It's ALIVE - Trick or Treat: Mushroom-based Sodas?

While these are not overtly Halloween-themed, in my mind, they're Trick-or-Treat-adjacent. Stick with me and you'll see.

I don't drink booze, I rarely drink coffee, and I don't do artificial sweeteners or diet beverages. What I DO drink is a lot of water, seltzers, and soda. Soda is my coffee. (Soda is a god. Soda is the breeze in my hair on the weekend.) 

Soda is my go-to caffeine boost, but we all know soda is not good for you, and I do like to make healthier choices when I can, so when I spotted these "healthy" sodas at Lidl I thought this could be a great alternative. That is, if they actually taste good. 

So, healthy mushroom-based sodas, a trick? Or a treat? 

Macro-ron - Lidl Brownie Macaron Sandwich

Took a bit of a break, but I'm back, baby. 

Macarons are a lot of work. They're made with (expensive) almond flour, they need to be piped in uniform puddles, then you need to let them rest before tapping the tray on the counter to create the perfect "foot," all before baking and assembling. I sadly don't have the time, or the budget, to perfect a macaron in my kitchen. (Although I would love to one day.) So, for now, I buy them. Even when they come from Lidl. they still feel like a luxurious treat. 

Lately, I've noticed that macarons are getting Big-Mac-ified. Meaning, they are getting bigger, and more outrageous. Like those Milkshakes that were all the rage a few years ago. The ones that were topped with full-sized separate desserts and have glass vessels covered in chocolate. It's a spectacle more than anything else. (I mean, how are you supposed to eat the chocolate off the glass? It's such a waste.) It appears to be Macaron's turn. I've seen huge ones stuffed with ice cream and fillings, like ice cream sandwiches, or giant cake-sized ones meant to be cut up and served at parties. Then there's this smaller scale one I saw at Lidl. 

It's a macaron, filled with brownie chunks, vanilla bean crème, and salted caramel. In theory, it all sounds great, but will it be too much?

Rosie? or Rancid? - Vanilla Rose Cookie Thins (Lidl)

I hate flower flavored food, and I already have a ton of stuff I -should- be reviewing. But February means all thing pink, and flowery, and Valentine's Day-y. All things I would use to describe this new product from Lidl. 

I'll be the guinea pig and give this a try so you can see if this it's worthy of your valentine. (Accidental rhyme(ish)?)

Sometimes you feel like a Nut - or Two?

Another seasonal de-stash. 

I grabbed these from Lidl thinking I could incorporate them into my baking, but my cookie boxes were crowded already, so they were relegated to snacking. 

Problem is, I rarely eat nuts. (That's what she said!) I'm not allergic, and I love nut-flavored things like, marzipan, Reese's cups, and pistachio ice cream, or even chopped peanuts scattered over a savory pad Thai. But snacking on a handful of plain almonds? Not going to happen. 

But, these are fairly healthy (especially when compared to all the Doritos currently on top of my fridge), so I took them into work so I could eat them as a desk-snack. Maybe they'll surprise me and I'll be converted...but I doubt it. 

Visions of Sugar Plums danced down my drain...

Continuing the trend of  knocking out seasonal stuff before it gets too late, I have this wintery kombucha I picked up at Lidl. 

I used to grab kombucha at Aldi, they had an in-house line with three main flavors and the Cherry Cassis was my favorite, but they've been MIA for a few years now. Thankfully Lidl keeps the kombucha coming. They have in-house brands, name brands, and rotating seasonal flavors. I could have sworn I had already tried this one, but it is no where to be found on the blog, so, here we go! 

Fall-bucha - Apple, Cinnamon, Vanilla and Clove flavored Kombucha

The blog has accidently turned into mostly-Lidl reviews. It makes sense, since I've been shopping there a lot lately, and they really went all-in with interesting fall themed products, but for the sake of variety, I promise my next review will be non-Lidl. 

Today we are still Lidl-ing it up, this time with a a seasonal kombucha: apple, cinnamon, vanilla and clove.

I love kombucha, and have tried a lot of flavors over the years, but my preferences typically lean into berry based flavors like cherry, raspberry, or cranberry. So this apple, cinnamon, vanilla, and clove option is pretty different for me. 

Will it be a good-different? I guess we'll see. 

