Caramel Corn Curls - 2 Flavors! : Peach Nectar & Honey Lemon

Tohato Caramel Corn, 2 Flavors - Hung Vuong Food Market

Tohato Caramel Corn is not at all like American Caramel corn.

In America, "caramel corn" refers to popped popcorn kernels covered in a thin shell of caramel. They retain their popped-corn shape, and typically only come in one flavor, caramel. 

Tohato Caramel Corn is more like a corn-based snack with a sweet flavored coating. Think dessert-Cheetos, or like, giant curl-shaped breakfast cereal. It's corn-based, and sweet, but just because it says "caramel" doesn't necessarily mean that the overall flavor has anything to do with caramel. 

I've had a few flavors, but only one one has ever made it to the blog. Why not check out some more? 

Today I have Honey Lemon, and Peach Nectar. 

Ocean Bomb: Buu, Nami & Chun Li

I'm a sucker for cute packaging, sparkling drinks, and nostalgia. So these were a triple threat. Let's see if these are 100% novelty, or if they actually make for decent sipping! 

Summer Flavors, Fall Weather

Watermelon & Peach Macarons

It's officially fall, so today's post is a summer-specific product. (Being late is very on-brand for me.) I never found the time to write it up, so I'm doing it now, before I get knee-deep into my beloved Fall/Halloween nonsense that will ultimately roll over into November and possibly December. (Again, very on-brand.)  

If you're not following, What's Good at Trader Joe's, you're missing out. Not only are their captions on social media hilarious and give me life, but if you shop at Trader Joe's, they go through practically every item they have to offer and let you know which ones are worth checking out. They try everything, so you don't have to! (New slogan?) Sometimes, even when they say something might not be that great, it can still pique your interest. Which was the case with these macarons. 

While the What's Good at Trader Joe's rating for these was fairly low, I had a lot of fun with the Trader Joe's watermelon jerky, and watermelon spread. None of these products are things I NEED or really loved, but they were certainly unique, yummy enough, and a lot of fun. So, how could I NOT try it in macaron-form to complete my weird watermelon Trader Joe's trifecta? 

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. 

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!

Pinkies up! It's Tea-Time - 3 different teas (Lidl & Aldi)

Tea Time

Long story short, I like tea, but my ex was obsessed. He would steep bags of green tea, peppermint tea, jasmine tea, and black tea, all mixed up, for hours at a time. Tea snobs would probably have a heart attack looking at the concoctions he made, but, I enabled him. (My bad.) Especially during the pandemic. 

He went through tea so quickly that last March, when things started shutting down, I stocked up. People probably thought I had a bunker somewhere, but with his heavy usage of about 12 bags a day, what I bought would have been about 2 months worth. Imagine a large kitchen drawer filled with peppermint and green tea bags. Not long after that, he was gone. And here I am, STILL drinking peppermint tea over a year later. (Because I'm stubborn and hate wasting things.)  

I am so sick of peppermint tea. So let's shake things up with some fruity summer flavors from Lidl and Aldi.   

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. 

"It's even better when it's with ice cream" - Peaches and Cream

Peaches and Cream Cinnamon Rolls - ShopRite

About a year ago I reviewed the Strawberries and Cream version of these Pillsbury Grands rolls, and (spoiler alert) they were super disappointing. Why did I buy this new Peach version? I blame pandemic panic at the grocery store for my lapse in judgement. But there's a silver lining, I have something to blog about, and trying some new weird foods can be fun for the family. Plus, who know, maybe these will taste great too! (I doubt it, but a girl can dream...)

♫ Buyin' Lots of Groceries, Gotta Drink A Lot of Peaches ♫

Georgia Peach Coca Cola - ShopRite 

Let's see if any of you former 80's-90's kids can help me solve a mystery while I sip on some fruity soda. 

Growning up we had a few PCs with...really bizarre add-ons? The first one I remember was a CRT monitor in my bedroom that was hooked up to...something. I can't remember the OS, but what I do remember is that it had several Duke Nukem games and some bizarre dungeon-shooter game where I murdered knock-off Beavis, Butthead, and Barney the purple Dinosaur. (I never did beat Barney. His singing killed me too quickly. Googled it. OMG little-me was playing some kind of modded Wolfenstien?! Kill Beavis and Butthead? Where did I even get this?!)

