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
My lungs are like cement from mid-March on, and it's really hitting me extra hard this year. I always think "wait... is it covid again?", but no, it is just March. As I await various doctor callbacks, I entertained myself with a new, increased Jelly Bean selection. This seems indistinguishable from the 20 and 30 flavor variety, but somehow there's 40 in here. Honestly, 30 is enough. A lot of these taste (and look!) the same, which is frustrating since I want to know what I'm working with. Anyway, here's my updated 40-flavor ranking, I'll clean it up when I'm dead:
Cappuccino (3 in the bag) - yum, coffee 8/10
tutti frutti - 5 - rating 7? tastes like bubble gum and cotton candy combined. weird
Blueberry (3 of them in the bag): This is a stronger flavor. yes, i get blueberry notes. like blueberry essence/juice more than a berry itself. nice. 7/10
Bubble gum (6) - Cool taste, but gum shouldn't be swallowed. 7/10
chocolate pudding - 6, 7 tastes like cofe really nice wait jk that was cappucchino??? choc is just ok. no cofe. lol
Berry Blue (8 of them in the bag): Tastes like not much. Vaguely sweet blue flavor, nothing unique here. 6/10
buttered popcorn - (8), 6/10
caramel corn - 6 - 6 - better than butter popcorn but very similar. sweeter and less buttery. orange rather than yellow spots i think
peach - 4- 6 its peach alright
strawberry cheesecake - 7 - rating 8 yum
coconut - 2 , 6
toasted marshmellow - 9 - 7.5 neat
dr pepper - 5 8 delightful, cherry notes
mug root beer - 2- 8 also delightful, just like a coke(?) bottle cap candy which i adore :D
crushed pineapple - 5 - 6 - weird, like pina coldada wait maybe that was
pina colada - 3 - 5 weird. lmao
cotton candy -3 is this strawberry cheesecake!? lol. good tho. 7
french vanilla - 13 - 8 yummy
green apple - 7 - 6.5 okay, appley ig
island punch - 9 - 4 what the hell is this? tastes like blue candy at first but then cursed grapey medicine
juicy pear - 1 - 8 tastes like a real pear
kiwi - 6 - 6 augh, disturbingly roptical. not for me i think. strongly unique tho
mixed berry smoothie - 4- 7 what the hell is THIS? tastes like blueberry smoothie. tru
lemon - 5 - 8 yummy! like a chuckle
lemon lime - 4- 8 also yummy like a chuckle! and a little minty? limey i guess
margarita - 3 - 6 wild! tastes like alc!! ;O
strawberry jam - 6— 7 accurate flavor!!
strawverrt daquiri - 8 - 7 idk if this was jam or s,th else. a little minty??limey? is that normal?? i should sort.
top banana - 6 - 6 brown banana but also migraine/nut feary vibes soooo
oranger sherbet - 5 - 8 yummy
tangerine - 9 - 6 boring, citrusy hgard to tell fromoramfe
orange - 2- 7 a bit better than tang, unless i mixed them up. i’m assuming orange is slightly darker
red apple - 7 - 7.5 a little poupourriry but i like it yum
sizzling cinnamon - 3 - 8 yum its strong! good in modeation only
pomegranite - 3- 6 its fine but not my fav, dagerous vibes
watermelon - 6 - 7 yummy tastes like watermelon candy does
very cherry 3 - indeed it is. medicinal but nice sharp flavor
licorice - 9 - can’t eat 0
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$]
Taste: 7/10
Surprise surprise, this stuff tastes great, just like the butterbeer goldfish and the kisses. Like those, I did not buy this myself, and like those, I resent what JKR did for the world's ability to enjoy their childhood fandom and related snacks!!! My donations continue apace. Anyway, this isn't very sweet, but it is nut free and vaguely cinnamon-gingery. I could eat the whole bag in one sitting easily. It's like a butter-lite version of butter popcorn, but sugar. No artificiality. I love it :(
Overall
Cost: 5/10 [2.70$]
Taste: 8/10
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
Gosh darn it, just like the stupid butterbeer kisses, these are way better than they have any right to be. I didn't buy these either, got 'em free in the mail, and I left a one star review in protest. But alas, the truth is, they taste like slightly salty sweet graham crackers, with a caramelly (butterscotchy?) smell that's super appealing. I ate them all in one sitting!!!
Here's hoping Goldfish will release a non-Harry Potter branded "caramel goldfish" equivalent so I can buy these in the future without compromising my morals. Bla.
Overall
Moral cost: 1/10
Taste: 8/10
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
I'm all in on Tuttorosso nowadays! This was used as a sauce for meatballs, and it tasted like tomatoes! I have no complaints. There were other things in the sauce, so who knows how this is on its own, but I enjoyed what I know of it!
Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10
Let me be real with you: 2 pounds is a lot of Sunkist Fruit Gems. A serving is only 3 gems (100calos). I don't like these enough for 2 lbs of them. Unfortunately, that is what I have. I foolishly ordered them from a third party amazon seller because I needed to spend a certain amount to get my Gatorades next-day-delivered, but now I'm not sure if the weird soapy chemical taste they have is just how they are or because of storage conditions at Mr Random Amazon Warehouse's place. I don't think it's worth buying a fresh box from Jelly Belly though, because this is a lot. Anyway, the texture is wonderful but the taste is sadly bad/soapy, although still edible in small doses. There's five flavors:
Lemon: My favorite I think, although there are lemon cleaner vibes. Perfect texture, which is fun. 7/10
Lime: This one is like a less good cleaning fluid. Also, weirdly brown/dark color. 6/10
Orange: Ah, orange cleaning fluid. OK, but you really can’t have too many at once of any of these, there's quickly diminishing returns! 6/10
Grapefruit: This one tastes pretty weird, but again, maybe my bag was just mixed with soap or something. A nice sour aftertaste but I don't really like the vibes. 5/10
Raspberry: Sadly also tastes like soap. Really starting to think my package was just stored next to soap??? Otherwise the taste is like sour raspberry juice, which is pretty good. 6/10
Overall, heavy on the soap vibe:
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10
