Kind Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate

 PB and C? Even if it's bad, it's never that bad

Yes, I know. I've been away for awhile. There's been some changes going on in my non-snack life that's been taking up much of my time, but alas, like two star-crossed lovers, snacks and I will always find a way to make it work, but enough about me. On to the snacks....

The Attraction

The company I work for is still generous enough to offer it's employee snacks throughout the week. The catch being that the snacks they offer are of the healthier variety. A small price to pay for comped snacks, I say. Well, it also depends what kind of snacks we are talking about. One can only consume so many dried apricots before finding a small queue forming at the restroom stalls.

In this case, they try to find something "healthier", but not mind-numbingly bland. In this week's case, thy name be Kind Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate. (That sounds about as healthy as a reduced fat pork rinds)

The Review:
I've had a few Kind snack bars in my day. Almost always because that's what my office offers, but I'm happy to say that they have almost all have been great. I have nothing but high hopes between my past experience with their products and with the headliners on listed on marque in bright orange letters, "Peanut Butter and Dark Chocolate". In a perfect world, I would have opted to not have the "dark" kind of chocolate in there, but one does have to try to make these products sound somewhat healthy.

It's like Richard Simmons came in and threw a bunch of healthy
stuff over Paula Dean's Rice Krispy Treats

I undress this sexy sounding bar to reveal a darker looking Rice Krispy Treat with bits of oats, seeds and dark chocolate mixed in. To me it's like watching Margo Robbie in The Legend of Tarzan. You can put all these things and try to ugly up Margot Robbie, but its still Margo Robbie. The core will always shine through, but will the taste follow the appearance?

I think they are on to something

I take a nibble of the bar, (so the photo I take of the bar after doesn't look like a bear attacked it) and find that the oats, seeds and miscellaneous healthy items in the bar doesn't distract from the delicious peanut better and chocolate flavor. I swear, if you were to change the wrapping on this thing, you would have no idea that this product was geared for a more health conscious crowd.

The bar isn't too sweet or too much anything. It doesn't overpower you with the pb flavor and the dark chocolate actually helps keep the sweetness reigned in. I also enjoy that the bar isn't to dry or crunchy because overall I just prefer chewy bars like these.

Then all of sudden in dawns on me.....this doesn't taste delicious in spite of all those healthier ingredients....it takes good because of it! (mind blown)

The Sweet:
Taste good and better for you than the status quo.

The Bitter:
Costlier than your typical Rice Krispy Treat

Conclusion:
Frankly, I might have to stop reviewing Kind products. I have yet to encounter one of their items that I haven't enjoyed. Even if the initial offering and listing of ingredients don't turn me on, I give it a try and always end up liking it. Now, I can't vouch for how "healthy" they are cause they just taste too good to me to be totally convinced that it's all good for you, but it's got to be better for you than the conventional commercial candy bars and sugary snacks on the market.

Maybe that says all in the end; Kind Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate is so delicious that you begin to even doubt how healthy it is because it's so tasty.

Video of the Week

I wonder if I can retrofit the robot that
does my floors to do my windows?

What have I been up to you may ask? Well, I'll get into that on my next post, but as of late, when I have to time to surf, I've been obsessing with these "Cool Stuff you can get on Amazon" videos. Some are ridiculous, but some are actually cool. Now, will I ever buy them? Probably not, but maybe I just have a weird thing for watching infomercials.

Kind Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate

Can this possibly be "good" for you?

The Attraction

After my last review of Odwalla Berries GoMega, I received some emails questioning what was a good healthy snack bar since in my assessment was less than stellar about the Odwalla bar. I didn't have an answer off-hand, but I thought it was fine time to start testing a few so I can recommend some to try as opposed to just give you ones to avoid.

The Review:
I've seen these Kind bars around for a bit. I can't say I was necessarily excited at the idea of trying another "health" bar, but I also think we can't just eat milk chocolate bar and potato chips everyday (although I would probably try). I will say that just by the looks of the transparent wrapper, it looks more appetizing already than some other bars in this "healthy"arena. This bar was not a compressed bar, but it does advertise a bunch of almonds, peanuts and chocolate! However far looks can get you, this was a good start, but as in life, it can only get you so far for so long. Let's see what lies beneath the surface, shall we?

