Dollar Store Candy Haul

Dollar Tree candy haul! I had to grab some painting supplies for Friday's event and I couldn't resist. 🍬🍬🍬 #mikeandike #cherrycola #butteredpopcorn #trolli #summer #gummibears #bubblegum #lemonade #candyhaul #foodhaul #ringpop

A photo posted by Sometimes Foodie (@sometimesfoodie) on Aug 24, 2016 at 8:19am PDT

Which goodies should I review first? 

Mike and Ike Shredders - Dollar Tree

Mike and Ike Shredders - Dollar Tree

For the record, this product has been sitting in my to-be-reviewed pile for half a year, but I swear it ALWAYS looked like this! (It did, I promise!)

I saw these "Shredders" at the Dollar Tree when they were first introduced and I thought they looked interesting, sort of like mini Sour Straws. Each bag had a little plastic window so your could see the product inside and they all looked kinda...icky. There were two flavors available, this Sour Wildberry one and some pink colored bag with another flavor variety. This flavor looked like it had less sour sugar coating and it also looked kind of oily, while the other had a sour-sugar overload! I grabbed the best looking one of each and tossed them into my cart because I'm a food and candy blogger and I can't resist trying new stuff. Then they sat in the giant back-logged food-valanche pile of products I've been meaning to review for over half a year! (So much for being "New.") I'm slowly but surely working my way through the backlog and since we just recorded a Mike and Ike themed episode of Candyology 101, what better time to tear into these bags? First up, the less sugary-looking of the two, Sour Wildberry!

Switzers Salted Caramel Twists - Youtube Video Review

I have a few pre-recorded videos that I'll be editing and putting up, as well as a few reviews that will be typed up this weekend. (Hopefully I can get all this car stuff straightened out soon and everything can go back to normal.)

Lemonhead & Friends Fruit Flavored Breath Mints - Dollar Tree

Lemonhead & Friends Fruit Flavored Breath Mints - Dollar Tree

I saw these breath mints at the dollar tree and I really liked the colors and the packaging. I don't have high hopes for the candy itself, but I could resist giving it a try. (Plus it was cheap, so no major loss if these are gross.)

PEZ Hedz Bearz - Dollar Tree - Cherry Hill, NJ

PEZ Hedz Bearz - Dollar Tree - Cherry Hill, NJ

Looking at this item, it's packaging, and the flavor variety, my gut told me, "do not buy it." I went months without ever seeing this on the shelves, and yet, here we are.

When I was buying some other items for our Candyology101 podcast, I saw this hanging in the candy aisle at Dollar Tree, and after passing it by a few times, I finally decided to give it the benefit of a doubt. Maybe my original assumptions were wrong and this will turn out to be a miraculously awesome candy. It's happened before, but today is not one of those days.

Mike & Ike Strawberry Reunion - Dollar Tree: Berlin, NJ

Mike & Ike Strawberry Reunion  - Dollar Tree: Berlin, NJ

I'm finally putting a dent in my foodie-stash! There's still a ton left for me to review, but I can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel. (Or in this case, I can see the bottom of the box.) I bought these Mike & Ike's a really long time ago, embarrassingly long, and I'm finally ready to give these a try!

Holiday Mix Skittles - DollarTree: Cherry Hill, NJ

Holiday Mix Skittles - DollarTree: Cherry Hill, NJ

We all know by now that I'm a bit of a Scrooge about the winter holidays, so I didn't buy very many holiday themed foods or candies, but this odd little item caught my eye. It's a mix of Skittles that are only red and green, and the flavors in this mix are a bit...off.

WarHeads Sour Chewy Cubes - Dollar Tree - Cinnaminson, NJ

WarHeads Sour Chewy Cubes  - Dollar Tree - Cinnaminson, NJ

This is my last piece of Halloween Candy. (I think...)

Starting tomorrow we're back to pumpkin posts! (And I have a nice pumpkin stock pile ready to go.) 

There isn't much to review here, so this will be pretty short.

Other than the box, what's seasonal about this candy? Apparently it has three "limited edition" flavors.

• Scary Black Cherry
• Goblin Green Apple
• Ogre Orange

Wait a minute, aren't these all normal WarHead flavors? It seems like all three flavors are already available in the every day version of this candy. What a rip off!

The tiny candy cubes inside were soft, like a fruit pastille, and very generically flavored.

• Black Cherry - was artificial, but it was my favorite of the three. It reminded me of the black cherry Blow Pops that turn your mouth purple.
• Green Apple - was pretty chemical-like and generic.
• Orange - was just like a normal orange slice gummy/jelly.

The kicker? These weren't even sour! I know that these rate really low on the WarHeads sour scale, but even sour patch kids have these beat. Heck, a Sweet-Tart is tangier! 

