Gluten Free Baked Edamame & Lentil Chips- Aldi

Gluten Free Baked Edamame & Lentil Chips- Aldi

More gluten free goodies! Aldi released their G-Free line about a year ago, and it's steadily been expanding to include all kinds of products. I think it's great, but "Gluten Free" foods like these tend to anger quite a few people. I partially understand why, to some this seems like a "hipster diet" or "trend," but there are people out there who truly need these products. I've mentioned this in other reviews, but I have a cousin with Celiac disease, so she and her two daughters (who also have it) can't process gluten. Having a food-related allergy or aliment and eating in a group setting can make a person feel singled out or isolated, especially when they're children at a snack or lunch table. 

For that reason, I like checking out gluten free products so that I can find yummy foods to share with friends and family regardless of a food allergy, and hopefully break the misconception that these specialty foods are bland, boring, or expensive. 

Okay, time to get off my soapbox and get to the food review. (Sorry for getting a bit preachy for a second there.) Time to stuff my face with chips!

Flaming Moe Novelty Energy Drink - Five Below (TBT)

Flaming Moe Novelty Energy Drink - Five Below

"Call Mr. Plow, that's my name, that name again is Mr. Plow!" Wrong episode, I know, but with all the snow we've been getting that little jingle has been stuck in my head all week! What better time to get that reference out of my head than when I'm reviewing a Simpsons-themed novelty drink?

Cookies & Creme Cookie Butter - Trader Joe's

 Cookies & Creme Cookie Butter - Trader Joe's 

From this point on, reviews are back on schedule! (Hooray for consistency!) 

How are you surviving this winter weather? I live on the East Coast in America, and where I live I've been pretty lucky. We got about a foot and a half of snow over the weekend, but the weather has warmed up quite a bit and everything is (thankfully) melting away quickly. I was snowed in away from home, which meant being away from my desktop computer, so I didn't get to work on the blog, but if you follow me on Instagram you got to see a few of the things I munched on while hiding out indoors and avoiding shoveling. To prevent that from happening again, I'm looking into laptops so that I can more easily work on the blog when I'm on the go. I've always preferred desktops and I've never had a laptop computer before, so do any of you have laptop recommendations? (Right now I'm kind of looking at this one, so I can run the Adobe suite, blog, and do graphic design work on the go. Any advice? or opinions?)

Okay, on to today's review, cookie butter!

Dark Chocolate Mints - Trader Joe's

Dark Chocolate Mints - Trader Joe's

Remember how I said I went overboard buying stuff for the Trader Joe's podcast for Candyology 101? Well, I think I finally made my way through that stash! It took months...but I did it! (Small victories, right?) Back when we recorded I bought these mints for the first time, and I absolutely loved them, and I even talked about them on the show. I meant to review them but...I ate them all. So I bought another bag to review. Then promptly ate that entire bag as well. So here we are, I don't even know how many bags later, but I'm finally able to review them for you guys to spread the word about how awesome these mints are. (What can I say, I have no self control.)

Limited Edition Chocolate Banana Chips Ahoy (TBT post)

Chocolate Banana Chips Ahoy - (I honestly forgot where I got these...) 

It's not Thursday anymore, but this is a throwback post anyway. These cookies came out...I don't even know how long ago exactly, but it's been a few months. I love all things banana, so even though I've never been a huge Chips Ahoy fan, I still had to give these a try. (Any hey, those Hot Cocoa ones were pretty darn good. Maybe these will be great too?)

Clancy's Cheesy Garlic Bread Potato Chips - Aldi

Clancy's Cheesy Garlic Bread Potato Chips - Aldi 

Cheesy Garlic Bread chips? Awesome, but you're a little late to the party, Aldi. Lay's debuted this flavor in their first Do Us A Flavor contest back in 2013, which it won, and it's been a permanent flavor ever since. (Which killed the chance for my beloved Sriracha chips ever returning.) I wasn't a huge fan of the Lay's version, but I thought I would still check this out. Is it a simple rebranding under a no-frills label? Or is this an entirely different product? Let's find out!

Pine Tsubu Tsubu Kajitso Fruits Candy - Asian Food Market

Pine Tsubu Tsubu Kajitso Fruits Candy - Asian Food Market 

Oh. My. God. Look at this adorable packaging! Normally I have a story, or some kind of elaborate reason for buying a certain item to review, but for this particular bag of candy...it was simply too cute to leave on the shelf. (What can I say? I'm a sucker for cute stuff, and I'm extremely susceptible to adorable strawberry illustrations.) 

Quickie Review: Cocomels

Cocomels Quickie Review - NY Fancy Food Show

Cocomels are absolutely amazing! They're rich, buttery, and decadent, which makes for a delicious candy, but as a caramel substitute, it's only accurate as far as the texturing is concerned. It's made from coconut milk, so there's no getting around this coconut flavoring, but for coconut lovers like me, that's not a problem! I love this stuff!

