Let's check it out and see if I should take the plunge.
I love Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts, and I am lucky enough to have one relatively close to where I live, so I am very familiar with how they taste, but I find that they are more of a textural experience than a flavor one. They're sweet, doughy, and when they're warm, they melt in your mouth. I could eat a full dozen right now and not think twice. But, can popcorn deliver the same experience?
Mexican Street Corn Cheetos - 7-Eleven
When I heard Cheetos was coming out with this particular flavor, I was pretty excited, but still cautious. If you've been reading the blog for a while, you might remember that flavored Cheetos don't have the best track record. To be fair, most of the Cheeto flavors I have tried came from overseas, more specifically, Korea, and every flavor has been far sweeter than I prefer. (It's a toss-up between a savory snack food seasonings and a sugary cereal. I was not a fan.)
Black Bean Paste, Honey Cheese, Smoky BBQ and White Corn Soup, all flavors I was happy to try once, but never wanted to buy again. And they all came in full-size bags. So given the option this time around to choose a snacking size or a full size, I opted for the small single serving bag before committing to anything larger.
If you're eating something Italian, and it's delicious, it's usually thanks to garlic and parmesan. This dynamic flavor duo is responsible for some of the most delicious things in the world, pasta, pizza, and best of all, garlic bread.
So, when Cheesy Garlic Bread won Lay's Do Us a Flavor contest when it was first introduced, I wasn't surprised. What did surprise me, however, is how quickly that new "permanent" flavor of chips would disappear. A year or two and they were no where to be found. Then, a few years later, a dupe would start rotating as a special buy item at Aldi, and then at Lidl, and now here? Well these aren't officially marketing themselves as "garlic bread," so that might not be a fair assessment, but...isn't it close enough?
Will these taste like kettle-style garlic bread?
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!
Planter's Original Cheez Balls - CVS
Historically I'm very picky when it comes to cheese-based snacks. I like crunchy-style Cheetos, but only the Cheeto's brand version. (Love you Aldi, but your "Cheetos" are sad.) I don't like Cheese Curls, or Cheddar Fries, or Nacho Cheese Doritos. (I'm a Cool-Ranch girl through-and-through with a side of Spicy Sweet Chili.) So I only really like Crunchy Cheetos and White Cheddar Smartfood Popcorn. And yet, I just couldn't ignore this tiny can of retro Cheez Balls at CVS.
I remember eating cheese balls out of a similar container as a little kid, like single-digit-age-young, and I think it was this brand? I'm not entirely sure because it was so long ago, but something about the retro feel and the pseudo-nostalgia just won me over. (It didn't hurt they they were tiny, cute, and cheap either.) Into my cart they went!
Have any one you seen a real-life Pop-Tart that looked anything like the picture on the front of the box?
It seems that both Pop-Tarts and fast food burgers never look anything like their advertisements. Here we have perfect icing and giant sprinkles on the outside of the box which look amazing, but inside...
I blink, and Oreo releases a boatload of newabominationsflavors.
I was going to ignore them (since I suck at blogging and all) but I had to run to target today to grab some ice cream sandwiches for my boyfriend. (It's a long story, but the short version is, Aldi was sold out.) I walk into Target, all determined to run to the freezer aisle, grab the sandwiches, and get our before my groceries in the car melt...and there it is.
A big ol' display with all three of the newest releases front and center. Their calorie-crushing siren song worked, and my 60 day diet has officially been drowned, but hey! I'm blogging again! (Woo!)
So let's find out if these gimmicky contest cookies are worth the calories!
A few years back, Aldi (as a company) bought out a rival low-budget grocery chain, Bottom Dollar Food. Both businesses were known for their low prices, but Bottom Dollar was known for having name brand items, while Aldi was no-frills and store-brand. Since the buy-out, brand-name products have slowly been popping up at Aldi, but...it's mostly breakfast stuff. Even weirder, Aldi gets all the holiday-specific releases, like these Pop-Tarts.
I used to buy a box of Pop-Tarts here or there when new flavors were released just for my own curiosity/blogging purposes, but now? I have a whole new appreciation for them.
My sister is an experienced extra-toasty-Cheez-It-hunter, and since I've been so busy with house related stuff, I asked her to help me out by writing this guest review. Will these toasty little squares meet her extra-toasty expectations?
I see that on this box of Cheez-Its, it's noted that this extra toasty variety is their #1 requested flavor. I am unsurprised. While I have never submitted any formal flavor requests, I've spent many years sifting through bags inside of boxes, all in the hopes of encountering the rare and elusive toastiest of Cheez-Its. I had even considered toasting them in a toaster oven myself. Perhaps those days are over. Maria – Santa Maria (gratia plena) of Sometimes Foodie – has blessed me with this box of special, extra toasty Cheez-Its.