If only all healthy things looked this good

After liberating the Kind bar from the wrapper, it's difficult not to take a second and admire the overall beauty of this bar; from the glistening shine off the assorted nuts to the drizzle of dark chocolate across the bar. As if that wasn't enough, the whole underside is coated in dark chocolate. If looks could kill, I would be in for some serious trouble.

I finally take a bite and it's...every bit as tasty as it looks. Dare I say the abundance of nuts and chocolate in some regards can stand right up there against your perennial snack bar favorites. Think a nuttier Snickers bar. In fact, it's so nutty, it reminds me of another nutty chocolate bar, the Nuggle. Forget about tasty for a "healthy" snack, it's just plain tasty. I will say that although it advertises peanut butter, I don't really detect any. It could be that the bar itself is so full of nuts that it gets lost in the shuffle, but frankly, I forgot about it because I was so surprised at how good it tasted.

I could get used to this!

The Sweet:
Deliciously comparable to many commercially available chocolate snack bars

The Bitter:
Exactly how "healthy" is this?

Conclusion:
I get it, I'm not exactly comparing apples to apples here if I'm putting this up against the Odwalla bar. Most people in the world would probably prefer dark chocolate and nuts vs. compressed oats and cranberries (duh, really?), but let's just let this snack stand on it's own. I can't vouch for how "healthy" this particular Kind bar is, but compared to a standard Snickers bar I would hope it's better for you. In fact, maybe that should be the approach here; maybe in the future when you have a hankering for a "guilty" chocolate snack, instead of reaching for the standard candy store variety, reach for one of these.

Are you going to turn into a supermodel from eating these instead of the customary assortment of chocolate goodies? Not likely, but if you can shave off a few calories along with a few grams of sugar and get some protein in the process as well, what's the harm? Your taste buds certainly won't be upset with this compromise.

Video of the Week

Hope you packed a lunch

Over the course of time, I've come to accept that some people work at their own pace; some a little faster, some a little slower. However in this case, I can't tell if this woman is working at this pace deliberately or she is just a super methodical mover. Whatever it may be, I don't think she would last very long as a bank teller in NYC. Either she would get constantly get yelled at by customers and quit or tons of customers would catch heart attacks from their blood pressure boiling over waiting. (Have you seen how we react to just slow walkers on the street?) 

Insomnia Cookies Oatmeal Raisin / Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup

The things I must do for this blog

The Attraction

I've been hearing a lot about these cookies, so when I was finally within striking distance to try some, it was time to see if it lived up to all the hype.

The Review:
One of the many wonderful things of living in NYC is having access to all these varieties of food at a given time. Due to the large population here, it always makes us an attractive area for new and upcoming food-related companies to consider opening a new location at. This is also the case with Insomnia Cookies.

Although they have a bunch of locations here, I came across one within walking distance from my office. First I heard about how their company came to be and then I ran into a very excited women going down the elevator to pickup a order she placed. After that run-in, I thought to myself, "Can it really be that good?"

Come to daddy

When I walked into the very small storefront and placed my order after peering at the menu, the woman taking my order opened a warming drawer at the front counter and pulled my requested cookies out. Whoa...that's a nice touch. Previous to that, I had only been to a place that would warm up cookies for you, after they had been out for a bit.

I decided to go with my favorite cookie, an oatmeal raisin cookie and a "deluxe" cookie; the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup cookie, as the second course. I really planned to only get one, but I love peanut butter, so I couldn't resist. What made this cookie a "deluxe" was the size. It's about double the size of their standard cookie (also about double the cost), but both sat nice and warm in my hand as I took them back to my office to have a "private moment" with.

Mmbrrmr

I take the oatmeal raisin cookie out first and I could already tell it was going to be good; in addition to being warm, it was nice and soft. I've never really been a fan of crispy cookies, so they really had my attention now. I take a bite and it's reminds me of the type of cookie that has a homemade recipe, but executed by professionals. It's a good cookie with just the right ratio of plump raisins to cookie dough. What I love about oatmeal raisin cookies is it's simplicity. There's no flash, no fancy ingredients to take your eyes or taste buds off of. It's just you and the cookie. It doesn't overwhelm you with sweetness and doesn't take you on a flavor roller coaster. Which interestingly, is a direct contrast to my second cookie course.