Eventually we worked our way up to a PC with Windows 95, which was bundled with Echo The Dolphin, and, for some reason, a CD with the music video for "Lump," by The Presidents of The United States of America. Why? I have no idea. I found this Reddit thread where two other people seemed to have gotten the same thing, while others got Weezer and a different game? Does anyone know why this was a thing? Why these particular songs? I've been spiraling down this nostalgic rabbit hole for at least an hour on Google and I have more questions now than I did when I started. 

Anyway...thanks to that CD, I was introduced to the band, and I fell in love with their quirky songs, like Peaches. Long story short (too late) let's drink some peach flavored soda.  

Sweet, Spicy, & Sticky - A Good Combo?

Sweet & Fiery Fruit Gushers - Walmart

After falling in love with the recent influx of spicy sweet snacks, like the Sweet Heat Skittles and Starbursts I reviewed last year, I couldn't resist trying the trend in Gusher form. 

Design-wise, this product is sticking to the same guidelines as the "Sweet Heat" treats. We have a basic, black, backdrop with some hot rod style flames. It's simple, bold, and to the point. The black box definitely stands out among the cartoon-covered fruit snack boxes on the shelves, so even though I feel like it's a little "Blah" looking as far as packaging is concerned, it more than serves it purpose.    

Apparently Gushers, as a brand, do not vary their individual packet designs? If you look at the back panel there is some black stamped text claiming these are "Sweet Heat," but it's very easily ignored. (Interesting that the text says "Sweet Heat" and not Sweet & Fiery" like the box.) Keeping the pouches the same is a cost effective choice, for sure, but it also lends itself well to pranks. Think you're getting sweet, normal, Gushers? Think again! 

Inside the pouch are three different flavors:  

Blueberries, Butts & Bubblegum

Lotte Fruity Bubble Gum Dispensers - Asian Food Markets 

Sometimes it's the subtle things that win me over. Sure this has cool packaging, but one little detail is all it took for me to toss this into my cart. Notice anything different between these two flavors?  

On the right, we have little gum-ghosts blowing bubbles shaped like blueberries, which just so happens to match the flavor of the candy inside. The peach gum-ghosts? They're blowing normal balloon-shaped bubbles. Why is that? Because if they were blowing up peaches it'd look like they were blowing up pink-hued bubble-butts...or worse. Part of me wishes they hadn't of caught that (the evil part), but my graphic design background wants to commend their design-team and their foresight. 

As it turns out, everything about this packaging is incredibly thoughtful. 

Fancy Fruity Friends Drinking Beverages? - My New Tumblr Aesthetic?

Friends Drinking Beverage Clear Fruity Sodas - H-Mart 

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!

I Chews You! - Korean Pokemon Candies

Pokemon XYZ Crown MyChew Fruit Chews - H-Mart

Howdy, strangers! 

I apologize for my sporadic updates. (Or lack there of.) Life just keeps throwing me curve balls. (Says the food blogger with very limited knowledge of sports.) Anyways, quick life update: I started a new job last week! It's kind of food related, and a lot closer to home, which means I gain an hour and a half of my life back every single day. Yay!

Once I settle in to my new routine I plan on dedicating that hour and a half to the blog so I can finally get back to posting daily. Which will be extra awesome because my food hoarding problem is only getting worse. (I'm one box-full-o'-food away from Hoarders banging down my door.) So, let's knock out some candy!

Tea π Peach Oolong Tea - Asian Food Markets

Tea π Peach Oolong Tea - Asian Food Markets $1.79

First off, hello to anyone stopping by after my food tasting and discussion at the Cherry Hill Public Library, and welcome to the blog!

If you don't know what I'm talking about, a few days ago I posted an event on facebook stating that I'd be doing a small panel at the local library's comic-con, highlighting Asian snacks, sweets, and the local markets where you can find them. (Like those DBZ cheese puffs, or those bakeable Kit-Kats.) 

If you were wondering what I was sipping on during the discussion, it was this: Chinese Peach Oolong Tea! I picked it up a the Asian Food Market just last week. The labeling caught my eye thanks to it's bold, flat, illustrations and if you turn it over, there's even an adorable little wiener dog! (Check him out under the cut.)

Fleche White Peach Gummies - Asian Food Market

Fleche White Peach Gummies - Asian Food Market 

It's good to be back! 

I rely so heavily on my computer that when something goes wrong it feels like my whole life falls apart. I need it for my design work, for blogging, for video editing, for emails...it practically IS my life. (Is that sad?) I may or may not have had a mini-crisis over it this weekend. Thankfully, my PC is back in working order, all my programs are functioning, and I re-made all my custom Photoshop brushes. Now, let's get back to business and celebrate this awesome news with some beautifully packaged gummy candies! 

