Andes Cherry Jubilee Thins

I thought these were surprisingly good! They taste like the Healthy Choice Cherry Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream! (rip to a real one). The real cherries really help. Fun! No mint flavor here, just choco and cherry. Yay!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 8/10

Lay's Salt & Vinegar Chips

Do I like Lay's chips? Not really. Do I like salt and vinegar? Not really. But somehow the badnesses cancel out, making this basically a fine snack. I got it from a vending machine, so it was also expired (lol) but that didn't seem to have a negative effect. For all I know, it had a positive effect. These are pretty thin, you can't really taste the cat litter vibe, and it's more vinegary than salty. It's not terrible.

Overall
Cost: 5/10 
Taste: 6/10

Mangia Mangia Italian Grill

I was scared to go to this place because they definitely have nuts on the menu, but the waitress was nice and helpful and checked with the chef for me, so I got a vegetable pizza and it was solid, lots of fun veg and no gross veg. They don't have alc, but otherwise I have no complaints. The decor is fun and my family seemed to like it decently well.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Cassel Vineyards of Hershey

Ah, family wanted a vineyard to go to, so I googled up this one because it has good reviews. It was nice! An enclosed big porch with firepits and windows out on to the horsies. The staff were nice and they had a good selection of wines to sample (and no weird nuts to my eye). Nothing earth-shattering, but reasonable, cozy, and good to go to with family.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Hershey's Miniature Chocolate Bars

Ah, my parents got these for Trick or Treaters but then they didn't have Trick or Treaters, so in practice, they got them for MEEEE. And I mean, it's not high quality, but it's tasty enough to eat them all in a few days. Creamy, melty, a good size, good partitions. Whee!

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 7/10

Apple Jacks Cereal Bars

Bad news: I have a very large quantity of these and they are not good. They taste quite similar to the nasty apple jacks poptarts. At least these are smaller. Very sweet, typical cereal bar texture, not great. Do I even like Apple Jacks?! I just don't know anymore.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10

Raaka Dragon Fruit Swirl

Look at that pink swirl! It's beautiful, and the real thing is just like the picture. Definitely the prettiest bar so far.... at least from the bottom! Unfortunately the swirl doesn't permeate the bar, it's just on the bottom side. But we can eat upside-down. Anyway, I like the idea of a part white-choco (aka the gritty melty coconut milk stuff, I'm an old hat at Raaka now) and part dark-choco choco. Unfortunately the dark choco is so strong that you hardly notice it. I tried to isolate the pink stuff, and I didn't get a strong flavor -- just more vaguely spicy cocomilk. But there was a hint of fruitiness (and not dark choco fruitiness, actual fruit fruitiness)....I think. It was subtle, let's say. I do like this one, but I'm starting to think I want the Ben and Jerry's of choco: more mix-ins! Don't skimp on the mix-ins! (Unless they're legumes, then skimp real hard.) A top flavor though, it's fun. Intriguingly, the label says nut free even though there's coconut! Maybe it was an accident, or maybe they're finally branding as nut free even though the FDA considers coconut a nut (erroneously!) :D

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Raaka Gingerbread Family Limited Edition Box

I don't usually buy extra chocos just for me, but the box is so darn cute! And it wasn't insanely priced, so I thought, hey, why not. The box is indeed very cute and festive. The gingerbread chocos, though, are just placed right in there, on top of some messy paper grass!! (I know that's how it is in the photos, but I was still surprised.) This is bad because they are VERY melty, in your hand, not your mouth, and so it was a little messy to try to pick one up and pick off all the grass bits that were attached. Maybe this was user error. Anyway, they are indeed spicy, but also gritty, creamy, and not chocolatey or coconutty in the least (which is weird). They're tasty, but in a spiced-hot-choco-mix way, not in a gingerbread-man way or even a chocolate way. Still fun and very cute. But also small! And melty! Also, the guys are different sizes, so some are small and thin, but some are Thicc. I guess that's family for you!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Apple Jacks (with Spooky Marshmallows)