It stinks to end on a sour note (that was bad. I'm sorry), but these candies are a pretty big disappointment. They are absolutely nothing like the candy they claim to be. These aren't very flavorful, or sour, and they aren't even limited edition! Although I love the soft jelly texture, I actually regret buying these things. (Although they were fun to stack.)

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

Like me on facebook to keep up with all my adventures!

Candy Vampire Juice - Dollar Tree - Cinnaminson, NJ

Candy Vampire Juice  - Dollar Tree - Cinnaminson, NJ

When I was at the dollar store, freaking out over how awesome THIS candy blood was, I found another flavor that was released by the same company. I absolutely loved the candy blood, so how will Vampire Juice compare?

First of all, the name alone is a HUGE missed opportunity. "Vampire Juice?" Really? It's green candy liquid in a medical, IV-style, bag. It could have been a virus, or zombie blood, or an antidote for an outbreak...there were tons of options out there, and they went with Vampire Juice. Go figure. The pouch is the same as the blood version, so the only unique design feature I have to critique is the name, and they failed big time. (Vampires drink blood anyway. This makes absolutely no sense!)

Candy Corn Cotton Candy - Dollar Tree - Cinnaminson, NJ

Candy Corn Cotton Candy  - Dollar Tree - Cinnaminson, NJ

I hope you all had an awesome Halloween!
This is going to be a quickie review. I still have some Halloween treats to finish out the week, so pumpkin posts will resume on Monday.
Here's another seasonal Dollar Tree find.


It seems like this Fun Sweets brand has been releasing tons of seasonal cotton candy tubs. (Check out my banana Easter cotton candy tub review HERE.) I have reviewed a few of them so far, and up until now the flavors have been fairly generic but satisfying. This is the first time I am seeing a flavor that is supposed to mimic another candy, so I'm excited to see how it turned out.

Candy Blood Bag - Dollar Tree - Cinnaminson, NJ

Candy Blood Bag  - Dollar Tree - Cinnaminson, NJ

I haven't been this excited for a photoset in a LONG time. This little bag of 'blood' was only a dollar and I got some AMAZING photographs! (I know I got a little carried away with the photos, but it was a LOT of fun.)

I was walking through the local dollar store, trying to find a cheap fake pumpkin to decorate, and I found this. As odd as it sounds, I am pretty familiar with fake blood drinks and candies. Jared, one of my closest friends, is the lead singer of The Zombie Mafia, and the band uses medical props in their shows. Drinking fake blood packets from an IV on stage has become a fun gimmick, but it gets expensive. Unlike the ones TZM typically buys online, this was only $1.00!

Caramel Apple Pops - Dollar General : Cherry Hill, NJ

Caramel Apple Pops - Dollar General : Cherry Hill, NJ 

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Tootsie’s packaging designs desperately need an overhaul. Just look at this bag.

This layout is a mess of green, tan, and red-violet. The garish combination of colors and semi-retro look aren’t working for me at all. Thankfully the individual candy wrappers inside are much more palatable. The Tootsie company seems to be staying afloat due to the quality of their products and nostalgia, and it’s good to have a great product, but I think they should try to revamp their plastic bags with a completely throw-back retro design. Embrace the nostalgia and try to create something a little more aesthetically pleasing. (Or at the very least lose the red-violet purple color.)

Cinnabon Cream of Wheat - Dollar General : Cherry Hill, NJ

Cinnabon Cream of Wheat - Dollar General : Cherry Hill, NJ 

Cream of Wheat is one of my favorite breakfast items. It sticks to the ribs and warms you up. (Especially on cold rainy days.)

The box design is pretty busy for an American product. There are swirls, logos, photos, and splashes of text everywhere. The colors are a nice mash up of the two brand identities, the Cinnabon blue and Cream of Wheat’s blue text work nicely together. Although there is a lot going on, I think it works.

When cooked, there is a lovely cinnamon sugar aroma. The scent doesn’t remind me of a cinnamon bun, just plain old cinnamon.

Does this taste like Cinnabon pastry? No. It just kinda tastes like normal Cream of Wheat with cinnamon and sugar mixed in. It’s yummy, but I could easily make this myself.

I like the idea of having flavored Cream of Wheat, but this was a bit of a let down. I expected more than just cinnamon and sugar mixed in. I would pass on these in the future and just mix up my own.

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

Like me on facebook to keep up with all my adventures!

Nintento 3-DEES Fruit Snacks - Dollar General : Cherry Hill, NJ

Nintento 3-DEES Fruit Snacks - Dollar General : Cherry Hill, NJ 

Remember THESE sweet-tart-like Nintendo candies? Well there are 3-D gummy ones too!

The package design is a bright Mario-red with large images of Nintendo characters. Overall, the design focuses on the characters and not the candy, which is typical for a novelty product. People are buying this because it’s Nintendo, not necessarily for the candy or it’s flavor.
Ignore the packaging, just look at these gummy shapes! The figures are surprisingly detailed and they can even stand up on their own! (Which is great for photos.)

