As American as Apple Pie (Oreos)

Apple Pie Oreo -  Walmart 2.98

No need to adjust your screen, you're not entering The Outer Limits, and we're definitely not in the Twilight Zone because I don't hear the velvety smooth voice of Rod Serling ominously narrating my current situation. (My mom and I freaking love the Twilight Zone, and Black Mirror. So good!)

I'm back today with another, equally beige, Oreo. Both these and the Cookie Butter Oreos are currently on display at Walmart and, at a glance, they look nearly identical. I don't think Oreo has ever released new flavors that were this visually similar before. Both bags feature tan-colored foods, both have blue backgrounds, and both have graham flavored cookies. If I'm not paying attention, I can easily mistake one package for another, but once you peel back the plastic it's clear that this is no Cookie Butter Oreo.

Cookie Spread Flavored Cookies, How META

Cookie Butter Oreo -  Walmart 2.98

Sorry for the radio (or blog?) silence. Things are changing up with my day job and it's pretty much turned my brain into mush. Speaking of mush, how about we eat some cookies that are supposed to taste like a product that tastes like mashed up cookies? How meta. 

Actually, we've already had a more "meta" Oreo, when they released the slap-in-the-face that is Cookies n' Creme. Which is the new Walmart-exclusive flavor that somehow won the popular vote against Caramel Apple and Jelly Donut. (Urge to make political jokes rising...) At the time, I was outraged that Cookies n' Creme won, but now that Jelly Donut got it's disappointing moment in the sun, I gotta say...maybe the popular vote going to Cookies n' Cream is a good thing after all. It's a safer, more marketable, flavor and would likely sell more easily. Still, why did a cookie-flavored-cookie like that cause outrage, while this cookie-flavored-cookie was celebrated?

Gettin' Lucky (Charms) Milkshake - Quickie Review

Lucky Charms Shake -  Burger King (Gift)

My boyfriend's daughter treated the entire household to milkshakes. (Which was super awesome.) So I took this opportunity to try one of the cereal milkshakes that were all the rage a few months ago. Better late than never, right? 

Let me start off by saying I wanted the smallest milkshake size available, and apparently, this is it. It's about the size of a medium soda, which is more milkshake than my stomach had bargained for. (After eating pizza and wings that is.) The vanilla base has a blue-ish tinge to it, and there are tiny beige pieces of cereal and colorful mashed up marshmallow bits scattered on the surface, but due to the whip cream topping, they're only visible on the sides of the lid.  

According to the Burger King website, this isn't just a vanilla milkshake with cereal mixed into it. There's a "sweet marshmallow cereal flavored syrup," that brings this to a whole new level. I took a sip, and if it's there, I can barely notice it. The base for the milkshake is a sweet and creamy vanilla, which is pleasant, but nothing special. I enjoy it as much as I would enjoy any other fast food vanilla shake, what I didn't expect, was how much I would love the mixed in cereal bits. 

As you sip, chunks of soggy cereal slide up your straw giving this milkshake a bubble-tea like experience. Sip, chew. Sip, chew. The cereal bits didn't offer much in the way of flavor, they tasted like soggy Lucky Charms, but I loved the added texture. The marshmallow bits, through pretty, didn't add much in the way of texture or flavoring, but the cereal? It was awesome! 

I didn't think I would be able to finish this milkshake (due to my pizza and wing binge-fest) but I actually did! Seeking out bits of cereal kept things interesting, and I found it to be a very pleasant milkshake experience.  

I still think the marshmallow cereal flavored syrup is a glorified vanilla syrup of some kind, but the novelty of this milkshake ended up being far more enjoyable than I expected. If you're a fan of bubble tea, I highly recommend adding some Lucky Charms cereal to your next milkshake. You'll be pleasantly surprised! 

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

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Cinnamon Flavored Pepsi: Delicious? Or Medicinal Nightmare?

Pepsi FIRE (Cinnamon Soda) -  Wawa

Pepsi is finally bringing some wacky limited-run flavors state-side and, while I'm normally all for trying Wacky Pepsi products, I just don't know about this one. 

Normally, I love cinnamon. I use cinnamon sticks to infuse my water (with apple slices), I bury homemade pancakes in a spicy dust-storm's-worth, and I completely coat apple slices for my mid-day desk snack (which is the best and only way to eat apples.) So yeah, I love eating stuff with cinnamon, but I pretty much hate it everywhere else. Cinnamon mouthwash or toothpaste? No thanks! Big Red Gum? I'm more of a DoubleMint girl. Those decorative cinnamon pinecones? Too intense. 

Knowing that, I'm not sure how this review it going to go. I guess we'll find out...

Are You PURERAL? Sour Watermelon Gummies from Kabaya

Pureral Sour Gummy Candy (Watermelon flavor) -  H-Mart

Pureral? Sounds like an off-brand hand sanitizer, and as I type this my web browser keeps trying to autocorrect it into "Puberal," which, is hilarious. It's not a name that easily rolls off the tongue, but hopefully the candy inside is more appetizing. 

A week ago I planned on making DIY Poke/Sushi bowls for dinner, so I stopped at H-Mart to grab a few last-minute ingredients and one does not simply go to H-Mart without checking out the candy section. (You can't see it, but I am doing the Sean Bean hand thing. #oldmemeisold) Surprisingly, I didn't see anything new or interesting. Have I finally exhausted all that the H-Mart candy aisle has to offer? 