Snackbusters: 3 Different Tic Tac Reviews in one post!

If there's something weird
And it don't look good
Who you gonna call
Snackbusters!

Remember how I said this wasn't going to be a thing? It might not be a permanent addition to my blog line-up, but it's an awesome way for me to bust through similar products in my stash, so I'm doing it again! This time I've got three different flavors of Tic Tacs.

My friends and family have been buying me these flavors as gifts, because they haven't been on the blog yet, but really...they've been in my food stash all along. So I figured I better get these posted ASAP before I drown in Tic Tacs!

Teddy Pop - Asian Food Market

Teddy Pop - Asian Food Market

Happy Saint Patrick's Day everyone! (Well the few minutes left of it anyway.) The last two years I went all out and cooked up some fancy holiday-themed recipes, but...it's Thursday night and it's been a very long work week. I am barely sane as it is, so I'll be typing up a few reviews for some green colored packages in my food stash instead. It's win-win! You guys get multiple posts on the blog, and I clear out a tiny corner of my food haul. First up, something I've been looking forward to for months, Teddy Pop! (Plus this is not only green but RAINBOW themed. If that's not festive, I don't know what is.) 

Hello Kitty Gummy Candy - Sun Seng Market

Hello Kitty Gummy Candy - Sun Seng Market

I think we all recognize this iconic little kitty. (Although she's apparently a little girl?) Cat, human, whatever she may be, she's been around for 40 years and even though this isn't specifically Valentine's Day themed, it's pink and red with hearts, so what better time to review it than now?

This is a novelty product, so the main selling point is the packaging. They want to sucker us all in with that iconic Sanrio-cuteness, and you know what? It totally works. (It got me and I'm not even a big Hello Kitty fan.) We have a bunch of adorable Hello Kitty illustrations scattered on a resealable foiled plastic pouch containing a small amount of candy. It's adorable, collectible, and the gummies themselves are shaped like Hello Kitty's iconic bow so you get a double whammy of cuteness.

Speaking of the bow shaped gummies, they're really cute, but they have this weird edible-glitter-like coating that I don't understand. Is it intentional? Or are these coated ina little too much food-grade wax? It's kind of neat, like they're coated in clear glitter, but these could just be old or something. I can't really tell.

Inside there are two flavors:

Peach (translucent pink): Once you get through the weird waxy coating, the gummi tastes very sweet and mild. It's a bit on the floral side of things, but it tastes a lot more realistic than other peach flavored candies I've had in the past. (I still think the Kasugai gummies are better, but there aren't half bad.) It's enjoyable, and not bad for a novelty product, but I know I can get better peach flavored gummies elsewhere.

Apple (translucent redish-peach): Again, once you get through that weird waxy outside, the flavoring is pretty nice. These apple gummies are tangy and more concentrated than the peach, and it's almost like they took apple juice concentrate and turned it into a gummy candy. I like this one more than the other, but you don't get that many in this bag, and it's pretty pricey, but this flavor is on-par with Kasugai's.

This is a really cute novelty product for fans of Hello Kitty, and the flavoring is more authentic than a lot of gummies on the American market, but the portion size is really small and these are pretty expensive. If you're looking for delicious fruity gummies to snack on, and you want to spend a little money, I suggest getting Kasugai ones instead. However, if you're looking for an edible gift for a Sanrio fan, these are pretty gppd for a novelty product and I don't think anyone would dislike them.

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net
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PEZ Hedz Bearz - Dollar Tree - Cherry Hill, NJ

PEZ Hedz Bearz - Dollar Tree - Cherry Hill, NJ

Looking at this item, it's packaging, and the flavor variety, my gut told me, "do not buy it." I went months without ever seeing this on the shelves, and yet, here we are.

When I was buying some other items for our Candyology101 podcast, I saw this hanging in the candy aisle at Dollar Tree, and after passing it by a few times, I finally decided to give it the benefit of a doubt. Maybe my original assumptions were wrong and this will turn out to be a miraculously awesome candy. It's happened before, but today is not one of those days.

Limited Edition Peach SweetTea Yogurt - Walmart: Berlin, NJ

Limited Edition Peach SweetTea Yogurt - Walmart: Berlin, NJ

It may be considered "limited edition," but this yogurt has (supposedly) been available for 3 months. I've been trying to track it down, and just when I stopped looking, I found two little containers at Walmart while I was buying a Spider-Man gift-bag of all things. (Yay for random foodie finds!)