It tastes like a delicious coconut salt water taffy, but with a much softer and thinner texture. It's great for people with restrictive diets or allergies, because it's dairy free gluten free, vegan, and kosher. I have a great uncle who's lactose intolerant, and a cousin whose entire family are gluten free due to Celiac disease, and this stuff is so good that I'd buy it as a gift for everyone in my family regardless of restrictive diets or allergies. Instead of buying specialty products to single them out, this is a gourmet treat that my extended family will enjoy and if you like coconut, you might even like this more than real caramel.

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

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New YouTube Review: Paprika Pringles

New Video Review is (finally) up!

Going through my foodie backlog and found this gift from my sister! Sorry for the jump cuts in this one, but if you're one of those people who complain about YouTubers talking with food in their mouth, be happy I cut the footage of me eating the Pringles on camera. Trust me, it wasn't pretty.

Honey Butter Kokalkon Corn Snack - H-Mart

Honey Butter Kokalkon Corn Snack - H-Mart

They look like Bugles, but they're honey butter flavored, and they're Korean. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm excited. (Even though I'm still haunted by Pringles attempt at using this flavor combination to produce these nightmare inducing Honey Butter Stix.) 

Honey Butter has become a hugely popular flavor combination for junk food in Korea. These snacks are rich and creamy, but salty, and they have a touch of honeyed sweetness, often paired with a crispy crunchy texture. Sounds great to me! This combination of sweet and savory isn't new, but I've never seen a product with that flavor profile become this popular! Was it effective K-pop viral marketing? Or does this stuff really taste as amazing as everyone says it does? Let's find out!

Tao Kae Noi Hot Chilli Squid Super Crisp Grilled Seaweed - Sunseng Market

Tao Kae Noi Hot Chilli Squid Super Crisp Grilled Seaweed - Sunseng Market

My last two reviews were candy bars from the same store, which were both delicious, but repetition can get a bit boring, and now for something completely different: Hot Chilli Squid flavored seaweed strips! (Try saying that three times fast!) 

Uncured Bacon Ganache Bar - Trader Joe's

Uncured Bacon Ganache Bar - Trader Joe's

Here's another Trader Joe's chocolate bar that was good enough to revisit. Instead of a popping candy gimmick, this time we have a bar that's filled with bacon ganache! Because everything is better with bacon, right?

Fireworks Chocolate Bar - Trader Joe's

Fireworks Chocolate Bar - Trader Joe's 

For the record, I hate Katy Perry, but I love JonTron, so here's your obligatory Fireworks reference. Now that we've got that out of the way...

The first time I grabbed this chocolate bar was back when we were recording our Trader Joe's themed episode of Candyology 101 with the awesome foodies from What's Good at Trader Joe's. I did a lot of "homework" for that episode, which meant buying a TON of Trader Joe's sweets to eat and discuss, but I may have gone a little overboard... I bought way too much and I needed to consume it faster than I could blog about it! Some of those candies were good enough to warrant repurchase and their own write-ups, so I grabbed this today because it seems oh-so appropriate for the upcoming Valentine's Day season. (Dammit, now I have Firework stuck in my head. At least Jon does it better.)

Panera's French Onion Soup is back! Does it taste the same?

New Bistro French Onion Soup (in a Bread Bowl) - Panera Bread

A few months ago Panera removed a bunch of their beloved menu items and people lost their sh*t.

Among the items removed were the whole grain baguette, the Chipotle Chicken sandwich (one of Panera's only spicy offerings), and their French Onion Soup. When I was in college I worked as a trainer at Panera bread for several years, and I saw a lot of products come and go, but these things were menu-staples! I would sell countless Chipotle sandwiches everyday, we had customers who only came in for those whole grain baguettes and modified their sandwiches to come on them, and that soup? That was an every-freaking-day soup! What in the world possessed them to remove it?

Crafted Dark Berry Mountain Dew Black Label - Asian Food Market

Crafted Dark Berry Mountain Dew Black Label - Asian Food Market

We're only ten days into the new year and I'm already dead on my feet. I've got places to go, things to do, reviews to write..I don't have time to take a nap! Most people in my situation would grab a cup of coffee, or drink an energy drink, but that's a little too intense for me. Energy drinks always upset my stomach, and coffee gives me heartburn. What am I to Dew? (See what I did there?)

Put away your pitchforks, PANERA'S FRENCH ONION IS BACK!

Photo © Panera Bread Co. 

That's right, it's back, and it's all natural and healthy. Before you start rejoicing, the recipe has changed...A LOT. It's better for you, but does it still taste as good? I'll let you know this weekend!

