These are essentially a larger version of a chewy chips ahoy. Classier, though. Tasty for sure, but not particularly "fresh baked" feeling, you know? I like the crunchy salt bits in there too. These were scary at first, due to their nature. But it's Pepperidge Farm and I trust them. I ate the whole bag in a very short time!
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10
More nut free discounted easter candy for me! Thanks Acme and Hershey's. Alas, though these are fine, they are inferior to a normal Hershey's Kiss for the following reasons: a serving of these is only 5 and not 7; the foil is harder to take off without eating some of it; the shape of the choco is less dainty to eat. Otherwise it's normal Hershey Chocolate, which is, yanno, what it is. Still a nice sweet snack though!
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10
Chicken in a pouch?! I'm allergic to tuna, and I'm allergic to most canned meat in soups etc (due to soy), so I never ever considered that pouch chicken was an option. But the ingredients here are just chicken and water, no soy or bean juice. I was still scared, but it was fine. Well, the texture and smell is kinda gross -- gloopy like cat food. But it tastes like chicken, albeit wet, salty chicken. It's good to have a shelf-stable protein option though.
Well well well, we meet again, surprisingly decent top-8-free cookie company! My place of work always has these as the "allergy friendly" option, and I've started taking them because I want to get my money's worth! Also, they're surprisingly decent. This variety was a little dry/crumbly/boring for my taste, but pleasant enough. Has that ginger spiciness, which is the best and most important thing in a ginger snap. Would take again.
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10
Whew, these are quite the sensory overload! They have Popping Candy in, but the poppers are so small that I can't even localize them, which is disconcerting. Maybe in the blue creme? There's also pink cream, which tastes a lot like cake frosting (not my fav taste). The oreo cookies are the usual tasty cookies, but the popping candy part is a weird flavor -- kind of artificial? Plastic-y? No big surprise there from the looks of these! They're wild and safe and visually interesting, but turns out I don't particularly want really long-lasting pop rocks in my cookies.
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10
I waited to try this until I wasn't alone, because it occurs to me I don't know if I've ever had rhubarb as an (allergy-having) adult. But it seems to have gone OK, at least in the short term! This was pleasant and sweet, but it basically just tasted like a normal strawberry banana yogurt or something. The aftertaste was a little tart, though! Glad to add this to my rota of possible skyrs, especially at a nonfat 90 calos.
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10
Growing up, my parents had a strong anti-Ragu prejudice, so I never tried it. They used only Prego, which I see as very similar (sugar added, thin), but whatever! Neither really did it for me. I'm a classico gal now. But this new "Kettle" line has no sugar added, which is promising. Even though marinara flavor bores me, I figured I'd give it a try. Looks pretty allergy-friendly. Tastes like sauce you'd get at a chain restaurant. That is, boring and nothing special. Weirdly thick, but maybe 'cause I added Parmesan, haha. It's fine.
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10
You know I've reached the end of the line if I'm reviewing canola oil! But oil can be stressful -- there's peanut oil and probably other nut and seed oils, and I don't want to mess around with that. This is 100% canola oil, made in Canada, and I've been using it for a long time and never had an issue. It holds a lot and lasts a long time and has no ill effects. Thanks, Crisco!
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10
As Gatorades go, this is probably one of the best flavors. It basically just tastes like really sweet lemonade. Has a tartness to it.
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10
I can't make the food pairing, so I'm reviewing this right away. Out of the bottle, it's a pretty standard Chard -- tropical fruity and a little sweetness and tartness. But it's also got a little water to it, which I personally like. Pretty drinkable, and a cute and beachy bottle. Good vibes.
Overall
Cost: 5/10 [15$]
Taste: 7/10
Sorry for the multi-day break from bloggin', food fans. Nothing terrible happened to me, I'm just in a funk! Work stress, friend stress, car trouble. Adulthood, am I right? Anyway, this is a fine wine. Pretty sweet, cherry notes, and not too tart or sharp. Kind of a weird yeasty vibe at first, but it mellowed with time. No complaints, but nothing revolutionary either.
