What's cooler than being cool? - m&m's Caramel Cold Brew

Caramel Cold Brew m&m's - Walmart

What makes a non-coffee product "cold brew,"-flavored vs. normal "coffee"-flavored?  

Is it a more concentrated coffee flavor? Was actual cold brew involved at all? I doubt it.

Starting the week with a handful of coffee - Espresso m&m's

Coffee and chocolate go together like peanut butter and jelly. The combination is a no-brainer, which must be why m&m's keeps revisiting it. 

We've had: 

• Pumpkin Spice latte m&m's - review
• Coffee Nut m&m's
• Crunchy Espresso m&m's - review
• Café Mocha m&m's - review
• Caramel Cold Brew m&m's 

And now these. What makes these any different from it's predecessors? 

Clearance Cookie Candy - Sugar Cookie m&m's

I pride myself on pretty good foodie-judgement, and I hate wasting money. If I think something sounds gross, or hyped, or scammy, I'll just skip it.

Like Swedish Fish Oreos. 

I like Swedish Fish, I like Oreos, I even like chocolate covered Swedish Fish, but when Oreo released a Swedish Fish flavor I skipped it. Knowing how they executed fruity flavors in the past...I just didn't think it would be a good time. Meanwhile other people bought them and tore them to shreds. Which is fun, because making jokes gets views, but sometimes I just rather not feed into the gross food-waste machine. Unless they go on sale. 

If these were full price, I never would have bothered with them, but post-holiday clearance? I'll allow myself a dud or two. So, sugar cookie m&m's: actually worth snacking on? Or just hyped up crispy-m&m gimmick? 

Chocolate Popcorn m&m's...football themed?

Popcorn m&m's - Wawa(?)

Sometimes I surprise myself. I cannot tell you why I bought these. I mean, I like popcorn, but I usually hate popcorn flavored things, like Jelly Belly beans, maybe it was part of my impulsive pandemic purchasing? 

I think I grabbed these at Wawa back along with that Apple Pie Kit-Kat and the Netflix themed ice cream. At the very least, it gives me something to review. So, will these be good? Bad? Or just plain weird? 

M&M's, Trying to Score Some Brownie Points

Fudge Brownie m&m's

I'm not really sure what to expect here, I mean, fudge brownies are more of a textural experience than anything else, right? They taste like chocolate, ideally fudgey chocolate, but chocolate none-the-less. How are you going to take an already chocolate based candy and make that taste like a chocolate brownie? It's the texture, right? So let's see what's inside this thing!

Like most of the filled m&m's, these are a bit larger than normal and they're irregular in size and shape. I decided to give my first impression eating it normally, then savoring it, then trying the center on it's own (if I can manage it.) 

Espresso vs. Mint: Crunchy M&M Showdown? (Not Really Though)

Crunchy Mint & Espresso m&m's - Walgreens

I've been out of the blogging game for a while...so I completely missed the chance to review these before the contest ended and the winner was announced.

If' you're like me, and completely out of the loop, m&m's ran a flavor contest with 3 variations of crunchy m&ms. The contenders were: Crunchy Mint, Crunchy Espresso, and Crunchy Raspberry. The winner would become a permanent flavor. 

Since the contest ended (in August), and new packaging would be hitting the shelves, all three flavors were on clearance at our local Walgreens. I could have gotten all three, but I knew the raspberry ones were going to be a flop in our household, so I bought the two I knew we would enjoy. Would we like the same flavor as the one that won the contest? Let's hope so!

Cookies & Screeem m&m's - Target

Cookies & Screeem m&m's - Target

Easter Sundae m&m's dressed up for Halloween?

I'm experiencing déjà vu. This isn't the first time we've seen a chocolate-vanilla m&m masquerading as something snazzier, and it likely won't be the last. Maybe I am completely off-base with my assumptions, but I'm  going into this review with some pretty low expectations.

Peanut Brrr-ittle m&m's - Target

Peanut Brrr-ittle m&m's - Target

While scooping up clearance Halloween deals at Target, I picked up something on-season! (It's been a while.) 

Brittle is an odd flavor choice, and certainly not something that makes me think of winter. Thanks to the peanut-center it makes sense conceptually, but I'm a bit curious (and skeptical) about the execution. Will the chocolate taste like brittle? I doubt it, but I'm excited to see more peanut m&m's get the limited edition flavor treatment.