Months of horrible experiences with Apple Jacks Pop Tarts (terrible) and Apple Jacks Cereal Bars (not great) have made me wary of Apple Jacks cereal (fine). But worry not, me, this is fine, and doesn't have the offensive cinnamon non-foodstuff flavor of those other Apple Jack products! This is just normal ol' frootloopy Apple Jacks, with a few bat and ghost shaped (I think) marshmallows thrown in. Does Apple Jacks go with marshmallows? Not really. But they don't detract, it's just kind of like "OK, you guys are here too". Weirdly, these marshmallows are not the normal Chomp Chomp Lucky Charms firmbois, but instead have the bite and chew of a hot chocolate marshmallow! I've never had a cereal marshmallow with "give" before. It's interesting but I don't have a strong preference either way. This cereal doesn't need to exist, but it's a lot better than some of the limited edition cereals I've been trying.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

OneTang Yellow Peaches

I would say these do have one (small) tang. They've got a less crumbly texture than other freeze dried fruits, more solid to bite into, which I guess is fun. The taste isn't super sweet, and there's a bit of sourness (aka tang). Not a huge peach flavor, but I do see it. It's fine, but we all know by now that I'm not a huge fan of this company for allergy and transparency reasons!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Andes Mint Cookie Crunch

Aw, these are individually wrapped like candy bars, in red and green! Very cute and festive (and of course, nut free, which is why we love Tootsie & Andes). This mint crunch flavor is not as good as the old Hershey Cookies and Mint bar, but the vibe evokes it. We have a normal andes mint, but bigger, with the top white part containing some "cookie crunch" bits. Alas, those bits are smaller and firmer than in Cookies And Mint, and the overall flavor is a much stronger "peppermint oil" than "chocolate". It's basically an andes mint but bigger and with a more interesting texture. However, I do love an andes mint, and it takes me down memory lane, so it is fun. If only there were a little bit less mint and a little bit more chocolate!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Sargento Shredded Off the Block Mozzarella & Provolone

Again I was looking for shredded provolone, and this is the closest I could find. Lucky for me, I actually like mozz much more than provolone, so it probably worked in my favor. Very melty, as desired, and the taste was decent, even though I'd probably rather just have pure mozz. I do like the size and shape of the shreds, anyway. Thick yet delicate. The ideal cheese shred (and body type?).

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Pasta Roni Heat & Eat Penne Alfredo

Yikes yikes yikes. This is so bad. Even for "bomb shelter" food, you can do so much better. I thought it would be a goopier version of easy mac or something, but it's like a goopier version of Spaghettio infused wheat noodle with bonus chemical residue. The pasta is wheat, which is actually nice, but it's brown and the sauce is vaguely pink, so it doesn't look anything like the picture. It also doesn't taste like alfredo (or "alfredo flavor"), even though there is supposedly cheese in here. It tastes like weird tomato chemical paste. I literally couldn't finish it. Booo.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 2/10

Carmella Creeper Cereal

I mean, wow. This sure is a bright green cereal! It has Red 40 in it, though, which my dad was quick to point out. It also smells like potpourri, as I was quick to point out. The taste, though, is exactly like waffle crisp. A weird, somewhat cloying sweetness that I didn't hate but that just felt a bit much. Also, this is supposed to be caramel apple flavor, but apart from the smell, there are no apple notes here for me, only caramel. The texture is also slightly off-putting and very dry. I do like the marshmallows. It's a kid's cereal, that's for sure.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Tuttorosso Peeled Plum Tomatoes

Last time I had the "no salt added" version, and I said I couldn't taste the difference. Now I've had the regular version (I didn't see any other choices at the store, actually), and I can confirm -- they taste the same. Still good, fresh, plump tomatoes. And the can has a cute "nut free" (and other allergen free) logo on it, which I love! 

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Idahoan Mashed Potatoes - Hidden Valley Ranch

There sure are a lot of Ranch flavored things. As a noted Ranch disliker, it's weird that I keep buying them, I know. But they usually don't taste that much like ranch! Anyway, these smelled a bit bad in the package, which made me nervous, but they smelled more normal once mixed with the hot water. This makes a generous amount, and it's quite tedious to eat it plain, but I wanted to get a true sense of the flavor. Which is: vaguely ranchy, I suppose. Mostly tastes like cream and typical onion/garlic potato seasoning. Salty. It's fine, but not noticeably distinct from most of the other Idahoan flavors I've had. 