Overall
Cost: 5/10 [15$]
Taste: 6/10
Unlike other DeLallo stuff, I don't live in fear of the Plain Pasta, because there's only one ingredo (wheat) and website is very clear that this is made in a nut free facility. So, huzzah! I never loved Ditalini, at least as a plain noodle, but they are mighty compact which is convenient for storing and measuring. And the cook time is 9min, which is less than the bigger shapes. These are definitely less weird tasting than the whole wheat pastas (although of course less healthy too). I enjoyed it! They were RIBBED, which made them more substantial than other ditalinis I've had. Decent even with just oil + cheese + tomato, yay.
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10
These are really cute and (supposedly) don't contain nuts, but I was terrified so I waited until my parents were visiting to try one. So far so alive, but it's only been 30 minutes or so. Anyhow, these are very cute. Little toasts! And they're individually wrapped into their serving size of 6 toasts, which I like. The taste is a bland crunch. Similar to stale bread, I guess, which is of course what toast is. Not super scary tasting, but not special either.
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10
I thought this was quite good -- above average for shredded cheese, for sure. The shreds are soft and big pieces, and mozzarella is among the tastiest cheeses. So, yeah. Good cheeser.
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10
This is a huge box, and it expires in less than a week! Freakin' Target burned me. These are fine. They taste like cheerio -- sort of a mix of the apple cinnamon cheerios (but less sweet) and the multigrain ones (different shades of brown, a bit boring). Not much vanilla, really. They made me a bit nervous due to the appearance, but it reads safe and I lived. It's OK, but there's better cereals!
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10
These French wines might be too fancy for me. I like the sample US/AU ones with pretty labels. Anyway, it's got a really strong flavor when you first open it, whew. I was worried the cork was too porous and it went bad, even. Tart, complex, like a pear smoked jerky or something. Maybe not my favorite. It does mellow after a few days, but it's also very acidic then. So, a big meh from me!
Overall
Cost: 4/10 [25$]
Taste: 5/10
This is gonna sound hella ungrateful, since a nut-free chocolate holiday snack is so rare and special, but I wish this were hollow!!! Ha. My parents got me this, though, which is very sweet. He has the look of an elegant bunny. And the taste of an inelegant Hershey's Bar. Not the greatest choco, and it's just so thick. Therefore my hollow wishes. But he's fun all the same.
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10
Peeps are so gosh darn cute!! In general they are delights. This flavoring (graham) doesn't do much for me, though. I kinda wish they were just regular peeps. I love their little shape, and the choco bottom is nice, and the marshmallow inside is fun, but the (subtle) s'more flavor here is mostly "a weird smell". It's very light so it's not too bad, the taste is decent, but it's not adding anything regular peeps don't have (except the choco bottom).
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 8/10
I don't love Sprite, and I don't love Tic Tacs (although I definitely had a phase in K-12 with the orange ones, I don't think I've had one since then). But I might love Sprite Tic Tacs. First of all the idea is hilarious. They're bright yellow, which sprite is not. And they're 0 calories, but a serving is one (1) tic tac, meaning that they must be .25-.5 calories. The taste is kinda refreshing - sugary but vaguely tingly (in a soda way, not an allergy way). There is also a light limey candy flavor. The texture is Hella Firm, but chewable once you get bored. Fun.
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10
This is a nice ham for a small family like mine. It tastes like ham, is safe both pre-cooked-wise and allergen wise (at least in my experience), and it is nicely cut already. Nothing earth shattering, but tastes like ham!
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10
I like Kellogg's, they're one of my "I feel safe with you" brands. But do I like whatever this is? I'm not sure. Not only are these a different shape (weird little bead-ish disks), they're also a different flavor (sugary! fruity! like trix!). Whither the rice and krispie? Also, they expire in less than a month, which isn't great. The texture is also weird - like gritty swoops. But I like trix and I like cereal, so it's chill.