Looks like a delicious chocolate growth

As simple as the oatmeal raisin cookie was, the peanut butter cup cookie was like it's bigger, brasher bolder, meth-addicted cousin. It's physically larger then the standard size cookie and it has a larger grouping of it's ingredients, in this case, peanut butter cup, in it. All of which, I assume, made it a "deluxe" cookie on Insomnias's menu. I break off a piece of the cookie and I was greeted with smooth peanut butter flavor incorporated into the dough. That on it's own was very good. Where it goes off the rails in a meth-filled frenzy is when you get to the pb cup portion.

The chunks are so big and poorly distributed that it completely wipes out the the smoothness of the peanut butter in the cookie dough and you are greeted with a raunchy intermission act between the first and second half of Shrek. It's like eating a peanut butter cookie and then picking up a peanut butter cup and then taking a bite; sounds good on paper, but the reality isn't nearly as subtle as one might think. I wish Insomnia made a plain peanut butter cookie, but be it as it may, they don't and if their oatmeal raisin cookie was Ohio, this peanut butter cup cookie was Las Vegas.

I had to take this quick before gravity
broke this cookie....again

The Sweet:
These are delivered deliciously warm from a "warming counter".

The Bitter:
Their deluxe cookies are decadent to the max.

Conclusion:
Now, decadence isn't necessarily a bad thing, but for me, I think what a makes a snack great is the ability to ride that fine line between being satisfying, yet leaving you wanting for more. If you like to leave your snack exchange without feeling like you overdid it, I would try to limit your selection to something in the standard cookie category. Having that deluxe cookie, as much as I enjoyed the peanut butter portion, it left that, I-think-I-had-too-many-Krispy-Kremes-feeling (somewhere between piggish and insulin shotville).

Keep it to the standard and you will be rewarded with a cookie that brings the great homemade fresh out of the oven feel without the mess.

Video of the Week 

They are back! (Sorta)

I'm a little late to the game, but I recently discovered this new track by Johnny Gill. As cool as Johnny is, the real draw is the reunion of New Edition with him on this single after no new material by them since 2004. If you are a fan of NE like I am, this is great news. The song is old school awesome and they still have their dance moves. Somehow I don't look as good them when I do the steps in the shower.

Trader Joe's Peanut Butter and Jelly Greek Yogurt

This could get interesting

The Attraction

I have what some might say is an unusual amount of love towards peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, so when I saw Trader Joe offer up a Greek yogurt version of it, it wasn't like it was even an option to not try it.

The Review:
I wasn't necessarily looking for a PB+J fix when I was roaming Trader Joe's this past week, but along with the normal groceries, I had to pick up this yogurt anomaly. Whoever thought of PB+J Greek yogurt? It sounds brilliant! We all already know of the standard blueberry flavored yogurt, so why not toss in some peanut butter flavor and make this into a party?! Ohh..this is going to be good!

I slowly peel back the foiled cover on the yogurt and see that this is not that different from most other yogurts. I prefer fruit on the bottom type of yogurts, so I was hoping this might be the same. As I start to stir, I see that the consistency is also par the course; a thick, creamy concoction. I do notice that my stirring is bringing up the smell of peanut butter and it smells good. I also notice that there isn't any fruit on the bottom....or anywhere in this yogurt! That's disappointing. It seemed like a no-brainer to me, but Trader Joe's chose not to include it in this product.

Unassuming, but what lies beneath?

I take a spoonful up to my mouth and have a taste. Yes, there certainly is a peanut butter-like flavor present, but it's a bit more reserved. It's nutty, but it tastes a bit more like sesame. That is probably because in a yogurt, it wouldn't make sense to add salt or a lot of it to really drive the PB flavor home as we are used to in typical peanut butter flavored snack (such as crackers, candy bars and peanut butter in a jar). OK, that makes sense, but the "jelly" component is also subtle. It's in there, but it's in the form of a juice or essence mixed in the yogurt.

I get how this product could have gone horribly wrong if it was made by a large corporate yogurt manufacturer; globs of pb mixed with a HFCS sweetener to emulate the jelly part. That sorta sounds good to the kid in me, but the adult in me knows that's not really the best way to go. With Trader Joe's, you know they aren't using stuff that has a half-life.

