Skip the scoop and have a Peep Instead?

Neapolitan Peeps - Target $1.66

The Peeps floodgates have opened! We have a ton of "new" Peep flavors hitting the shelves. Why did I put "new" in quotes? Well...most of them aren't really new. 

This season, we've got... 

• Kroger gets Pancakes & Syrup (One of last year's Mystery Flavors, unmasked & re-released) 
• All Grocery Stores are getting Sour Cherry (Another Mystery Flavor, unmasked & re-released)
• Cotton Candy Peeps (re-release, I saw them at Target, unsure if they're exclusive)
• Lemon and Orange Sherbet Peeps (Very similar to previous orange & lemon Delights)
• Walmart has the NEW trio of Mystery Peep Flavors - Actually New
• Target has filled Neapolitan and Triple Chocolate Delights - Also New 

In that sea of marshmallow chick-shaped sweets, there's a lot of old ideas being rehashed. In all honesty, I've always liked original Peeps (Especiaolly when they start to get a little stale), but a of of the fancier flavors they've released over the years just don't appeal to me. Especially the Delights line. That "fudge" dripped bottom is a waxy coating of lies. In what way is that fudge? 

Even though I am no fan of the "fudge dipped" delights, I couldn't pass up a filled peep, especially one with a Neapolitan flavor profile. All the new flavors we have seen over the years are great, but the combination of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry is timeless. If it's done right...

So, let's see if these are a real Delight, or a fake-fudge-failure.

Hot Lattes, Straight From The Toaster

Vanilla Latte Pop-Tarts - Walmart

I know these are old news, and no one cares anymore, but I'm cleaning out my pantry and I've got quite a few backlogged Pop-Tarts to review, so I'm going to do my best to knock them all out this week! First up, Dunkin' Donuts Vanilla Latte!

Mike and Ike Sundae Sweets - Jo Ann Fabric

Mike and Ike Sundae Sweets - Jo Ann Fabric

Did you know chinchillas like fleece? Neither did I!

Well, not until this June, anyway. That's when my boyfriend's daughter graduated and we got her a cuddly little chinchilla all her own. He's her baby, but seemingly overnight we've turned into crazy chinchilla people.

Segues are hard. 

So I'm at JoAnn fabrics, buying a few yards of fleece (which is on sale) to use in a chinchilla litter box (you know, totally normal food-blogger stuff) and this colorful package catches my eye. It's a cute box, and I like Mike and Ikes, but I LOVE all things banana. I figured I owed it to myself to check this out.

Flash forward to today, when I saw the very same box, a few cents cheaper, at The Dollar Tree. Kind of kicking myself, since I could have gotten it cheaper, but maybe it'll taste so good that I won't care anymore? Fingers crossed!

New Oreo Thin Flavors: Coconut & Salted Caramel

Coconut & Salted Caramel Oreo Thins- Walmart 

It's been a minute since my last post, and since then my household has gained: a chalkboard wall, an 18" deep trench around the pool, a friendly baby chinchilla, and a thriving cherry tomato plant. I've also (unfortunately) discovered and destroyed a bunch of poison ivy in the yard (after kneeling in it, oops.), and I've managed to dismantle a small chunk of my cardboard-castle-filled living room. Who knew I had so much stuff?! (And so few chinchillas.) 

So yeah, it's been quite the adventure, but it's a fun adventure, so let's celebrate some slim victories with some slim cookies!

Kiss of Fresh Air (Breath Freshener Sprays) - Gift

Kiss of Fresh Air Breath Freshener Sprays - Gift

After eating a bag of sugary sweet octopus balls, made with actual octopus extract, you might not want to have a conversation too close to me. When I'm at home I have plenty of opportunities to clean and re-fresh my breath, but when I'm at work, and I'm eating leftover wacky food-blog-stuff at my desk, I don't have the opportunity to brush my teeth before dealing with my clients face-to-face.

A while ago the people behind KISS of Fresh Air breath freshening spray sent me a message asking if I'd like to try their products, and I said, "Sure!" To be completely transparent, the company sent me this stuff for free, but this is not sponsored. I'm just a food blogger with octopus-breath trying some free breath-sprays and letting you know what I think of the flavors.

KISS' line-up includes a classic mint, but that's a breath freshening standard. We all know how that one's going to taste, so I rather talk about their wacky dessert-flavored sprays, like Raspberry Whipped Cream!

