Tiramisu and Strawberry Almonds - Gilim Tom's Farm

Tiramisu and Strawberry Almonds - Hung Vuong Food Market 

Nuts are my least favorite part of trail mix. I don't have anything against them, I'm not allergic and I don't mind the flavor, in fact I love things flavored with nuts, I just don't want to eat them as-is, for some reason. The idea of someone just snacking on almonds absolutely blows my mind. Yet, it's a booming industry. Look at the snack aisles. They're covered in different flavors of mixed nuts, everything from sweet to savory, and the Hung Vuong Food Market is no exception. 

There was an end cap absolutely filled with different flavors of Gilim Tom's Almonds. From what I can tell, they're the Bertie Bott's of snacking nuts. They offer all kinds of varieties but the store I was in seemed to focus on almonds. 

Here is a quick run down of the flavors I have seen:

Tiny Burgers, Fries, and Fruits, Oh MY! - 4D Gummies

4D Gummies - Dollar Tree

I bought these because I wanted to photograph them. I mean, look at them! They're little 3D gummy shapes of fruits and burgers and stuff. It's like, my kryptonite. But, I know what I'm getting into. After my experience with 4D Gummies (which were also from Dollar Tree) I knew these would likely be more of a fun visual novelty than a decent candy. 

So I am going into this with a healthy amount of skepticism and very low expectations. (Kind of like dating in your 30's, am I right? Self-burn.) 

Let's jump right into it!

Lidl's take on Skittles - Worth the Buy?

Sweet & Sour Crunchy & Chewy Candy - Lidl

Chocolates are easy to copy. I have seen variations of peanut butter cups from pretty much every store out there from big chains to mom and pop's, tons of candy bars that look an awful lot like Snickers, but aren't, and I have even seen plenty of takes on m&m's, but fruity candy? That's harder to dupe. 

There are a few exceptions, like gummy bears, which are available from tons of brands, but how often do you see a knock-off Skittles? 

I have seen a few faux Starburst over the years, but something that this closely matches Skittles is so rare. They even have 3 of the same flavors as Original Skittles, and it comes in normal and sour flavors. How will these compare? 

2020 Cookie Tray and Recipes

2020 Cookie Trays

For nearly a decade, I have hosted a holiday cookie swap, and every year was themed around a movie title. Like year three was Return of the Crumb (LOTR: Return of the King), or The New Batch (Gremlins 2: The New Batch), but due to...everything, that didn't get to happen this year and I'm pretty bummed out about it. As someone who is usually a Grinch during the holidays, I am having an extra hard time getting into a happy festive mood this year, but one things that helps is baking. I didn't put up a tree, or decorate the house, but I did bake a butt-load of cookies. (And fudge!) 

So here's everything I made, links to all the recipes, and what I think about it or would change next time.

A Moscow Mule you Can Chew - Aldi Moscow Mule Chips

Crinkle Cut Moscow Mule Chips - Aldi

Moscow Mules are a Christmas-thing, right? I feel like I always see the copper mugs around the holidays, but I'm not 100% sure. I've never had one, no particular reason why or anything, I'm just not a big drinker. Boozy beverages taste kind of off or medicinal to me. (Which, fun fact, is why I have only ever been drunk once in my life. I just don't like the taste of anything to drink more than one of them.) I'm always open to trying new things, like the beer my friends bring to parties or fancy cocktails, so why not try it in chip form? 

A few months ago Aldi released these, and a bloody Mary version, as part of a boozy brunch/happy hour line of snacks. The bloody Mary flavor made sense to me, since it contains such savory elements, but with a Moscow Mule, I wasn't so sure.

Limited Edition Stars and Stripes Cranberry Ginger Ale -

Cranberry Ginger Ale - Dollar Tree

I was at Dollar Tree grabbing holiday giftbags, (because if you're paying more than a dollar for a giftbag, you're insane,), and I spotted giant bottles of soda. They're like 2.5 Liters and only a dollar, so you know it's not the best quality, but they'll do in a pinch when you're having cheap at-home birthday party in the 90's. Anyway, I was going to walk right by them, when I noticed a limited edition flavor.

Since when has that been a thing? I was intrigued, and it was only a dollar, so let's see if it's any good! (At the very least it should make for a fun season-appropriate post.)

Ice Cream Candy Canes, For a Dollar...I'm Skeptical - Coldstone Creamery Candy Canes

Coldstone Candy Canes - Dollar Tree

Another Dollar Tree find, I grabbed these because I thought they looked pretty, and for only a dollar, why not? 

Right away the packaging is questionable. Sure, we have Coldstone logos that are legit, but the packaging and design are done in a way that the logo on the bottom left of the package is obscured by the packaging itself. Not a great sign in terms of quality.  

Inside you get 6 candy canes, two of each flavor. 

The flavors are: Mint Mint Chocolate Chocolate Chip, Our Strawberry Blonde, and Birthday Cake Remix. All classic Coldstone Creamery flavors.  

