Undercover Chocolate Quinoa Crisps - Dark Chocolate + Blueberries

And with this, I've finally finished my "trendy nut free snack" excursion (for the time being)! These are pretty different from the cherry ones in that you can't perceive the blueberries at all. They are texturally indistinguishable from the plain dark choco ones (a plus), but without the sea salt (a minus, it turns out). I guess there is a mild blueberry flavor, but if I weren't looking for it, I'd probably just think it's the fruity notes of the choco. So perhaps my ranking is: milk > salt > blueb > cherry. (Whereas my non-Undercover ranking is probably the exact opposite!!) 

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10 

Seeds of Change Quinoa & Brown Rice

I got this as a random free sample, which was very cool. It was also so so quick and easy to cook, you just microwave it for 90 seconds like those Uncle Ben's rice packets. It smells good; nice and garlicy. Plus it's filling and a good source of protein. I thought the taste was fine, it wasn't very strong but just a nice light rice&garlic flavor. The texture is pretty chewy/crunchy because of the quinoa, so that takes a little getting used to if you eat a lot of non-crunchy rice dishes like I do. But ultimately I thought it was a good snack or meal base.




Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 6/10

Grounded Snacks - Cinnamon Sugar Red Rice & Quinoa Tortilla Chips

A tortilla chip that isn't made from corn is a pretty cool concept, now that I think about it. The fact that these are all organic/non-GMO whatever and made out of quinoa, I thought maybe they'd be super healthy (not so) or taste really unique (not so). But these are a decent sweet snack. They're just standard tortilla chips without a strong corn flavor, with a nice dusting of cinnamon sugar. Good crunch, nice brown color, and not too savory (I don't like those sweet/savory mixes). I wouldn't ever really seek this out, but it's totally fine and enjoyable enough to snack on (I went through almost all of it watching some late night Grey's Anatomy).


Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Carrington Farms Organic Toasted Quinoa

I've had cooked quinoa a few times (only a few because it's so much work) and I really like it, but this is a totally different beast. Toasted quinoa touts its "nutty flavor" right on the bag, which sketches me out, but the ingredients here are 100% quinoa, so it is safe. You also don't need to rinse or boil or mess with this in any way. OK, cool. So right out of the bag, initially, I was like "this tastes like bird food, blech", but then I started to get hungry and I got into eating this by the spoonful. It is a little bit nutty (I imagine) and grainy. As you might expect, I suppose. But it feels healthy (ha ha) and filling and is very convenient. The actual balls are super tiny, but not so tough that you can't chew them (they aren't popcorn husks). I might try popping this in some yogurt or stuffing or something later, but even on its own I could probably eat this whole bag. I'm not really lacking for protein or fiber, but if you are veg, this could be super convenient to just throw in different meals.

Overall
Cost: 3/10 (It's like $7.50 dude)
Taste: 5/10