Water Coconut

Water coconuts! (No, not giant canepas!)

The Attraction

I watch a lot of survival / outdoor shows like Dual Survival, Survivorman, and Alaskan Bush People, so while on a recent trip to the supermarket when I saw a water coconut, I was hypnotized and knew what I had to do; try to imagine myself as a survivalist and extract coconut water from it.....from the comfort of my very home.

The Review:
I was excited to bring this baby home, although I had no idea how I was going to crack this thing open. On the many shows I watch, two methods come to mind; 1. find a fallen branch and sharpen the end of one and impale the coconut on it and use that to peel away at the shell of it or 2. take a machete and hack off the top of it and drink it like you are Indiana Jones.

Be it that I didn't have an branches in my house and /or didn't feel like breaking one off of a tree and then having to sharpen it, I opted to try plan B. Granted I don't own a machete, but being Asian, I did own a Chinese butcher knife. I know, not exactly the same, but it could be equally effective. Now to figure out how to do this without lopping off any parts I might need. (More mine than the coconut's)

Gilligan!!!

For my safety, I opted to place the coconut on my kitchen counter. I said a quick prayer and went to it. I swung my knife into the coconut and it dug right in, but what next? You can't just hack it in half because all of coconut water will just pour out. How would I survive on a dessert island if that was my technique? I've trying to get the water into my mouth, not onto the counter top.

Next I decided that my second hack into the coconut would be about 4-5 inches apart from the first one. I was going to try to get a "V" shape cut in there.

Doesn't look too exciting

After hacking away and pulling some of the husk off for about 5 minutes, I began to see some moisture trickle through. I knew I was close! I swung my knife one more time and I could feel the shell of the coconut crack and give way. I grab a glass and begin to pull where I could feel the crack. Coconut water starts to gush out and into my glass. Take that survivalist! (Don't ask me where I would have found a glass in the wilderness)

After getting all the water out, I hack into it a few more times to the point of where I could "open" the coconut shell to see what was going on it there. Sure enough there was some coconut jelly on the interior of the coconut. I went ahead and scraped it off the sides and scooped it into my glass.

Finally, the time had come to taste the spoils after such a herculean effort.

I bring the glass and take a sip. If you have never had coconut water before, it's remarkable how much water is in it. It's really light in comparison to many other fruit "juices" It more comparable to fruit infused water, where there is an essence of fruit flavor in the water. The flavor is more subtle and the density of the drink itself is much lighter than juice. I can see why many people would enjoy it, as did I.

For those that have had coconut water before (as many have in recent years with all it's supposed health benefits), the fresh coconut water taste identical to me to the bottles of coconut water you can purchase at the store. I guess that's good news for people buying the commercial products, but bad news for people that were hoping the fresh variety would taste much better. I can't vouch for if it's better for you having it straight from the source like I did.

The Sweet:
Fun experience.

The Bitter:
Not easy to find. Takes some time and energy to get to.

Just like store bought!

Conclusion:
Is it worth the trouble to hack into your own personal coconut to get to the water? Well, that depends on what you are looking to get out of it.

If you just want the freshest coconut water possible, yeah, you can say you can't do much better than this, but truthfully, it's indecipherable from the stuff you get from a good quality coconut water manufacturer. For me, the extracting and opening of the coconut was the fun journey I had getting to the destination.

Have you every done some work around your house or apartment? Paint it, lay some tile down, hang the kitchen cabinets? By doing it yourself, you gain a different level of appreciation for the said task.

That's the way this water coconut extraction was for me. Even though I think it's the same thing as what you can find in bottles, the water I got from that coconut I hand opened that day never tasted quite so good.

Video of the Week

Take thee to a water park!

When I'm not working, watching my kid, or extracting water from large cumbersome objects, I like to go on vacations. Maybe the next time I'm at a tropical location with a water slide, I'll try this trick. (note to self: check if health insurance is current before going away) 

T-Pops Nori Toasted Seaweed Popcorn

  Seaweed you say? We will "sea" about that?
(See what I did there?)

