Spotted on the Shelves Entries #20

Spotted at Walmart
Candy knives! Out of the two, I was most impressed by the little butcher's knives.

Here are some items I saw while I was out running errands. I'll be submitting them to The Impulsive Buy later this week.

☕ Today is national coffee day! ☕

I celebrated with a glass of ice cold coffee milk, how about you?

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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Honey Roasted Pumpkin Ravioli- Trader Joe's: Marlton, NJ

Honey Roasted Pumpkin Ravioli- Trader Joe's: Marlton, NJ

It's officially fall, which means my pumpkin reviews have begun! I'll be mixing in a few random food items here and there, but for the next few weeks, a lot of my posts are going to be pumpkin, pumpkin spice, or Halloween related.

As a food blogger, I love trying seasonal products, but the majority of the pumpkin items on the shelves are sweets and desserts. Let me tell you, after you're 14th pumpkin spice flavored sweet in a row, you come dangerously close to ruining pumpkin sweets for yourself forever. To prevent myself from pumpkin-dessert-burnout, I'm always on the hunt for the elusive savory seasonal items, which are very few and far between. Last year I was able to find a pumpkin soup mix, a salsa, pre-made soup, ravioli, and pasta.

Although I wasn't a fan of last year's ravioli, or the one I found the year before that, I still decided to give these Trader Joe's Honey Roasted Ravioli a try.

Pumpkin Spice Oreos- ShopRite: Cherry Hill, NJ - Pumpkin Haul 2014

Pumpkin Spice Oreos- ShopRite: Cherry Hill, NJ

This will be the first pumpkin item for my 2014 Pumpkin Gallery/Haul! I figured I might as well start with one of the most hyped up pumpkin releases this season, the Pumpkin Spice Oreo!

Snickerdoodle Toaster Strudel - ShopRite: Berlin, NJ

Snickerdoodle Toaster Strudel - ShopRite: Berlin, NJ

I'm not sure if this flavor is limited edition, or permanent, but I figured I would do a little foodie experiment to see if this tasted any different from the new Limited Edition Pumpkin Pie strudel. (Since they are both cinnamon-heavy flavors.) I bought a box of each, so now I gotta hurry up and review these to make room for all the frozen pumpkin goodies I plan on reviewing next month. Let the strudeling begin!

New Youtube Review is up! Rilakkuma & Doraemon Snacks!

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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Coffee Time Syrup - ShopRite: Berlin, NJ (Quickie Review)

Coffee Time Syrup - ShopRite: Berlin, NJ

Chocolate milk for coffee addicted adults! Are any of you subscribed to foodie Youtuber, Emmymadeinjapan? (If not, you should be.) She made a video last year talking about coffee milk, which is the official drink of Rhode Island. Over a year later, I happened to be wandering around a grocery store (waiting for my car to be serviced), and I found a bottle of coffee syrup to make my own coffee milk! From what I've read online, it seems like this is the branding and packaging for the same syrup Emmy reviewed in Rhode Island, but this is how that brand markets to other states. I figured it would make an interesting review item, plus it might be something new for my coffee addicted boyfriend to try, so into my cart it went.

There isn't much to this product, so this is going to be a really quick review.

The Aldi Pumpkin-pocalypse is Upon Us!

Photo © Aldi, click this to see the full circular

Last year Aldi released a TON of pumpkin items, here is a little sampler of the items from their 9/28 circular.

Here is a list of the new items: 

• Pumpkin Spice Cake Roll
• Pumpkin Quick Bread
• Pumpkin Pie Bars
• Pumpkin Seeds
• Pumpkin Spice Creme Cake
• Pumpkin Spice Cookie Mix
• Pumpkin Praline Ice Cream
• Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cookie Dough

And here are links to the items I've already reviewed:

• Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream
• Pumpkin Pancake Mix
• Pumpkin Spice Coffee and Dry Coffee Creamer
• Pumpkin Spiced Pizzelles
• Pumpkin Squash Ravioli
• Pumpkin Supreme Pie
• Pumpkin Spice Waffles
• Pumpkin Spiced Ice Coffee

Which of the new items should I buy this year?
Also, the Pumpkin Fit & Active Yogurt and the Pumpkin Cider from last year returned as well!

