Signature Select Whole Baby Bella Mushrooms

[Whole baby] bella mushrooms! And beautiful they are. Actually, I was worried they had gone off because they were a little slimy and a little brown/white mystery mold crust-y, but your girl was ready to take a gamble right before the whole state shuts down for a week+ due to weather. A gamble on stuffed mushrooms. I actually wanted way bigger mushrooms, and white-not-bella-which-is-also-white-but-not-really, but these turned out to work just fine. In 20oz ("family size"... a mockery) you get 26 mushrooms, which just about fills a baking sheet. Mostly the same size...ish. I like mushrooms even though they aren't a veg, protein, or a fiber. They just are. 

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 6/10 

Haribo Frogs

Save me, frog gummy! These were a gift from my bff Mimi. They are super cute and a serving is 6. I love frogs. However they are peach flavored. That's messed up. Frogs aren't peach flavored! I don't really like peach ring type gummy, but it is better as a small frog. Mid-tier haribo. Top tier shape.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 6/10 

Ocean Spray Craisins (The Original)

These are cute! Good for baking, snacking, etc. The bag says "Peanut Free" which we love. Also "no need to refrigerate once open", the transparency of which we also love. Of course, all the other fun styles of dried fruit, even from Ocean Spray, are may-contain city, but at least the OG remains accessible. Something I lament about the OG, though, is that there's sooooooo much sugar added (like 50% DV in 1/4 cup). We all know I love sweets, but fruit is already sweet!! The tartness is the whole point of cranberry, let me experience it!!! Alas, I gotta buy fresh cranberries in the 2 week window they're available if I want to experience actual cranberry. But these are still very fun and tasty, just a totally different thing. Craisins is a good name because raisins are hardly fruit anymore and we accept that. Yes we do.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10 

Stouffer's Extra Cheese French Bread Pizza

Hmm, I didn't realise this is different than just "cheese" but apparently it is, at least in terms of packaging/nutrition info. I don't think they make non-extra cheese anymore though. Anyway, this is fine. Very similar to the other FBPs, but less interesting, and indeed, yes, with more cheese. More rectangular and less U-shaped, also, which is a plus for me. Not much to add here today folks.

Overall
Cost: 5/10 [5$ish]
Taste: 7/10 

Pop Tarts - Cherry

Most pop tarts are like happy families (all the same). Not very interesting, a little bit disgusting, but good in a pinch. I think these are a bit below the other fruit flavors (blueberry, strawberry, etc). But you know what you're signing up for here. Sometimes there is no other safe way to easily consume 370 carbocalos, and that's OK. 

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 6/10 

Kleinpeter 2% Milk - Quart

This quart is so cute. It fit right in a mini-fridge and lasted exactly 4 days. You never know what you're gonna get with store brand milks (especially gas station milks), but this one was maximally unproblematic. I wish Lucerne quarts came in this lovely shape! Good for cofe, cereal, and... those are pretty much all I used it for. And it was good. 

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 6/10 

Easy Eggs

This 2 pack of small, kinda warm, kinda wet hard boiled eggs was just what the doctor (me) ordered (bought at the airport). Very useful, allergy friendly protein option. Not that delicious, but not that gross, either. Thanks, egg!

Overall
Cost: 4/10 [I didn't even look but it was probably like 8 bucks lmao]
Taste: 6/10 

Cal-Organic Farms Cauliflower

Finally, I am back in the land of Kitchen! One annoying question people love to ask me after I tell them I don't eat things without reading the ingredients (i.e. at most restos) is "so what can you even eat?". I usually tell them "pasta, rice, chicken, oats, and brocco" because that does indeed cover the majority of my consumption (other than cofe & candy hehe hoho), but I find it a weird one. Yes, there sure are many foods I can't eat, but there are way, way more foods I can eat. Are your brains so small that you can only conceive of LEGUME? You sad little people, addicted to LEGUME*. Anyway, I made a weird whipped cauliflower mash with this. It was good (ish). So there, people who want to know about my consumption. Many white pastes are schlorped by me. 

I got this because my store was out of normie cauli, but this one had a few brown spots, a few black spots, and 1 bug (feels like there's always 1 bug). I cut 'em off to no severe consequence. Taste was good, size was good, I like cauli. (*Of course I also like when people ask about Me, so I don't really mind their annoying question, I just got asked it about 50 times this week and it started to get silly.)