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10
This was on sale, which is why I bought it, but it also raises the question of WHY it was on sale -- not expired, so maybe it's discontinued? Gross? Dangerous? We may never know. The reviews for this are decent, and indeed, the taste is just fine. Noodle and cheese is a typically foolproof combo. But it made me randomly nervously itchy, even though the ingredos are fine and in the end I was fine. The smell is just very "cream based frozen meal (tuna?)" vibes, I guess? Anyway. The taste is mostly creamy and bready, but not particularly cheesy, which is a disappointment. Also a little dry. Tastes OK, but for the calos, I'd rather have the regular mac and cheese (especially with brocco!).
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10
At this point, my DeLallo allergy phobia is extremely overblown. This is a pasta sauce with no allergens listed, and no reason to think there'd be an issue!! But the combo of past labelling confusion, my neighbor playing the flute during workday hours while I'm trying to work, and my epic 7-day+ sore throat is surely adding to increase my high-strung-ness. Anyhoo. This smells good and has no sugar added. It actually smells cheesy to me, but I think the pure pasta sauces always do. One downside is that the jar is very hard to open, and the lid is too thick to get a can opener around it. I really hurt myself opening this, lol. Otherwise, it's fine. I only got one (very large) mushroom piece in my first serving, and the rest is a very smooth puree texture. Mostly tastes like tomato. Kind of acidic, nothing bad there but not my favorite of all time (even with the anxiety aside, I think).
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10
I put off trying this for a very long time because the reviews are, no joke, the worst reviews I've ever seen for a food. They are almost universal 1/5. But I shouldn't be afraid of bad food, as long as I'm not allergic to it! Right?! So, I decided to make this in the oven to give it the best chance at success. It looked very wet while cooking, like creamy water. After the full cook time, it was slightly firmer but bright white still (not yellow or brown) so I thought I'd give it a few more minutes. It was still a little goopy then, but edible. Honestly, it was fine. Mushy grits with a few corn kernels and a light "mineral oil" vibe. The 900 calos and 160% sat fat is the real downside. The reviews were overblown, but it's still not worth the trouble, time, cost, or cals.
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10
Ahoy hoy friends! Although this picture shows a 2020 bottle, it was indeed the 2022 vintage that I supped on. I was charmed by the small size of the bottle; though it's 750mL it looks tiny! I guess because the bottom isn't indented at all. The smell ("nose") is fruity and bright. The taste is quite acidic and tangy, but also fruity. Unique combo of berry and sharpness. Pretty good. Unfortunately I didn't feel up to making another meatball recipe, even though I in theory could do it, so I apologise to the wine pairing gods! I bet this would be good with tomatoey meats nevertheless.
Overall
Cost: 5/10 [17$]
Taste: 7/10
I don't want to be terribly rude, but I kinda feel like if you've had one gatorade, you've had them all. This is fine. It is red. It tastes like sugary juice but not in a delicious way, just in a "someone is forcing me to drink this" way. I don't think it's good for any sickness except vomming. So it's not great right now. But I finished it; it's fine.
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10
I've had so many disappointing Annie's noodles that I had low expectations for this, but I'm sick and this was on sale. And it exceeded my expectations! Cooked up fine, wet, taste was super mild, made my stomach gurgle (but not hurt (yet)), not allergic, really no complaints. Thanks, Annie's! Like Easy Mac but less tasty/smaller, but less achy too.
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10
Life's such a rollercoaster, man. I woke up with a tight and painful throat, which would normally make me panic, but I didn't eat anything (since I was asleep) and therefore I guess I just have tonsilitis. My throat is Huge though. And I have a weird sour taste in my mouth. I even stopped taking my PPI cause I was like "maybe it's slowly suffocating me". So yeah, having a normal one. Anyway, I saw this was on sale the other day and saw the ingredients didn't have any soy protein, so I bought it excitedly. Now that it's time to eat it, I see one of the meats is mortadella! mort is right, della, because there's usually nuts in that. And the UNO allergy menu for their resto indicates Nut. But it's, like, the law to indicate nuts on store foods. And this is like, not indicating nuts. But I'm also already feeling like I'm suffocating. But I'm also, hungry. So I decided to go through with cooking it and anxiously eating it. What I did as a happy middle ground (lol) was to not eat all the non-roni meats. So I'm double safe! The meats are all roni-size circles anyway, which was a little weird. But easy to avoid. It was mostly (good, buttery) crust and light cheese anyway, so it was no great loss. The ronis taste like ronis. I thought this was surprisingly good, actually, and didn't make me itchier than I was to begin with. Maybe I'd get a non-mortadella flavor in the future!
Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 7/10
This is another "nakedwines" exclusive. Not so exclusive, I guess, since I got it too! But I actually find that reassuring, because it's transparent and therefore if they put in a secret nut, they'd probably indicate that somehow. Anyway, it was a pretty sweet flavor for a pinot noir, and also almost fizzy or otherwise tingle-inducing. But I have no fear! There's a little tangy cranberry vibe too. The thickness is just right. I like it but somehow I don't love it. Maybe it's because I can't make duck breasts since my store doesn't sell 'em, so there's no food to pair. Maybe it's because it tastes like summer nights drinking with friends, which I don't have anymore (both NPs). Ah well. We still have spring nights posting in blog!
Overall
Cost: 5/10 [17$]
Taste: 6/10
A new nut-free choco? Yes please! Hershey's is so good to me lately. These have very cute plaid wrapping, and although I was skeptical of the flavor, I actually like it a lot. The inside is substantial, and tastes like frosting flavor (like a frosting flavored oreo or something), but a little custard note makes the chocolate shell taste more complex and creamy. It works well! The worst part about these is that they say in the description "Looking for a delicious way to treat yourself after a long day of adulting?" which is very unappealing. But at the same time, I guess I am technically doing that. But I wouldn't say so!!
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10
This is pretty good! It definitely tastes more like cheese than the green store shaker. Supposedly lasts until June, and supposedly no nuts in there, so if all is as it seems, this is pretty good stuff. Of course I'm De-Lallo-Spicious now, but if I weren't, I'd be extremely on board.
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10
Well, I thought I didn't like gnocchi before, but eating this made me feel a whole new level of not-liking!! The prep was easy, it looks allergy safe, and so that's all well and good. But the texture is the same old weirdness (mushy glue ball) and even worse, the taste is SOUR rather than being just "meh". It's like some lemon juice or vinegar or something got into the gnocchis. A few reviewers online mention this, calling it a chemical taste, but most people liked them, so it makes me wonder if I got spoiled ones or something. The sauce I made is great, and if I had used the DeLallo gnocchis which were bland but not actively offensive, I would have really enjoyed the dish. Alas.
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 4/10
Hey, this was surprisingly solid. It tastes more like Chex than maple, and I forgot that I like chex! Even corn chex, apparently. It's not too sweet, but it's a little sweet (in the Kix zone!) and the milk remnants are very sweet. They do say that the PB chex are made in a separate facility, which I appreciate. Still a little scary, haha. But they are good, and the aftertaste is like maple brown sugar oatmeal, which I don't love (but it's growing on me), but the taste taste is pleasant and fun.
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10
I like that this label is bright and unique, like pop art. It helps me know which wine is which! I don't like that the winery isn't in the name. But you can't have everything in this world.
The taste was very tart at first, with a little licorice vibe. Moderately thick "mouthfeel". When it was cold it became a lot more generic, which is just fine. Solid.
I also celebrate this being the first wine since my insides exploded, and I'm happy to report it had no noticeable impact on my internal affairs.
Overall
Cost: 5/10 [15$]
Taste: 6/10
So to be honest, I don't like red cabbage. I like regular cabbage; I like slaws, but this is just so bitter and crunchy and it's not for me. That said, if a recipe calls for it, I certainly prefer this nice pre-weighed pre-washed bag of shreds to me cutting them myself. So I like that this exists, I just don't like red cabbage. Lessons (re-?)learned!
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10
Recipes are so vague about saltedness of stocks and broths! They list it for butter, at least sometimes, but never for stocks. Luckily they all taste pretty much the same to me. I assume that unsalted is healthier, so I pick that one if I have a choice. It was just fine! Looks weirdly dark and foggy, but perhaps that's just stock for ya.
