bydlon)

Grape-Nut-size pieces of actual cocoa bean (Photo by Andrew Bydlon)

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Grape-Nut-size pieces of actual cocoa bean (Photo by Andrew Bydlon)

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Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

Skills

Spreads

Best for Hot weather; boosting calories

Beta Cocoa-infused, nut-butter spreads are packable and calorie dense (averaging 180+ calories/ounce), and chocolatey enough to kill sugar cravings (the lowest percentage of cocoa in spreads we tried was 12 percent). Because they’re already gooey, warm temps don’t increase mess potential. They’re also high in protein.

Eating Top apples, crackers, breads, and pretzels, or mix into oatmeal and grits.

Buying tip Several brands (like Justin’s Nut Butter, Nutella, and Jif) make no-mess, individual-serving-size packets.

Top pick Testers favored Justin’s Chocolate Almond Butter ($1; 1 oz.; justinsnutbutter.com), which is not overly sweet, and has more protein than others we tried.