abe's vanilla cupcakes

Philly grocery really crushing it in the allergy-free space!! For an egg-free, milk-free, soy-free cupcake, this is quite good. Surprisingly normal, although not quite as delicious, especially in the frosting (although there is somehow a tangy note, which impressed me). A little bit less sweet tasting than those milkful nutfree mini cupcakes at my local store, even though I believe the sugar content is the same. These were a nice treat to reward me for not dying or vomming during any famous linguists' talks! Yay me!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Annie's Hidden Veggies - Cheesy Cheddar

It's so rare for "hidden veggies" to NOT be peas and beans and etc! Thank you, Annie. I'm in a hotel right now with no cooking implements, so any form of veggie is a plus, even if it's tiny amounts of squash powder flavoring a flat bunny cracker. Which this is. But even though it's flat and not that veg-y, the taste is good. Buttery and heavily seasoned. And the flat-ness is kind of a fun novelty. More fun than a traditional puffed goldfish (or cheddar bunny) shape. Or maybe I'm just in a good mood because I'm back on my "brain diet be damned" bs and sleeping 2 hours a day :)

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

BelGioioso Ciliegine Mozzarella

Some of my best friends are "Cherry Size". Listen, it seems like mozz should be right out, but it's fresh and not aged so perhaps it is fine. My store didn't have Normal Large Ball, but actually these 1/3oz blops are pretty convenient. They taste like mozz and I have no complaints. 6 of them make for a nice personal pizza lavash. 

Overall
Cost: 5/10 (6$)
Taste: 7/10

Quaker Apples & Cinnamon

I'm not sure why I didn't buy this months ago, since it's packaged & sweet & not breaking any rules. But for whatever reason (health???) I did not. It's no raisins and spice, but that's OK. This is oatmeal with apple, cinnamon, and sugar. Sure, you could make it yourself, but this is not particularly costly, so why bother? Tastes a lot like baked apples (which I am eating a lot of now since I can't have Raw apples). It is pleasant. Pie-esque. The biggest downside is the horrible texture; using 2/3 cup water is not enough, but any more is somehow far too much. It is either gloopy or runny. Perhaps this is just the nature of oatmeal, but I seem to remember a non-horribly-textured oatmeal in my past years ago. Perhaps it is a false memory, like so many memories are.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 6/10

De Lallo Elbows

 

These Delallbows are pretty good. Quick cook time (6min), tasty, cute. The only issue I have is that they're so small I've choked on them more than once. User error for sure, but a user error that hasn't come up with the other, less chokey shapes. No further comments, your honors.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

ICEE Cereal

Well now. This seems like a bouquet of chemicals that are sure to cause cancer. But since I'm not drinking, it seems like fair game. (I just saw Vivek's latest post about alcohol causing cancer, and instead of making me happy that I'm not drinking alc, it made me sad, because I guess I still see myself as a temporarily embarrassed millionaire 😔)

Like the other cooling cereals I've tried, this does have a creepy cooling effect. It also does smell like ICEEs. My main complaint is that the cereal orbs are red (cherry), blue (blue ras) and.... purple? (ostensibly a combo????). Is there a purple ICEE that we forgot to advertise on the box? The predominant flavor is really just "ICEE", not cherry or blue raspberry, but I think that's kind of how ICEEs themselves are, right? It's been a minute since I dipped my toe into that particular lake. Maybe it leans more cherry, but then again, I think I have only had Cherry ICEEs. Anyway, this is a fun novelty, but the taste isn't anything special, and the branding does nothing for me (it's not like it's Dunkin' Refresher branded), so I wouldn't get it again. Nice box size though (small). 

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Starburst FaveREDs

It is a good idea to put these flavors together, as they are indeed my Faves (and red-adjacent). Starburst are pretty reliable. Fun to build little towers with. The flavors are:

Cherry - This is in the OG mix, and it is a favorite there. 7. 

Watermelon - This is probably in the tropical mix? It tastes like watermelon candy flavor. Solid. 7.

Fruit Punch = I don't know where this came from, but yes, this tastes like fruit punch. It's sweet, fruity, nice. 7.

Strawberry - Also in the OG mix. This is not complex, but it's the sweetest one. Classic strawberry candy. 8.

All of these are very good. Rare to not think "aw shucks" at any random candy flavor. Happy New Year to me (and to you).

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 7/10