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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Couque D'asses - H-Mart: Cherry Hill, NJ

Couque D'asses - H-Mart: Cherry Hill, NJ

I'm not gonna lie, I totally bought this because the box says "D'asses." I took French courses from 8th grade up until my sophomore year of college, and while I may be a bit rusty, I'm 99% sure these aren't real French words. (Unless they are some kind of slang. School's tend to teach textbook languages, not common language.) I'm guessing that this was an Asian company that was making their own version of a French cookie (cat's tongue cookies, or "langue de chat"), and they wanted a French-sounding name for their product.

Now, the French language here seems to be incorrect, but the name has Americans like me grabbing boxes off the shelves just to share D'asses cookies with our friends and family. Sure they are hilarious, but how do D'asses taste?

Eggo Blueberry Cobbler Waffles - BJ's: Voorhees, NJ

Eggo Blueberry Cobbler Waffles - BJ's: Voorhees, NJ

I really hope these taste good, because in order to try them, I had to commit to a box of 36 waffles. I could be wrong, but I think these were exclusive to wholesale clubs like Sam's and BJ's. I couldn't find anything smaller, have any of you seen these in a more manageable size?

These waffles were posted on The Impulsive Buy's Spotted on the Shelves about a month ago, and I was curious, what makes these different from any other frozen blueberry waffle on the market? Curiosity, and food blogging, got the best of me, and I picked up a box.

Sugar Free Blueberry Syrup - Aldi: Cherry Hill, NJ

Sugar Free Blueberry Syrup - Aldi: Cherry Hill, NJ

This syrup was originally purchased to enhance the flavor and photos of another blueberry-themed food item I'll be reviewing tomorrow, but I figured I might as well give it a little review of it's own.

Elmer's Bar-B-Que CheeWees - (Gift) New Orleans, LA

Elmer's Bar-B-Que CheeWees - (Gift) New Orleans, LA

A few months ago my boyfriend went down to Louisiana, and when he returned, he had a bag full of goodies for me to review. I already made a post about the Beignet mix, but the rest of his foodie gifts got lost in my monstrous food stash. Now that I'm preparing for the pumpkin-pocalypse of 2014, I'm working my way through the foodie back-up, and now we'll finally get to see what these little cheese puffs taste like!

Intense Caramel Apple Milk - Wegman's: Cherry Hill, NJ

Intense Caramel Apple Milk - Wegman's: Cherry Hill, NJ

What is with the sudden influx of caramel apple flavored foods? Usually fall foodie items are all about pumpkin and pumpkin spice, but this year there seems to be a caramel-apple counterpart for almost every pumpkin item. We have Caramel Apple Oreos (Review coming soon), caramel apple chewing gum, and now we even have caramel apple flavored milk.

Back in 2012 I reviewed Intense's pumpkin spice milk, which is like a yummy hybrid of eggnog and pumpkin pie, and while it was enjoyable it was also, well..., intense! This stuff is really thick and really sweet. This is NOT a health food item. (Don't let the "milk" part fool you.) The pumpkin spice version was practically a pumpkin pie milkshake, so how will this caramel apple version compare?

Pumpkin Spice Jello Pudding is back on the Shelves!

Taken at Wegman's in Cherry Hill, NJ

Remember this item from last year? Well it's back! While it is far from mind blowingly good, it's makes an interesting pudding-based frosting or filling for seasonal cakes. (I wonder if you can mix it up in plain Greek Yogurt to make your own Pumpkin Spiced Dip.)

Check out last year's review HERE.

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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Choi's 1 Teriyaki Seaweed Snack - Asian Food Market: Cherry Hill, NJ

Teriyaki Seaweed Snack - Asian Food Market: Cherry Hill, NJ

Full disclosure, I went overboard buying seaweed snacks this year. Not only did a buy a HUGE pack of 16 sea salt snacks, but I was also buying my go-to wasabi ones from Wegman's and a bunch of these flavored Choi's 1 packages. Due to my seaweed overload, these have been sitting in my pile waiting to be reviewed for quite a few months. (Maybe 4?) I finally got around to reviewing the Hot & Spicy Choi's package in July, which was yummy but a bit oily, and now I'm going to review the Teriyaki version.

