Starting the week with a handful of coffee - Espresso m&m's

Coffee and chocolate go together like peanut butter and jelly. The combination is a no-brainer, which must be why m&m's keeps revisiting it. 

We've had: 

• Pumpkin Spice latte m&m's - review
• Coffee Nut m&m's
• Crunchy Espresso m&m's - review
• Café Mocha m&m's - review
• Caramel Cold Brew m&m's 

And now these. What makes these any different from it's predecessors? 

Love is actually NOT the secret ingredient - GT's Pure Love Kombucha - Winter Edition

Another blog post, another seasonal kombucha. Let's jump right into it! 

I guess the accidental theme this week is...breakfast? - Apple Pie Toast Crunch

It's official, I've finally been doing this long enough that I've started to forget products. 

Take a look at this, vs, 2019's Apple Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Similar, yet, different. And 2019 wasn't even that long ago! (I guess that means that the flavor combination was rather forgettable.) 

Welp, at the very least, the cereal shape is different. So let's see how this compares to my old post. As always, I'll do a dry taste test and then a bowl with milk. 

Visions of Sugar Plums danced down my drain...

Continuing the trend of  knocking out seasonal stuff before it gets too late, I have this wintery kombucha I picked up at Lidl. 

I used to grab kombucha at Aldi, they had an in-house line with three main flavors and the Cherry Cassis was my favorite, but they've been MIA for a few years now. Thankfully Lidl keeps the kombucha coming. They have in-house brands, name brands, and rotating seasonal flavors. I could have sworn I had already tried this one, but it is no where to be found on the blog, so, here we go! 

Gingerbread Kit-Kats - Quickie Review

While I work on my destash video, let's keep the posts a' coming. 

Today I have a quickie, Gingerbread Kit-Kats. 

Cookie-bucha - Health-ade Holiday Cheers

Happy Almost New Year! I'm back! 

After my last post, I tested positive for COVID, and the symptoms hit me hard and fast. Much worse than when I had it before. Luckily, I had bought my cats a heating pad on Black Friday, because it came in clutch for the body aches. By day three, I lost my sense of smell and taste. (Which took all the fun out of my scented candle advent calendar.) 

It took five days for my sense of smell to return, but it was pretty weak, and my taste was definitely off. Garlic, something I cook with and eat all the time, tasted unnaturally sweet, almost like a caramel. And in every form! I tried powdered seasoning, fresh garlic, and some garlic infused olive oil just to make sure something didn't expire on me, but it was me. ("I'm the problem, it's me.") It took two and a half weeks for my body to bounce back.

So, I'm here to celebrate with some seasonal kombucha! 

When I spotted this, the gold and white made me think this was a New Years' item. So, I assumed this was like, champagne-themed or something. But, if I had bothered to read the label, this is vanilla, allspice, and cacao flavored? So, cookies? Cookie-bucha? I don't know about that...

Have Candy Cane Oreos been dethroned by Doodles?

Snickerdoodle is having a moment right now. We have these Oreos, a limited edition Pop-Tart, and a those new Little Debbie's Snack cake. 

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but Snickerdoodles are just sugar cookies rolled in cinnamon, right? (It's how I've always made them.) If true, are these items just cinnamon flavored?

I guess we'll find out. 

Sugar Cookie Shakedown - Hershey Sugar Cookie Kisses

Hershey's Sugar Cookie Kisses - CVS

I don't get the appeal of all this "Sugar cookie" flavored stuff. With a few exceptions, like Sugar Cookie Toast Crunch or Sugar Cookie Pop-Tarts, I think most sugar cookie products are a sham. Especially when it comes to chocolates and candy bars. Brands just make a vanilla version of their product, throw some colorful sprinkles on it, and call it a day. 

Will these Kisses be the exception to the rule? 

Ongoing Winter Theme: Cinnamon Vanilla Lucky Charms

Cinnamon Vanilla Lucky Charms - Aldi

See what I mean about Aldi getting all the name-brand seasonal breakfast stuff? And it's not even off-season! (I know I'm posting this in January, but I bought it back in early December, so it's legit!)

Like Pop-Tarts, I have a whole new appreciation for breakfast cereal. 

Everyone in our household works full time and even though I try my best to be all Susie-homemaker (keeping up with the laundry, cooking all our meals at home, buying groceries, and cleaning), I also like to maintain my sanity. I pride myself on making a home-cooked dinner each night, but waking up early and making a Pleasantville-style breakfast spread before work?

Also, The First Wives Club is a highly underrated movie!

So, yeah. Breakfast cereal is awesome, and it gives me something to blog about! Win-Win-Win! With that being said, is this cereal going to be drastically different from the normal, year round, Lucky Charms? We shall see...

Christmas in July #TBT - Benton's Egg Nog & Hot Cocoa Cookies

Benton's Egg Nog & Hot Cocoa Cookies - Aldi, #TBT

I said I'm sorry, santa!
I never meant to hurt you,
I never meant to make you cry,
but tonight,
I'm cleaning out my pantry.

As most of you know, I recently moved, and during the packing process I found a TON of old food I never got around to. Being the frugal foodie *cough**cough* HOARDER *cough* you all know I am, I figured I'd enjoy a bit of Christmas in July for today's #throwbackthursday, before I end up shoving these in a cabinet and forget they exist. (Again.)

