Sippin' on Some Snow Pear, Banging on a Street Light! - Quickie Review

Tropicana Snow Pear Juice - Asian Food Markets

After going to the doctor for the first time in five years....I've been trying to get a little healthier. Don't worry, if I ever do get back to regular blogging (which I really really want to do), I won't be getting all health-foodie on you guys. I just need to start taking better care of myself. Ah, the joys of adulthood. 

I lost 14 lbs. of body weight...and gained 14 lbs. of Pomeranian. Meet Pepper! Jack-Jack's new little brother who we adopted a few weeks ago! 

So, all of my pants don't fit, I have a new pup, my day job has been crazy busy, my tomato plants are sprouting, our Chinchilla is getting more and more snuggly, and I bought a butt-load of cool drinks from the Asian Food Market. That pretty much catches you up on my life, so let's crack open some of these bottles and do some quickie reviews!

Cute Packaging AND Pear flavored candy? SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!

Pop Candy Peko Chan Lollipops (Pear Flavor) -  Asian Food Market $3.99

Peko chan is back with more lollipop flavors! Well, just one new flavor, but it's an interesting one! 

Last year I reviewed the insanely adorable Halloween version of these lollipops which included the standard grape, strawberry, and orange flavored candies which are also included in this bag. To see my thoughts on the original fruity trio, check out last year's review. This time around I'm only going to focus on the new, green-colored flavor addition: Pear!

Cauldron Skittles - Target Halloween $2.49

Cauldron Skittles - Target Halloween $2.49

It's finally Halloween! I'm going to savor every delicious moment of it. I've got a bunch of written posts going up throughout the day and 3 different YouTube video reviews! So be sure to check back periodically to see what spooky goodies I've scrounged up. 

It's like Trick-or-Treating, but online, and none of you get to eat the candy. Actually, two of you can! I have my giveaway going on from now until 11:59PM TONIGHT (10/31/16.) On November 2nd I'll announce the winners, so be sure to enter, you've still got time left! 

While you're busy entering the contest, I'm going to start munching on some spooky seasonal Skittles. 

Asian Pear & Ginger Kombucha - Aldi

Asian Pear & Ginger Kombucha - Aldi

Has it really been a few weeks since I've reviewed an Aldi item? Time to fix that! 

A year ago Aldi sold these Kombucha Wonder Drinks and I reviewed the black cherry version. It was pretty good, not great, but much better than I was expecting a fermented tea to taste and I easily finished off the bottle. Since then, kombucha's popularity has grown and it's become pretty mainstream. You can now buy several flavors of kombucha at one-stop convenience stores like Walmart and Target! Since I didn't quite fall in love with my first bottle I decided to grab another to see if a different flavor could win me over. (And see if I can better understand the overall appeal of this fermented food and beverage trend.)  

Good & Delish Dark & Sinful Pear & Almond - Walgreen's: Pennsauken, NJ

Good & Delish Dark & Sinful Pear & Almond  - Walgreen's: Pennsauken, NJ

If you've listened to our most recent Candyology101 podcast, you'll recognize this bar from my rants and ramblings about store-branded candy. Way back in July, I bought and reviewed THIS pear and almond bar from whole foods, which was a store-branded item, and I thought it was really delicious. Even though I liked it a lot, I rarely shop at Whole Foods because things can get pretty expensive, and it's a bit out of my way, so I hadn't had another bar since.

Flash forward to winter's ever awesome cold and flu season. I was at Walgreens picking up my cold medication and I noticed the same flavor combination was being offered in their Good & Delish candy bar line. Could these be the same bars? The Walgreen's version was really affordable, and I figured I deserved a little treat since I was sick, so I picked it up. Oddly enough we decided that our theme for the most recent podcast would be store brands, so this worked out awesomely. I know I already talked about it in the podcast, but I figured this item was worthy of it's own post.

Pomegranate & Pear Jelly Fruit Slices Part 3 - The Fudge Factory: Wildwood, NJ

Pomegranate & Pear Jelly Fruit Slices Part 3 - The Fudge Factory: Wildwood, NJ

Here's the last if my Jelly Fruit Slices! Check out the citrus flavors Here, and the exotic Chili Mango and Pineapples ones Here.

So far, the Chili Mango and Pink Grapefruit were the best of the bunch and I plan on buying more of them next season, but will either (or both) of these flavors make their way onto my re-buy list?  I guess we'll find out!

I don't think I ever blogged about it but, a few years ago, I was quite obsessed with Pomegranates. I'd buy pomegranate candies, juices, and anything else I could get my hands on. The last few years my fruity obsession has shifted to bananas, but I love the tangy flavoring of this ruby-red fruit. I've never seen this flavor offered in jellied-slice form, so I have high hopes for this candy.