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 6/10

Signature Select White Corn Tortilla Chips

I got these for free so I can't be too mad at them. In fact, they actually taste decent (I say "actually" because some of this store brand stuff is dire)! A little bit different than Tostitos -- maybe more "burnt" flavor? Slightly thicker, with less salt? Not a radical difference from other chips, but something. They hold up well to a brief cheese-melting microwave, too.

Overall
Cost: 8/10
Taste: 6/10

Sargento Creamery Sliced Provolone Natural Cheese

So it turns out this is actually a distinct product from the normal Sargento provolone slices, which I didn't realise when I bought it or when I ate it! That explains why there's 10 instead of 12, sort of. This has got cream added, so it's meltier. Well, it did melt nicely on a bagel, so I can't argue with the main claim. Tasted like typical provo fare, though. Decent, but not my top cheese. A little bit of that weird smoky/bagged cheese vibe which I don't love. But at least it's safe!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Superseedz Cinnamon & Sugar

These are fine! Uh-oh, am I suffering pumpkin seed burnout? I'm not sure that the cinnamon sugar really "goes", especially without salt or shells. It's a very savory inside with a breakfasty outside. It's not bad, but it's not excellent either. Also 160 cals seems high comparatively. Anyway, these are a fine snack, but unlike the other flavors I didn't like them more as I got going, they just stayed "fine". 

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Barbecue Sauce

This is my platonic ideal of BBQ sauce! Well, at least, I think it is. I never know if this is it, or the regular (non honey) flavor is. But it's definitely not the weird sugar free Ray's Original Version, I can tell you that much!! This has plenty of sweet sweet corn syrup (ew), but crucially, no sucralose or allulose or other -loses that might exist. 

The taste is BBQ. The texture is sauce. Actually, it's a little bit hickory for my preference, so maybe a fast food packet is my platonic BBQ ideal, but you can't buy that at the store, so this'll surely do.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Kettle Heroes popcorn - Aged White Cheddar

I never heard of this before, but apparently it's nut free and they're a legit company with a lot of fun sounding flavors! Yay! Unfortunately, the texture of this stuff is brutally non-crunchy! It was like Styrofoam with bonus hulls. That's not good. I'm chomp chomp chomping like a cow to get through it. The taste is good, cheesy/"juicy", but the texture is a shame. Annie's is definitely better, but this is definitely safer. Woe, alas. Maybe I just got a dud bag? It expires in January, but a fresh one might be different. I'd try it one more time just in case.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste+texture: 6/10

2022 San Cisalto Puglia Sangiovese

This was quite fruity, juicy, and bright! It wasn't super tart or acidic either -- almost watery!? -- which I liked. Even after a long time (5 days?) it was still drinkable, although it of course because less enjoyable each day. But my tolerance is low, especially when I'm busy!

Anyway, I made the recommended pairing of Orecchiette with Sausage and Cherry Tomatoes, which was certainly fine (it's cheesy noodle after all), but I'm not sure that it was anything special. I always get nervous that sausage isn't cooked enough -- I should really pre-cut it into smaller pieces!! But it was solid and definitely filling, so I can't be too mad.

Overall
Cost: 5/10 [15$]
Taste: 6/10

Rice Krispies Red & Green Color Mix Cereal

This appears to be regular rice krispies with a few red and green colored ones. The flavor is, ostensibly, identical to plain krispies, which is fine. The coloring is red 40, which my dad has instilled in me is Not fine! It is fun to have little christmas colors though, lol. One nice thing about this box is the size -- it's like 5 servings instead of these 18 serving family size boxes I keep getting. It's cute and normal and I like that, even if the actual cereal is nothing special (and probably intended for treat making rather than cereal eating).

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Johnsonville Smoked Beef Rope Sausage

This is very weird. It's precooked, but you have to cook it. It's a sausage but it tastes like a hot dog. I guess hot dogs are technically sausage (ew), but they have a special name because they taste so different, darn it! Sausage is weird. At least this was easy to cut and I guess easy to cook, although I baked mine on a pizza instead of following the instructions. I only ate like 1/8 of this but that was honestly enough. It was not good for pizza and honestly would not be good for anything you don't want hot dog bits in. Explicitly nut free per their website, though, which I do appreciate! (And soy free per the ingredos, anyway).

