PINK, it's like red but not quite - Pink Lemonade Creme Cookies

Pink Lemonade Creme Cookies - Aldi

How will they compare to the Lime? Let's jump right in and find out! 

To Graham, or not to Graham - Aldi Key Lime Creme Cookies

My dogs made writing tonight's post nearly impossible. Between them wanting to be on my lap, off my lap, pawing at my hands while typing, randomly licking my feet, running around my chair, and generally begging for attention at all times...I nearly gave up. I love them to death. They're my babies, but they're not the teeny tiny lap dogs they think they are. Typing over their fluffy 12-14lb bodies as they practically vibrate in my lap is no easy task. I finally got the dog stroller out, popped Pepper inside (the worst offender) and parked him next to me like you would a baby in a bassinette. 

If this post makes little to no sense, just know, I tried. 

Once a loyal Aldi-shopper, I've since turned to the Lidl-side. It's just more convenient. Lidl opened a new location that is on my way home from work without having to deal with any highways or traffic, so I can quickly run my post-work-errands, and get back home to walk my needy pups. It's great, but there are a few Aldi staples that make it worth the trip. 

Like the knock-off novelty Oreos. (I also think Aldi's milk, heavy cream, and butter are better, for the record.) I just picked these up, and already there is a newer flavor available, Pink Lemonade, which I also grabbed. So expect to see them next week. (I wanted to post them together, but I am barely making it through typing this post, so Pink Lemonade will get it's own write-up.) 

Oreo released a few lime variations in the past, Limeade, Shure Bert, and Key Lime Pie...and these are looking pretty Key-Lime-Pie-y. I'd say that's the cookie they were looking to dupe, and so far, it seems spot on. 

Sprite Lymonade Legacy

Sprite Lymonade Legacy - Walgreens

Sprite has released a new limited edition soda celebrating 50 years of Hip-Hop. It's Lemon-Lime, Strawberry, and Lemonade flavored, which is a little tricky to say, and awkward to type, but it sounds great for summer. I'm excited to get sippin'!

Dots: Summer Edition

Watermelon Dots - Dollar Tree 

Last fall, I surprised myself with how much I enjoyed Ghost Dots. The Halloween variation contains the classic year-round flavors, but every candy is the same shade of looks-like-it-glows-in-the-dark green. (They don't actually glow, FYI.) The novelty of the Halloween version is you don't know which flavor you are going to get because they all look the same. 

In snacking, I would classify myself as a hunter-picker. I seek out what I want, leaving my least favorites (usually orange or grape in most mixes) for last. Or I meticulously make the rounds until everything is even and then choose the least favorites to go first so I can savor my favorites last. (Not sure if that is a normal thing.) Long story short, I couldn't do that with Ghost Dots, but I liked it. I really liked it. Even though I was never a massive Dots fan, I went out of my way to buy several Ghost boxes before they disappeared for the season. But my supply ran out, and normal Dots just don't appeal to me, so I decided to try this summery version instead. 

And this is kind of similar in a way. They all look the same....because they are the same. This entire box is just watermelon flavored, and I have never had Dots' take on Watermelon, so let's home I like it! 

"It's as if a standard sour cream and onion chip took a trip down the condiment aisle"

Lay's Wavy Cuban Sandwich (Limited Time Flavor) - Walmart

In college, I worked at Panera Bread, and it was awesome. Mainly because of our epic work-family, (imagine a soup and sandwich version of Empire Records), but the food was pretty great too. I still eat there today, (which is something I can't say for another food-related job I had as a teen). Panera will always hold a special place in my heart, and my stomach. I like to recreate stuff in my kitchen all the time. Especially the older discontinued stuff, like their Cuban chicken panini. 

Americanized as it was, it was my first experience with the sandwich, and I loved it. The Panera take had focaccia bread, sweet and spicy pickle chips (closest I have found are the horse radish pickle chips from Aldi),  ham, chicken, tomato-based-whole-grain-mustard, chipotle mayo and swiss cheese, all toasted in the panini press. It is a pretty far cry from a legit Cuban sandwich, but I didn't know that back then. 

A legit Cuban has: ham, roasted pork (not chicken), salami, swiss cheese, mustard and pickles. Which looks like what this chip flavor is based on. The real deal. So, which take will taste more legit? My bastardized Panera sandwich of choice, or these chips? 

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? 

Summer 2022's Watermelon-flavored Death Rattle

This time of year is bittersweet for a summer-loving Halloween-obsessed nerd like me. I'm excited for pumpkins and skulls and horror movies, but I'm not ready to let go of the long days, sunny weather, and summer treats just yet. Thankfully, it's not over yet. I'll cling to summer just a bit longer with this watermelon cotton candy.

