Newtons Blueberry

"Highway to the Danger Zone"

The Attraction

A few months ago I reviewed Newtons Strawberry, to mixed results, but to my surprise, it has become one of most viewed snack critiques on my humble snack blog. Was it because people also wanted to try it, but were afraid to commit to a whole package? Did they disagree? Hopefully some readers will comment and let me know why that may be the case, but in the meantime, let's try another variation in the Nabisco Newton family....Newtons Blueberry.

The Review:
I tried to approach this with as much of an open mind as possible, but I wasn't really sure what was in store for me with this blueberry flavor variation. I adore the original Newtons Fig flavor and was very disappointed with the strawberry version. With time, I grew to accept the strawberry flavored one and it was "OK", after awhile, but the original version would always be the first choice. Where would this blueberry deviation take me? OK, OK, I've come to grips with it; I was expecting this would be a strawberry like experience...and that was not a great place to be starting from.

Please don't destroy all that I've loved

I tug at the resealable package tab and I eventually get the wrapper to acquiesce to the inevitable. There they are in all their glory. Maybe it's a bit of the OCD in me, but I love to see how perfectly lined up they are in the packaging...essentially just waiting for me to devour them. All snacks should parade around me in such a fashion, but it would probably impact my waistline in a very negative way.

I lean in and give a gentle inhale to see if I catch hint of the blueberry essence that awaits me and it does not disappoint. There is a scent that fills the air ever so much. I pinch a lucky Newton out from the package and take a bite.

"Did I grab the wrong flavor?" I think to myself. "This tastes like fig."

However as I a draw closer to the midpoint of my mouthful, the blueberry flavor jumps out from behind the curtain and makes it's appearance. There it is...and it's so well done.

Unlike the Newtons Strawberry, these do not have that tartness to them that I alluded to in my previous review. This was far closer to what I had hoped it would taste like; a Fig Newton with blueberry flavor versus a strawberry filling surrounded by a Newton shell. It sounds like similiar things, but I can assure you that they are not. 

Hey, that was a surprise!

The Sweet:
Much like the original fig and strawberry variation, these Newtons are soft and chewy. However this time around, the flavor seems familiar with enough of a subtle blueberry twist.

The Bitter:
I don't think there is one.

Conclusion:
I love reviews like this. Although it doesn't redeem the concoction that is the Newton Strawberry, it gives me hope that if Newton chose to try other flavor varieties, they could potentially pull it off. I'm not sure if it's because blueberries are in some way closer to figs that strawberries, but these just taste close enough to the original so it feels like home, yet different enough to notice a difference.

If Newtons were like TV, the Newtons Strawberry is like your favorite TV show going on hiatus and coming back with a different person playing one of the characters. It makes you say, "Who the heck is that? That's not Aunt Viv?!" Whereas Newtons Blueberry is more like your TV show going on hiatus and coming back with your main character with a new haircut. It's familiar, but slightly different. (but not in a Felicity kind of way.)

Video of the Week

From Mongolia's Got Talent. Yes, Mongolia

Anyone that dances seriously knows how important timing is. This is especially true when you dance with a partner and even more so if that dance partner is a giant video screen with cool graphics and animations on it designed for you to seemingly interact with it. I have a hard enough time keeping in rhythm with a 2-step, forget about this routine by Canion Shijirbat from Mongolia's Got Talent. 

Odwalla Chocolate Chip Peanut

You guys are here again?

The Attraction

Recently, I reviewed Odwalla's Berries GoMega and then compared it against Kind's Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate bar. I received some grief about that as some readers felt that it was not a fair comparison because I wasn't comparing like products. Yes, they are both "healthier" snacks, but one is fruit based and the other, chocolate based. OK people, you win. Let's do it again, but this time let's see if Odwalla can step up their snack game and make something I would want to eat on purpose.

The Review:
There are two ways that I could have conducted this test; either review a fruit based product of Kind's or a chocolate based snack of Odwalla's. After some debating (not really), I thought I would go the chocolate route (what a surprise). Actually, I think it was the better way to go as I had some serious doubt as to if Odwalla would be able to produce a snack that I would recommend, even if chocolate was a primary ingredient. If they could not make chocolate and peanut taste good, I don't think they would be able to make anything that would.

Hmm...Could this be better?

I unwrap the chocolate chip peanut bar and take a peer inside. Much like their Berries GoMega, the bar itself looked like it was compressed with oats, bran and other things that are good for you. Granted the physical appearance isn't quite as sexy as the Kind bar, but in the end, this review is really about how the Odwalla bar stands on it's own, not how it compares to other similar products.

