Did you know, it's "sherbet?" Not, "sherbert."
I definitely grew up pronouncing it, "sure-bert," and didn't think twice of it. Until a college (English) professor of mine went on an, admittedly adorable, rant about this misnomer being one of her biggest pet peeves. I can still hear her voice in my hear strongly emphasizing the "bet," in "sherbet."
Wherever you are professor, I always say sherbet now, and apparently, so does Target.
I love Dragonball, especially Dragonball Z, but you know what I don't love? Their novelty products. I've had a few in the past, both snacks and beverages, and they were mediocre at best and inedible at their worst. One of these days I'll finally wise up and ignore the nostalgia pangs in my heart when I see these characters on the grocery store shelves, but that day is not today!
These bottles are really freaking cute. I'm not sure if the size translates well in these photos, but each one is about half the height of a 16 oz. soda bottle and they're made of heavy glass. For their size, their price tag was a little on the steep-side (since they're imported and all) so it came down to aesthetics or frugality...
We all know which option won out. Let's pop these bottles!
Maine Root isn't the only Pumpkin Pie soda on the block, and it's actually not the first one I've ever drank either. Years ago, back in the dark-ages of blogging when everyone was on Livejournal and Deadjournal, Jones Soda would release seasonal soda sets. There would be a Thanksgiving dinner set, with gravy, stuffing and other bizarre savory flavored sodas, and a pie set with different seasonal pie flavors. My mother bought the sets from Target so she and my sister and I could try every single flavor...but that was so long ago I can't remember how any of them tasted. I have a clear warning-sign-of-a-memory saying Thanksgiving dinner is NOT a good idea for sodas, but the pumpkin pie ones were completely forgotten. Was it so bad I blanked it out? Or was it simply overshadowed by the horror that was stuffing-flavored-soda?
Time to make some new memories! (Hopefully I'll retain these ones.)
I always say it's been a busy week, but last week was probably the busiest I have been all year. I'm the only employee at my 9-5 job, so that's been as intense as always, then add family events, etsy orders, and hosting a last minute paint party in Camden, NJ where I had to get all the materials...it was intense. I have a meatless Monday post that will be up later tonight (it needs photos), but I thought it'd be fun to share the drink that kept me going this week.
At this point you guys know I rarely drink coffee. I went through a phase where shots of espresso and caramel helped me survive college, but since then coffee and I have taken a break from one another. Now, when I do drink coffee, it effects me pretty strongly. This recipe I'm about to share with you KICKED MY BUTT.
Two Aldi products in a row? Normally like to switch things up, but I wanted to share this with my mom and step dad (who are Neapolitan and Sicilian) so I had to hurry up and review this so we could drink it together.
(I'm trying my best to resist making Project Runway references, but I make no promises.)
"Irreplaceable Taste." I think I already love this.
I've been wanting to try this for a while, but I never really got around to it. These teas were always restocked, so I figured I might as well buy the specialty/seasonal products that come and go instead of this one that seems to be a grocery staple. It wasn't going anywhere, so there's no rush. Then, a few months ago, one of my former co-workers posted a photo of this on Facebook saying how delicious it was, and that was all the push I needed. Into my cart it went and here we are with the official review!
It's officially October! Time to watch Hocus Pocus on loop and buy copious amount of Halloween candy. (Although I'll be waiting for it all to go on clearance and swoop in like thecheapskatebargain shopper I am.) Pumpkin reviews are in full swing, and tonight I have some sparkling Pumpkin Spice apple/grape juice to review!
Chocolate milk for coffee addicted adults! Are any of you subscribed to foodie Youtuber, Emmymadeinjapan? (If not, you should be.) She made a video last year talking about coffee milk, which is the official drink of Rhode Island. Over a year later, I happened to be wandering around a grocery store (waiting for my car to be serviced), and I found a bottle of coffee syrup to make my own coffee milk! From what I've read online, it seems like this is the branding and packaging for the same syrup Emmy reviewed in Rhode Island, but this is how that brand markets to other states. I figured it would make an interesting review item, plus it might be something new for my coffee addicted boyfriend to try, so into my cart it went.