Oh, more of the same?

The Sweet:
Trader Joe's keeps it simple and as always minimizes any artificial ingredients.

The Bitter:
No berries? It would have seemed like the obvious thing to do with a pb+j yogurt.

Conclusion:
There's no mistaking this yogurt for the real thing. Maybe it's just me, but I've grown up with the idea that yogurt and fruit flavors go hand in hand. There was a lot of potential here by tossing in the pb curve along with the fruit flavor standard, but I think omitting fruit altogether was a mistake. Perhaps the result may have been too overwhelming in Trader Joe's opinion, but the final product was too underwhelming in mine.

Video of the Week 

"She's Always in My Hair"

What is left to be said about Prince's passing this week that hasn't already been said? I don't think there is, so I leave it to his music and his performances. With so many to choose from, it was hard to pinpoint just one. The most notable being the Super Bowl half-time performance and his incredible guitar solo during the Rock'n Roll Hall of Fame induction. Instead I selected a performance of a favorite song of mine, "She's Always in My Hair".

Welchs PB&J Snacks Crunchy

Cause who doesn't love PB&J?

The Attraction

I was at a local discount retailer (ahem, 99 cent store, ahem) when I spotted these on line waiting to pay for my aluminum foil. I've been wanting to review snacks from a discount retailer for awhile to see if they would be any good. Although I really wanted to review an unknown brand, I thought this PB&J concept was too interesting to pass up.

The Review:
I take this bag of potential snack heaven home and open it. As quickly as I open it, the smell of peanut butter (pb) fills the air. "This could be good. Real good." I think to myself. I take a ball out and take a look at them. They have the appearance of a wall of pb, except for some spots of lighter color in them. That must be where the crunchy lives!

Looks almost like a Combos, but in ball form

I take hold of ball and bite. Surprisingly the ball of pb yields to my bite and reveals the "jelly" center. It was very different from my expectation. There was no "crunch" in my bite as the package had advertised. The pb outer was more like a waxy shell. As for the jelly center, it was just a grape flavored version of one of their fruit or "jelly" snacks.

In my mind, I was thinking a harder or crunchy pb shell and a jelly center that was more like a fluid or at least more jelly-like opposed to a purposed fruit snack. Either of those characteristics would have been a favorable element, but Welsh's took it a whole different direction.....and not a good direction.

"Oh...that was it?"

The Sweet:
I like the idea...

The Bitter:
...but the execution? Where's the "crunchy"?

Conclusion:
I really would like a portable snack that could capture the essence of PB&J. Although Welch's put forth a decent attempt, I think it ultimately misses the mark. Part of the joy of PB&J for me is the crunch of the savory peanut butter juxtaposed against the sweet moisture of the jelly. There was no crunch to be had and no moisture of  jelly in here. It looks like it's back to the good ole reliable between two slices of bread until snack makers get it right.

Video of the Week 
I love Taco Bell. Maybe more than a man that's trying to maintain his weight should. As much as I love them, it never occurred to me to buy a bunch of their products and reconstruct it to make a Taco Bell Lasagna like this gentleman did. I wish I could say that I'm totally grossed out. (psst...I'm not)

 "How can I get more calories into my body as quickly as possible?
Oh wait, I have an idea!"

Chips Ahoy! Chewy Chocolate Chip Made With Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

"How can we improve upon a chocolate chip cookie?
Oh, I know!"

The Attraction

I've had Chips Ahoy several times when I was a kid growing up. Recently I've avoided them because I never cared for the standard variety, yet I did love the chewy variation. With that said, I think we can all do with a little less cookies in our lives, so I didn't buy any for a while until I saw this offering with peanut butter cup pieces in it. I'm not Superman, people.

The Review:
OK, I admit it. I was struggling to find a new product when I picked up these cookies, but I also think deep inside I was searching for an excuse to try these cookies. Anyone who has been reading my reviews in the past knows how I adore peanut butter. There, you made me come out and say it.

I slowly peel back the package's resealable cover to reveal the rows of cookies in the tray waiting to be devoured. I have to carefully pick up a cookie as they are so soft that any sudden moments would break the cookie itself. Is there such a thing as "snack foreplay" that's not creepy sounding?

