KÖE Fruit Forward Kombucha

KÖE Organic Kombucha - Gift 

If you're new here, I have a reaction to sucralose, which is a very commonly used artificial sweetener. A sip is fine, but a normal 12-16oz beverage containing the stuff can trigger vertigo that will not go away without medical intervention. Vertigo, for those lucky people who've never experienced it, causes a feeling of dizziness. This can range from mild annoyance to debilitating. For me, I was bedridden for over 24 hours while I attempted to "sleep it off," but I ended up in the ER where they finally gave me medicine that made it stop. 

Sucralose is in a LOT of products (Sparkling ICE beverages were the cause of my ER visit), so I avoid them like the plague. That said, A PR rep for this kombucha brand reached out and sent me a pack of all five flavors to try. So while I got these products for free, this is not a paid promotion, and I always say exactly what I think, so this is, like always, a honest review. These contain less than 2% of erythritol, and I am not a foodie scientist (I'll leave that to CandyHunting), but after reading this 2005 article about sucralose vs erythritol, I felt safe enough to give these a try. 

We have 5 flavors in total, Strawberry Lemonade, Tropical, Lemon Lime, Raspeberyr Dragonfruit and Blueberry Ginger.  

Hurts, Don't-it? - Strawberry Frosted Donut Oreos

Strawberry Frosted Donut Oreos - Gift

Another Oreo I was going to skip, because I was pretty sure this was more gimmick than anything else, but a friend bought these and demanded I try them, so here we are. Was my assumption correct? Or will these blow my mind?

It's Always Tea Time - Pomegranate & White Tea Gummy Pandas

Pomegranate & White Tea Gummy Pandas - Gift from Work

Another tea-themed candy! This time it's a gummy candy, which is my favorite kind of candy, so I'm pretty excited. 

The packaging is really simple, it's another gusseted plastic bag, but this time it has a shiny finish and it's resealable. Instead of the faux vintage look of the hard Tea Candies I reviewed yesterday, this product is going for a  crisp, but colorful, design that lets the product do all the foot work. (Along with some nice fruity imagery.) The outside is really appealing, but there's something inside that I wasn't prepared for...

Hello, is it Tea You're Looking For? - Iced Tea Flavored Candy

Tea Candy, Classic Iced Tea - Gift from Work

I actually found an awesome Lionel Richie mug with that exact saying at the thrift store. 

Most of you know that I got a new job a few months ago, I'm still a graphic designer, but instead of making business cards and custom invites, I'm working with food! Right before the holidays I received a big gift basket filled with different specialty products, like these tea-flavored candies. They sound really refreshing, so let's get this review started! 

Bacon Cheeseburger Queso - Qdoba Restaurant Review

Bacon Cheeseburger Queso - Qdoba Restaurant Review

I have risen from the candy-wrapper-ashes! What a week.  

In short-sale-home-buying-hell news, (which I'm sure you're all sick of, and believe me, I am too) I had 5 different inspections this week and only 1 went well/passed. So, that was really awesome. (She said, sarcastically.) I'm waiting to get all the estimates back before I renegotiate, so I'm in for another month's worth of all this legal-goodness before I can say with confidence that I'll be moving in to a new place. BLAH.

In other, cheesier, news someone from Qdoba contacted me asking if I knew about their new queso of the month menu, and since I'd never eaten at their restaurant before, they sent me a $30 giftcard to try them out. (And an awesome cheese hat.) Last weekend my little family spent hours shopping for a new (used) car, so we were cold, cranky, and I really didn't feel up to making dinner, so I took Qdoba up on their offer.

Popcorn Flavored Cocoa?

Limited Edition Sweet Popcorn Options Cocoa - Gift from Food Review UK

So this has been in my stash for ages, because I really didn't want to review it, but after trying the Buttered Popcorn Mike and Ike's I figured there was no better time than the present.

Since it's just a little hot cocoa packet there's not much for me to talk about as far as packaging, so let's skip the packaging portion of the review and get this over with get right down to it!

Kiss of Fresh Air (Breath Freshener Sprays) - Gift

Kiss of Fresh Air Breath Freshener Sprays - Gift

After eating a bag of sugary sweet octopus balls, made with actual octopus extract, you might not want to have a conversation too close to me. When I'm at home I have plenty of opportunities to clean and re-fresh my breath, but when I'm at work, and I'm eating leftover wacky food-blog-stuff at my desk, I don't have the opportunity to brush my teeth before dealing with my clients face-to-face.

A while ago the people behind KISS of Fresh Air breath freshening spray sent me a message asking if I'd like to try their products, and I said, "Sure!" To be completely transparent, the company sent me this stuff for free, but this is not sponsored. I'm just a food blogger with octopus-breath trying some free breath-sprays and letting you know what I think of the flavors.

KISS' line-up includes a classic mint, but that's a breath freshening standard. We all know how that one's going to taste, so I rather talk about their wacky dessert-flavored sprays, like Raspberry Whipped Cream!