The Attraction

I've seen this bag of popcorn on the shelves for awhile down where I usually shop for Asian groceries, but I was reluctant to plunk down my hard earned $3 for it. Maybe it seemed too gimmicky to me initially, but as I saw it week in and week out and it wore me down. "What on earth must this taste like? Can it possibly be good?"

The Review:
I actually have had this bag in my snack cupboard for awhile. Even after buying weeks ago, it just didn't draw enough interest from me to be excited to try it.

"T-Pops Popcorn and seaweed or Cheez-Its? I guess Cheez-Its it will be!"

Then finally the little lady asked me if she should chuck the bag of popcorn out.

Admitted, I was thinking hard about it. I eventually relented and decided to sample it for even if it was a hellish flavor disaster (like I very well knew it could be), I would have a good snack review out of it. So, yes, I was very excited to try this product. (no, I wasn't. That was sarcasm.)

Interesting combo, no?

I picked up a few popped kernels and dig in. The flavor of the nori quickly reminded me as to why I do enjoy it. It's not just a seafood like taste or only salty, but there are multiple dimensions to it. It also brings some of that roasted seaweed flavor, a slight sweetness and that good old Asian umami flavor.

Throw in any respectable popcorn makers crispy popcorn like T-Pops did and you have yourself a multi-layer snacking experiencing. Good flavor + right texture = potential snack overload.

No, it's not pesto. It's really seaweed!

I pick up a few more pieces to confirm the flavor I'm experiencing and before I know it, the bag is almost gone. Damn you, nori. You reeled me in again

The Sweet:
Surprisingly addictive. Not as odd of a combination as you might think

The Bitter:
Not the easiest snack to find in town. Have to enjoy nori (seaweed) a little to enjoy this.

Conclusion:
Yes, seaweed and popcorn go together like Martha Stewart and Snoop Dog. Not the most obvious or even initially appealing combination, but somehow T-Pops make it work. The nori adds a complexity to the popcorn far more than one might expect. The seaweed doesn't simply just make the popcorn savory, it also adds some toasted notes in addition to some sweet little bits of something along the way.

I would go another round with a bag of T-Pops Nori Toasted Seaweed Popcorn. Probably more so than watching another episode of Snoop and Martha.

Video of the Week

Sign O' the Times

It wasn't that long ago that China and North Korea were pals, but with the leader of N. Korea showing off his military wares as of late, it has put a strain on the relationship. So much so that a new bridge tying the two countries together was put on hold indefinitely. I could have used some of that 350 million. 

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.

Belvita Banana Bread

 Just looking at this makes me want to go (to the bathroom)

The Attraction

One of the perks at work are company provided snacks! Along with having them free of charge, it has opened up a new world of snacks for me to try. Can't feel guilty about buying a snack that doesn't taste good if you didn't have to pay for the snack. It all works out!

The Review:
I was a bit curious about these snacks when I first saw them put out in the pantry, but I didn't gravitate towards them initially because for some reason I thought these were snacks for "older" people that had problems "going", if you know what I mean. Still, I was intrigued as there aren't many snacks that advertise banana flavor and I have a thing for banana flavored baked goods. Why wait any longer?

I unwrap the banana bread and am quickly treated to the scent of bananas. This is a pretty great start.

I slowly inch the "bread" out of the wrapper and take a good look at what was inside. It peeks out of the wrapper and like the photo on the packaging would suggest, the bread resembles a cookie more than a conventional bread. A hash brown like cookie, to be specific.

Now I want a McDonald's Hash Brown

OK, so I have a great banana scent and a delicious looking cookie outside, but lets see if it can complete the sacred food trinity and bring some terrific flavor as well.

I take a bite and it's very much like a soft banana flavored cookie. The texture isn't as soft as a conventional bread, but it yields nicely to my bite. I was afraid it may be a dry, crumbly mess, but surprisingly, it was a soft banana-flavored bite. I could get use to eating this in the mornings...