You can see the PB cup in the cookie! How sexy

Anyhoo, I commit to a taste and it's just as I remembered; a gentle yield to my bite and the cookie dough flavor acquiesces to the chocolate chip that's in the mix as well. It's only closer towards the end that the pb flavor comes bleeding through. It's clear that the folks at Chips Ahoy! chose to reformulate the pb cup recipe in this instance to reign in the texture and flavor. I can see how sticking with the original composition of the pb cup would have been too much of a contrast against its soft cookie surroundings. They also refined the pb flavor to tone it down so it wouldn't quite be so dominating in the cookie, but they could have let the pb flavor shine through a little more in the final product.

This could spell trouble

The Sweet:
Chewy, soft texture with a reworked peanut cup hits the right snack spot.

The Bitter:
As a pb fan, I could have took a little more pb flavor. Want to have just one? Haha...good luck!

Conclusion:
I know these are a commercial brand and I've had some fancy cookies as of late, but there's a reason why Chips Ahoy! has been around for such a long time. In addition to that great chewy texture they offer with this line, the variable of pb bits makes this product irresistible for a snacker like me. In the end, I won't be buying this item too often not because it isn't delicious, but I fear they are just too delicious and it will be clear just how much so the next time I'm at the beach.

Video of the Week 
At this point, we've all see videos and pictures of people piled onto bikes, but this family takes it to whole new level. Well, at least they have helmets on, oh wait, they don't have that either.

Just on hanging on the family bike

Jif Crunchy Peanut Butter Bar

Not just PB in a jar anymore!

The Attraction

A few weeks ago I was walking the supermarket aisles looking for some green tea ice cream. As I turned the corner, I saw a little cardboard cutout with these bars in them.

"Jif makes bars now?" I thought to myself.

Apparently they do. Being a PB lover, I grabbed one of the crunchy variety and continued on my quest for ice cream.

The Review:
Jif has been making peanut butter for awhile now and although they aren't my go-to brand, (see Skippy) they are still the most popular peanut butter brand in the US. I was curious what Jif had up their sleeve as I've seen many flavor variations of PB recently, but up to this point, never a foray into the granola bar arena.

I unwrap the bar and admire from afar all the layers of peanut butter flavor coming my way. I was doubly excited because I like crunchy peanut butter even more (Jif also offers a creamy version of the granola bar). This could be epic peanut butter flavor based on what I can tell on the bar. Looks like a base of some sort of peanut butter nougat with granola on top of that and then a layer of shiny peanut butter like caramel with pieces of peanuts mixed in. This thing might be considered a deadly weapon to a person with a serious peanut allergy.

Layers of peanut goodness...

I finally take my first bite and the bar yields to it much like any other granola bar. The larger crime is that there is no "crunch" as the wrapper would have you believe. The flavor is definitely unmistakably PB, but surprisingly, it's also not as strong in PB flavor as it would appear. The bar eats very much like a Snickers bar, but oddly enough, without the crunch of the peanuts. Where the heck is the crunch?

Flavor-wise, it's good, but where it fails is the expectation of something super peanut butter flavor. It's rather ordinary and not that different from other granola bars that incorporate peanut butter into their recipe.

or was it?

The Sweet:
Good flavor

The Bitter:
Not as peanut-buttery as you would think with all those layers. Not that different from most granola bars with peanut butter in it. They call this crunchy?

Conclusion:
Remove the name Jif from this snack and the review may have been more favorable, but be it as it may, Jif has a reputation it must live up to. Superior peanut butter flavor and in this case of a "crunchy" variety of a peanut butter product, it must deliver a crunch! Although the bar was flavorful and tasty, it was hardly anything new in this genre.

If you are America's number 1 peanut butter brand, the public holds you to a higher standard and unfortunately, these Jif Crunchy Peanut Butter granola Bars are very pedestrian. 

Video of the Week

I thought I told them to turn the camera off!

Sometimes in life, you are just so hungry, you can't get the food in you fast enough. In this case with Peking Duck, this man has found a clever way to speed up the process exponentially. Unfortunately he has also sped up the process in which women swipe left after viewing this video.

Bon O Bon

Not to be confused with Bon Bons

The Attraction

Another wonderful thing about the holidays is when people in your office go away and bring back treats from far and exotic lands. In this case, the exotic land being Argentina! Thanks Morielle. In addition to having a cool name, you know how to pick interesting looking candy.