Watermelon-Jerky-High! (with a jelly chaser)

Watermelon Jerky - Trader Joe's  

A few years ago, What's Good at Trader Joe's posted about Watermelon Jerky. It sounded interesting, but at the time I didn't have a Trader Joe's near me. (I used to go to one near work,  but then I switched jobs.) So I lived vicariously through their blog. Making mental notes. 

Then one finally opened up near me...and it's a nightmare. It's constantly packed, just looking at the parking lot stresses me out. So, I still don't go there. But, we had a family gathering coming up and we have several members with food allergies, so I used it as a reason to brave the crowd and get some goodies. 

Sadly, my location didn't have the pickle seasoning, or the pickle peanuts I wanted, but they did have the tamarind sauce, brown sugar oat milk coffee creamer, the caramelized onion cheddar (I adore), watermelon jelly, and watermelon jerky. So let's give this jerky a try first! 

Oops, I did it Again - I bought $85.00 Worth of Ice Cream

Salt & Straw Summer Picnic Series (5 Flavors)

Salt & Straw ice cream flavors always sound fantastic, but I try not to buy food online because it's expensive. Then, last fall, their Thanksgiving themed 5-pack was just too intriguing to resist. I treated myself to 5 pints of ice cream for $85.00. A pricey payout, BUT every single flavor was amazing and it taught me that cranberry sauce is criminally underused in the ice cream world. 

I was so happy with all 5 of those flavors, that when I saw a similarly intriguing summer picnic themed drop, I did it again. I spent another $85.00 on 5 pints of ice cream. 

This time the flavors are: Pink Rose & Watermelon Sorbet, Baked Brie & Fig Cheesecake, Chocolate Nocino Cherry Pie, (plus the two I am most excited about) Cinnamon & Honey Fried Chicken, and Deviled Egg Custard with Smoked Black Tea. 

Innovation is where Salt & Straw really shines. I loved the combination of salty turkey bacon and tangy cranberry sauce mixed with ice cream, so I am very excited to see if the fried chicken flavor will be equally delicious.  

Triple Sweat, I Mean Threat - 3 Lay's Summer Flavors

Lay's Summer Potato Chips (3-Flavors) 

If any of you have been walking down the junk food aisle lately, you'll know Lay's has been quite busy. It released these three flavors for summer, and it just released three more wacky junk food mash-up flavors, Cheetos, Funyuns, and Cool Ranch Doritos, but in potato-chip form. I've been on the lookout for the latter three, but haven't had any luck yet, so I settled for the original summer release trio. We have Summer BLT, Wavy Jerk Chicken, and Chile Mango.  

I figured I better hurry up and review these, since it's August and all. But it's still summer so I'm not too late! 

A Trio of Summer Flavors - Krispy Kreme Carnival

Krispy Kreme Carnival Flavors 2021

Some days I come home, make a low calorie meal, walk my dogs, and then pat myself on the back for making good, healthy, life choices. Other days I eat 4.5 carnival themed doughnuts in one night, slap together a video review, and then lay on the couch munching on carrots while it renders at 1am. It's all about balance. 

Speaking of balance, I want to applaud Krispy Kreme for leaving the "c" in Carnival and not opting for a "K" to stay on-brand. 'Cause that's...that's just too many "k's." They knew it, and I knew it, so nobody went there and I am thankful for that. Kudos. 

These carnival themed doughnuts are available as of yesterday (July 19th) until August 8th. Normally I am way behind on trends, and my food hunting days are pretty much over, but when there is a Krispy Kreme right next to the train you take for work and candyhunting posts that these just dropped...it's a sign. So, if you haven't already watched the video I posted on Tuesday, let's jump into some more in-depth reviews and photos! 

Carnival Kreme

 

I'll be posting a full typed review of the donuts, with close-up photos, tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy the video!

Keep Up with My Adventures on Social Media!

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. 

2 Watermelon Kombuchas - Battle of the "Booch"

GT Watermelon Wonder and Lidl's Organic Spring Fling Kombucha  - from Lidl

I live for the summer, but I also adore Halloween, so I find myself feeling very conflicted when the season starts to change, and it's hitting me harder this year than ever before. On one hand, the days get shorter, and the temperature drops, so no more sun and tank tops, but there's Halloween candy and spooky decor to look forward to, which warms my black little heart. 

Why can't there be a real Summerween, like in Gravity Falls? It's like it was custom made for me!