Gummy Tongues (& Other Body Parts) are back at Target!

Admittedly, these gummy tongues didn't taste great, but they were really fun to photograph, eat and play with. Check out last year's review HERE. If you plan on having a Halloween themed party or gathering, think of using these as an edible prop for a make-shift photobooth! They taste really artificial, but the photos I took with these things were well worth the purchase.

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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Pomegranate & Pear Jelly Fruit Slices Part 3 - The Fudge Factory: Wildwood, NJ

Pomegranate & Pear Jelly Fruit Slices Part 3 - The Fudge Factory: Wildwood, NJ

Here's the last if my Jelly Fruit Slices! Check out the citrus flavors Here, and the exotic Chili Mango and Pineapples ones Here.

So far, the Chili Mango and Pink Grapefruit were the best of the bunch and I plan on buying more of them next season, but will either (or both) of these flavors make their way onto my re-buy list?  I guess we'll find out!

I don't think I ever blogged about it but, a few years ago, I was quite obsessed with Pomegranates. I'd buy pomegranate candies, juices, and anything else I could get my hands on. The last few years my fruity obsession has shifted to bananas, but I love the tangy flavoring of this ruby-red fruit. I've never seen this flavor offered in jellied-slice form, so I have high hopes for this candy.

The candy slice has a ruby-red rind with a tiny bit of the white candy pith-like coating separating the two layers.  The white portion for this flavor is no where near as thick as the one on the Grapefruit slices, but it's still visible, and the center is a extremely dark berry color. Just like the Pineapple slices, the candy doesn't have any distinctive scent.

I took a bite, and while the texture is the same as the rest of the fruit slices, this specific flavor is impressively rich and very different from any of the other slices I've reviewed. While this is way too sweet to ever be mistaken for a real pomegranate, the fruity flavoring for this candy is rich and berry-like, almost as if pomegranate juice was reduced into an insanely sugary syrup. There is a hint of some tangy and slightly acidic fruity flavoring towards the end, which is really enjoyable and slightly authentic, but I wouldn't say that this fruit slice really tasted like actual pomegranates. Even so, the richness of this candy did leave me wanting more, so I think this will be re-buy-worthy next summer.

Last, but not least, Pear!

The pear slice is a bit different from the others. The center "fruit" portion is a milky opaque color, so it really stands out from the rest of the candies in my bag. To be honest, I'm not sure if this flavor has a layer of white confection or not. I'd assume it does because all of the other flavors had it, but I can't really see it against the milky pear-flavored filling.

I might be crazy, but this flavor felt like it had a much softer bite than the others. Maybe whatever makes the candy opaque also makes it softer? A far as the flavoring goes, this was pretty intense. It started out with intense sweetness of the gritty sanding sugar coating, but once the white jellied candy hits your tongue it's rather tangy. To me the flavoring is like a mixture of Granny Smith apple and Goya Pear nectar. It's really sweet, there is some green-apple-like tartness, and throat burningly sweet pear-y aftertaste. Again, this doesn't taste like biting into a real pear, but as far as jellied fruit slices go, it was really different from everything else I purchased. At first I wasn't sure how I felt about it, but I was actually pretty sad when I finished my two little pear slices. I might order one or two of these slices next summer, but I don't think I could see myself ever wanting a bag of this flavor exclusively.

Both of these flavors were really interesting and different, and while I enjoyed the variety, I may only buy 1-2 slices each next summer. I still feel like the Grapefruit and Chili Mango slices are definite re-buys, and I plan on getting a full bag of those next summer to share with friends and family. If you're ever in the Wildwood Area, stop by The Fudge Factory and check out their impressive fruit slice variety. Check out the photo above to see the rest of their fruity flavors that I didn't review!

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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Sparkling Pumpkin Cider is back at Aldi!

Back In 2012 I was writing food articles for the, now defunct, website The Pop Culture Social Club. On that site, I had a post naming this product as one of my Top 5 Pumpkin Items on The Store Shelves.

Now, I love Aldi, but it has it's flaws. The odds of a specialty Aldi product returning are always slim-to-nill, and the seasonal specialty items that return are even rarer. This cider has been available 2 years in a row, so it already beat the odds, but I worried that it wouldn't make it to year 3, but it's back!