It's sorta like having a cookie for breakfast

...but then about half-way through the bread, a bite struck me odd. I detected a strange aftertaste. It was for a split second, but it was there. It was a flavor that changed the whole experience. It came across as artificial tasting and it planted that flavor and taste in my head so I was unable to enjoy that banana flavor any more in this snack without thinking about the "unnatural" process that may have taken place to create that banana flavor.

The Sweet:
If you like cookies and banana flavor, you are in luck

The Bitter:
About half-way through, the banana flavor left an odd aftertaste

Conclusion:
It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I really thought it would very dry and...well, for older people that couldn't use the bathroom. Come to find out that wasn't really what these were marketed for. These are supposed to be a breakfast snack. Oh well, almost the same.

I guess when you are looking for a breakfast snack that is a little healthier than a Pop-Tart, but something tastier than oatmeal, I could see this being a nice middle ground. Still that slight artificial aftertaste brought me back down to earth and will quickly remind you how unnatural of a breakfast snack this really is.

Video of the Week

A small leak

I fancy myself a relatively handy guy around the house. Some painting here, some patching there. Once in awhile I have to roll up my plumber's sleeve to do some work in the kitchen or in the bathroom.This video is my worst nightmare; it was supposed to be an attempt to fix a small leak and install a new faucet. As you can see, it didn't quite work out well. What is more surprising is that the video is 14 minutes long....and I watched every second of it. What's up with that?

Persimmon (Fuyu)

Don't call me a tomato!

The Attraction

I've resisted this fruit for many, many years, but after a bagful landed on my desk, I couldn't avoid it any longer.

The Review:
It's a new year and I thought what a wonderful way to ring it in on Sneakasnack by reviewing something healthy, like a fruit. The bigger question is if this is a tasty fruit or a
"healthy" fruit that taste as such. (if you know what I mean).

My Mom loves persimmons, but I never really thought about trying it. I think subconsciously it looks like a tomato to me and back in the day I was not a big tomato fan. Therefore, it must taste bad if it looks like a tomato, right?

Fast forward 30 something years and I had a former coworker offer me a bunch that she received from her parents in DC. She told me her parents would send her a box-load because they have a persimmon tree and it would grow too many for them. I casually said, "Sure, of course", not really thinking she would follow up and give some to me. 2 days later there was a bag of about 20 persimmons on my desk. Her generosity put me in a jam. Now what? I can give them to my Mom! Problem is, many were already ripe and I wouldn't see her until 5 days later. Some of the persimmons wouldn't make it.

Damn this "hate-to-waste-food" mentality. I was backed into a corner. I should at least taste one before tossing out the over-ripened ones, don't you think? I owe my co-worker and the persimmons at least that much, no? Enter my snack review...

Persimmon varieties

At first, I had no idea how to eat it. Can you eat the skin? Is there a pit? How can you tell if it's ripe? After having to Google all these things like some sort of fruit barbarian, I had my answers. Yes, you can eat the skin, but I elected to peel it anyway. There's no pit in the Fuyu type persimmon I had, but some do have them. Lastly, you can eat Fuyu persimmon's while they are firm, but some choose to eat them when they are a bit softer. Good thing was I didn't need to wait for the softer part. These babies were ready to go.

Personally prepared by Chef Paul

I pick one up and try not to destroy it as I attempted to remove the outside skin with a peeler. With moderate success, due to it's ripeness, I was ready to go in. I wasn't too excited as the mushiness of the one I had as it further reminded me of a tomato.

As I bring a piece to my mouth, I can smell the sweetness of it. Not strong, nor familiar, but a sweetness. I take it in and surprisingly to me, there's not much tomato likeness at all.

It's sweet and at first and it reminded me of a really sweet mango, but that still wasn't quite accurate. After having a few more bites, perhaps a juicy sweet potato, minus the graininess might be more on target. Texture-wise, the outside is like a papaya, but the interior has these chewy gel sacks in them. I know that may not sound super appetizing, but the contrast works really well. Having several more bites, I not only found myself enjoying that chewiness, but looking forward to it.

