REVIEW: Trader Joe's Strawberry Yogurt O's Cereal

Pros: yogurt chunks were tasty, though really sweet with some tartness to be eating them plain. Some of the chunks were massive haha.

Cons: yogurt-coated & plain cereal pieces were boring taste-wise. Few freeze-dried strawberry pieces.

 Rating: 2/5

Overall Thoughts: no one in my family likes this. We already finished two boxes of other cereal since buying this two weeks ago. There are better Trader Joe's cereal choices available.

REVIEW: Trader Joe's Crunchy Green Beans Snack

Pros: addicting as heck with a crispy texture where there's a satisfying crunch to each bite. Taste-wise, a slight sweetness to the peas balanced with the sea salt. Small pea kernels found in the larger green beans. High amount of fiber.

Cons: none

Rating: 6/5

Overall Thoughts: one of my favorite snacks! I could eat the whole bag by myself haha. Even my grandmother loves these (she took home 4 bags lol).

REVIEW: Trader Joe's Inner Peas

Pros: crispy, light texture. Not overly salted. Taste-wise, there wasn't a strong green pea or vegetable taste to the snack. Short ingredients list: cornmeal, sunflower oil, air-dried green garden peas, rice flour, sea salt, water).

Cons: not much nutritional value

Rating: 4/5

Overall Thoughts: a tasty snack that I've bought a few times, but no huge cravings. I enjoyed trying this, and they were pretty good packed with lunch.

REVIEW: Häagan-Dazs Raspberry & Vanilla Milk Chocolate Bars

Pros: thick chocolate shell. Raspberry flavor didn't overpower the vanilla, but rather added a welcome tartly-sweet flavor note to it. I didn't encounter the raspberry swirls until the 2nd bite.

Cons: none

Rating: 4.5/5

Overall Thoughts: delicious treat that gave me the sense of guilty luxury. I don't think it rivals the awesomeness of the 5-star heavyhitters, but I highly enjoyed this, would highly recommend. A large step up from the ice cream bars of my youth.

REVIEW: Häagan-Dazs Vanilla Milk Chocolate Almond Bars (Snack Size)

 

Pros: thick chocolate shell, liberal amounts of crunchy almonds, snack size encourages portion control, well packaged where the outer shell was fully intact

Cons: none

Rating: 4.5/5

Overall Thoughts: did a great job with the ice cream bar concept, but I don't think it belongs alongside the 5-star rated ice creams. I wasn't wow-ed by it. It was highly enjoyed, but it didn't drag my taste buds through euphoria. Maybe if it had chunks of their cookie dough in it haha, *wistful*.

REVIEW: Trader Joe's Organic Mini Cheese Sandwich Crackers

I had to try these because I'm a fan of anything outrageously cheesy (ie. Cheddar Jack Cheez-Its).

Pros: satisfying, cheesy taste. The cheese filling reminded me of the cheese powder used in instant mac&cheese, but in a good way. Definitely addicting. Organic too.

Cons: none

Rating: 5/5

Overall Thoughts: better than the original Ritz version. I tried the peanut butter version, which was good, but this one was the clear favorite. I want to try these crushed over a casserole or loaded mashed potatoes haha.

REVIEW: Ben & Jerry's Half Baked

Pictures don't do this ice cream flavor enough justice lol.

Pros: massive brownie chunks, satisfying hunks of cookie dough, excellent taste

Cons: none. There were more brownie chunks vs cookie dough balls, but that was fine with me haha.

Rating: 5/5

Overall Thoughts: Absolutely recommend this flavor. I finished this in 3 sittings in the span of 2 days @_@

SIGHTING: 5kg Nutella!

Approximately 11 lbs of Nutella haha. Sighted it at Caputo's grocery store.

THRIFT FIND: Men's monogrammed pants $5

I'm not sure what the brand of these pants are, but it looks to have quality construction. Love the cute embroidered whales. I scored these for 5 bucks at Goodwill ^_^

REVIEW: Arby's Ultimate Angus Philly

Pros: thickly-cut beef, melted cheese, not paper-thin bacon, nice heft

Cons: really salty beef, omission of the advertised green peppers & onions

Rating: 3.5/5

Overall Thoughts: I paid $5.66 with tax included. Price-wise, it's comparable to Portillo's Italian beef. In taste, it was fairly good, but the beef was too salty and it was lacking the advertised green peppers & onions. I won't be buying this again. There are better lunch options.

REVIEW: Jeni's Splendid Malted Milk CollaBARation Bar

 

Jeni's Splendid ice creams are epic, so when I came across this chocolate bar collaboration that they did with the Askinosie Chocolate company, I had to try it, although the $9.95 price made me balk. I found this item at The Goddess & Grocer, a small deli/grocery chain store in Chicago. The product info on their website described the flavor as:

floral notes met with strawberry, vanilla, and a barley malt sweetness. Creamy, velvety smooth.

I'm just an average gal with a sweet tooth, no world-class palate here. I couldn't taste the strawberry. I got a teeny hint of malt, kinda, or maybe it was wishful thinking from my wallet.

Pros: really cute packaging

Cons: mediocre taste, expensive

Rating: 2.5/5

Price: $9.95 for 3 oz.

Overall Thoughts: I rated it higher than a 2 because it didn't taste bad, but it didn't deserve a 3 because of its price. Nothing in the taste distinguished it from a $2-$3 "artisan" chocolate bar readily available at a grocery store.

*Along with this item, I had purchased Vosges Haut-Chocolat's Mo Bacon Bar. That was supremely delicious with flavorful tidbits of crunchy bacon. If memory recalls, it cost around $7. Unfortunately, we ate it all before remembering to take pictures of it haha.

REVIEW: Jeni's Splendid Brown Butter Almond Brittle

After trying & absolutely loving Jeni's Splendid Hummingbird Cake, and then their Brambleberry Crisp, I was excited to try their Brown Butter Almond Brittle. I would have tried it earlier if it weren't for the price tag of $11 per pint T_T.

Pros: massive chunks of delicious almond brittle. The brittle didn't shatter my teeth either; I could bite and chew it with no problems. Plentiful amount of almonds in the brittle. The caramel sauce was a much welcome addition that made this flavor even more awesome. And the ice cream base was a perfect creamy consistency with a flavor that complemented and helped showcase the main attraction, which were the mix-ins.

Cons: None, except the price.

Rating: 5/5

Overall Thoughts: the price is a deterrent, but for the high quality and unique flavors, this is definitely worth trying. I highly recommend this. I feel that Jeni's Splendid could do no wrong with their ice creams.

REVIEW: Ben & Jerry's Oatmeal Cookie Chunk

I'm a fan of oatmeal cookies, except for the raisins, so I was happy to learn that Ben & Jerry's Oatmeal Cookie Chunk omitted them haha.

Pros: the oatmeal cookie chunks and the sheer amount & heft of them. Wow. I was impressed from the first bite, and it got better as I dug in.

Cons: Absolutely none!

Rating: 6/5

Overall Thoughts: I read that this flavor is only offered in some states. Thank gawd that I was able to score a pint at Dominick's. A must-try flavor. I would rather have this ice cream than eat an oatmeal cookie; it's THAT good.