My boyfriend and I already stocked up on 4 bottles to satisfy our seasonal sweet tooths. (Sweet teeth? Tooths? It sounds so wrong...)

Check out last year's review HERE. I really do think this is one of the best seasonal items available, it makes great mixed drinks, and it comes in a nifty re-useable/recyclable bottle! Don't miss out on this delicious cider this season!

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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Pepperidge Farm Banana Nut Cookies - Target: Cherry Hill, NJ

Pepperidge Farm Banana Nut Cookies - Target: Cherry Hill, NJ

I've said this before, but The Pumpkining is upon us! Which means that my 2014 Pumpkin Gallery will be starting up very soon. Those of you who have followed this blog (or the Sometimes Foodie tumblr) for a while, know that I do this every fall. So far I have two galleries full of pumpkin items from 2012 and 2013. (With 53 different pumpkin items reviewed!) To prepare myself for the onslaught of pumpkin and fall themed foods headed my way, I am working my way through my current foodie stash, so today I'm going to finally try these cookies that have been sitting in my "to review" pile for about a month. (First world food blogger/hoarder problems.)

2B Sparkling Chocolate Soda - (Gift)

2B Sparkling Chocolate Soda - (Gift)

This soda was a little gift from my mother, and I'm honestly not sure where she got it. At first I thought the packaging looked like something no-frills you could buy at Aldi, but when I Googled it, this 2B brand had a decent amount of web presence on it's own. Any idea where she might have picked this up? (I should just ask her the next time I see her, but it's almost 2AM on a work night. It'll have to wait until tomorrow.) It's been a very long week, and my 9-5 job has been super busy, so I'm basically a walking corpse. With that being said, I'm going to keep this review short and sweet. (Boo! That was bad, but I barely have enough brain power to function at the moment, so let's go with it.)Let's drink some chocolate soda!

Citrus Jelly Fruit Slices - The Fudge Factory: Wildwood, NJ (Photo Heavy)

Jelly Fruit Slices Part 2 - The Fudge Factory: Wildwood, NJ

I may have gone a little overboard when I was buying these jelly fruit slices. (I just had to have them all!) Although these citrus flavors aren't as interesting or exotic as the Chili Mango and Pineapple flavors I've already reviewed, they were still lovely to photograph.

Today I'm going to give a quickie review on the Lemon, Pink Grapefruit and Key Lime flavored slices. Let's kick things off with a slice of pink grapefruit!

Sparkling Frozen "Icicle" Jelly Belly Mix- Old Navy (Gift)

Sparkling Frozen "Icicle" Jelly Belly Mix - Old Navy (Gift)

My boss saw this little bag of Frozen themed jelly beans while she was shopping and she was kind enough to buy a bag to share with me. While the flavors in this mix are all from the normal Jelly Belly line, so there are no new flavors in this mix, I still wanted to write up a little review because, well, they're gorgeous!

Tandoori Vegetable Pizza - Aldi: Cherry Hill, NJ

Tandoori Vegetable Pizza - Aldi: Cherry Hill, NJ

Apparently my last post, about the art for the returning monster cereal boxes, marked my 666th post on this site. (Spooky. It happened organically, but it totally works and I'm running with it.) I started Sometimes Foodie on Tumblr, which I still update daily, but still have less than 300 reviews that haven't been transferred over to blogger. Between both sites, I am quickly approaching 1000 reviews total! To celebrate, I'll be posting another give away contest later this week. It's been a while since I've ran one, so it's long over due and it should be a lot of fun. I'll keep you all posted.

In the meantime, check out this Tandoori pizza from Aldi!

Monster Cereals are returning with a new look thanks to DC Comic Artists

Comic Book Makeovers for the Classic Cereal Monsters 

Halloween fan rejoice! The monster cereals we all know and love will be returning to the shelves very soon, and with some nice, new, art to boot. Although there is no news on the return of Fruit Brute and Yummy Mummy, it seems like the berry and chocolate trio will be returning this year with a fresh coat of paint. 

