Bowl & Basket Shop Rite Seltzer Party! 6 different flavors!

6 Flavors of Shop Rite Bowl & Basket Seltzer

When compared to Aldi and La Croix, Bowl & Basket finds itself somewhere in the middle in terms of variety. La Croix opts for fancier, more exotic offerings, like Limoncello and Hibiscus, where Aldi sticks to citrus fruits for the most part. But what Aldi lacks in variety, they make up for in consistency. Of their main flavors, I don't think there is a dud in the bunch. I decided to grab a bottle of Bowl & Basket lemon lime, to have a better basis of comparison to my go-to Aldi seltzers, but otherwise grabbed new flavors I have yet to experience in seltzer form. I'm pretty excited to see how these taste (and to add a bit of variety to my bubbly sipping.)  

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!

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.  

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. 

Bon Bon BUMMER - Black Tongue Lollipops

Black Tongue Lollipops - Dollar Tree

I grabbed these at the Dollar Tree because they reminded me of the Tongue Painter gumballs my teacher used to use as incentives for good behavior back in the 90's. Did anyone else's teacher create a fake currency that could be earned inside their classroom and used to purchase candy, pencils, or free "No homework" passes? Or was that just me? (Also, my fellow 90's Jersey kids, no one else did fluoride rinses in their classrooms. That was a weird program think that only happened to us!)

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to try some candy and paint my tongue black but I was wrong. So, so wrong.  

 

Watch the video above to see what happens, or keep reading below for the written post and close-ups. 

Aldi's Take on Ben & Jerry's Phish Food (Only $2.00!)

Turtley Awesome Ice Cream Pint - Aldi $1.99 ($1.79 on sale!) 

Living with a food blogger isn't as glamorous as it may seem. First of all, my home is a dieters worst nightmare. I have candy and snacks in pretty much every room of the house. (Except the bathrooms because that's gross. They have food scented bath products and soaps instead #foodieforlife.) I have a freezer full of junk food and ice cream, and a pantry packed with limited edition cookies and chips. Which leads me to the other problem, which has plagued everyone I've ever lived with, "Is this safe to eat?"

I get the frustration, you see something yummy and you want to eat it. That's what any sane person would do, but we food bloggers are insane different. We need to photograph, write up, and post on social media. It's just what we do...when we have time to do it. 

So, the story is: I've had these Aldi pints in the fridge for a while, I didn't have much time to blog, and my family had been anxious to eat them..so this got eaten, a little bit. Normally I'm adamant about the food items I photograph being brand new and untouched, but we're just going to have to roll with it...

Again, we have so ugly packaging. It's not all that different from the others, and I've already said everything I have to say about it's looks, so let's get right into how this tastes.

3-D Movie Monster Gummies: As Disappointing as Universal's Dark Universe reboots, but cheaper.

Gummy Monsters - The Dollar Tree

When it comes to cheap Halloween decorations, you can't beat The Dollar Tree. I filled my cart with foam tombstones, window clings, glow in the dark signs, comical caution tape, stretchy spider webs, bat garland, paper lanterns, skeleton hands...the list goes on and on. They really outdid themselves with this year's decor, but I can't say the same about their candy selection. 

All of the fun seasonal sweets (like these plastic IV bags filled with candy blood) have been replaced with generic D-list candy. Which even by Dollar Tree standards is pretty bad. I scrounged around and only found two items worth checking out. A seasonal bag of Haribo, and these 3-D monster gummies. At the very least, these should make for some interesting photos...

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.

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!

Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup Cheese Curls

Herr's Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup Curls - Ollie's Bargain Outlet $1.89

Just like mom used to make. Well, not my mom, but maybe yours? We weren't a big tomato soup family, but that's something we'll get into later. 

Today's post is another foray into stuff that's supposed to taste like other stuff, brought to you by Herr's and Ollie's Bargain Outlet. Good Stuff Cheap! (#notsponsored) 

Of all the things I picked up at Ollie's (which included blue cotton candy flavored corn puffs), this was the product I was most skeptical of. I bought it anyway, because it was cheap, and there was an odd satisfaction in knowing I got the whole full set of wacky Herr's products. Well, all the ones sold at Ollie's anyway. They're are more flavors available than what you've seen on the blog, but those aren't on sale for a $1.89, so they'll have to wait.

As I put the Grilled Cheese bag into my cart, I cringed. It isn't the grilled cheese aspect of this flavor that's making me hesitant, it's the tomato soup part.

Not Sure if I Would Have Called These "Snack Balls" - Cotton Candy Snack Review

Herr's Cotton Candy Flavored Snack Balls - Ollie's Bargain Outlet $1.89

Not the most appetizing name...

