I’m not sure how I lasted as long as I have without knowing about this product… It’s by no stretch a new product and I only ever learnt about it while walking past the shelf in Coles – but my god have I been missing out.
Introducing Avalanche Sugar Free Drinking Chocolate;
Your first question; what’s the catch? There isn’t one. At least not according to our extensive research. Avalanches Sugar Free Drinking Chocolate has 0.01g of sugar per serve, 0.3g of fat per serve and a total of 32 kilojoules (or 7.6 calories) per serve. It’s sweetened with two sugar alternatives known as Stevia and Erythritol.
The same amount of Milo looks more like 5.58g of sugar, 1.2g of fat and 198 kilojoules (or 47.3 calories) per serve.
So now you’re probably saying “surely this can’t taste any good” – well I hate to break it to you, but it’s phenomenal. Naturally when it comes to sugar free anything or ‘health products’ there are skeptics on just about every street corner. And I’m with you! Fat free milk is disgusting… but this… this is different. I’ve surveyed five different people, all of which I’ve left in complete amazement.
The texture of the drinking chocolate is quite a bit finer than that of Milo, leaning more toward the Nesquik or Equal style of powder. If that’s not your cup of tea (or chocolate in this case), mix it in with milk. But I’m an addict and have quite seriously been eating this stuff out of the tin for weeks now.
In a desperate attempt to justify my addiction, I reached out to a professional. Bronwen Greenfield is an Accredited Practicing Dietitian and the Founder of Revitalise Nutrition. When I posed the question to her, she hit me with the facts;
“Stevia is a great alternative to sugar for Diabetics or people trying to lose weight. Studies have shown that stevia has a glycaemic index of 0, meaning that is has no effect on blood glucose levels, and it is also a calorie free sweetener, so it is an easy way to reduce calories and achieve weight loss.
While erythritol is not calorie free, it is lower in calories than regular sugar making it a favourable option again for Diabetics and people trying to lose weight.“
Founder of Revitalise Nutrition.
When I asked her whether or not I could enjoy a whole tub of this incredible chocolate, Bronwen informed me that studies have been conducted on animals to determine the amounts safe for consumption;
“For stevia (steviol glycosides) an ADI of 0-4mg/kg of bodyweight per day has been determined by animal studies. So, for a 70kg person a safe limit would be considered between 0-280mg per day.
So while it might not necessarily be within these limits to consume the entire tub of drinking chocolate, it’s important to consider that these studies were carried out in animals and the amount of stevia that was consumed is far greater than what would be possible for us to consume generally.“
As much as I want to sit here and consume copious amounts of the stuff, Bronwen has advised against such a mission – but has confirmed for us that in moderation it’s a great alternative to the brands and products we’re used to, especially for those trying to lose weight.
I’m not a professional anything, but I have had a whole lot of chocolate in my time and let me tell you – Avalanche Sugar Free Drinking Chocolate might be the best. Okay maybe second to Lindt…
Pick up a tub from Coles for $3.80 at the moment, down from the usual $4.80. I’d also like to reiterate that I was not approached at anytime by Avalanche, I’m simply a die hard fan of the product.
A big thank you to Bronwen for her contributions and research for this piece, for more of her work visit Revitalise-Nutrition.com