Sugar Cookie Shakedown - Hershey Sugar Cookie Kisses

Hershey's Sugar Cookie Kisses - CVS

I don't get the appeal of all this "Sugar cookie" flavored stuff. With a few exceptions, like Sugar Cookie Toast Crunch or Sugar Cookie Pop-Tarts, I think most sugar cookie products are a sham. Especially when it comes to chocolates and candy bars. Brands just make a vanilla version of their product, throw some colorful sprinkles on it, and call it a day. 

Will these Kisses be the exception to the rule? 

Lidl Cafe Noir Cookies - The new Pinot Noir?

Cafe Noir Cookies - Lidl

If you are a Maria, you must at some point in your life consume Maria cookies. It's the law.(It doesn't have to be Goya-brand, but they're what my grandma ate.) They aren't trendy, they never have new flavors, shapes or colors, but that's because they don't have to. They are the perfect hot beverage cookie. Tea, coffee, cocoa...they're all better when consumed with a side of Maria cookies for dunking. They don't need gimmicks to keep me coming back for more. But hear me out, what if Maria cookies had a coffee flavored glaze on the bottom?

Aldi Hot Cocoa Cremes - Do these look familiar?

Hot Cocoa Cremes - Aldi

At first glance, these should look pretty familiar. It's a pretty blatant dupe for the Hot Cocoa Oreos first released in 2017-2018. (Phew, that post did NOT age well. Ouch. On a lot of levels.) We have a big ol' red mug, the "O's" are all puffy marshmallows, and the packaging is a dark almost Oreo-blue. While the general design concept and layout, and even the calorie count, are the same as Oreo's, there are a few key differences to note. 

For starters, the Oreo version actually had two layers of creme filling. A white, presumably marshmallow, layer, and a cocoa-brown one. Here we have one flavor, a light brown version that is ideally a combination of the two. Then there is the quirky ingredients and nutritional information. (These Aldi cookies pack an interesting amount of sodium.) Safe to say, these are not a no-frills re-release of a seasonal Oreo flavor. And while I love to see Aldi do that with expensive popular products, it's only good if it tastes good. 

Chocolate Popcorn m&m's...football themed?

Popcorn m&m's - Wawa(?)

Sometimes I surprise myself. I cannot tell you why I bought these. I mean, I like popcorn, but I usually hate popcorn flavored things, like Jelly Belly beans, maybe it was part of my impulsive pandemic purchasing? 

I think I grabbed these at Wawa back along with that Apple Pie Kit-Kat and the Netflix themed ice cream. At the very least, it gives me something to review. So, will these be good? Bad? Or just plain weird? 

Swim with the Fishes - Tropical Mini Swedish Fish

 Swedish Fish Mini Tropical - Dollar Tree

No cool story or anything behind this buy. I just like Swedish Fish. I grew up eating classic red, and so far I have had nothing but good things to say about their new and innovative products. I've tried their candy canes, Trident chewing gum, Rita's water ice flavor, and more recently their Heads and Tails. I purposefully avoided known-duds, like the Swedish Fish Oreos, and overall I have been happy with the quality of their new releases.  

So when I spotted this at Dollar Tree, I figured, why not?

Inside we have four different colors/flavors, and my only pet peeve so far is that two of them are super generic.  

Amaretti Cookie Nougat from Lidl - It's like it was made for me

Amaretti Cookie Italian Nougat - Lidl 

I'm weird. If you've ever been to this blog before you probably know that already. I am not a picky eater, but like many people I do have a few weird food hang-ups. One of which revolves around nuts. I love smooth peanut butter, marzipan, and pretty much everything almond flavored...but when it comes to actual nuts? Not a fan. I don't hate them, but I just don't see the appeal. I could never be one of those people who just eat a tin of almonds at their desk or buy nut-heavy trail mixes, or who sit at Five Guys eating the bottomless salted peanuts. It just doesn't appeal to me. 

That said, I do love absolutely everything related to almonds. In case you can't tell (because on a blog you're reading typed words and not watching me talk with my hands) I'm Italian, and Italians love almond everything. For Christmas we would get a big box of individually wrapped Ferrara's Torrone and slowly eat them as the holiday approached. (Turning the boxes backwards as they were eaten so there wasn't any sliding around. Does anyone else do that?) My mother and I love Italian nougat so much we even went on a tour through a factory in Italy to taste some fresh off the line. 

Long story short, it's been such a weird and difficult year, and I have such happy and positive associations with nougat, that I decided to treat myself. 

Hong Kong Strawberry Gummy - Hung Vuong Market

Strawberry Gummy - Hung Vuong Food Market

I picked these up for two reasons, one: because it looked pretty, and two: because it's a gummy, and gummy candies are my favorite.  

A strawberry gummy candy is a pretty safe bet no matter where it comes from or who makes it, so I thought this was going to be a short and simple review. I was wrong.