Seasonally Saucy - Pumpkin Alfredo

As someone who is still burnt out on sweet pumpkin offerings (even after all these years,) I was thankful to see so many savory options at Lidl, like this pumpkin alfredo sauce. 

When it comes to store-bought sauces, I have never found one that was perfect right out of the jar, so I expected this to need a little doctoring. To give it an honest review, I'll try it first, as-is, and then I'll let you know what I did to make it better. 

Rice Cakes: Food or Packing Material? - Two Seasonal Lidl Flavors

Did anyone else go through a rice cake phase in the late 90's to early 2000's? I remember eating chocolate flavored ones with mini chocolate chips all the time. I also remember eating them with little pods of apple cinnamon flavored peanut butter. After searching online for ages, I found it! It was Jif Smooth Sensations in Apple Cinnamon. Specifically the sample versions seen in this photo! My mom got a bunch of free samples but due to peanut allergies, she couldn't give them away to kids, so we were drowning in these things at home. (According to the 1999 commercial, I guess it was a fully realized product in jars?) 

Were rice cakes a universally popular snack in the late 90's? Or was this a personal quirk?

Anyway, Lidl released some seasonal rice cakes in their fall line up and I thought, why not?

Bonne Apple-Tea - Lidl Seasonal Tea

Cinnamon Apple Tea - Lidl 

I am officially over-pumpkin'd, but there is one pumpkin thing I purchase each year and enjoy, and that is Pumpkin Spiced Tea. 

A bunch of companies make this stuff. Over the years I have had Celestial Seasonings, Trader Joes, Harney & Sons, Aldi, and Lidl's takes. I even made this post about it, Three Teas Enter, One Tea Leafs! 

But, since I still had some pumpkin spice bags leftover from last year, I thought I would give apple a try this time. 

This was a bad call. 

Spooky Store-brand Smiles? - Halloween Potato Fries

Halloween Potato Fries - Lidl

A lot of Halloween products are sweet and candy-focused, so when I see a savory item, I jump on it. 

These were in Lidl's circular and even though the bag art seems a little store-brand and no-frills, how could I resist Jack-O-Lantern shaped potatoes? 

What does Hibiscus Taste Like?

Hibiscus Lemonade Kombucha - Lidl

Another day, Another 'bucha. 

I'm very familiar with lemonade, not so much hibiscus. I know what the flower looks like, they're pretty, and tropical. The flower of choice amongst surfers, Hawaiian shirt lovers and various resort wear companies. I know they tends to turn food and drinks they're in pink. But that's it. 

Is it perfume-y? Fruity? Will this kombucha taste like grandma's perfume? Pairing anything with lemon is usually a safe bet, so I'm not nervous. More-so curious to see what hibiscus will bring to the table. 

When opened, the kombucha has it's classic fermented tea tanginess, but it's extra sour. Like lemon juice. It smells tart, tangy and juicy, but right off the bat this makes me think of lemons more than it does lemonade, and I don't detect anything floral. Is hibiscus sour? 

I'll google hibiscus flavoring after I try it. I don't want it to influence me. 

The Blue Chill - Blueberry Lavender Kombucha

Blue Chill Blueberry Lavender Kombucha 

Aldi dropped the 'bucha-ball. I think it's safe to say they've discontinued their trio of standard flavors, so now, other than Blood Orange, they don't offer any unique flavors. Not even rotating seasonal ones. (At least not consistently.) 

Lidl on the other hand is always offering something new. I really loved their last flavor, so I went back to stock up, but it's switched over to summer. Which apparently means blueberry lavender.

You Bet'cha 'Bucha! - Lidl Seasonal Kombucha

Cranberry Cherry Kombucha 

Aldi used to have this house brand kombucha line that I loved, and my favorite flavor was the cherry cassis, but I haven't seen it in ages. In fact, a lot of my old Aldi staples have been MIA for a while now. No more balsamic glaze, no more pizza pockets, no more 3-packs of onions (one white, one red, one yellow), and now no more kombucha? Aldi, my love, where did things go wrong? 

With prices on the rise, and not being able to find my favorite products, I have been gravitating towards their competitor, Lidl, more and more. Not only does Lidl offer coupons, and mark products down as they near their expiration date meaning you can scoop up items for 30-50% off their already low prices, but they have a very healthy kombucha section with seasonal rotating flavors. Like this one.