Anyway, I spotted these watermelon themed kombucha flavors at Lidl and thought they would be a fun foodie send off for the dumpster-fire that was summer 2020.

You Put The Lemon in the Coconut? - Coconut Lemonade

LemonCocco  - McFarlan's Market $2.29

A few years ago, I was lucky enough to accompany my mom on a trip to Rome. We saw coliseums, churches, and museums. You know what we didn't see? LemonCocco. 

Now, I'm not calling this beverage a liar, but...it's a liar. The text on the can claims that LemonCocco is THE drink in Rome with coconut and lemon vendors lining the streets, and unless this is some kind of recent development, I call BS declare shenanigans. 

To be fair, pretty much all food items puff up their chests and make these bold declarations to drum up buzz and business, so I can't really fault them for that. (Just like every pizza place claims they have the "best pizza in <insert area here>," or were "voted best in <random publication>.") I can't exactly fly out to Rome and search for street vendors to see if their claims are true, but what I CAN do is see if this drink is any good.

Funnel Cake Flavored Snack Balls: Because Everything is Better Ball Shaped?

Herr's Funnel Cake Flavored Snack Balls - Ollie's Bargain Outlet

No need to worry! These might be expired NOW, but they weren't back when I ate them. 

These pictures and notes were taken from November 4th. I actually have a bunch of half-started posts from the last few months I'll be finishing up, so keep that in mind before turning me over to the botulism police. 

Have you guys every been to Ollie's Bargain Outlet? Ollie's buys up all kinds of off-season stock (most recently all the leftover Toys R' Us) but they also get tons of junk food. I joke that it is where limited edition food goes to die, but it IS where limited edition food goes to die. The food related aisles are a seasonal graveyard. We're talking limited edition cereals, seasonal flavored Pop-Tarts, and quirky treats that maybe didn't do so well in grocery stores at full price, like these Funnel Cake Balls. 

Are You PURERAL? Sour Watermelon Gummies from Kabaya

Pureral Sour Gummy Candy (Watermelon flavor) -  H-Mart

Pureral? Sounds like an off-brand hand sanitizer, and as I type this my web browser keeps trying to autocorrect it into "Puberal," which, is hilarious. It's not a name that easily rolls off the tongue, but hopefully the candy inside is more appetizing. 

A week ago I planned on making DIY Poke/Sushi bowls for dinner, so I stopped at H-Mart to grab a few last-minute ingredients and one does not simply go to H-Mart without checking out the candy section. (You can't see it, but I am doing the Sean Bean hand thing. #oldmemeisold) Surprisingly, I didn't see anything new or interesting. Have I finally exhausted all that the H-Mart candy aisle has to offer? 

It took a bit of digging, but I spotted a few flavors of these Pureral gummies on a lower shelf which look like a variation of the PURE gummy candies I've had before, but now they're sour, and cube-shaped, with a filling! Of the flavors available (which were grape and some other safe-fruit flavoring I can't remember), watermelon sounded the most appealing, so...here we are!

The Best Redbull flavor ever?

Grapefruit Twist Redbull (Summer Edition) - Wawa, $2.50 (2 for $5 deal)

Grapefruit Diet (Diet!)
Throw out the pizza and beer
Grapefruit Diet (Diet!)
Oh, get those jelly donuts out of here

Thank the skincare gods, I am nearly free of poison sumac!

In case you missed the memo, about 60% of my body was effected by poison sumac after cleaning my yard last weekend. On the bright-side, I now know what sumac looks like and it's been ripped out (root & stem while wearing gloves) and thoroughly poisoned. (Fighting fire with fire! Suck it sumac!)

Now that I'm healing, I have a lot of catching up to do. It's time to call in the caffeine-cavalry. I rarely drink energy drinks, heck, I only drink coffee a handful of times a year, but desperate times call for desperate measures...actually my boyfriend has been on a Redbull kick and when he brought this home for himself I was so intrigued that I went out and got another one just to write this review. 

Blueberry Pancake Swirl Bread - Walmart

Blueberry Pancake Swirl Bread - Walmart

Limited Edition breads usually don't interest me.

Every single month Thomas's releases something seasonal, and even though they all sound yummy, I usually pass them by. Until now. When I was looking for some new Twinkies this limited edition flavor caught my eye. My boyfriend loves blueberries, and his daughter loves French toast, so this was too perfect a product to pass up.

Cotton Candy Twinkies - Walmart

Cotton Candy Twinkies - Walmart

Three reviews in a row! I'm finally getting back on my feet!

With Summer in full swing I figured there was no better time to review these Cotton Candy Twinkies.