Russell Stover Sugar-Free Break-It Rabbit
Pros: Looks adorable, lets sugar-free people enjoy an Easter treat
Cons: The taste is just average
I love this time of year! Not because Spring is coming. Not because we move our clocks forward. And not because the weather is warming. Nope. I love this time of year for the candy! I’m an absolute sucker for Easter candy. All those colorfully-wrapped yummy confections that you can only get during this season. If it’s shaped like an egg, a bunny, or a chick, and contains marshmallow and/or chocolate, I’m happy. Just one requirement: it has to be sugar-free. Yes, that’s right, I live a (mostly) sugar-free existence. But that doesn’t mean I can’t indulge in Easter treats… Thanks to Russell Stover!
Today’s review is for the Russell Stover Sugar-Free Break-It Rabbit. This is a new item (or at least it’s new to me). 4.5 oz. of solid milk chocolate, in an adorable bunny rabbit shape. The phrase “break-it” refers to the fact that the bunny has six sections. While the sections are all attached, they form natural “break-it” points, so that it’s easy to break off one piece of the snack at a time.
Interestingly, I think, is the fact that the six pieces are not at all evenly sized. Nor is the item considered six servings. In fact, it’s considered three servings. But if you break off, say, the bottom left portion, and the middle-body portion, trust me, you’ll be eating way more than a third of the bunny. Similarly, there’s an upper body portion that’s really small, and the ear section is also pretty small.
So, they bothered to break it into six pieces, but they’re definitely not all equal. Oh well, if you REALLY want three equal servings you’ll have to do some estimating, and cut some of the larger sections in order to even things out.
Regardless, the bunny, itself, is quite cute. He (I think of it as a “he” named “Floppy”) is solid milk chocolate. His body is in profile – patterned all over on the front, completely flat on the back. His face has an eye and whiskers. His neck area has what looks like a flower decoration (as if he’s wearing a collar or necklace), his ear and body are swirled in different shapes, and his front leg area is shaped and decorated like a painted egg. He has no color at all – no food coloring to make his eye blue or his nose pink.
He comes in a white, plastic tray, packaged in a colorful cardboard box.
How does he taste? Well, he’s “ok”. I would call him “average”. Nothing spectacular. Along the par of other Russell Stover sugar-free chocolates. Mostly I prefer their chocolates that are filled with jelly, cream, or dark fudge. I’m not a huge fan of their solid milk chocolate products, and this item is no exception.
Floppy definitely looks adorable, but his taste is just “so-so”.
Each serving contains 200 calories, 15g of fat, 50mg of sodium, 24g of carb, 1g of fiber, 3g of protein, and (of course) 0g of sugar. As you can see, in this case “sugar-free” does NOT equate to low-cal or low-fat. This is definitely not a “diet food”.
What makes this chocolate sweet? Maltitol and Splenda brand Sucalose. Maltitol is a sugar alcohol (a slowly metabolized carbohydrate). Trust me when I tell you to start out in small doses if you’re unsure how your system will handle sugar alcohols, or you can get a belly ache and some very unpleasant side effects. I eat sugar alcohols all the time, and I’m fine with them, but I stick to one serving at a time, never daring to go overboard.
I enjoy the various sugar-free candies that come out this time of year. This bunny looks adorable, but isn’t the best, in terms of taste.
Russell Stover Sugar-Free Solid Chocolate Eggs