An Aldi Girl Shops at Lidl - Chocolate Pistachio Ice Cream

Chocolate & Pistachio Cones - Lidl

If you're looking through the novelty ice cream freezer at Aldi, you're likely to see a lot of chocolate and vanilla, maybe the occasional seasonal item shaped like a snowman or whatever with a hint of fruit, but for the most part they play it safe. Lidl's offerings seem to lean more towards their European roots, and they don't shy away from nutty offerings like hazelnut or pistachio. They actually offer two different pistachio themed items, an ice cream bar covered in a layer of chocolate, and white chocolate, with pistachio pieces, and these chocolate pistachio cones. As a pistachio-lover, I had to give these a try. You know, for science. 

Strawberry & Cola Licorice Sticks - Lidl

Strawberry & Cola Licorice Sticks - Lidl

Most Lidl products are variations on name brands, I was able to suss out the Skittles, Croco's and Mousey dupes right away, but these? A quick google search reveals nothing. I mean we've seen plenty of licorice brands, and tons of strawberry flavored ones in particular, but cola is more rare and a combination of cola and strawberry? I had never seen it before. Maybe they're a truly new and unique-to-Lidl combination? 

And what a combination is it, cola and strawberries? Not exactly peanut butter and jelly. I think it sounds awesome, but I am well aware that my tastes don't always align to the general public and what's popular. Still, I love cola flavored gummies, and strawberry licorice, so this must be the best of both worlds, right? 

A Taste of Summer in the Dead of Winter - Peach Hibiscus Kombucha

Lidl Peach Hibiscus Summer Tropics Kombucha

For the record, this isn't one of my "oops, I meant to review this," products. I'm not sure if this is a super early release, or leftover stock from summer, but there was tons of it on the shelves at Lidl and it's not expired. Why not give it a shot? It can be a little taste of summer as I prepare for more snow on Sunday. 

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? 

Lidl Cafe Noir Cookies - The new Pinot Noir?

Cafe Noir Cookies - Lidl

If you are a Maria, you must at some point in your life consume Maria cookies. It's the law.(It doesn't have to be Goya-brand, but they're what my grandma ate.) They aren't trendy, they never have new flavors, shapes or colors, but that's because they don't have to. They are the perfect hot beverage cookie. Tea, coffee, cocoa...they're all better when consumed with a side of Maria cookies for dunking. They don't need gimmicks to keep me coming back for more. But hear me out, what if Maria cookies had a coffee flavored glaze on the bottom?

Amaretti Cookie Nougat from Lidl - It's like it was made for me

Amaretti Cookie Italian Nougat - Lidl 

I'm weird. If you've ever been to this blog before you probably know that already. I am not a picky eater, but like many people I do have a few weird food hang-ups. One of which revolves around nuts. I love smooth peanut butter, marzipan, and pretty much everything almond flavored...but when it comes to actual nuts? Not a fan. I don't hate them, but I just don't see the appeal. I could never be one of those people who just eat a tin of almonds at their desk or buy nut-heavy trail mixes, or who sit at Five Guys eating the bottomless salted peanuts. It just doesn't appeal to me. 

That said, I do love absolutely everything related to almonds. In case you can't tell (because on a blog you're reading typed words and not watching me talk with my hands) I'm Italian, and Italians love almond everything. For Christmas we would get a big box of individually wrapped Ferrara's Torrone and slowly eat them as the holiday approached. (Turning the boxes backwards as they were eaten so there wasn't any sliding around. Does anyone else do that?) My mother and I love Italian nougat so much we even went on a tour through a factory in Italy to taste some fresh off the line. 

Long story short, it's been such a weird and difficult year, and I have such happy and positive associations with nougat, that I decided to treat myself. 

Let's Get Cozy - Lidl Pumpkin Spice Tea Review

Pumpkin Tea - Lidl

I normally like to be detached and light hearted in food posts, and I know this has been a difficult time for everyone, but somedays I'm able to take it in stride, and other days it just sucker-punches me in the gut. This month was filled with a lot of sucker-punch-days. 

But in the end, my little food blog here is one of my happy places on the internet. So let's all take a breath, get cozy, and have a cup of tea to forget about all the hard stuff for a minute.

I'm certainly no stranger when it comes to pumpkin teas. Over the years I have had three different varieties: Celestial Seasonings, Trader Joe's, and HT, and while that is but a mere scratch on the pumpkin-themed-tea surface, I still feel like I have a pretty good base to judge this new contender.