The candy slice has a ruby-red rind with a tiny bit of the white candy pith-like coating separating the two layers.  The white portion for this flavor is no where near as thick as the one on the Grapefruit slices, but it's still visible, and the center is a extremely dark berry color. Just like the Pineapple slices, the candy doesn't have any distinctive scent.

I took a bite, and while the texture is the same as the rest of the fruit slices, this specific flavor is impressively rich and very different from any of the other slices I've reviewed. While this is way too sweet to ever be mistaken for a real pomegranate, the fruity flavoring for this candy is rich and berry-like, almost as if pomegranate juice was reduced into an insanely sugary syrup. There is a hint of some tangy and slightly acidic fruity flavoring towards the end, which is really enjoyable and slightly authentic, but I wouldn't say that this fruit slice really tasted like actual pomegranates. Even so, the richness of this candy did leave me wanting more, so I think this will be re-buy-worthy next summer.

Last, but not least, Pear!

The pear slice is a bit different from the others. The center "fruit" portion is a milky opaque color, so it really stands out from the rest of the candies in my bag. To be honest, I'm not sure if this flavor has a layer of white confection or not. I'd assume it does because all of the other flavors had it, but I can't really see it against the milky pear-flavored filling.

I might be crazy, but this flavor felt like it had a much softer bite than the others. Maybe whatever makes the candy opaque also makes it softer? A far as the flavoring goes, this was pretty intense. It started out with intense sweetness of the gritty sanding sugar coating, but once the white jellied candy hits your tongue it's rather tangy. To me the flavoring is like a mixture of Granny Smith apple and Goya Pear nectar. It's really sweet, there is some green-apple-like tartness, and throat burningly sweet pear-y aftertaste. Again, this doesn't taste like biting into a real pear, but as far as jellied fruit slices go, it was really different from everything else I purchased. At first I wasn't sure how I felt about it, but I was actually pretty sad when I finished my two little pear slices. I might order one or two of these slices next summer, but I don't think I could see myself ever wanting a bag of this flavor exclusively.

Both of these flavors were really interesting and different, and while I enjoyed the variety, I may only buy 1-2 slices each next summer. I still feel like the Grapefruit and Chili Mango slices are definite re-buys, and I plan on getting a full bag of those next summer to share with friends and family. If you're ever in the Wildwood Area, stop by The Fudge Factory and check out their impressive fruit slice variety. Check out the photo above to see the rest of their fruity flavors that I didn't review!

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

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Dark Chocolate Pear & Almond Bar - Whole Foods: Marlton, NJ

Dark Chocolate Pear & Almond Bar - Whole Foods: Marlton, NJ

Unlike my last post, this was a food item that I was really looking forward to.

Pears are one of my favorite fruits and it's very rare to see them used in American candies, let alone mixed up in a dark chocolate bar. (Which is my favorite type of chocolate. The darker the better!)  Even though all of the the ingredients sounded really appealing, my track record with items from Whole Foods has been very hit or miss. Maybe this item will tip the scales in their favor?

Want some Jelly Slugs? (Quickie Review)

Jelly Slugs- Gift (Quickie Review)

Another little gift from my boyfriend. This time it's a bag of little Jelly Slugs, just like the ones in Harry Potter!

I always enjoyed the Harry Potter movies, I have all of them in my movie collection and it was tradition for my sister and I to see them in theaters, but I didn't start reading the books until they were a part of one of my college courses. Now, I get to try some of the candies!

bai 5, Congo Pear - Wegman's: Cherry Hill, NJ

bai 5, Congo Pear - Wegman's: Cherry Hill, NJ

Why did I do this to myself?

After finally working my way though all of those sugar free Sparkiling Ice drinks a few months ago, and suffering from vertigo for the first time ever in my life (I am fairly sure the drinks were involved although I can't prove anything), I buy another sugar free beverage. In this case, this beverage uses erythritol, which is supposedly better for me than sucralose, but on top of that this is made with the fruit from the coffee plant. Coffee and me are not best friends.

I'm so sorry body. I don't why I am doing this to you. (I don't want to waste money and I'm cheap.)

Pear Soda - Franklin Fountain : Philadelphia, PA

Pear Soda - Franklin Fountain : Philadelphia, PA

Back when my friends Brian and Kevin took me to The Fountain for ice cream, I picked up two bottled-sodas. (A Jersey-cream and this Pear Soda.)

The bottle is made of brown-tinted glass and it is short and stocky when compared to the other beverages in my fridge. The label design is quite modern and minimalistic. I like the contrast of the modern design against a vintage looking bottle. However I am not a fan of the HOTLIPS logo, lipstick-print designs always bother me.