A Spicy #tbt! - Watch me eat a 20 year old Spice Girls lollipop!

This lollipop is nearly old enough to drink in America! Who was your favorite spice girl? 

Drinking out of the Toilet? - YouTube Video Review

Big THANK YOU to my office buddy Jamie for giving me this kit last year for my birthday!

Buck Wild Honey BBQ Snack Mix - Gift but Available at Starbucks

Buck Wild Honey BBQ Snack Mix - Gift but Available at Starbucks

I was sent the snacks for free but not paid for this review.

A few months ago, the people behind Buck Wild sent me some gluten free products to review. Maybe it was because of my gluten free Aldi reviews? Whatever the reason, I'm all about free food. 

They sent over a healthy selection, but one of the products that caught my eye was this Honey BBQ snack mix. I looked like it had corn nuts in it, and I've been craving corn chips, so I threw it into my photo setup for some quick snap shots so I could dig in.

OREO Chocolat Rich 70% Cacao #TBT

OREO Chocolat Rich 70% Cacao - Gift (I think) #tbt

You might have seen this little box in my celebratory National Junkfood Day haul. It's been in my stash for quite a while and I can't really remember where I got it. I'm 98% sure it was part of our Candyology 101 gifts from The Impulsive Buy when he sent us our little plaques, but I can't truly remember. (Food hoarder problems, am I right?) 
My haul photos showed only HALF of my food hoard and it really lit a fire under my butt to knock out these reviews a lot faster, so here we are! Let's eat some fancy dark chocolate Oreos!

Bacon Candy - YouTube Video Review (2 different candies)

Part 2 of my Peep Haul is on the way, in the meantime let's enjoy some bacon-y goodness!

Candied Water Chestnuts - YouTube Video Review

Candied vegetables? It was free, and that's awesome, but...do I even want to eat it?

Maltesers Malty Chocolate Drink - Food Review UK

Maltesers Malty Chocolate Drink - Food Review UK

I made 2 YouTube videos (video 1, video 2) reviewing the products I got from my swap with Food Review UK, which was awesome, but a few of the products they sent over required a bit more prep so along with the videos I have a few items I'll be reviewing in blog post form. The first of which being this awesome Maltesers drink powder!

Banana Hi-Chew - Gift

Banana Hi-Chew - Gift

Back when Candyology 101 celebrated it's 1-year anniversary, Marvo, who's our producer and the awesome guy behind The Impulsive Buy, sent us a little plaque and some candy to celebrate! Our little goody bags included sweets that were exclusive to Hawaii, and a few tropical flavors of Hi-Chew, which included banana! In case you haven't noticed, I freaking love banana! Now, if you look at my watermark you can tell that these photos are old, and the reason I took so long to post this review is because...I ate the entire package before writing anything up. What can I say? I have no willpower when it comes to banana candies! Thankfully my beloved Asian Food Market just so happened to get these in stock (finally) so now I have a fresh package here to give you all the low-down on this delicious, chewy, addicting goodness.

Tic-Tac Scary Sweets Mix - Gift (TBT)

Tic-Tac Scary Sweets Mix - Gift

More outdated candies from my food stash! This pack of Tic-Tacs was given to me as a gift way back in October, and I just never got around to reviewing them. I recently found them hiding out in one of my purses, so why not review them?

Tao Kae Noi Big Roll (Classic Flavor) - NY Fancy Food Show

Tao Kae Noi Big Roll (Classic Flavor) - NY Fancy Food Show

I have a LOT of food in my to-be-reviewed stash, and it's getting way out of hand, so I'm trying to get through the stuff that's been sitting around the longest. I got this seaweed sample at the Summer Fancy Food Show, and that was back in July...so I figured I should probably hurry up and review this thing.

Blueberry Ice Cream Oreos: YouTube Review

One of my friends grabbed me a package of these Oreos from China...

but that was a few months ago. Let's hope these aren't expired!

Brach's Caramel Apple Candy Corn - Gift

Brach's Caramel Apple Candy Corn - Gift

Okay, step one of my candy corn experiment was a success. The Apple Pie candy corn was (surprisingly) enjoyable and authentically flavored, so now we can move on to step two. Is it truly any different than this caramel apple candy corn? Or did they just swap the colors and slap a new label on it?

Strawberry Balsamic Vinegar - Blue Moon: Collingswood, NJ

Strawberry Balsamic Vinegar - Blue Moon: Collingswood, NJ

Blue Moooon, you saw me standing alone, without a bottle in my hand, now I've got one of my own. Okay, enough of that. (I'm sorry, that was so lame. I've been listening to a lot of older music lately and I couldn't resist.)

Back to our regularly scheduled food blog!

Today I've got a little something from one of my favorite local shops, Blue Moon! I know there's a really popular beer company with the same name, but this is something completely different. (Plus I hate beer.) The Blue Moon I'm talking about is a cute little shop in Collingswood that sells fancy olive oils and balsamic vinegars.

Get ready for a rant and a story under the cut.