Just like last year, Target will be releasing exclusive retro-cereal box designs, this year the designs will be similar to the ones released in 1979-1980, but normal grocery store shelves will be getting these snazzy new boxes.

Franken Berry is my fav of the whole bunch

As a fan of comics and horror movie monsters, I really love the new box art. (Especially the Count and Franken Berry. Sorry Jim Lee, the Boo Berry Box just isn't my style.)

The boxes are designed by DC Artists:

Franken Berry- Dave Johnson
Count Chocula- Terry and Rachel Dodson
Boo Berry- Jim Lee

I might have to pick up Franken Berry and the Count this year, but I'll be torn between these fresh new designs and the fun retro ones that feature a mask. Which will you be buying?

Photos © http://www.dccomics.com/blog/press

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Chili Mango and Pineapple Jelly Fruit Slices - The Fudge Factory: Wildwood, NJ (Part 1)

Jelly Fruit Slices - The Fudge Factory: Wildwood, NJ

Two weeks ago I finally went to the shore for the first, and most likely last, time this year. Since I knew I'd only get one day in Wildwood this summer, I made sure to hit up all of my favorite shops and buy tons of boardwalk treats. My first stop, The Fudge Factory.

Some of you might remember that I reviewed some fudge from this shop last year, because it's the best place to get fudge on the Wildwood Boardwalk, and I got a few new flavors to review this year, but I also spotted these little jelly fruit slices. Normally I would pass these by, but there were a bunch of interesting flavors I had never seen before (at least not in jellied fruit slice form) so I had to grab a few to photograph and review.

First up, Chili Mango and Pineapple.

Birthday Cake Cookies - Target: Cherry Hill, NJ

Birthday Cake Cookies - Target: Cherry Hill, NJ

It seems like the birthday cake trend is finally coming to an end, most likely due to the influx of pumpkin spiced items for the fall, but Target might have missed the memo. In all fairness I'm not sure when they were first released, but these cookies showed up on in my area last month, and even though I am still confused as to how something is supposed to taste like "birthday cake" when it has no specified flavor combination, I though it'd be interesting to see what Target's take on the birthday cake Oreo sandwich cookie would be like.

Melona Vanilla Ice Cream with Strawberry Syrup - H-mart: Cherry Hill, NJ

Melona Taiyaki Vanilla Ice Cream with Strawberry Syrup - H-Mart: Cherry Hill, NJ

More fish-shaped sweets! The H-Mart in Cherry Hill, New Jersey has fairly large freezer section filled with all kinds of ice creams and desserts (well it's large when compared to Asian Food Market's itty bitty freezer aisle), and during our last trip to H-mart, my boyfriend and I picked up a few different flavors of these Taiyaki-Ice Waffles.

Trident Layers Jelly Bean Gum - Shop Rite: Berlin, NJ

Trident Layers Jelly Bean Gum - Shop Rite: Berlin, NJ

Last month, my rear passenger-side tire tore apart completely on my way into work. The tire wasn't more than 2 years old, so it was most likely something in the road, but there was no repairing it. I could fit my entire hand inside it! Thankfully I have AAA, so I got some road side assistance so that I could get a replacement put on after work. What does this have to do with food? While I waited for my new tire to be put on, I wandered around a Shop Rite that was close by and found a few (admittedly older) limited edition food items to review. (Yay for foodie retail therapy!)

Pumpkin Alert: Wawa Pumpkin Cannoli Dip & Chips

I saw this at Wawa over the long weekend, have any of you tried it yet?

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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Limited Edition Milk Chocolate Covered Pop Rocks - The Fudge Factory: Wildwood, NJ

Limited Edition Milk Chocolate Covered Pop Rocks - The Fudge Factory: Wildwood, NJ

Okay, the package says that this is a Limited Edition product, and I had never seen it on the shelves before, but that doesn't mean it's new. About 8 years ago, when I had just started college, THIS was posted over on CandyBlog. I tried looking at the official Pop Rocks Facebook page to see if there was any kind of new promotion for this item, and there wasn't, but it is listed on their official website. (Although it just says Limited Edition and gives no other time stamp info.)

Is this an older item that's been re-released? Or am I about to eat 8 year old candy? I guess we'll find out once I open it...