Campbell's Chunky Classic Chicken Noodle

This is in a very handy microwave container, and only takes 1 minute to heat up and only has 190 calories! I also thought it tasted pretty decent, there were a lot of noodles and chicken chunks and the carrots were nice, and of course the broth was comforting on my vaguely sore throat. So I was eating this and thinking "ah, I should get more of these". A good endorsement, right? But then, when I finished, I felt that itchy-lip allergy feeling, a tightness in my throat, and general weirdness. I think beyond it just being anxiety, I'm actually mildly allergic to this. I don't know why, or what it is - I always guess it's the soy protein, but I don't have trouble with other soy-containing foods nearly as much, so it's a bit of mystery. That said, I learned not to get this again, even though it seems otherwise good. So if you have allergies like me, be cautious - otherwise, go for it!

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste with fear: 4/10

Kellogg's Froot Loops

I'm not sure why I have the inclination to call this "Kellogg's Froot Loops" instead of just Froot Loops, but I guess it's the result of a lot of commercials I watched as a kiddo. Like Post Raisin Bran. Anyway, look at that spelling of Fruit, what a lark!

So this is a solid sweet kids cereal that's really held up over the years. A lot of my childhood favorite cereals have either been discontinued (Marshmallow Alpha Bits, Berry Berry Kix, Rice Krispie Treats Cereal) or changed a lot (Trix), but Froot Loops are just as I remember them. They have a good crispiness level and don't sog up too quickly. The taste is sweet, bright, and fruity. I'm sure they aren't very healthy, but you can tell that from the front of the box. A nice safe choice on vacation at hotels, too!

Overall
Cost: 6/10 [3$]
Taste: 7/10

SunRype FruitSource - Apple Mango Strawberry Carrot

Gosh, this bar was tHiCk! Thicker than their other ones, even the one I said was thick before. But I think it's a good thing. This is almost like a cross between fruit leather and a protein bar, made only of fruit (and carrot) juice. The texture isn't as chewy and sticky as their other stuff, which is nice. The taste is also pleasant, I guess it tastes mostly of apples and nondescript fruit...maybe even peach/pear though those aren't ingredients! It's tasty and marginally filling, and not as sweet as other fruit snacks, so I liked it. A very quick eat though.

Overall
Cost: 6/10 (1$ish)
Taste: 6/10

Bird's Eye Three Cheese Chicken

This is so inferior to a noodle packet with veg, yet it's 4 times the price! What a racket. But somehow I still bought it, because like a dum-dum I thought it'd be a good idea to change things up.

The noodles in here are the radiatore noodles Bird's Eye used to make in a great box meal! I like the noodle shape. The veg (broc, corn, carrot) are also well done, no gross frozen veg flavor. The sauce is OK, but honestly a cheese sauce could be so much better (see: noodle packets). The worst part is definitely the chicken, it's super gross and chewy and soy-filled and I hate it. If you eat around the chicken, this is a fine meal, but not near filling or special enough to be worth the price.

Overall
Cost: 4/10 [5.60 on sale!]
Taste: 5/10

2016 Nexo Garnacha

Honestly, I don't review wine that often because apart from a few standouts, they pretty much all taste the same to me (I know, so uncultured!) - at first too bitter, then I get tipsy and I'm way into it. So it goes. But this has been a crazy stressful week, so while I haven't tried any new foods, I have tried this new wine. Thus, a review.

The label art (do you call it that for wine?) is very pretty, I like the tree and the bird a lot. I was sad to see that this came with a cork instead of a screwtop, because that's a bit of extra effort for me, but the cork did its job and the wine seemed fresh. It's a pretty classic red wine to me, although maybe a little sweeter than others, and the tasting notes said it wasn't super fruity but to me I actually got a subtle cherry flavor. I'm almost done with the bottle by now (two nights in, thank you), so I'd say it's fairly drinkable. Good for Survivor premiere day!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Michael Angelo's Chicken Parmigiana

My boyf said this lasts him 3 meals, but L O L because this is one meal for yours truly. It's 3 ~300cal servings, so maybe it would be good meal for 2 people. Anyway, this is supposed to be made in the oven, but from how it tasted (like a microwave meal) I feel like making it in the microwave would be exactly the same, but faster. The chicken patties are typical frozen chicken parm patties, not terrible but definitely a lot of "filler" in them too. Cheese on top is good. The noodles are too mushy and the sauce is fine. It's not great but it's worse than, like, Pat's. I dunno, maybe I'm just not a family size meal fan because I know I'll eat it all and that's a bad scene.


Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Mrs. T's Spicy Jalapeño & Sharp Cheddar Pierogies

After a long day, there's nothing I crave more than....spicy pierogies? Hmmm. That's not right. As you may know, I prefer noodle + rice + bread all over potato, so these noodles full of potato never "hit the spot" for me like they seem to for other people. But they're cheap, and this is a fun new flavor, so let's try it out. The box gives 3 cooking options - saute (actually fry), boil, or bake. Saute was listed first, so I went with that, adding them to a pan with vegetable oil. This always smells like pancakes to me, so it was already a little weird. I've also never had someone else's pierogies outside my family, so I don't even know how they're supposed to be. I always have them boiled, so fried was wild! The outside got crunchy, but good, like a restaurant or somethin'. The inside basically tastes like jalepeno flavored mashed potatoes, and I do like the jalepeno flavor, it's good. Not sure where the sharp cheddar is, I guess it's that "pierogie" flavor I get. These are kind of fun to eat, and they're OK, but I get the impression they're supposed to be more of a treat than they are. I'd rather have ravioli or mashed potatoes, not both. But they're OK. A little spicy, but not overwhelming. 4 is a good serving size, and each box has 12, so it's a good value.

Overall
Cost: 7/10
Taste: 6/10