The Review:
These Bon O Bons apparently are a big thing in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. There are also 5 other variations, but that's about all I can decipher from the Wiki page. Maybe I should just taste it and figure out the rest later.

I unwrap this piece of chocolate without knowing exactly what to expect. Unwrapping it doesn't reveal anymore than that either. It's simply a ball with chocolate on the outside.

I pick it up curiously and take a good size bite. As I start chewing, I can hear my mouth crunch through a wafer-like layer and then I'm greeted by a tan cream inside.

"What the heck is this cream?", I think to myself

 

It almost looks too simple...

As I continue through my bite, the flavor of the cream finally comes to mind...peanut! However just when I expect the peanut flavor to reach a crescendo, it backs off and I'm left thinking "peanut?" instead.

These Bon O Bons remind me of a Ferrero Rocher, complete with thin wafer shell, but take away the the hazelnut inside as well as out and insert a light peanut-flavored cream inside. Correction, a tasty light peanut flavored cream.

The cream is the real highlight of this candy as it's not too dense, nor not too sweet. It gently says, "Hey, I'm peanut-flavored, baby." instead of screaming "Peanuts? I got your peanuts right here, tough guy!".

...but then boom!

The Sweet:
Great flavor. The unexpectedly light peanut cream is a revelation.

The Bitter:
You might have to go near Argentina or find friends there to score some more.

Conclusion:
I've never heard of these treats previously, but now I can't seem to forget about them. It's light peanut cream comes across as something familiar, yet different. You start to think peanut butter, but the cream doesn't commit that strongly to it's flavor roots and the peanut flavor dissipates just when you think you know where this ride is taking you....and I for one enjoy this ride.

Video of the Week

Quick, where do I buy one?!

It's for my friend, I swear.

With great advancements in technology comes new ways to integrate some naughtiness into it. Enter VR or virtual reality. In this week's video, Raymond Wong gives virtual porn a test drive. Be warned, although there isn't an nudity in this video, there are some provocative parts. All the good stuff has been edited. (darn)

Snyder's of Hanover Pretzel Dips Peanut Butter Pretzel Sandwich

How could I NOT resist?

The Attraction:

I saw these at a Target a few weeks back, but was too much of a slacker to wait in line for 15 minutes to pay for a bag of these, so recently on my way home from work when I stopped at the drug store and saw these on the shelf again, I knew it was snack kismet. (That and I was hungry)

The Review:
In case you missed a few of my reviews, I have a thing going with peanut butter and chocolate snacks. (please see here, here and here). Its pretty hard to mess it up, in my opinion, so with this combination, it's a bit more like, how great can they make this snack?

I get home, peel open the bag and peer inside. For what I paid, it's not too bad, but I wouldn't have complained from the bag being "too heavy".

I pick up a sandwich and although it's not as pretty as the picture on the outside of the bag, the coverage and layer of chocolate on the sandwich is more than I expected. I was expecting a light coating, but from the appearance, you wouldn't necessarily have been able to tell what was under the chocolate.

Finally, it's time to dig in. I take a bite and the smooth chocolate texture gives way to a firm pretzel hidden under the coating of chocolate. The flavor waves follow the same sequence; the sweetness of the chocolate followed by the saltiness of the pretzel. Hmm..I know the bag said "peanut butter" on the outside...oh, there it is. As you can imagine, when you are dealing with these kind of strong flavors, something has to play the third fiddle and in this case it's the peanut butter. It's in there, but it gets lost in the shuffle with the shot of saltiness from the pretzel masking the salty nutty flavor of the peanut butter. It's not a salty and crunchy Reese's Peanut Butter cup, like I wished it would be like, but how many things in the world can be?

I could of used a couple of more of these

The Sweet:

Chocolate and pretzel is a great classic combo. Throw in some peanut butter for good measure.

The Bitter:
A little pricey at $3.50 a bag. The peanut butter flavor gets lost in the mix somewhere

In case you were wondering where the pretzel was

Conclusion:
These are a delicious snack. I would have liked the pb to come across a bit stronger, but I think the original configuration without the chocolate allowed the peanut butter flavor to be more pronounced. With the chocolate bath, the subtleties of the nut flavor get lost, but even at that, I cleared out the bag without much help. The next time I can scrape together a few bucks, I'll be fine with letting this little keeper join the snack party in my pantry.