Peppermint Oreo - Target

Peppermint Oreo - Target 

I'm all for these snazzy limited edition Oreos, but this one seems like overkill. I mean, there's the normal green-filled mint flavored Oreos available year-round, a thin version of the same flavor, these limited edition Candy Cane themed ones I reviewed a few years back, and now a Peppermint? Is peppermint distinct enough from classic mint to warrant it's own flavor? I guess we'll find out!

Candyology 101 Episode 29: Coffee Candy

Our first episode for 2016 will hopefully perk you up!

Maybe you partied a little too hard on New Year's Eve and you need a little pick me up, or maybe you're just a caffeine addict looking for you're next sugary fix, either way, we've got you covered! On this episode of Candyology 101, Cybele and I look at coffee flavored sweets from around the world, discuss a few of our favorites, and question America's lack of coffee-flavored goodness in the candy aisle. Then, as alway,s we've got a fun Treat or Trick segment to let you know what new products are headed your way in the months to come.

Have you been liking Candyology101 so far? 

Please head on over to itunes and give us a little review to let us know how we're doing.

Meet the cast:

Cybele from Candy Blog

Maria (Me) from Sometimes Foodie

Listen to the player above, check us out on Stitcher, or you can download the MP3 file. If you want to subscribe to the show, it’s available on iTunes and via RSS.

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

Like Sometimes Foodie's Facebook page to keep up with all my foodie adventures!

Blueberry Quinoa BarkThins - Target

Blueberry Quinoa BarkThins - Target 

Is quinoa still healthy if it's coated in chocolate? No? Well this is dark chocolate, and there's blueberries in there too, so I'm going to call this health food anyway. Plus it was on the clearance rack, so I saved money on it to boot! Win-win!

Whenever I'm at Target I look at the clearance grocery section because...I'm cheap! (Hey, don't judge! I'm a daily food blogger with a full time job, a delicate injury-prone Pomeranian, and a smashed car to deal with. I gotta pinch those pennies!) That little clearance shelf is home to all kinds of unique goodies, I got those avocado oil chips, that amazing India-style meal kit, and a few pumpkin spiced items. Every single one of those products were great, and I got them for less than their original price. So just because it's on clearance, doesn't mean it's not worth checking out. Let's see if this is another successful clearance rack venture!

Strawberry Powder Snow Candy - Asian Food Market

Strawberry Powder Snow Candy - Asian Food Market

So far New Jersey has been snow-less this winter, but I'm not complaining. Snow loses all it's magical winter-y splendor the second you have a car to dig out in order to get to work on time. No more snow days in adult-land. (Unless you're a teacher, but even then you still gotta work.)

I spotted this at the Asian Food Market, and I had no idea what "powder snow candy" even meant, but it sounded winter-y enough. Why not check it out? I rather have snow in my cavities than on my car. (Plus it's strawberry flavored!)

Kale Blazer Naked Juice - Aldi

Kale Blazer Naked Juice - Aldi

Before I start today's review I have to make my first ever foodie-decree. (Imagine the text below being read in a town-crier voice, complete with a ringing bell.)

Oyez! Oyez! On this day, the second of January of 2016, I declare that all trendy, health-based, hipster-y foods shall henceforth be referred to as buzz-foods. God save the foodie!

Even though kale isn't as "hip" as it was a year ago, I still consider it to be one of the biggest buzz-food offenders. Everyone tosses kale into their recipes to make themselves seem hip and relevant, while also making their dish seem fancier and healthier than it really is. Plus, it was just last year that NY and NJ had this news-worthy kale-shortage. For those of you who don't know, winter storms were coming and all the foodie hipsters ran to the grocery stores to stock up on kale for their green juices before the blizzard hit. Really? A giant storm is coming and kale was the grocery staple you went for? If green juice and kale are hibernation-hoarding-worthy, I figured, why not check it out for myself?

Hot Cocoa m&m's - Walmart (Exclusive)

Hot Cocoa m&m's - Walmart (Exclusive) 

Happy New Year everyone! I hope your 2016 is off to an amazing start! Sorry for the hiatus, if you follow my Twitter (that I'm trying to use more) you'll know that my car was involved in an accident right before the holidays and that my life has been pretty hectic getting all of that straightened out. I was able to buy a new used car a few days later to get back to work, and the second I got back into my old routine...I got sick. Really sick. My voice sounds oh so sexy right now, but I'm not going to let that stop me! The show blog must go on!

These Hot Cocoa m&m's were a Walmart exclusive, and they were the seasonal counterpart to the Target Exclusive Café Mocha m&m's. (Which I was a big fan of and reviewed HERE.) I was originally going to skip this seasonal sweet because, well...I thought it was a gimmick and nothing more. I mean, m&m's are already chocolate flavored, and hot cocoa is just a drinkable milk chocolate, so how are these going to taste any different than the normal candy? After talking to Cybele and seeing The Impulsive Buy's photos showing the layered candy inside, my curiosity got the best of me, and I grabbed a bag for myself.