Let's find out!

Strawberry Nut m&m's - Walmart

Strawberry Nut m&m's - Walmart 

Years ago, when I was a collegiate foodie-fangirl drooling over Cybele's candyblog, she posted about these limited edition Strawberried Peanut Butter m&m's which were released as a Transformers movie tie-in. What did PB&J flavored candy have to do with Transformers? I have no idea, but I wanted them and I couldn't find them. I missed out. They disappeared without me ever being able to buy a bag, and it's been a foodie sore-spot for me ever since.  

It's pathetic (and neurotic) to admit this, but every now and again I do think about them. The limited edition m&m that got away. The one that echoed my favorite PB&J pairing of strawberry jam with peanut butter. I've read other (more fortunate) foodies reviews of them, and it seems they were just okay, nothing special, and certainly not delicious enough to make the masses rally together for it's re-release like other flavors have done. 

Flash forward to today, when Mars releases a sorta-similar product, Strawberry Nut m&m's. They're not quite the same, but I guess this will have to do. I'm really hoping that these will live up to the hype I've given this flavor pairing in my head.

White Cheesecake m&m's - Walmart Exclusive

White Cheesecake m&m's - Walmart Exclusive $2.88

Ah, Green overly-sexualized m&m, we meet again. It feels like only yesterday I was staring at your blinged-out Christmas packaging (reviewed here), but it was actually a week ago. I think we need to have a talk about "boundaries."

Confession time: I knew these were going to suck before I even bought them, but I got them anyway. Why? Well, two reasons: 1- My b/f's sister wanted these, and I just so happened to be at Walmart so I grabbed them for her, and 2- it's trending food-blog-fodder.

I've been trying random new food stuffs for a few years now, and even though I'm not as seasoned as my more knowledgeable foodie friends, like CandyBlog, JunkFoodGuy or ImpulsiveBuy, I still know a dud when I see one. Usually when anything shelf stable tries to taste like cheesecake, you know you're in for a bad time. But, who knows, maybe I am being cynical and I'll be proven wrong. There's only one way to find out...

Shimmery White Chocolate m&m's - Target

Shimmery White Chocolate m&m's - Target

I was originally going to skip these, because they're just white chocolate m&m's with a shimmer coating, but they were on sale, and I thought they be fun for photos...so here we are!

m&m's Vote Flavors! (YouTube Video Review)

Pretty sure you can't vote for these flavors anymore...but, they've been in my stash for a few months and it feels SO good to finally try these and get these outta here!

I also recorded my NY Summer Fancy Food Show Haul video, and some long overdue Peeps video. Now that the show is over, I'm back to posting two YouTube Videos a week!

Easter Sundae m&m's - Walmart

Easter Sundae m&m's - Walmart

R.I.P. my beloved Carrot Cake m&m's, you had a good run, but Easter Sundae has taken your place as the Walmart exclusive flavor this year. I know a lot of food bloggers didn't really care for them, but I'm sad to see them go. (They were the perfect addition to oatmeal and carrot cake cookies for spring!) Even though I was heartbroken by the seasonal flavor swap, I was kind of excited too. When I think of ice cream sundaes I think of hot fudge, cherries, Neapolitan ice cream, and whipped cream. Judging by the name, I thought this was going to be some kind of candy equivalent to those banana split style ice creams that pack multiple flavors into one pint, but it turns out this is just a chocolate and vanilla m&m. I don't know if my expectations were too high, but this sounds boring to me. Oh well, let's see if this sundae is worthy of taking Carrot Cake's place.

Hot Cocoa m&m's - Walmart (Exclusive)

Hot Cocoa m&m's - Walmart (Exclusive) 

Happy New Year everyone! I hope your 2016 is off to an amazing start! Sorry for the hiatus, if you follow my Twitter (that I'm trying to use more) you'll know that my car was involved in an accident right before the holidays and that my life has been pretty hectic getting all of that straightened out. I was able to buy a new used car a few days later to get back to work, and the second I got back into my old routine...I got sick. Really sick. My voice sounds oh so sexy right now, but I'm not going to let that stop me! The show blog must go on!