I had heard about these special Cheez-Its, and I've been wanting to try them for a while. It's well known in my family that I covet the extra dark Cheez-Its, so Maria hooked me up knowing my expectations were high. Right before she opened the package to take photos, she asked me how I'd feel if I was disappointed by a product that had appealed to me so strongly. Nonsense! How could I be?
Back in June of 2016 I reviewed the Reese's version of this snack Mix and now, EIGHT months later, I've finally gotten around to the Hershey's version. (At this rate I'll review the other candy-bar-themed mixes within the next 5 years.) Anyway, when I reviewed the Reese's version I wasn't sure if I'd ever buy it again and nearly a year later, and I haven't!
Maybe the Hershey's version will be a better flavor for me. Let's hope so, because I foolishly bought a big ol' box of this from BJ's because I had a coupon. (And I'm a sucker for a bargain.)
Three Colors. Crunch Ball. When I saw this adorable pastel and pink package at H-mart picking it up was a no-brainer.
I picked up this bag at H-mart and to be honest, I initially had no idea what this was. The images made them look like some kind of flattened potato, but they seemed to be some kind of flavored rice cracker. Since the package was so colorful, and they were celebrating a 25th anniversary of...well, something, I decided to give it a try. (Full disclosure, the weird little illustrated characters on the package was the true deciding factor.)
I haven't reviewed a jerky product since that uncured Srircha Bacon version from Trader Joe's in May of 2015! Over a year without jerky, can you believe it?
My eating preferences have always leaned more towards the veggie side, but even though I'm dating a vegetarian, I'm still an omnivore who LOVES chicken wings, bacon, and jerky. A while ago Aldi had these fancy flavored jerky bags in their Special Buy section and since I was craving jerky, I bought all three bags. Time to break my year-long jerky-drought with some "Artisan" Fusion Jerky!
Two (somewhat) healthy Aldi reviews in a row?! Well, after Aldi's lack luster ranch flavored kale chips (more like kale croutons) I figured they deserved a chance to redeem themselves. Plus, my immune system failed me this week so I've got I the flu. Missing out on all that sunshine and nice weather while hiding under a pile of blankets and binge watching The X-Files has made me want to eat healthier in an effort to speed up my recovery. It's likely a dietary placebo to make me think I'll get better faster, but who know? Eating a little bit healthier couldn't hurt, right? Bring on the chips!
My little sister loved Goldfish crackers growing up, but I was more of a Cheez-it or Cheese Nip kind of girl. Honestly, I always felt like Goldfish were a blander, fish-shaped, version of the cheesy square-crackers I loved, and that they were meant for little kids, so I didn't really give them the time of day, until they started coming out with all of these new flavors.
There's been cheeseburger flavored fish, vanilla cupcake, french toast, and even more mature cheese flavors. The list is ever growing. It's nice to see this company trying new things to keep up with all the other food products out there, and even though I was never a Goldfish fan, the foodie in me just couldn't resist the allure of these new fancy flavors. I've always had a thing for flavored pretzel pieces, like Snyders, so I figured, why not give this new cracker and pretzel flavor combination a try?
Valentine's Day is officially one week away! I'm sticking to my original goal of reviewing everything in my foodie stash that is related to this lovey dovey holiday before February 14th, but I don't want to flood your feeds with all things pink and heart-shaped. We still need some variety, and there's no shortage of goodies in my food stash, so I figured I'd toss a few of these shorter savory reviews into the mix.
These Poppin' Jalapeño flavored Doritos are a re-released product, so they're not entirely new, but they're new to me since I've never had them before. As a lover of spicy snack foods, and a food blogger, I felt it was my duty to try these before they disappeared back into the limited edition foodie abyss.
My last two reviews were candy bars from the same store, which were both delicious, but repetition can get a bit boring, and now for something completely different: Hot Chilli Squid flavored seaweed strips! (Try saying that three times fast!)
Is quinoa still healthy if it's coated in chocolate? No? Well this is dark chocolate, and there's blueberries in there too, so I'm going to call this health food anyway. Plus it was on the clearance rack, so I saved money on it to boot! Win-win!
Whenever I'm at Target I look at the clearance grocery section because...I'm cheap! (Hey, don't judge! I'm a daily food blogger with a full time job, a delicate injury-prone Pomeranian, and a smashed car to deal with. I gotta pinch those pennies!) That little clearance shelf is home to all kinds of unique goodies, I got those avocado oil chips, that amazing India-style meal kit, and a few pumpkin spiced items. Every single one of those products were great, and I got them for less than their original price. So just because it's on clearance, doesn't mean it's not worth checking out. Let's see if this is another successful clearance rack venture!