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Raaka Pumpkin Seed Chocolate Bar

I was really expecting this to have some texture to it, with like, seeds in there. But it was smooth as a plain choco -- no crunch or chew or anything like that! The flavor was honestly also just a moderately creamy dark choco -- I didn't get any trail mix or PB notes (which, thank god, tbh)! Honestly they've got me questioning whether I just got a regular dark chocolate bar by mistake. But if I did, it's a solid one -- tastes fruity as advertised, and softer, so I like it better than the Dean's Sweets dark choco (although Dean's Sweets has milk chocos, which I prefer above all, ha). That's pretty much the extent of my choco experience. Anyway, this is a fine chocolate bar, but I wouldn't have pegged the pumpkin. Maybe the aftertaste is a little bit savory in that way. I do really like that it says "nut free" on the back for peace of mind!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Jimmy Dean Fully Cooked Turkey Sausage Links

Yep, these taste like a breakfast sausage all right! OK in small doses, but gets a little much after 3 links. Bafflingly, though a serving is 3, they come in packs of 6. I don't like this annoying packaging. But, they are super easy to cook, and soy free. So I don't hate them. I got these to maybe put on a pizza and I'm glad I didn't because breakfast sausage is not the same as sausage sausage. Nevertheless, for breakfast sausage, no serious complaints.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Superseedz - Vermont Maple Sugar & Sea Salt

At first bite I thought "god, all these flavors just taste overwhelmingly of pumpkin seed, and I'm getting sick of pumpkin seed", but the crazy thing is, after eating a few more, the pumpkin flavor becomes backgrounded and I start to notice (and appreciate) the other flavors instead. Like wine, in a way! So then I got just basic sweet & salty vibes, which was good, but nothing novel. I was just about to think there's no maple flavor at all, when it hit me! Breakfast syrup (positive)! Really nice if you stick with it. I think these tie the choco ones for my favorites. No wonder they're premium!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Mezzetta Roasted Red Bell Peppers (Mild)

I didn't even realise you could buy peppers in a jar like a pickle! It makes sense, though. Blessedly, these AREN'T pickled, so they don't have a horrible taste of vinegar. But they do taste like salty wet jar peppers, which isn't necessarily my favorite thing. I guess they taste like the italian peppers from an italian sub, so that's one mystery solved, and the convenience factor really can't be beat. (Though they only last a week after opening, so you better have Pepper Plans). They didn't elevate pizza for me, personally, so I don't know what to do with them myself. I definitely don't want to eat them plain -- I tried it and could just barely get through one piece before feeling very grossed out. I guess hot sandwiches are probably the best case here? But if you need jarred peppers, these are just fine for what they are.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10

Ray's No Sugar Added Original Barbecue Sauce

Nooooo I bought this without fully internalizing the ingredients, since I only skim for allergens (there are none, unless you count mustard seed) and not SUGAR SUBSTITUTES! Foolishly I assumed "no sugar added" just meant "we didn't put sugar in" and not "we put in some sucrose and allulose instead of cane sugar, enjoy your weird taste and tummy ache hehe". I do not enjoy. In their defense, it smells the same as the Sweet Baby version, and if you had diabetes or whatever, maybe it'd be a good choice. But I do not and I do not want artificial sweeteners in my life. The taste is basically normal at first, but there is a chemically aftertaste that does come across. Weird vibes, man. I may actually just buy another sauce rather than eating this one. Maybe I can give it to my mom! 

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste; 5/10

Dole Apple Juice

Mmkay, so I know this is just sugar water basically, but I was at school with no drink vessel and they finally fixed the vending machine! But I was also tired and hungry, so I got this sweet juice. In the moment, it served the purpose and felt sweet and refreshing. No real complaints.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Jus-Rol Pizza Crust Pre Rolled Dough - Large Family Size

 

Today I have a terrible headache. But that's not the fault of this pizza dough, which as always, I bought because it was the only kind at my store, and as always, is different than the kind they had last time. This one is a large rectangle, which I didn't realise til I opened it! It's so many cals! And a rectangle! But, even though I needed a circle, the dough is so easy to work with that it wasn't a problem. Tastes solid, cooks up well, and I really have no complaints (besides the calorie count). 

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10