There isn't much to this product, so this is going to be a really quick review.
Coffee-coffee-coffee-coffee-coffee chameleon! (I couldn't resist.)
The macarons I picked up during my last trip to Wegman's were a big let down, but maybe this cold brewed coffee concentrate will make that trip worth while.
I mention this in a lot of my posts, but I'm not a coffee drinker. I enjoy the taste of coffee occasionally, but my boyfriend is absolutely addicted to this stuff. He hardly ever goes a day without it, so I tend to buy a lot of coffee flavored snacks and sweets for us to try together. Since he came over this weekend to make pizza and go swimming I thought it'd be the perfect time to share my latest find, this adorable chameleon-themed coffee.
Return of the black background!
Although I typically drink water throughout the work week, I sometimes switch things up with some fruit juice or lemonade when I need a little pick me up. (Since I don't drink coffee.) I saw this item on sale at Wegman's for .99 cents, and I love strawberry lemonades, so I tossed the container into my cart. I mean, it's just a flavored lemonade lemonade, and it's organic, how could this go wrong?
Sorry for the breif and unplanned hiatus this weekend. My boyfriend is going out of state for two weeks, so I took the weekend off to spend some time together before he leaves. (Sorry about the lack of posts.)
Anyway, I'm back with another Whole Foods beverage review. I originally went to Whole Foods to get fresh salmon for my upcoming sushi bowl post, but I couldn't resist a trip down the beverage aisle. (I picked up another bottle of Jin-+Ja while I was there too!)
This time it's one of my favorite flavor combinations, honey and lemon!
If there’s one definitive fact I’ve learned from dating a foodie, it’s that even a simple snack can be a blog-worthy experience. While I may have never taken my relationship with candy or ice cream to the internet, there is one category of digestible delights I can’t help but indulge in – coffee. Half-jokingly referred to as obsessed, and self-admittedly referred to as addicted, coffee has been my go-to beverage for nearly a decade. Between working at Starbucks and living as a sleep-deprived college student, my pallet for caffeine has been thoroughly refined.
I've had a few of these Naked juice smoothies in the past, they are something I occasionally grab when I feel like I don't have enough fruit in my diet, but I've never taken the time to write a review. While shopping at Aldi I saw this Blue Machine flavor, which I've never had before, so I thought, why not review it? (This isn't a new flavor by any means, I just tend to buy the same strawberry-banana flavor over and over.)
This is the last beverage I picked up at Whole Foods and, since I don't get up there too often, I'm not sure when I'll be picking up a new 100% Raw Tea to re-review. (It's a really inconvenient location, but I'm still interested in the product.)
As for this beverage, I like ginger, but only in small doses. So, why did I buy a ginger-based drink? Needless to say, the little award sticker suckered me in. Apparently this won Cold Beverage of the Year! (Which I honestly didn't know that was a thing. Is that a thing? Does that make me a bad foodie?) Ultimately I wanted to see what an award winning beverage tasted like, so I picked up a bottle. Although, the packaging also won me over.
This curvy bottle is pretty small, about the size of a classic Coke bottle, and it's made of clear glass. There's no texture or engraving on the glass itself and all of the design work has been printed on clear labels. I really like the bold logo and subtle swirls that decorate the bottle, but the bottle's neck seems a little empty. If it wasn't for the award winning sticker, the deign might look a little sparse and unfinished. Is there normally a design that goes up there? I tried looking for information online but there was very little to be found.
Other than the official site and Bevnet, I couldn't find any product reviews, so I might be one of the first foodies to do so. (Boldly going where no blogger has gone before.)
Return of the black background! Some of you might recognize this bottle from yesterday's video.