I was immediately skeptical about this product, but it was so cheap that I figured it was worth the risk. Plus, it's blue!

Shake, shake, shake, shake-a, shake it! - Cookies & Cream

Frozen Bean Cookies & Cream Milkshake Mix - Walmart, $1.25

Come on, shake, shake
Shake, shake, shake it

Linking songs to my reviews has been a lot of fun, but this one is a little cringe-worthy. A friend of mine worked at Journeys, a shoe store (when we were teenagers) and they'd get trendy music DVDs to play in the store each month. This smash hit (she said, sarcastically), by Metro Station (aka Miley Cyrus' brother's band), in an earworm I haven't been able to escape. (It's a guilty pleasure song. Don't judge me!) 

Speaking of guilty pleasures, why don't we do a quickie review of one of these Frozen Bean milkshake/drink mixes? I'm fairly certain drinking all three in one day is a bad idea, so I'll knock these out one at a time. First up, the safest bet, Cookies & Cream.

Aldi's Version of Ben & Jerry's? - Possible Cherry Garcia Dupe

Thank You Cherry Much Ice Cream Pint - Aldi $1.99

A while ago, Aldi started offering three permanent flavors of "Super Premium Ice Cream" and it's pretty obvious that this is their attempt at a house-brand Ben and Jerry's. Just look at it!

Mike and Ike Throwback Flavors from Dollar Tree

Mike and Ike Throwback Flavors - Dollar Tree

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend! Mine was great, but INTENSE. We're talking 4-days of non-stop family gatherings, cooking meals, and gift giving. It's fun, but I need a minimum of 2-days of no make-up and sweatpants to recover before the New Year festivities begin.

Since the flaming garbage heap that is 2016 is nearly over, I thought I should try and do a bit of stash busting to make room for new year goodies. First to the foodie chopping block? Some retro throwback flavors from Mike and Ike.

Screaming Sour Cream Bats & Webs - Aldi

Screaming Sour Cream Bats & Webs - Aldi $1.29

Darn right I'm screaming! Halloween is on a Monday this year. What fresh hell is this? The only bright-side to today being a Monday is that on my long drive home from work I pass tons of stores and I'm going to stop in and scoop up all the Halloween clearance items! Your Halloween decoration is my year-round decor! (I may not wear the black nail polish anymore, but I'll always be a goth kid at heart.) 

Aldi may have me drowning in Pumpkin products, but their Halloween-specific goodies were pretty slim pickin's. I picked up some more of the Halloween Pasta (which makes an amazingly spooky pasta salad perfect for lunch boxes) and some fruit snacks, but other than that it was mostly bags of name brand candy and treats. When I spotted these fun spider and bat themed snacks tossing them into my cart was a no-brainer.

Aldi's Version of Ben & Jerry's? - Brookie Dough Ice Cream Pint

Brookie Dough Ice Cream Pint - Aldi

Aldi started offering pints of ice cream that look suspiciously like Ben & Jerry's, and it comes in three flavors: Brookie Dough, Make Fudge Not War, and Thank You Cherry Much...and they were only $1.99 each!?! Naturally I bought all three. First up, Brookie Dough!

What is Aldi & My 5 Favorite Aldi Products

I want those chips and the vindaloo kit!!!

Welp, my sleeping habits are getting even worse. I went to work, made dinner, walked my dog, did my workout, and then promptly fell asleep from 12AM until 5AM. So I never finished last night's review. (Which will be posted when I get home from work today.) 

Since I talk about it all the time, I thought I'd give a (really short) explanation as to what Aldi is, because I don't think I've ever really addressed it before and share a few of my grocery staple products that are kind of "boring", so they won't ever be fully reviewed.

Warheads Sour Worms - Dollar Tree

Warheads Sour Worms - Dollar Tree

Remember these from our Candyology101 Treat or Trick section? It was a while ago, but I finally found them! Warheads were really popular when I was growing up in the 1990's, so I was excited to see what the brand was doing these days with their newer products.

I'm hoping that these are some kind of super sour gummy worm, but they look just like normal gummy worms sold by Trolli and every other candy company out there. Maybe they made these look like normal gummy worms so that you could easily swap the two out for pranks? I guess we'll find out! After all, looks can be deceiving. 

Choceur Flame Egg - Aldi: Cherry Hill, NJ

Choceur Flame Egg - Aldi: Cherry Hill, NJ

I still have a few Easter-y goodies to review, so I am going to try to knock these out as quickly as I can before the holiday and then I'll start digging into the items from my Asian Food Haul video. There's a LOT of photos for this one, so let's get started.