Video of the Week
If you are a geek like me, then you actually watched the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer a few times. If you were a uber geek (possibly like me), then you stepped it up a notch and watched the Japanese version of the trailer to get a peek at some additional scenes.

I don't know, I might see this. (haha!)

Cracker Jack Chocolate Peanut Butter

This is almost too good to be true!

The Attraction:
Cracker Jacks are an iconic American snack. Mostly known for being devoured during sporting events, these treats are also popular in some homes. When I saw these Chocolate Peanut Butter versions of the classic popcorn snack, I thought this could be the perfect marriage of some of my favorite things; popcorn, chocolate and peanut butter. Oh, it's on, sucker!

The Review
I got to admit, I do enjoy the original Caramel Coated and Peanut Cracker Jack, but rarely enough to indulge in picking up a package to be stocked in my snack locker, but when I saw this new offering, I was excited. I love peanut butter and chocolate offerings and have been a sucker for that combination as witnessed here and here. I had high hopes for this product, but would I be burned again like some other items that fell short?

I quickly tore into the bag of Cracker Jacks and was ready to dig in. I popped a piece of popcorn into my mouth and was greeted with the identical crunch as the original Cracker Jack. I was impressed that even with a potentially heavier ingredient like chocolate covering the popcorn, it may lose it's crispness, but not in this case. They do a great job of keeping the texture consistent between flavor offerings. Let me have some more...

As I continue to nosh on several pieces of  Cracker Jacks, I begin to feel a slight twinge towards the back of my throat. "Why is that?", I think to myself. The popcorn is just too sweet and literally starts to hurt my throat! I had to stop and have a drink of water. It was just too much on the sugar scale..

Looks tasty!

The Sweet:

Has it's classic crispy crunch that you would expect from a Cracker Jack. The flavor is good if you have only a few pieces, but...

The Bitter:
... if you are like me and have a few more than 12 pieces, it may make your throat hurt due to the sweetness.

Proceed with caution

Conclusion:
This item starts off with so much promise; crispy crunch, nice chocolate and peanut butter flavor, but somehow, the sweetness begins to accumulate until my throat started to hurt. Now, to be fair, I was enjoying eating these treats up to that point, but at the end of the day, anything that makes your body react like that, can't be a good thing. As much as I wanted this to work, it seems that Cracker Jack Chocolate Peanut Butter was just too much of a good thing.

Video of the Week
Do you like girls? How about girls that sing, dress and dance well? Get ready, cause you won't find them below.

If I could clone myself 5 times, I might kill myself 5 times

Zetov Bamba

Will this be a hit or a "Bamba"? (Sorry)

 

The Attraction:
I recently started shopping at a supermarket that caters to the Jewish community. They happen to offer good pricing on fruits and vegetables, so while I was in there picking up a few items, I thought it would only makes sense to check out the snack aisle. While feasting my eyes on all these snack brands I had never heard of before, I came across this little treat. Having no mention of cheese flavor, I was intrigued as to what this treasure might taste like since it so closely resembles a Cheez Doodle, without the cheez.

The Review
I was really wondering what on earth this thing would taste like. For those of you that have had a Cheez Doodle before, close your eyes for a second. Imagine that crunch before the rush of cheese flavor hits your tongue. Now take away that cheese flavor. How would you imagine that same snack item would taste? I had certainly had no clue, but the idea that the packaging says "tasty corn snacks" somehow made me think it might be like a corn chip from a Mexican restaurant. Oh..the excitement!

I open the package and inhaled deeply from the bag. I didn't smell anything. "Even more curious", I think to myself. I take a peek in the bag and sure enough, the Bambas look like slightly smaller, naked Cheez Doodles. Enough of this foreplay. It's time to get to it.

I pick a lucky Bamba out of the bag and bite into it. Same type of a crunch one would expect from a snack that looks like this, but the flavor is subtle...and well, frankly unexpected. What is this flavor I'm tasting? It's familiar, but my mind is flipping out. I take another piece and my brain finally nails it; peanut! What!?