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10
I adore Tuttorosso! They have a "allergy free" label, and even though tomatoes are ostensibly all allergy free, the peace of mind is worth a lot. Especially because tomato paste has such a strong savory smell that it makes me a little anxious! But this tastes great. All of their stuff has been good. Even without the allergy label I think it has a slightly more "real" flavor than the other brands I've used. Really grateful for the Tutts!
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10
I always avoid store brands like Lucerne now if I can help it, because I've gotten a lot more allergy-anxious over time and I see a lot more recalls of store brands. But I haven't seen them for Lucerne specifically, and they only make dairy anyway, and also it reads as safe and what more do I need!? If I didn't have allergies I'd be so into them, because they're cheaper and taste just fine. And this didn't kill me, so I'm into it. It melted as needed and tasted like cheese (good). Hooray!
Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 6/10
This bag is Huge, but it was the only shredded 3 cheese blend on offer. It was my first "Supremo" product, too. The cheese was weirdly wet on opening, and the zip closure didn't line up well, but the taste and meltiness was certainly on point. Great for Mexican food.
Overall
Cost: 4/10
Taste: 7/10
When I bought this, because it's a "vegetable classic" I assumed it had veg in it! Which is stupid of me because of course I read the ingredients to discover there was no soy protein, which is why I bought it, and yet. There are no veg here! It wasn't terrible, but it was basically a worse version of the cheese tortellini soup -- no cheese, no vegetables, just noodle and tomato. I added shredded cheese and it was decent, but I would never get this if I can just get the superior tomatoey soup.
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10
Uh oh! Allergy alert: this has mango (sus) and goji berry (VERY SUS) and it gave me Allergy. I got a "grape jelly" feeling aka "associated with PB" feeling. No bueno. Never again the goji berry (or mango for that matter) times. I do like the format though -- a different non-goji or mango flavor would be great!
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 3/10
I am not a cooking spray gal. I have never used it before; as far as I know my mom never used it, and neither did my granny. But the Taco Bell Cravings Kit said to use it, so by god, I bought it. It sprayed on there and then I ate the food and it didn't make itself known in any significant way. Very neutral product. Crucially, didn't kill me. Huzzah!
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10
This has horrible reviews online, but I was really hoping that's because it's 7 dollars for 4 tortillas and 2 small sauce packets, and not because it tastes horrible. I like a TB quesadilla, so I went for it!
I baked two chicken breasts and assembled per the instructions on the box. The cheese sauce kinda weirded me out because I never assumed they use a cheese sauce at TB, but heck, maybe they do. I was very exact about the instructions, and it came out.... pretty good. The appearance and amount of ingredients and everything was solid, but in the parts where there was Just Cheese Sauce or Just Chipotle Sauce, I didn't like those parts. If it was a good mix of all, it tasted pretty close to the real thing, but not exactly. But pretty close if you're willing to believe. At the same time, I could just make a quesadilla on my own and it would probably be also tasty and not have 2 weird sauces in it. So, fun to try but would not buy again!
Overall
Cost: 4/10
Taste: 7/10
These took me by surprise, because unlike my idea of a "crisp" (chip), these were just fully formed blueberries, but dried out. I've never had that, except for with banana slices which are already flat! It was very neat in terms of form factor. The taste was just "eh", papery vague fruit bits, not sweet at all really. But there is a little fiber in here so it's not all bad, and there were lots of blueberries. I'd rather have the real thing anyday, but if you can't access fresh fruit there are worse things than these funny little things. The bag does say nut free at least!
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10
Hey! There's a sale on wine! No wait... it's just a Seilon wine...
Ha ha. Just having a little fun, blog fans. This was a classy looking bottle, like a lady's stationary. The insides were similarly unique. Thick like hawaiian punch. It gets a little more typical/acidic after you swallow. I think I liked it, but it did surprise me.
Overall
Cost: 5/10 [17$]
Taste: 7/10