It took a bit of digging, but I spotted a few flavors of these Pureral gummies on a lower shelf which look like a variation of the PURE gummy candies I've had before, but now they're sour, and cube-shaped, with a filling! Of the flavors available (which were grape and some other safe-fruit flavoring I can't remember), watermelon sounded the most appealing, so...here we are!

Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake: breakfast of champions?

Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake - Aldi $3.99

We started our journey with Pumpkin Cheesecake, took a detour through the freezer section with the Swirlin' Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream, and now we're bringing things to a close with a decadent, spiced, cinnamon roll cheesecake. The kicker? I normally don't like cheesecake, and yet, I really liked the first two items. Will this Cinnamon Roll cheesecake end my positive review streak? Or am I officially a cheesecake convert? We shall see.

The packaging for this product is exactly the same as the Pumpkin version I reviewed earlier this week. Again, I love this portioning, but there's nothing much to talk about here, so let's jump right into the review.

Aldi's Version of Ben & Jerry's, but for half the price! - Swirlin' Strawberry ($1.99)

Swirlin' Strawberry -  Aldi $1.99

For someone who doesn't like cheesecake, I'm sure eating a lot of it. 

Swirling' Strawberry seems to be an Aldi-fied version of Ben & Jerry's (surprisingly un-funly-named) "Strawberry Cheesecake." This was released, along with Peanut Butter Cup, and I'm not entirely sure what do make of these, are they just seasonal offerings? or new permanent additions?

As we saw earlier this week, I wasn't a fan of the new "Peanut Butter Cup," and to be honest, I'm not too thrilled about the idea behind this one either. Originally I was really scared that these two new flavors would phase out one, or all, of the previous flavors which I absolutely love, but now these flavors seem to be disappearing without being restocked. So I guess these were seasonal switch ups? 

That's the problem with Aldi, you never know what's coming, going, and if something will never see the light of day again. (I lovingly refer to products like these as "Aldi Unicorn items." They're rare, and elusive, and you aren't sure if you'll ever see them again or if they even existed in the first place.)

Seasonal offering or not, I couldn't resist trying both of the new ice creams, I mean they're only $1.99 a pint! So, frugal curiosity wins again! Will this flavor balance out the disappointment of the previous pint?

There's no use fighting it, it's PUMPKIN TIME - Pumpkin Cheesecake

Pumpkin Cheesecake - Aldi $3.99

Pumpkin-pocalypse 2017 wasted no time taking over grocery store shelves. I was going to wait a little longer before dipping my toes into any pumpkin spiced products, but apparently stores have begun putting up Christmas displays?! It's insane how quickly stores cycle through holiday goods! There's no use fighting it, the seasonal limited edition product gods have spoken, it's pumpkin-time. 

I won't be going full-force into the pumpkin product reviews like previous years where I did a new pumpkin product pretty much every day from now until Christmas (and sometimes beyond), because...well, I'm sick of pumpkin. (*collective, internet gasp*) I know, I know, a food blogger, sick of pumpkin? In the fall?! I used to live for this season, and I purchased every pumpkin product that came my way, but I've pumpkin'd myself out to the point where one full foodie-cycle through the year just isn't enough time for my taste-buds to recuperate. I over-pumpkin'd, and now these items that I was once so hype for, make me cringe a little. I'm sure with time I'll be back to my basic, pumpkin-loving, self, but for now, I am taking baby steps to get myself back into the fall-spirit. 

Personally, my mind is still in summer mode. However, this was the last package of this particular flavor at Aldi, and it won't keep for very long, so my curiosity, practical nature, and frugality banded together to inform me that it's better to review it now than to let it slip through my reluctant fingers. 

Enough rambling, let's eat some cheesecake!

Cute Packaging AND Pear flavored candy? SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!

Pop Candy Peko Chan Lollipops (Pear Flavor) -  Asian Food Market $3.99

Peko chan is back with more lollipop flavors! Well, just one new flavor, but it's an interesting one! 

Last year I reviewed the insanely adorable Halloween version of these lollipops which included the standard grape, strawberry, and orange flavored candies which are also included in this bag. To see my thoughts on the original fruity trio, check out last year's review. This time around I'm only going to focus on the new, green-colored flavor addition: Pear!

More Aldi Knock-Off Ben & Jerry's flavors? - My Peanut Butter Half

My Peanut Butter Half -  Aldi $1.99

It's peanut butter ice cream time! 

Aldi's line of premium ice cream pints has two new flavors! They've added Swirling Strawberry (strawberry cheesecake), and this new peanut butter one. Just like the three original Aldi offerings: Make Fudge Not War, Brookie Dough, and Thank You Cherry Much, these new flavors are dupes for popular Ben & Jerry's flavors (Peanut Butter Cup & Strawberry Cheesecake) only these cost half as much. 

I'm happy to see this line expanding, but I personally wasn't excited by these two new flavors. They aren't as globally appealing as the other three, but for two bucks? I'll check 'em out anyway!

Cotton Candy (Unicorn) Milkshakes!

Frozen Bean Cotton Candy Frozen Drink Mix - Walmart .99 cents

The days are shorter, the temperature is dropping, and Pumpkin-pocalypse 2017 has invaded the grocery store shelves. If there was ever a time for a (denial-laced) summery unicorn-themed cotton candy milkshake, it's now. 

Today's post is part two of my Frozen Bean drink mix trilogy. We started with plain ol' Cookies n' Cream and now we've moved on to fabulous cotton candy.

Grab your cozy denial-blankets, ignore all adult responsibilities, and marvel at my decorative paper unicorn straw, as we sail off into a sugar-induced unicorn hallucination.