Sometimes nothing but a mouthful of chocolate will do to take the edge off of disasters or disappointments let alone stave off sugar withdrawal DTs. Apparently, I’m not alone in needing emergency chocolate.  Dr. Indulgence sells an emergency dark choc0late bar for $3.99. Bloomsbury–who understands the importance of being well-stocked for emergencies sells a 10 pack of dark or milk chocolate for $35.00  that is designed “For immediate relief of chocolate cravings, exam pressure, mild anxiety, love sickness or extreme hunger. Tear open the wrapper, break off desired dosage and consume. Repeat dosage as necessary until finished…”.

To me, the critical feature of emergency chocolate is that it’s here when you need it. I keep some in a tin in my car trunk (not so great once summer hits) where it’s accessible but not so close at hand that it disappears while driving. For the office, I keep chocolate bars in the back of my desk files.  One of my favorite emergency chocolates is called The Chocolate Traveler which is available in many specialty foods stores like Trader Joe’s. Of course, you could actually carry it along for traveling-related emergencies like when your car breaks down on a deserted road or when you’ve arrived late in a foreign city and everything is closed.  I’m sure the denizens of the TV hit Lost would have survived their travails better if there had been a serious chocolate stash onboard their crashed plane.

For more substantial emergency chocolate supplies, consider bags of Ghirardelli Chocolate Squares with individually foil wrapped chocolate squares. There are fancier tins for gifts t.

To qualify as emergency chocolate, the chocolate must be storable. For example, a box of See’s Candy doesn’t count since once the box is open, it’s one’s moral obligation to finish the box quickly. Emergency chocolate needs a good shelf life, a protective wrapper to control quantity consumed in one event and a location where others can’t find and/or raid it. With rampant chocoholism in my house, that means hiding chocolate at the back of the coat closet and other unlikely spots that even I sometimes forget, providing a happy surprise when unexpectedly discovered.

I just returned from a trip to NYC where my son’s girlfriend gave me a tightly wrapped, baked hunk of chocolate goodness with the proviso that it be used when I’m feeling peckish. Considering that no one has ever used that word out loud, you can tell she’s a class act. On my trip back, the plane was delayed by six hours. That indeed qualified as a clear & present chocolate emergency and I was feeling peckish & headed toward DTs. Chocolate consumed. Emergency averted. Plane took off eventually with sated, sleepy passenger aboard. As the Brits say: “Keep Calm and Carry On.”  My emergency chocolate made that possible!

Please share your emergency chocolate stories and survivals. I know I’m not alone out there!
Read more: http://pocketchange.become.com/2006/04/emergency-chocolate.html#ixzz1PGq0XYlo

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