Trick or Treat: Favorite Day Filled Gumballs

Normally I try to go in and write these with a first-taste experience, but I cracked into these the second I bought them, they're great! Probably my favorite Favorite Day product I've ever had. 

You get three flavors, and each have a unique filling. 

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! 

Watermelon Sandwich, HIGH - No really, I found watermelon sandwiches

I actually tried this on my friends' live stream, but it's so stinking cute I wanted to give it a full post. 

Look at this! Watermelon bread-sandwiches?! How could I resist? 

Sometimes Foodie's Not-so-Secret Stash - Part 1

My food hoard is officially out of control. I have lots of expired food, and I hate myself for it. It's a waste of money, resources, and space...so, I'm finally going to do something about it. Tomorrow, after work, I am sitting down and filming myself trying as much of this junk as I can stand (anything that's still safe anyway) and getting rid of it, once and for all! 

That said, here are four items from my hoard pile that I already had photographed and just, never got around to posting. Consider this a literal taste of things to come...

Marshmello's Limited Edition Coca-Cola - Watermelon Strawberry Flavored

Coca-Cola Creations has been busy. We've already had four different flavors: Starlight, Byte, this collaboration with Marshmello, and Dreamworld in under a year! That's one flavor per season. 

New flavors are fun, but if you don't do it right, it leads to burn out. After a decade of blogging, and countless limited edition products from well known brands, I feel qualified to say, Coke is doing it right.

 

While Creations hasn't had enough time, or flavors, to be a proper one-to-one comparison to Oreos...I'm going to compare them to Oreos anyway.

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.

A Trio of Tangy Treats! - Crazy Candy Co. from Aldi

I'm known by all my friends for having a copious amount of junk-food in my house, and they're not wrong. Crazy Candy Co. seems to be an Aldi exclusive line of candy, and I've had their Rainbow Belts before, which were amazing, and these back to school themed gummies. So far, this brand seems to do no wrong. And at a great price point! So, why not try three more of their products? 

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.  

Double Dose of Melon Goodness - Haribo Watermelon and Major Melon MTN Dew

Watermelon Haribo & Major Melon MTN Dew

Spring has sprung, literally yesterday, but I'm already craving summer, and nothing says "summer" like watermelon. I have two different products today, one a candy, the other essentially humming bird nectar, who wants to take bets that I'll be bouncing off the walls later? 

Jolly Rancher Fruit Roll-Ups: These Fruit Snacks are 33-Year-old Lady Approved

Jolly Rancher Fruit Roll-Ups - CVS

I have gone to CVS more in 2020, than ever before in my 33 years of life for a few reasons. One: it's close to my home, two: it's full of covid-safety gear, and three: it's actually filled with limited edition food stuffs. Who knew they carried limited edition m&m's, and Oreos, and breakfast cereals? Not me! Well I stopped there to grab clearance Halloween candy (another great reason), and thought I would check to see if they have the Starburst Fruit by the Foots, they didn't, but they did have these!  

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.

How can something wet, be so dry? (I thought only alcohol could do that?)

Dry Sparkling Soda  - Aldi

I spotted these in the aisle at Aldi and my first thought was, "Ooh, pretty bottles!" Upon further inspection, these bottles aren't directly printed upon, they're covered in these shrink-plastic sleeves covered in delightful watercolor illustrations. Cute, and practical as far as production is concerned, but up-close they're pretty beat up. There are scuffs, nicks, and slashes all over them peeling back the wrapping and exposiing the glass bottle underneath. For something with such a lovely design, it's presentation gets lost in all the imperfections that come with shipping and displaying their item. Still, the concept of a potentially dry naturally flavored fruity soda is intriguing, so I picked the two prettiest bottles to review.   

Then, at the check-out, they rang up for almost five freaking dollars a bottle! A pretty steep price for a beverage, especially at Aldi, but I already committed to giving these a shot so I stuck with it. Now knowing the price, I'll be holding these up to a pretty high standard. Will these deliver? 

Starburst on Steroids

Sweet & Sour Hi-Chew  - H-Mart

If you've never experienced a Hi-Chew, you're missing out. These are Starburst on steroids. I introduced my fiancee to these candies when we started dating, and since he loves all things chewy, they quickly became one of his favorite candies. 

Thankfully they are getting more traction here in America. A few years ago I could only find them in Asian markets, but now big chains like Target, Walmart, and 7-Eleven regularly keep them in stock. It's beautiful. Still, for the more unique flavors and mixes, the Asian markets can't be beat. I grabbed these at H-Mart and I'm excited to give them a try since I have NEVER had a bad flavor of Hi-Chew, but you know what they say? Never say never.

Duo-licious? or a Dud?

Starburst Duo - Walmart

Apparently Starburst released this "new" Duo-themed candy. Juts in case the quotes didn't tip you off, get ready for some old man yells at cloud-level grumpiness in this review.

Instead of four individual flavors in this mix, you only get two. Kind of. One could argue that you still get four, since these are just two different flavors of fruity taffy fused in the center to create one piece of candy. So if you nibble each side individually, you still have four flavors here, but that sounds a little too sticky and inconvenient.  

As a concept, this is something we've seen before. More recently I feel like Airheads has leaned into this two-flavors-as-one trend, and while it can be a fun idea conceptually, I feel like this particular take is falling flat. 

None of these flavors are new, and a consumer could always eat any two Starburst candies together to make your own DIY Duo mixes. Mixing and matching flavors of preexisting candy is something foodies like Cybele have been advocating for for ages, but I guess the appeal of this item is that these particular flavors have never been in the same mix before? There is some minor convenience there, but is that enough to warrant a whole new candy with fanfare and blog posts? We shall see...

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:  

Well, shake it up baby now! Twist and...meh? - Lemonhead Twists

Lemonhead Twists - Walmart 

While running errands I had a craving for some tangy candy. Instead of reaching for an old faithful, I decided to try something new. Was it worth the risk? We shall see...

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!

Sweet Heat Round 2: Skittles Edition

Sweet Heat Skittles - Wawa

I really enjoyed the Sweet Heat Starbursts, so when my friend Melissa mentioned that she saw the Skittles version at Wawa, I drove over there (got some gas) and grabbed a bag. Now we shall see is these items are unique enough to stand on their own, or if one should reign supreme.