Aldi's Version of Ben & Jerry's? - Brookie Dough Ice Cream Pint

Brookie Dough Ice Cream Pint - Aldi

Aldi started offering pints of ice cream that look suspiciously like Ben & Jerry's, and it comes in three flavors: Brookie Dough, Make Fudge Not War, and Thank You Cherry Much...and they were only $1.99 each!?! Naturally I bought all three. First up, Brookie Dough!

Limited Edition (Ghostbusters) White Fudge Marshmallow Twinkies - Walmart

Limited Edition (Ghostbusters) White Fudge Marshmallow Twinkies - Walmart

Get ready for a nostalgic, fan-girl-ish, ranting-style review with tons of nostalgia! I know this meme has been done to death but...

Robin Williams ;_;

Having all this novelty Ghostbsuters stuff on the grocery shelves has made me so irrationally happy. I was just a kid in the late 80's, so the adult humor in the live action films was lost on me (although I still enjoyed them). It was The Real Ghostbusters animated series with silly side-kick Slimer, bizarre blonde-pompadour Egon, and Garfield-the-cat sounding Peter Venkman that sucked me into the fandom. I still have some of my action figures and ghastly plastic ghoulies in a storage bin in my attic.

I love this franchise and I happily purchased all the novelty Ghostbusters snacks I could find. I bought a 10-pack of the Ecto-Cooler juice boxes, some Key Lime Slime Twinkies, some Slimer and Marshmallow-man-shaped 'mallows and these Stay Puft-themed Twinkies. That's right, Twinkies released 2 novelty limited edition flavors! Why? Well...

Aldi Special Buy ALERT - Ice Cream!

@onsecondscoop @fyeahsundaes looks like #aldi has their own knock off Ben & Jerry's. Needless to say, I bought all 3! #Sometimesfoodie #icecream #aldigrocerystore #aldimarket

A photo posted by Sometimes Foodie (@sometimesfoodie) on Jun 14, 2016 at 3:29pm PDT

Jones Birthday Cake Soda - Rastelli Market

Jones Birthday Cake Soda - Rastelli Market 

Monday was my boyfriend's Birthday! (Yay!) 

I stopped by the Rastelli Market on my way home from work (which is a nifty higher-end grocery store, kind of like Whole Foods, but less pretentious) to get some fancy cupcakes from their bakery when this caught my eye.  

Just like Airhead's, who released a Birthday Cake flavored candy earlier this year, this was done to celebrate Jone's 20th anniversary. The timing couldn't have been more perfect! I grabbed a bottle of this stuff, along with my cupcakes, and excitedly drove home to celebrate.  

Crunchkins - Walmart

Crunchkins - Walmart 

 Okay, this is a (relatively) new candy product a lot of people were excited about, but I (sadly) was not one of them. 

From the second I saw the promo image for this product I felt like it was going to be a disappointment. Why? Look at those flavors! It seems like this is going to be another case of fancy flavor names that the product can't deliver. I mean, Birthday Cake and Fudge Brownie? Aren't those just fancy ways of saying "Chocolate" and "Vanilla?" But Glazed Donut? That one I wasn't sure about. My curiosity won out over my gut instinct. Lets see who was right, my gut, or my brain

Mike and Ike Root Beer Float - Dollar Tree

Mike and Ike Root Beer Float - Dollar Tree

Those Cotton Candy Mike and Ikes weren't alone, they were released with a matching faux-vintage box of Root Beer Float candies and I couldn't just review one without the other, could I? (Well I could, but I'd feel like a bad food blogger.) Besides, I like root beer and root beer flavored sweets. When I was little root beer flavored medicine was always my favorite and I loved eating those little root beer barrel shaped hard candies. As an adult I still like root beer, I just don't care for it in cookie form.

Fun Fact: Root beer is extremely unpopular in Japan! This post went viral on Tumblr, then it quickly spread all over the rest of the internet.

Image ©  Yuru Yuri San☆Hai  - Comment credited to nerdfighterwhatevernumbers

So it's pretty safe to say that these candies would be a flop in Japan, but what will I think of them?

Jamaican Irish Moss (Vanilla) - Asian Food Market

Jamaican Irish Moss (Vanilla) - Asian Food Market

If you're following Sometimes Foodie on Instagram, this might look familiar. I posted a photo of this can on Saint Patrick's Day, you know, cause it says "Irish Moss" and all, but I didn't get around to actually drinking it...until now! (To be honest, I was NOT ready for what was inside, and now even after finding out...I'm still not ready!)