I take a bite from the bar and I notice the texture isn't as mealy as their other bar. It's not that the Berries GoMega was dry, but the texture seems different. This go around, the bar was more reminiscent of a drier brownie or cake. When I sink my teeth into a chocolate chip on the same chew, it dawns on me that this bar taste like a chocolate chip cookie. OK, not like the world's most decadent, rich or moist cookie, but like a chocolate chip cookie with maybe a third of the chocolate chips a cookie would have. The peanuts aren't as prominent as I'm accustomed to (perhaps because they are actually peanuts, not peanut butter), but you will harldy notice as you polish off the rest of the bar.

This was a little different

The Sweet:
Comparable in flavor to some "non-healthy" snacks.

The Bitter:
Not a replacement for some of the more high end / decadent snacks.

Conclusion:
Even though I got some grief for comparing two very different types of healthy snacks, I'm glad I did. Odwalla got a chance to redeem itself with their Chocolate Chip Peanut bar and redeem it did. If you are looking to keep on the "healthier" snack side of the pool, this bar is a reminder that although all healthy snack options are not created equal, going to a healthier snack option doesn't necessarily mean a death sentence for your taste buds. In the case of Odwalla's Chocolate Chip Peanut, it actually means a reprieve.

Video of the Week

"It's always about porn"

VR is getting more and more exposure these days. From gaming to business applications, it seems like there are new and interesting ways to incorporate VR into the fold. Conan O'Brien recently headed over to You Tube's VR Lab to see exactly how far they have taken VR. The results are somewhere between funny and like being in a giant video game.

Wheat Thins Popped Sour Cream and Onion

Why mess with perfection?

The Attraction

Another month and it's another batch of new snacks from the office.One of these are these, Wheat Thins Popped Sour Cream and Onion. Did some say Wheat Thins? I know a little something about Wheat Thins.

The Review:
It's a badly kept secret about my fondness for Wheat Thins snacks, (see here and here), so when I saw these babies sprawled out on the kitchen counter at the office, I was excited yet surprised that I never saw these previously. I was a bit skeptical as many of the "popped" items I've sampled in my day didn't win me over. Can they possibly improve upon the already proven Wheat Thin formula?

I open the bag and go in for the sniff test. There is a hint of the flavor advertised, but subtly so. I then take a peek inside and see what I already imagined; what looks very much like a traditional Wheat Thin, puffed up almost like a pork rind.

Looks like perfectly cut chicharrones!

I stick my hand in the bag and pull out a popped chip. I take a bite and it has that popped characteristic that I was expecting. It's puffed up, but not in that guilty fried-in-oil kind of a way. On the taste-front, it's well, not there, sort of. I have a chips or two and it didn't seem to convey any specific flavor, some were saltier than others, but that happens from time to time with any savory snack, but in this case, some "thins" didn't have any sour cream and onion flavor at all.

The times it did have some, it wasn't all that clear that was the flavor they were going for. That only left me wanting a snack that could provide a more potent flavor. Besides, lovers of sour cream and onion don't enjoy that flavor for all the subtleties it brings; they love it because of the bold and powerful taste it imparts onto your taste buds. That was rather frustrating.

Pleasantly, there was a still a touch of that Wheat Thins sweetness, although I don't now if that is also what dilutes or confuses the taste of the intended savory flavor.

Better, worse or the same?

The Sweet:
Airy crispy crunch with some of that Wheat Thin taste.

The Bitter:
The flavor was not consistent with each chip and when it was, it wasn't convincingly sour cream and onion enough.

Conclusion:
Some things are better off left undone. I usually don't feel that way about well-known snack variations, but this product missed on several levels; the flavor profile of sour cream and onion wasn't obvious or was very faint with many of the chips. In addition, the "popped" variation didn't necessarily add a lot to the snack party. Yes, it was airy and crisp, but I also enjoy the traditional denser version, so on that front, it's a wash.

In the end, Wheat Thins Popped Sour Cream and Onion was better off left on the drawing board. It's one variation that didn't need to see the light of day.

Video of the Week

Is it a prosthetic or an enhancement?

As the evolution of prosthetic limbs continues with technological advances, there is an interesting question that has arisen; just how close can they get these limbs to the real thing and even more interestingly, given the chance, should we make these limbs not just replacements, but enhancements for people. (Queue The Terminator theme)

Doritos Hot Honey

 Yellow Doritos bag?
Could it be cheddar flavor?

