PINK, it's like red but not quite - Pink Lemonade Creme Cookies

Pink Lemonade Creme Cookies - Aldi

How will they compare to the Lime? Let's jump right in and find out! 

Sweet Sherbet Summer Sippin'

Rainbow Sherbet Sparkling Water - Target 

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. 

A Surprising Novelty - Mike & Ike's Peeps on a Stick

Mike and Ike Peeps on a Stick - Walmart 

Easter is right around the corner, so I might as well stick with the (accidental) Peeps-heavy posting. We've had Peeps in a can, Peeps in cotton candy, and now we have Peeps on a stick. Mike and Ike edition. 

So we have four different colors fruity flavored chicks on a stick. Is this worth buying? Or something we should skip? 

Ghu-Ghu-Ghu-GHOST Dots - 12 Days to Halloween

Ghost Dots - Target 

Dots are a classic, but they still know how to have fun with seasonal and limited edition flavors. They've done candy corn dots, black-batty blood orange flavored dots, and these Ghost dots. Three different Halloween-specific flavors? Not too shabby for a retro candy. They even added a new flavor, Watermelon Dots just this year! (Pretty sure they are Dollar Tree exclusive?) Somehow in all my years of blogging, and snacking, I've never actually posted a Dots review. And there's no better way to start than with the original...with a spOoky twist!

 

Pop-Tart Party! - Multiple Flavors, ONE Post

Went through my pantry and found a BUNCH of Pop-Tarts. I guess I kept buying them and forgetting about them. Rather than stretch these reviews out into individual posts (which I could do, because it's a bunch of content) I am kind of sick of these things and want to get them out of here ASAP. 

So I'll just run down the list and rate them out of 5. 

Lemon Cracker Cookies?

I buy generic, store brand, and no-frills whenever I can. They're cheaper and, more often than not, they're the same product or better than name-brand. 

Take Frosted Flakes for example. Here in NJ, a family sized (24.7 oz.) box with Tony the Tiger on it goes for $4.28 at Walmart, which seems to be the cheapest price I can find without coupons. Meanwhile, a family sized box (26.8 oz.) box of Millville Aldi-branded cereal goes for $2.75. The Aldi version tastes the same AND it's bigger AND cheaper. Not sold on the Aldi version? Well the Walmart version, Great Value (26.8 oz.) goes for even less! It's just $2.30! Sorry, Tony. This must be why Frosted Flakes is branching out into new flavors like Strawberry Milkshake, because once the masses realize the normal stuff is cheaper elsewhere, he'd be put out to pasture. 

However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Like Doritos. No knock-off flavored tortilla chips has ever come close to having the same flavor-punch. Same goes for crunchy Cheetos and Ritz crackers. 

Ritz crackers are so crispy, thick, savory, and buttery. I could easily eat an entire sleeve like they were potato chips. I still fondly remember all those Ritz Bits commercials where the tiny crackers would skate around in cheese or peanut butter (PB is my preferred Ritz combo), so I'm no stranger to a Ritz sandwich, but, lemon? This I gotta try.  

A Frugal Indulgence for a Millennial Marie Antoinette - Aldi Spring Assortment Macarons

Aldi Spring Macarons

There is a clear difference between freshly-made bakery macarons and mass produced frozen ones BUT that doesn't mean frozen macarons are bad. They're just different. 

Pros of frozen macarons: more affordable, are readily available in stores like Aldi, Walmart, Lidl, etc., keep for a long time but are quick to thaw for snacking.

Cons of frozen macarons: Their stability means they aren't as decadent or delicate as freshly made, and they tend to come in boring flavors. If you'd seen one box of frozen macrons, you've  seen them all. 

Until now that is. Aldi is opening their frozen macaron section up to seasonal flavors, like this spring box. I hope this is the start of a trend and we see more, maybe even limited edition, flavors in the future. So, what's in this spring mix and how does it compare to the normal year-round one? 

It's Like it was Made for Me! - Honey Lemon Paw Print Gummies

Another item from my backlog stash! This has adorable pet-themed packaging, it's a gummy, and it's honey lemon flavored. It's like it was made for me.

I always feel like I can't eat something until I have time to photograph and review it, so this has been in my stash for...a few months, but I'm excited to finally give these a try! 

Garlic Bread Flavored Almonds with Croutons? (And Honey Citron Flavor, too!)

Garlic Bread and Lemon Citron Almonds - Hung Vuong Food Market 

The last two Gilim Tom's flavors I reviewed were a lot of fun, and after learning about how many variations they have to offer, I was looking forward to trying even more. On my most recent trip to Hung Vuong Food Market, I grabbed Honey Citron and Garlicbread. Let's see how these compare!