I don't shop at Whole Foods. It's not that I'm opposed to the company, or organic foods, it's just really inconvenient. The closest location is on a very busy highway filled with traffic(and the parking lot is a deathtrap). Driving all that way just doesn't make sense when I have 6 different grocery stores close to home with organic options. (Some are even walking distance.) So when I went to Whole Foods for a lunch date I took advantage of the situation and explored the entire store.
There weren't any food items that caught my eye. (Although I did find more flavors of Brad's RAW Kale chips!)I feel like a lot of the foods I have been reviewing lately have been mediocre, and I really wanted to try something new and different, so I picked up a few beverages that I had never seen before. One of them was this Sweet Almond Water.
Sweet is the perfect way to describe this design. Just look at it! The product looks simple, inviting, and a bit rustic.
I remember seeing a can of White-Gourd Drink on an episode of Cult Moo, one of my favorite youtube channels ever. I seem to recall Herr Pink saying this was "downright delicious," but I could be mistaken. (I've seen all of their videos so I might have mixed up my memories.) Either way, I was intrigued.
The best place to start my search was the SunSeung Market, since it's so close to my house, and I found it! As it turns out, a lot of Asian companies produce a White-Gourd Drink, so I just picked the prettiest can.
As you can see, the can is a pale green color with swirls of vines and green leaves. I am not a big Disney fan, but the design makes me think of Cinderella and her pumpkin carriage, or a shōjo manga. (Seriously. It has tons of little white highlights and sparkles.) This design stood out from all of the others, so it's quite successful.
Every time I go to the Asian Food Market, I buy a different canned (or bottled) coffee for my caffeine-addicted boyfriend. He went on a trip to Japan a few years ago and, while there, he was addicted to vending machine coffee. There was one brand he really liked, Boss Café au Lait, but I haven't been unable to find it in NJ. Until I do, he seems to enjoy trying all the different canned/bottled coffees I scrounge up for him.
This time I was able to find some Pokka Sapporo BLACK. I really liked the small, but bold, packaging, so I grabbed one for myself. (Even though I am not a big coffee drinker.)
As far as I can tell, Pokka and Sapporo were two different beverage companies. Pokka was well known for it's canned coffees and teas, while Sapporo was a very popular beer producer. The two companies merged as of 2013 and are looking forward to adding new flavors and food items to their lineup.
On to the packaging!
Why did I do this to myself?
After finally working my way though all of those sugar free Sparkiling Ice drinks a few months ago, and suffering from vertigo for the first time ever in my life (I am fairly sure the drinks were involved although I can't prove anything), I buy another sugar free beverage. In this case, this beverage uses erythritol, which is supposedly better for me than sucralose, but on top of that this is made with the fruit from the coffee plant. Coffee and me are not best friends.
I'm so sorry body. I don't why I am doing this to you. (I don't want to waste money and I'm cheap.)
When your drive time to band practice is 3 hours round trip and you leave right after work, sometimes you need something to help you not drive off the road. So it’s not uncommon for me to grab a few drinks for the ride. Uncommon? More like a necessity.
If you have read previous posts, you know I was a Rockstar man, until Monster expanded their sugarfree line. Then I jumped ship. Rockstar had a wider variety of sugar free drinks and seemed to keep making new lines on a regular basis. Eventually, Rockstar followed suit and made new flavors. This is where we enter Super Sours.
Now, who doesn’t love a good sour candy, right? First comes the wave of lip-puckering sour which eventually gives way to a delightfully sweet reprieve. But how exactly does that work in liquid form?... CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST.
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If you guys are craving more drink reviews, check out my buddy farbeyondsippin. He is a diabetic, straight edge metalhead who lives right here in Jersey. He is in a band, so he reviews all kind of drinks while he is on the road going to gigs. (Plus he just happens to be one of my best friends irl.I can't believe I just typed irl.)
~ Sometimes Foodie (Maria)
