Sprite

Drinking this makes me feel like I'm on a plane. Or like I'm sick, but I haven't actually had a cold for a while, and when I do I don't drink Sprite about it (that's what my parents would have me do when I was a tiny tot, for some reason). I guess it tastes like Ginger Ale. There's no caf and a lot of sugar. What's the point of this drink? The sugar, I suppose. And it's a drink. I'm just not a soda person. Anyway, I got this from my job, so at least it was free. And the can is green, although it's kind of ugly looking. Even though Sprite is a cute word. Is this review helpful to you? The soda is nut free and tastes like worse Mountain Dew (with no food coloring). Bye!


Overall
Cost: 7/10
Taste: 5/10 

Pepperidge Farm Farmhouse Whole Grain White Bread

Ah. After a long day on the phone dealing with bureaucracy, nothing like a little toast to calm the nerves. This is "whole grain". which means it has more fiber/protein than their hearty white (good), but it's also 1 slice servings (bad). I ate two toasts because that's how many toasts toast is. Anyway, it tastes a little bad, but that's because I don't have jam or anything. For stuffing balls this is decent, although definitely more "sourdough" "grain" "savory" weirdness than a normie bread. It made me sweaty at first like all gluteneous items do, but not in an allergy way (I think).  Mostly I will eat it. No sesame/pea/nut warnings and only lecithin of soy.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10 

Utz Sourdough Nuggets Pretzels

Weird word order there. Anyway, this is nut free as always (says so right on the bag), so we continue to love and value that. They DO make a big tub of peanut butter filled pretzel nuggets, which is spooky, but probably that is made in a different location entirely. Anyway, all that is somewhat moot, because these are a bottom tier shape for sure. In being a nugget, they are very solid and firm, so it is like eating a rock. You have to get real strategic about the angle of your chew, and which teeth are best prepared to take on the role. I'm not about that life. It does make me pine for soft pretzel nuggets of a similar shape though, which are a tasty chain restaurant food that I miss very much. Maybe these would be good dipped in a janky pub cheese dip. But they'd still be hella firm. The taste is same ol' pretzel, no issues with that. In pasta and in pretzel, shape is king!!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10 

G.H. Cretors Caramel Popcorn

This is nut free caramel corn! I should be a happy camper. And I'm not a sad camper (well, I am, but not because of this), it's just not what I was looking for. I wanted to taste something like those big festive tins of popcorn you get (or one gets) at the holidays, but this didn't taste like that. It's very sweet, but the inside tastes nothing like popcorn!! Not sure how to explain what went wrong, but the taste and maybe even the texture did go wrong. It was still a sweet treat, which is good of course, but also too thick of a coating(?) and not enough Corn flavor(??). Alas. Maybe I'll have to learn to make my own D:

Overall
Cost: 4/10 [7$]
Taste: 6/10 

Like Air Puffcorn - Cinnamon Bun

Ha! You thought I was done with these (and so did I), but this was in the little checkout area at my store and it was on sale for THIRTY CENTS! There's very little I wouldn't buy for thirty cents. Please. So, another sweet/savory combo, which is stupid, but actually (and maybe I was just so hungry, or so excited about such a deal) this only tasted sweet to me. It also tasted a little stale - like sweet Styrofoam - but I rate that better than sweet cheese puff. Would buy (for 30 cents) again. 

Overall
Cost: 10/10
Taste: 6/10 

O Organics Bay Leaves

I don't know if I've ever seen a fresh bay leaf until now. Even the Chipotle rice ones that people are occasionally confused by (one of my favorite things) seem to be dried. But, I figured fresh is always best, not that I really have a sense to compare yet because I'm not a historical bay leaf user. I just put one in a soup though (and pulled it out before eating), and now I'm fully team "Love you Bay" (this is a Survivor reference). It was non messy and the soup was good. Was it good because of the singular leaf? I don't know. But maybe. 

Overall
Cost: 4/10 [3$ for one leaf and several extraneous friends] 
Taste: 5/10

Zesty Ranch Goldfish

These have been in a place of honor at my grocery store (the aisle 1 endcap) for months, yet I did not buy them because ranch is gross and I've tried a million ranch snacks by now. But I fear I am out of trendy shark-tank-allergy-free-snacks and new liquids, so I finally gave these a go. Pep Farm is trustworthy with their allergy info, even if they aren't an allergy-free snack. A serving is 52 little fish, which we love. The bag is a nice blue color.  These are the positives. The negatives are: the flavor on these tastes like ranch. It is a pretty strong powder. It is accurately flavored. The bagback shows us onions, buttermilk, and an indeterminate herb (parsley?), and those things are also ingredients, at least to some extent. An internet denizen suggested using these as croutons, which makes sense to me. If you like ranch and goldfish, these are probably for you like those chocolate mint snoopy goldfish were for me. I hope those come back to me soon. 

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10