Gourmet Cotton Candy - (One Flavor Kicks my Butt)

Carnival Sugar Cotton Candy

These were actually sent to me as a gift, which is awesome, but they were a little worse for wear upon arrival. Shipping things, especially food stuff, is just so chaotic right now. But, they're still good to go, so I'm going to power on through!

Laffy Taffy Explores Citrus - Orange Sherbet and Lemon-Raspberry

Laffy Taffy - Orange Sherbet & Lemon-Raspberry

When I saw these, I thought I had already reviewed them, specifically in some kind of Easter-themed mix. Searching through my blog, there was no sign of them. Did I imagine it? Was it something I ate and never wrote up? Are these completely new and my brain is finally at the point where I've forgotten what I've tried and what I haven't? 

Time to fix that.

Pucker Up - Lemon Crisp Kit-Kats

Lemon Crisp Kit-Kat - Walgreens

Hi everyone! I disappeared again. (Sorry!) In my defense, my one-year pandemi-versary is coming up and reflecting on the past year has put my head in a weird place. I am still surrounded by candy and things I want to post about, but editing the photos and typing posts requires a level of focus that I just don't have right now. I'm trying to schedule a bunch of reviews over the weekend to fix all that, but in the meantime, there's a new Kit-Kat in town! 

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.)  

When Did I Buy This? - Shiranui Citrus Puccho

Puccho Shiranui Citrus

While doing more of my obsessive New Year's cleaning, I found these! And I have no idea when I bought them. Whoops, first world food blogging/hoarding problems, am I right? 

We all know I am not above eating ancient candy, my Spice Girls Lollipop review is all the proof you need, so let's give this a try!

Starburst By The Foot

Fruit by the Foot Starburst - Target

I found them! I was really excited when I saw photos of these online and I finally found a box when I ran to Target the other day. I'm a big fan of Starburst, and after having the Jolly Rancher Fruit Roll-Ups a while back, I had high hopes that these would be equally delicious. Let's jump right in!

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? 

Sneaking Easter Candy into the Year-Round Scene

Big Chewy Nerds - Dollar Tree

I spotted these at Dollar Tree and thought they looked awfully familiar... I'm pretty sure they're just Nerds Jellybeans, rebranded, for year-round snacking. They have the same premise: chewy center, crisp candy shell, and they come in the same flavors/colors. 

Even if they are a re-packaging, I've never reviewed Nerds jelly beans, and for a dollar? Why not check them out?

Starburst on Steroids

Sweet & Sour Hi-Chew  - H-Mart

If you've never experienced a Hi-Chew, you're missing out. These are Starburst on steroids. I introduced my fiancee to these candies when we started dating, and since he loves all things chewy, they quickly became one of his favorite candies. 

Thankfully they are getting more traction here in America. A few years ago I could only find them in Asian markets, but now big chains like Target, Walmart, and 7-Eleven regularly keep them in stock. It's beautiful. Still, for the more unique flavors and mixes, the Asian markets can't be beat. I grabbed these at H-Mart and I'm excited to give them a try since I have NEVER had a bad flavor of Hi-Chew, but you know what they say? Never say never.

Duo-licious? or a Dud?

Starburst Duo - Walmart

Apparently Starburst released this "new" Duo-themed candy. Juts in case the quotes didn't tip you off, get ready for some old man yells at cloud-level grumpiness in this review.

Instead of four individual flavors in this mix, you only get two. Kind of. One could argue that you still get four, since these are just two different flavors of fruity taffy fused in the center to create one piece of candy. So if you nibble each side individually, you still have four flavors here, but that sounds a little too sticky and inconvenient.  

As a concept, this is something we've seen before. More recently I feel like Airheads has leaned into this two-flavors-as-one trend, and while it can be a fun idea conceptually, I feel like this particular take is falling flat. 

None of these flavors are new, and a consumer could always eat any two Starburst candies together to make your own DIY Duo mixes. Mixing and matching flavors of preexisting candy is something foodies like Cybele have been advocating for for ages, but I guess the appeal of this item is that these particular flavors have never been in the same mix before? There is some minor convenience there, but is that enough to warrant a whole new candy with fanfare and blog posts? We shall see...

A Hit and A Miss - The Yogurt Flavored Sweet-Tarts No One Ever Asked For

Lemon Candies  - Asian Food Markets

I'm alive~! I took a short (unscheduled) break, but I'm back at it again with the Tuesday & Thursday food posts and today's pick is a double feature with two different flavor variations of the same candy. 

I picked these up during the great "Hoard everything 'cause Asian Food Market is closing forever," sale. Instead of the usual case of me being suckered in by pretty packaging, this time I was blinded by the fear of missing out. (Also known as FOMO but that sounds stupid.) I bought everything that I had never seen at other Asian markets, these candies included, and the results have been hit or miss. Mostly miss, if I'm being honest, but I regret nothing!