Nestle Carnation Sweetened Condensed Milk

OK, so this was also used in ice cream and not on its own, and thus I'm not sure I can review its taste accurately. HOWEVER, I sure have a lot to say about the smell of this product. First, I shamelessly admit I have never used Sweetened Condensed Milk before, so I didn't know what to expect when I opened it. Its banana pudding color and texture surprised me, but I quickly learned from the internet that that's normal. The smell, however, was horrifying. My first reaction was that it smelled like cheesy corn chips or musty feet, two smells that are similar in my mind (I hate a corn chip). Then I saved the can in the fridge so I could ask someone else to smell it (they said it smelled normal, like nothing and/or milk), and after handling the can, it revealed itself to smell exactly like cat food. Horrible, horrible smell that was quite strong and would not go away. If you ask Google, that means it's expired, but it was surely not, it just smells like that (to me). The only pre-existing source of online validation I could find was someone saying that canned coconut milk smelled like tuna, which is of course a subtype of cat food:  

The comment about popcorn made me think "huh, I get what you're getting", also. But then two of my dear internet friends told me they get a slight musty note too. So why isn't anyone talking about this!? It's been 12 hours and many handwashings and I still smell it lingering. Granted, I am 100% insane about sensory input lately, but I'm not pulling this out of thin air, people!!! 

Also funny: the reviews on the brand website are weirdly low, but nobody mentions a horrible cat food smell, just that the can is hard to open (it's true, I took 3 tries at it!) and that there's sugar in it (also true).  

Anyway, the smell didn't persist into the finished dessert at all, and I didn't vom after eating, so I think it just smells like that. I was too much of a coward to taste it, but I might try, like, a different brand next time (even though I figured Nestle's the safest allergy bet).  

Overall
Cost: 5/10 
Taste: 5/10
Smell 1/10 

Daisy Light Sour Cream

Good news, creamheads -- this tastes the same as the OG version, as far as I could tell. I do miss the squirty tube, but otherwise, it did its job. 

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Lucerne Heavy Whipping Cream

Is Heavy Whipping Cream interchangeable with Heavy Cream? I'm not really sure, but Chef My Mom says "yes". So I used this in an un-whipped sauce! It was surprisingly good. Very creamy (lol) and decadent. Tasted fresh, too, and not sour. Supposedly it lasts for like a month, so maybe I can even use the rest in something else (cofe??)!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Sargento Light String Cheese

You might think that a name brand string cheese such as this would have a superior taste & texture to a store brand, but in fact you would be wrong! I have sampled many a string cheese over the years, and they're all pretty enjoyable, but this is maybe my least favorite one yet. Granted, they are "light", so you can't expect too much, but there are other light string cheeses (Polly-O, Kraft, America's Choice) that have a way more satisfying peel. The problem with these Sargentos is that you only can peel about 4 chunky strips from this string cheese, which is no fun at all. The flavor is also virtually nonexistent. It's still something to do for those who like hand food and only 50 calories, but I'd spring for any other string cheese option if possible.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 6/10

Fage Greek Yogurt (Strawberry)

Mm, yogurt. Ha ha, just kidding! Yogurt is OK, but I don't love it like everyone else does. That said, I've certainly tried many brands of yogurt, Greek & not-Greek, and I think Fage is my favorite. It's also usually the same low price as the other ones, so there's no reason not to grab one as a filling, not-too-unhealthy snack. They have 0% and 2% varieties, but the 2% tastes much better, so I'd say it's worth the extra 40 calories or whatever.

I think the strawberry is my favorite flavor, though I also like peach and cherry. (Plain is a little rough). The yogurt is tangy and creamy, and the fruit is sweet and has real fruit bits, but is just enough to leave you wanting a tiny bit more. Overall a snack I never regret getting, but I never really crave it.

Overall
Cost: 8/10
Taste: 8/10

Chobani Greek Yogurt with Oats (Apple Cinnamon)

It's been a while since I had a yogurt, so I decided to try this one out. I like the regular apple cinnamon chobani, but I did not like this one as much. Too many oats! Too grainy! Too lumpy! Not enough apple! And so on. It was quite filling, though, and it didn't taste bad, it just didn't taste good. I would much rather have a regular yogurt, this one kind of felt like a punishment. But it was filling and relatively healthy (good fibre, protes, etc). So, I tepidly recommend it if you like yogurt and whole-grain oats, but I probably won't buy again.

Overall
Cost: 7/10
Taste: 5/10