These Hot Cocoa m&m's were a Walmart exclusive, and they were the seasonal counterpart to the Target Exclusive Café Mocha m&m's. (Which I was a big fan of and reviewed HERE.) I was originally going to skip this seasonal sweet because, well...I thought it was a gimmick and nothing more. I mean, m&m's are already chocolate flavored, and hot cocoa is just a drinkable milk chocolate, so how are these going to taste any different than the normal candy? After talking to Cybele and seeing The Impulsive Buy's photos showing the layered candy inside, my curiosity got the best of me, and I grabbed a bag for myself.

Pecan Pie m&m's - Walmart

Pecan Pie m&m's - Walmart

Despite my own personal pumpkin obsession, the fall season is more than just pumpkin spice, there's also pecans and pecan pie! (Sweet potato is out there too, but it doesn't get enough love to warrant it's own m&m.)

These seasonal Pecan Pie flavored m&m's were the Walmart exclusive companion-product to the Target exclusive Pumpkin Spice Latte version, and I stalked several Walmarts for WEEKS trying to find these. Finally, after all the other foodbloggers had already reviewed them, my local Walmart got them in stock. Oh well. They aren't new anymore, but I still wanted to give them a try! So here we are!

Pumpkin Spice Latte m&m's - Target (Pumpkin Haul 2015)

Pumpkin Spice Latte m&m's - Target

Basics rejoice! It's the time of year when everything is pumpkin spiced, and Mars has (thankfully) switched things up this year. Instead of offering their normal Pumpkin Spice m&m's (reviewed here) they've changed their formula and added coffee to the mix for this seasonal re-release!

If you want to read last year's review of the plain Pumpkin Spiced version, it's right HERE, but (spoiler alert) I'm happy they're gone. I have high hopes that this new version will finally win me over.

Candyology101 Episode 14: Panned Candies & New Products for 2015

Jelly beans, jawbreakers, and malt-balls, oh my!

For the first part of today's show Cybele and I focus on all kinds of candy coated goodies. We discuss everything from Airheads Bites, to Sugar Babies. Which ones we love, which we hate, and what makes panned candy so appealing. Afterwards, we have a SUPER EXTENDED Trick or Treat featuring a ton of new products. Be sure to check out the Candyology101 Website to see photos of all the new products mentioned. (I kind of geek out over the packaging, so this way you can look at it and geek out with me.) Leave a comment below letting me know which of these items you want to try!

Have you been liking Candyology101 so far? 

Please head on over to itunes and give us a little review to let us know how we're doing.
Or leave a comment below
What segments to you love?
Which ones are leaving a sour taste in your mouth?
What would you like us to cover next?

(Click the Candyology link to see all the different items we talk about in this podcast and find out where you can buy it!)

Meet the cast:

Cybele from Candy Blog

Maria (Me) from Sometimes Foodie

Listen to the player above, check us out on Stitcher, or you can download the MP3 file. If you want to subscribe to the show, it’s available on iTunes and via RSS.

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

Like Sometimes Foodie's Facebook page to keep up with all my foodie adventures!

Red Velvet m&m's - Target: Marlton, NJ

Red Velvet m&m's - Target: Marlton, NJ

These are a re-release, so the flavor isn't really new, just seasonal, and last year I refused to buy them. I really thought they'd be a huge flop. I mean Red Velvet m&m's? With their milk chocolate base, I thought there was no way these would taste any different from their normal chocolates, and that this was just a gimmick. Apparently the flavor was popular enough with consumers to return, so I thought I'd check them out and see if they were somehow better than I had expected.

Pumpkin Spice m&m's are back

Apparently these seasonal m&m's are being re-released this fall. To be completely honest, I'm not thrilled. Unless the formula has changed drastically, this is one pumpkin themed item that you won't be seeing in my pantry.

Want to see if these are worth the treasure hunt? Checkout last year's review.

They did make cute photo props though...

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

Like Sometimes Foodie's Facebook page to keep up with all my foodie adventures!

Birthday Cake m&m's - Easter Gift

Birthday Cake m&m's - Easter Gift

My boyfriend grabbed a little bag of these as part of my Easter gift and, although Candy Blog has a really accurate and thorough review, I couldn't resist the chance to try them for myself.