The Attraction

As part of my plunder on my last trip to H-Mart, I scored these "exotic" flavored Doritos. I wasn't quite sure what flavor they were when I bought them, but I just knew it said Doritos on it and it was different....that was good enough for me.

The Review:
After doing some digging on the interwebs, I discovered that this yellow bag of Doritos is actually "Hot Honey" flavored. I can't be certain, but I'm willing to bet this may have something to do with the recent influx of honey-flavored snack items into the market following the honey-butter craze in Korea. (See here and here). I'm just thankful these chips aren't honey-butter flavored as well.

I also do observe that in the upper-left hand corner, it's noted that Lotte, the fine makers of classic Asian snacks like Choco-Pie and Toppo Coffee and Vanilla Ice Cream Flavor produced this Doritos product. This will be interesting.

I tear open the bag of chips and take a deep inhale. There isn't an obvious scent, maybe one of fried corn chips, if you inhaled deep enough. That could be a good sign as it wasn't too sweet or too spicy to the point where it was obvious even without taking a bite.

I pickup a well formed chip and take a bite. It's every bit what you would expect from a Doritos-branded chip; nicely formed corn chip with a great crunch, but in terms of taste, it reminded me of something that I haven't had in awhile. Something that wasn't even a snack, per se. More on that in a minute.

Looks like a pale Dorito

The initial flavor of the sweetness strikes first and as slowly as that flavor begins to fade, there is a slow burn towards the back of my throat. I'm beginning to like this type of spicy. It's a much more laid back spicy. I've been so accustomed to the forward-vinegary heat of things like buffalo wings and certain kinds of beef jerky that when you have something that attacks your spicy zones in a different way, it's really interesting. Most of the spicy items I've had seems to impact the front-to-center part of your tongue. This sweeter heat seems to hit from the back and then the sides of your tongue. Don't get me wrong, you have enough of these and your mouth won't care where the heat is coming from, it just knows it's on fire..but in the most pleasant kind of way.

In terms of the sweetness, I was surprised to discover that the initial sweet hit reminds me of McDonald's Sweet and Sour sauce. Yes, that's right. The very sauce you use to dip your McNuggets into. Shocking, but true! There's even a slight hint of smokiness in there which gives it almost gives it a bbq twist. Turn up the dial a few more notches and you could possible mistake this for a sweet bbq-flavored product.

Pale does not mean no flavor

The Sweet:
Great Doritos crunch with a tasty sweet and spicy flavor dusting.

The Bitter:
If you aren't used to sweet-flavored chips, this may take some time to adjust to.

Conclusion:
I was never totally won over with the honey-butter craze from a little while back. All those products were fine, but it never got me to the point of going from store to store trying to locate my next "hit". These Doritos Hot Honey chips won't quite get me to that point either, but if anything, it made me wonder why this product couldn't be as big.

I prefer the thicker corn chip with the associated crunch that this snack offers. The heat also provides a "cleansing" affect from the first sweet flavor wave and clears the deck for another chip to follow...and believe me...another chip will follow.

Video of the Week

What could possibly go wrong? (hehe)

Ah...what can be more beautiful than a couple's wedding day? A day to celebrate all the love and joy that will culminate out of the union of two people. Sometimes when you see two people, you aren't totally sure if they belong together. In this case, I'm sure they do because the only thing better than her reaction is his equally intellectual reaction. Blessings to you both...you will need it.

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?) 

Calbee Takoyaki Ball Cookies

 Mini-baked potatoes?

The Attraction

Last week I hit a H-Mart around my way after not stopping in for awhile. I was greeted with a bounty of new and interesting snacks....these Takoyaki Ball Cookies being one of them. Wait, did I just say Takoyaki-Ball Cookies? I have to try these.

The Review:
I first had Takoyaki about 7-8 years ago with a friend down in the East Village. What initially drew me to them were the octopus chunks inside the balls themselves. I really enjoy squid and octopus, so I was game to give them a shot.  I liked them, but it was the kind of dish that I could take or leave. Interesting and tasty, but not a eating absolute eating necessity. I've since had takoyaki after that on occasion, but never really ranked them high on the "must have" list. Even at that, what would a snack "chip" or ball version, in this case, taste like?

I excitedly open the bag and inhale deeply. Sure enough, somehow these balls do exude a scent that reminds me of takoyaki, but I was still skeptical. As I take the bag away from my face, I notice that Calbee makes these balls.