Tootsie Fruit Rolls - Dollar General : Cherry Hill, NJ

Tootsie Fruit Rolls - Dollar General : Cherry Hill, NJ 

Unlike my other dollarstore reviews, this is a candy I know I’ll enjoy. I don’t know too many people who buy or enjoy  Fruity Toostie Rolls, so this might be a new candy for some of you. (Although I remember these being pretty popular in the 90’s.)

I am not a fan of the overall plastic bag design, it’s obnoxiously bright and busy, but I do like the colorful individual wrappers. The Tootsie Roll company seems like it’s in a design rut. It seems like they want to keep their nostalgic look, but they are evolving as a company with new flavors and products. I think they either new to go completely retro, or move forward with a new design. They have a great product, but rehashing their old font with bright colors isn’t working.

Skinny Cow Peanut Butter Creme Chocolates - Dollar General : Cherry Hill, NJ

Skinny Cow Peanut Butter Creme Chocolates - Dollar General : Cherry Hill, NJ

(I bought the Key Lime Coconut Patties as the same time.)

I bought these from the dollar store because I recognized them from a review on Candy Blog. (One of my favorite foodie sites.) For some reason I remembered these getting a really favorable review, so I grabbed a package.

I have had skinny Cow products before, and while I liked the product, I hated the logo. It’s just plain creepy. A humanized cow with an hourglass figure wrapped in measuring tape? Combine that image with the slightly suggestive pose and you have a decent amount of nightmare fuel. (This pose actually reminds me of Molly Ringwald’s from The Breakfast Club.) Logo aside, this design has a decent layout. Personally, I would tweak the sizing of the text and make everything a little bit larger, but the placement allows the design to flow nicely.

Key Lime Coconut Patties - Dollar General : Cherry Hill, NJ

Key Lime Coconut Patties - Dollar General : Cherry Hill, NJ

Put the lime in the coconut and dip it all in chocolate! I saw this at the dollar store check out and I thought it might be interesting because I love these flavors. (I just don’t know how successful they would be when combined into a candy.)

The plastic packaging features an overall lime-green color scheme with a hibiscus flower print in the background. Piled on top of that, are images of palm trees, limes, coconuts, chocolate, and the coconut-candy-bar product itself. The design is busy, but graphically I think it works. I feel like the fonts and typography are where things gets a little iffy. The text choices makes this product look cheap. (Then again I got this at a dollar store, so you get what you pay for.)

AZ Arizona Energy Drink - Dollar General : Cherry Hill, NJ

AZ Arizona Energy Drink - Dollar General : Cherry Hill, NJ

I VERY rarely use energy drinks, but right now I have a psych paper, two finals, and a summer practicum observation course all at the same time! I just don’t have enough energy to keep going and get everything done, so I resorted to an energy drink to give me the boost I needed. (I didn’t even know that Arizona made energy drinks.)

Typically, Arizona cans are tall and colorful. This design has more of an urban-graffitii feel, and it doesn’t match any other product in the Arizona line. I don’t feel like this design was very well thought out, because the can doesn’t even say what flavor this drink is. The ingredients list mango and other fruits, as well as a laundry list of chemicals that I can’t even pronounce. While I like the idea of an Arizona energy drink, I think this can needs a bit more design work and information.

Palmer’s Giant Cake Batter Cup - Dollar General: Cinnaminson, NJ

Palmer’s Giant Cake Batter Cup - Dollar General: Cinnaminson, NJ

I knew this was going to be a risky treat. It could either be really yummy… or just as disgusting as those Cupcake Bites.

The packaging is a soft lavender color which is actually quite lovely, but the art is pretty bad. I am not a fan of those creepy children in the bottom corner, the design would have been much stronger without them. 

Jelly Belly - Belly Flops - Dollar General : Cinnaminson, NJ

Jelly Belly - Belly Flops - Dollar General : Cinnaminson, NJ 

This is a product I never knew existed! "Belly Flops" are irregularly shaped/colored/flavored Jelly Belly jelly beans that are packaged and sold.

I really like that the company had some fun with this packaging. On the front of the package there is a pool of misshapen jelly beans that the mascot is belly flopping into, and on the back there is a disclaimer about the irregular candy inside.

As expected, the jelly beans vary in size and shape/ Even though they look a bit off, a lot of my favorite flavors were in this bag. (Orange Creamsicle, Dr. Pepper, toasted marshmallow, and juicy pear.)  The only flavors that seemed a bit off were the cinnamon and red-fruit jelly beans. It tastes like a few of them were mixed up during the panning process. (Some red jelly beans tasted like cinnamon on the outside with a fruity center and vice versa.)

Overall, these beans tasted great, they just looked a little wonky. If you’re looking for a quirky candy treat this Easter, try some Belly Flops. 

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

Like me on facebook to keep up with all my adventures!