Banana Twinkies - Walmart

Banana Twinkies - Walmart

I'm on the hunt for those Ghostbusters themed Key Lime Twinkies, but so far no luck. After checking my third Walmart I didn't want to leave empty handed, because it's not like a have a massive food backlog sitting at home waiting to be photographed and reviewed or anything... *cough**cough*, so why not grab a box of banana Twinkies while I was there? 

Twinkies are this huge pop culture phenomenon, being referenced in movies like Ghostbusters and Zombieland, but I've never been a fan. However, I do love banana (and Ghostbusters) so maybe I just haven't tried the right flavor yet. This could be the Twinkie to finally win me over to the processed snack cake side!

Birthday Cake Airhead - 7-Eleven

Birthday Cake Airhead - 7-Eleven

Today is my friend Karen's birthday, so why not celebrate by eating a cake flavored taffy and then describing it to a bunch of strangers on the internet? To top things off I'm not even sharing it with her! (Sorry Karen, but to be honest, I'm really skeptical about this flavor, so it sounds selfish, but I might be taking a cake-flavored bullet for you. You're welcome.) 

Big Slice Cherry Vanilla Kettle Cooked Apples - Target

Big Slice Cherry Vanilla Kettle Cooked Apples - Target

By now I think most of you have realized that I'm cheap frugal. I love shopping the clearance racks and Target tends to have a bunch of really interesting food products on their discount food end-cap. I've gotten awesome Avocado Oil Salt & Vinegar Chips, great Indian meal kits, and now...some kind of apple sauce packet? To be honest I'm not entirely sure if this is apple sauce, or some kind of pie filling, or how you're even supposed to eat it, but for $1.74? Why not find out?

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.

Tahitian Vanilla Caramels - Trader Joe's

Tahitian Vanilla Caramels - Trader Joe's

I absolutely loved the little bags of Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Mints. I've bought...I don't even know how many bags of them by this point. They are just so damn good! When I really like something I tend to stick with it and not stray, like my Bacon Turkey Bravo addiction at Panera, but sometimes sticking with what you know means you're missing out on something you could like even more. There are two other products available in these tiny portioned packets, so I figured I might as well give them a try to see if they are as equally addicting.

Hammond's Cupcake Caramel Marshmallow - Target

Hammond's Cupcake Caramel Marshmallow - Target

I'm a food blogger on a mission. The challenge: to review ALL of the Valentine's Day themed products in my stash BEFORE February 14th. Can I do it? (I sure hope so!)

To make things even more intense, and to (hopefully) put a massive dent in my overwhelming food stash, ALL of my PINK candies and sweets count as "Valentine's Day Candy." Which ups the ante quite a bit since I have a bunch of pink toned sweets from Japan, but I have faith in myself. Serves me right for hoarding stockpiling so much stuff. For today's seasonal sweet, I have two cupcake flavored Hammond's Caramel Marshmallows!

Cookies & Creme Cookie Butter - Trader Joe's

 Cookies & Creme Cookie Butter - Trader Joe's 

From this point on, reviews are back on schedule! (Hooray for consistency!) 

How are you surviving this winter weather? I live on the East Coast in America, and where I live I've been pretty lucky. We got about a foot and a half of snow over the weekend, but the weather has warmed up quite a bit and everything is (thankfully) melting away quickly. I was snowed in away from home, which meant being away from my desktop computer, so I didn't get to work on the blog, but if you follow me on Instagram you got to see a few of the things I munched on while hiding out indoors and avoiding shoveling. To prevent that from happening again, I'm looking into laptops so that I can more easily work on the blog when I'm on the go. I've always preferred desktops and I've never had a laptop computer before, so do any of you have laptop recommendations? (Right now I'm kind of looking at this one, so I can run the Adobe suite, blog, and do graphic design work on the go. Any advice? or opinions?)

Okay, on to today's review, cookie butter!

Milkyway French Vanilla and Caramel - Walmart: Berlin, NJ

Milkyway French Vanilla and Caramel - Walmart: Berlin, NJ

I was at Walmart, buying a bunch of stuff for the next Candyology 101 recording, when this candy bar caught my eye. Is this old? Or new? I tend to find some really old products in this store, and the Shop Rite that's close by (I call them the stores time forgot), but is this truly an old product that's been sitting around for a while, or a brand new re-release? (The expiration date says 2016, so it's gotta be new. I think, how long are candy bars good for?)

Back in 2012 The Impulsive Buy spotted this bar and reviewed it, and Cybele had it in 2013, but both times the wrapper said "limited edition." This wrapper says nothing about this being new, or limited, or even a re-release. I checked the official Facebook page as well as the Mar's website, and there's no mention of this bar at all. Which is really weird.