Am I high? Peanut flavor? There's no mention of peanut flavor on the front packaging!? I quickly turn the bag over to see the list of ingredients and there it is in black and white. "Peanuts". It even precedes corn on the list of ingredients, yet there's no mention of it or it's flavor anywhere in site, other than on the listing of ingredients. I'm not quite sure what to think...

I'm like a naked cheez puff

The Sweet:

The crunch is nice, yet didn't seem to have an oily feel like some fried corn snacks do. It also boasts about not having any artificial flavor or coloring adding. Perhaps even more impressively, this snack is comprised of only 4 ingredients; Peanuts, corn, palm oil and salt. It's mild flavor will let you polish off a bag without much of a thought. It is also amazing affordable. My bag cost only 50 cents.

The Bitter:
It's a total mind freak! Of all the flavors I was expecting, peanut was not one of them.When was the last time you had a fried chip of some sort that taste of peanuts? It wasn't bad, but frankly I think I may have it enjoyed it more if they turned up the peanut flavor.

"It's like you don't know me at all!"

Conclusion:
Zetov's Bamba is one of the many reasons why I love trying new and different snacks from other cultures and regions. Although this particular item didn't set my taste buds ablaze with excitement, it threw a curve ball to my expectations and after having so many snacks over the years, the unexpected can be a really good thing.

I won't be venturing out anytime soon to pickup a bag of Bamba for myself, but with it's short list of pronounceable ingredients and mild flavor, this would be a snack I would be comfortable giving to the little ones vs some of the main stream snack items lining the supermarket shelves.

Video of the Week
Here I am this American guy trying out all this snacks from other parts of world.

I wonder what, umm...let's say Korean girls think of American snacks? Wonder no more!

 (Thanks Grace for the video suggestion!)

"I would like to date Paul"
(not a direct translation)

Kit Kat Chunky Peanut Butter

Red, White, Blue and Peanut Butter?

The Attraction:
While taking a tour at the grocery market last week, there were several boxes that had hand handwritten words written on them; "Imported from England". This Kit Kat bar was in one of the boxes. Need I say more.

The Review
My fondness for peanut butter has been well documented ( Peanut Butter Moon Pie, Peanut Butter and Strawberry Biscuits, Reese's Nutrageous) so it was a natural fit to jump on the opportunity to try a peanut butter flavored version of a Kit Kat. Although it's at the larger "Chunky" size, it was still worthwhile for me to pick up one of these. I've tried variations of Kit Kats before ( White Chocolate Kit Kat) which I enjoyed and other peanut butter variations of classics (Snickers Peanut Butter) with mixed results. Where will this fall on the scale?

At the unwrapping, I noticed that the bar is cleverly shaped as a giant version of a singular stick of a Kit Kat, Cool! I dig in without wasting another moment. Same crunch as a Kit Kat bar, just, umm...larger? Well, anyway, slowly the peanut butter flavor comes through. The peanut butter itself isn't as sweet as what you might find in a Reese's offering. It comes off as slightly salty actually. Interesting, I keep digging in still with an uncertainty as to what I think about it. I'll need to ponder on this a but more.

Now that's a Chunky Kit Kat bar!

The Sweet:
The familiar Kit Kat formula works even at the "Chunky" size. The peanut butter adds a slightly salty twist on an old favorite.

I feel like I put a Kit Kat bar in a copier at blew it up 10x the size

The Bitter:
I think this product would have worked better at the conventional Kit Kat size. Although I did enjoy this chocolate bar, I think the smaller bars would have provided more of an opportunity to savor the flavor of the peanut butter in the bar. Speaking of peanut butter, the flavor could have been a bit more pronounced as well.

Conclusion:
Though hardly an item that I would go rush out and get another one of, it does a decent job of putting a peanut butter spin on a classic chocolate bar. It wasn't bad, but it barely made enough of an impression to move the needle. For me, the Kit Kat Chunky Peanut Butter bar is like being in Times Square for New Year's Eve; once you've done in once in your lifetime, there really isn't a need to do it again. I can't but help to have a "been there, done that" attitude towards this item should I come across it again on the market shelves.

Video of the Week
Alright, I got nothing this week. I will share this video of the Chrvrches new single off the Hunger Games Soundtrack. Wasn't sure at first, now I'm digging it big time.

"Chvrches - Dead Air"