Overall
Cost: 5/10 [4.50$]
Taste: 6/10 

Starbucks Cold Brew Concentrate

All my homies hate Starby's, but, needs must (the NOLA grocery store didn't have Dunkin cold brew). This is convenient for travel because hotels always have water and ice, and that's all you need for this (although a little milk never hurt anyone). It didn't taste as bad as I feared, and the ingredos are just coffee so there's no ostensible allergy issue. This bottle is supposedly 5 servings, though I found it actually had too much for my 4.5 day trip, and it also costs like 11 dollars, which is gross. But it fits in hotel fridge and is coffee. So, I guess it's all right. 

Overall
Cost: 4/10 [11$]
Taste: 6/10 

O Organics Thyme

Behold... it is thyme. Ever since my herb garden died off (due to Had To Unplug It) I've been buying a lot of these stupid little 4$ nearly expired-if they're even in stock at all-packs of store brand herbs. I used this to make some vegetarian gravy, since all store bought gravy packs are now Soy City (derogatory, but not in a sexist way). Unfortunately homemade gravy is very dissimilar to pack gravy, and the main flavor note was (you'll never guess),, thyme. Which was OK, and good for potatoes, but maybe less good for things like meats (I didn't yet try it on meats). Anyway, this is expensive and annoying, but that's probably just fresh packaged herbs in general. You also gotta wash it, which is annoying but important in this landscape!

Overall
Cost: 4/10 [3.70$]
Taste: 6/10 

Gerbs Pumpkin Kernels (Pepitas) - Roasted & Unsalted

The truth is, I've never really liked shelled pumpkin seeds. Like what's the point? They just taste like pliable dirt, which I have plenty of in my yard. So why am I the owner of a 2lb bag of them? Ha ha, so true. The reason is that Gerb's only sells 2lb bags, and I needed some pepitas for a recipe. (Pepita is a cute name for a pet by the way. I had a lil guy named Pepito way before that internet cat was even born. Just saying.) Where was I? Oh yes. I used these to make a crust for a pumpkin cheesecake (I know, it's a little 親子) and it was way less delicious than pretty much any other crust would have been, but certainly more fibrous and magnesiumous. So there's something. Anyway, I will use these in recipes and they will serve their purpose and be nut free. But I will not snack on them because they do not delight me, or even really fill me. 

Overall
Cost: 5/10 [24$ish]
Taste: 5/10 

Strawberry Vanilla Chex

Some of my best friends are naturally flavored with other natural flavors! (That is to say, they're not actually friends, but some other human-type thing that passes for friendish. Ew.) This strawberry flavor is exactly the same as every other strawberry flavored cereal I've had lately (cinnamon toast crunch? special k? frosted flake?) and it tastes artificial even if it's not. Luckily you can still taste the rice chex through it, especially after milk saturation, and sweetened rice chex cereal is one of the greats. Perhaps I'd be better off with regular rice chex and a little sugar, but at least this saves me the sugar packet and gains me a new food review. Now, where was I. The vanilla is so subtle as to be nonexistent, and once the strawberry washes off, this is pretty good. 

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10 

Hershey Candy Cane Kisses

Have these always had shea oil in? Feels like that would have freaked me out, but anyway, we move. I gotta binge on cals before I'm off to NOLA, the #1 worst US city I've ever been in for (my) food allergies. My own tragic version of pre-Survivor carbo-loading. These are not as good as most other kisses. They have no chocolate. However, they are exactly like a big version of these tiny pastel mint chips (like these, but less sketch?) that I used to get at Boscov's after the holidays to great excitement. So there is some nostalgia baked in. I'd much rather a cookies 'n mint, though. Moderation is absolutely essential here.

Overall
Cost: 7/10 [on sale, 3$ish]
Taste: 7/10 (thru nostalgia glasses) 

Gerbs Sea Salted Whole Pumpkin Seeds

Wow! Whatever the opposite of "comparison is the thief of joy" is is really resonating with me lately. Compared to the unsalted ones, which I ate 2lbs of over the last semester (gratefully but not especially happily), these are so, so good. It is rare that I really experience the transformative power of salt, but here it is on full display. These are like, actually tasty. And they're fresh so they don't even hurt to chew (yet). Only downside is they're packed so tight in a smaller package, so you have to eat 2 servings before you can even struggle to close the bag. Impressive. All the people snacking on nuts 24/7 should really switch to these. They're definitely at least as healthy, probably cheaper, obviously allergy-friendly, and I can't imagine they taste worse (but maybe they do). 

Overall
Cost: 6/10 [26$]
Taste: 7/10