Limited Edition Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cup Cakes

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cup Cakes - Walmart $2.96

I really wanted to review these cupcakes, but I already have something lined up for tomorrow's #tbt, so today is a...Wednesday Rewind? No, that doesn't start with a 'W.' Winter Wednesday? (What else works with Wednesday?) Oh well, I may not have a catchy hashtag, but at least I've got some cupcakes!

QUICKIE: Holiday Sugar Cookie Cracker Jack

Holiday Sugar Cookie Cracker Jack - Walmart (.49 cents!)

Even though Christmas has come and gone, I'm a sucker for a bargain foodie find. I spotted these in the 2 for a dollar snack bin at Walmart, so instead of committing to a BIG bag of something that will likely sit around in my snacking cabinet for ages, I can snack on this itty bitty bag instead for a quick and easy quick one-and-done review.

Shimmery White Chocolate m&m's - Target

Shimmery White Chocolate m&m's - Target

I was originally going to skip these, because they're just white chocolate m&m's with a shimmer coating, but they were on sale, and I thought they be fun for photos...so here we are!

Wild Ophelia Chocolate Bars (TBT Holiday 2016) - Target

Wild Ophelia Chocolate Bars (Holiday 2016) - Target

Oh, Ophelia, you've been on my mind girl since the holidays.

Christmas goodies went on clearance back in January and I took advantage of some awesome sales to stock up on these Wild Ophelia chocolate bars. I'm no stranger to this brand, back in 2013 I reviewed two flavors, and I really enjoyed them but, due to food blogging, I rarely find the time to repurchase products for my own consumption. Even if I really like them. Since 2013 this company has made quite a few changes, so I'm happy for this excuse to revisit them and see what they've been up to. (Plus they were on clearance, which is always awesome.) 

Peppermint Crunch Junior Mints - Target? (I think...)

Peppermint Crunch Junior Mints - Target? (I think...)

One more day until the weekend. Just one more day. We can do this...I can do this.

It's been another really intense week with my day job and side-work, for a closer look at all the stuff I do besides food blogging check out my personal/art blog HERE, but for now, let's dig into my giant food-stash for a minty, Christmas-y, #tbt review!

Peppermint Oreo - Target

Peppermint Oreo - Target 

I'm all for these snazzy limited edition Oreos, but this one seems like overkill. I mean, there's the normal green-filled mint flavored Oreos available year-round, a thin version of the same flavor, these limited edition Candy Cane themed ones I reviewed a few years back, and now a Peppermint? Is peppermint distinct enough from classic mint to warrant it's own flavor? I guess we'll find out!

Hot Cocoa m&m's - Walmart (Exclusive)

Hot Cocoa m&m's - Walmart (Exclusive) 

Happy New Year everyone! I hope your 2016 is off to an amazing start! Sorry for the hiatus, if you follow my Twitter (that I'm trying to use more) you'll know that my car was involved in an accident right before the holidays and that my life has been pretty hectic getting all of that straightened out. I was able to buy a new used car a few days later to get back to work, and the second I got back into my old routine...I got sick. Really sick. My voice sounds oh so sexy right now, but I'm not going to let that stop me! The show blog must go on!

These Hot Cocoa m&m's were a Walmart exclusive, and they were the seasonal counterpart to the Target Exclusive Café Mocha m&m's. (Which I was a big fan of and reviewed HERE.) I was originally going to skip this seasonal sweet because, well...I thought it was a gimmick and nothing more. I mean, m&m's are already chocolate flavored, and hot cocoa is just a drinkable milk chocolate, so how are these going to taste any different than the normal candy? After talking to Cybele and seeing The Impulsive Buy's photos showing the layered candy inside, my curiosity got the best of me, and I grabbed a bag for myself.

Sugar Plum Delight Peeps - Target

Sugar Plum Delight Peeps - Target 

This is a product I have openly mocked in our Candyology 101 podcasts, and on Twitter. Now, we finally meet, shriveled purple testicle-ornament Peep. Let's see what you've got!

Hot Cocoa Marshmallow Holidrizzle Popcorn - Target

Hot Cocoa Marshmallow Holidrizzle Popcorn - Target

On our most recent episode of Candyology 101, Cybele and I noticed that a lot of candy companies were releasing peppermint themed sweets this year, which is a bit of a throwback to a wintery classic, but there were also a bunch of new Hot Cocoa themed products. For me, hot cocoa flavored sweets are in the same realm as the Red Velvet Cake ones. It's a novelty. I mean, what is hot cocoa? It's chocolate, melted into milk, with marshmallows. How can you recreate that into a snack without it just tasting like normal milk chocolate?

Even though I was skeptical, I just couldn't pass this product by.

Project 7 Red Velvet Cupcake Gum - Target

Project 7 Red Velvet Cupcake Gum - Target

Do any of you watch Orange is The New Black? If you do, you might remember THIS scene where prison guard, and fad-dieter, O'Neill goes on a tirade about the popularity of Red Velvet Cake and how he personally feels like it's a scam.

You tell 'em O'Neill! I grew up watching cooking shows, so even though I know that Red Velvet Cake is indeed a real thing, and a Southern tradition, I can't help but agree with him. The sudden surge of products and popularity we are seeing is a total scam coasting on tons of food dye and all of the food companies out there are getting in on it. We have Oreos, yogurts, m&m's, and now? Chewing gum. Even Project 7 isn't immune to the trendiness of this red-hued wannabe. I love this company and their concept, but I hate the trendiness of all this red velvet cake nonsense, so let's see if trying this gum will make any difference in my velvet-y stance.