Well, at least they are round like a real takoyaki

You may know Calbee from some of my other snack reviews like their Honey Butter Chip and Hot and Spicy Potato Chips. Based on my experience with their products, seeing their name on the packaging brought some comfort. For the most part, I've always found Calbee snacks to be good.

I pick a lucky ball out of the pile and take a quick look. It resembles a short tater-tot or maybe even a small hush-puppy. (the food, not the shoes). I put a takoyaki ball in my mouth and it's like a flavor explosion, literally. At first I was overwhelmed with all the flavors going on; savory, smokey, seafood-ish, then sweet. "Cookies" also isn't a very accurate term in this case These are more like corn-puffed spheres. It's hard to believe these balls have so much going on in them. Something strange happened after I had one; I wanted another.

After having several, I could distinguish the fishy/smokiness of what was supposed to be the benito flakes and then the sweetness of the mayo and takoyaki sauce. It was remarkable how much they were able to capture the flavor of takoyaki in a prepackaged dry snack.

"No, I am not a tater-tot"

The Sweet:
Captures the flavor of eating takoyaki.

The Bitter:
There's a lot of flavor in these balls, maybe too much for some.

Conclusion:
Look, these things are good. I wish I could put it in a more eloquent way and stretch out my review, but Calbee just flat-out did a great job of capturing the flavor-essence of eating takoyaki. I had my doubts before trying these, but in the end, the spot on flavor was incredibly satisfying...and dare I say addicting.

Video of the Week

Don't you have enough of my money already?

In case you have been under a rock this week, Nintendo has released a new video showcasing their new gaming system, "Switch". If you are wondering what on earth could Nintendo bring to the gaming console world at this point, watch the video and begin to imagine hours of your life slip away from you even when you are away from home. Oh and don't forget about the awesome lines you'll have to stand in to get one. Yay.

Odwalla Berries GoMega

Oh no, I feel healthier already

The Attraction

Part of the beauty of snacks provided by my office is the opportunity to try new and different snacks that I normally wouldn't buy on my own. This week's snack definitely falls in that category. I'm not sure if it's the color of the packaging, the "superfood" tag or the pictures of fruits and oats on the outside. It all normally points to a strong pass for me, but this is a snack blog. I never said specifically I would only review guilty pleasure snacks, so here I find myself looking down the barrel of a "healthy" snack bar.

"Nobody moves, nobody gets hurt."

The Review:
Free is a strong consideration when you are going to eat something. Well, at least for me. God knows there has been many things I didn't want or need, but because it was "free", it made me think twice about it. Even with "free", I was not excited about this product. I don't mind eating "healthy" snacks, I really don't, but this item failed to even excite my "free" radar.

I tear open the superfood bar wrapper and unveiled what appears to be a compressed snack bar. You can see the flax seeds already from the outside. In addition, there was a scent of preserved berries that was released when the wrapper gave way to the actual bar. Perhaps it was like raisins or dried cranberries, but the artwork on the outside seems to indicate it was either blueberry, strawberry or raspberry (is that a cherry on the wrapper as well?)

If only this was covered in chocolate

I take a bite and sure enough, it's as I suspected; a compressed healthy snack bar ( a bar made of various ingredients like oats, bran, seeds that are sometimes ground up and "compressed" back together along with some dried fruit to form a bar). Although it's not dry, I wish there was more moisture to it, so it didn't feel quite as crumbly when I took a bite. Think along the lines of a dried-out outer shell of a Fig Newton. Taste-wise, it's pretty much what you would expect from a healthy snack bar; much of the dried fruit provides natural sugar and flavor to the snack as well as some contrast against the otherwise homogeneously-textured product.

OK, I didn't die, but I'm sure not in heaven with this snack.

...and only if these were chocolate chips

The Sweet:
Healthy alternative to quick grab-and-go snacks.

The Bitter:
Other healthy snack bars are tastier.

Conclusion:
Look, I get it. These snacks aren't made purely for pleasure. They are made for the health-conscious crowd. Even at that, I've had other snacks targeting this specific audience deliver treats that one would not mind eating on a regular basis. I'm not going to get into which one has more fat, sugars, etc, because that's not what this blog is about. For me it's about the pleasure of eating snacks, but as far as a snack in this category goes, there are tastier ways to go while minding your heart and figure.

Video of the Week

There's going to be some trouble.

I think the screenshot says it all. This week, another trailer for, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" was released. In it, you get to see some more familiar imagery, like the dark masked man above. December can't come fast enough. They should release a new iPhone that day too so we can just have endless lines of people that have too much time on their hands.