This really isn't like a tomato at all!

The Sweet:
Great "sweet potato" like flavor with a chewy gel surprise!

The Bitter:
Only available certain times of the year (mostly Fall) and it took some time for me to prep. (Remove the top greenery, peel, then cut into pieces)

Conclusion:
I was ready to not like this fruit at all. Maybe "not like" is putting it lightly. I was looking at this fruit through "tomato-tinted" glasses and avoided it for many years.

Boy, what I have been missing out on.

Since discovering persimmons, there is hardly a time that I've seen them and not bought any or think to myself if I had any left at home. I couldn't think of a stronger endorsement.

For those of you who are tired of having the "typical" fruits, give persimmons a shot. You might find that eating healthy has never tasted so good.

Video of the Week

What is that vase made out of?

I don't like to see people fail, unless it's something with bad intentions behind it. In this case, perhaps some planning or testing may have been a good idea before you try to put on a show for your superiors. Loss of faith in the Iranian Army, however new found belief in the quality of their vases.

Chocolates Exoticos de Colombia (Coconut, Coffee Bean, Goldenberry)

 The Colombian trifecta of chocolate!

The Attraction

As a fellow co-worker returns from yet another exotic vacation, she was kind enough to share some of her spoils of her trip. In this case, her trip was to Columbia and the spoils being chocolate!

The Review:
The packaging had me intrigued cause it was so exotic and interesting looking, although upon looking at the various flavors, I was a little less sure. Of the three flavors I had (coconut, coffee bean and goldenberry) I was most interested in coconut the most. In addition to not being a fan of dark chocolate in general, I am also not a coffee person, so that may spell for a bad combination for that flavor. As for goldenberry...I just had no clue what a goldenberry is. I'm guessing maybe something like a raisin? If so, that could be the winner of the bunch. Who doesn't love Raisinets?

There's coconut in there somewhere

First up, coconut or "Coco" as the packaging suggests. I open the bag and smell the hint of dark chocolate. I go ahead and pop one in my mouth and sure enough, the bitterness of the coated dark chocolate candy hits first. Then after several chews, there is a change in texture. Something almost fruit like. I guess it's the coconut, although flavor-wise, there is no indication that is what I'm chewing on. The coconut is almost nougat-like in texture, but the coconut flavor I was so anticipating was a no-show. OK, maybe coffee bean can avenge this lackluster first act.

Coffee bean for those that can't

get their caffeine fix fast enough

I repeat the steps with the coffee bean flavor and in this case, I was greeted with the grit and bitterness of coffee bean. Perhaps if I were a coffee fan I may have felt differently, but the flavor combinations were too harsh for my standards. First the bitterness of the dark chocolate only to be followed by the super bitterness of pieces of coffee bean was too much for me. What I will say is that I think it was a good idea to have bits of coffee bean vs a whole bean to help try to mellow out the bitterness flavor combination. I did really like the contrast texture-wise of the coffee bean and chocolate. It was similiar to having bits of Oreo in a chocolate ball (minus the pleasant Oreo flavor).

..and goldenberry. Cause that's what we all need.

More snacks made with goldenberry

Lastly, it now was all riding on the goldenberry flavor to potentially redeem his snack siblings. I repeat the process a third time, but this time to my surprise....the goldenberry was tart.....very tart. So, not bitter like the coffee bean and lost in the dark chocolate flavor like the coconut, but rather tart. Super tart. Dare I say almost lemon like tartness, but with none of it's charm. It would seem that goldenberry too was not in for a good day.

The Sweet:
The dark chocolate tries it's best to save the day.

The Bitter:
With the exception of the coconut flavor, the ingredients are so strong that it's difficult to consume.

Conclusion:
It was already an ominous start with all three snacks being made of dark chocolate, but little did I know that was probably the best part of these items. Of the three, coconut was the best, but when I say best, I mean the least nastiest. I wouldn't plunk down any money to purchase anymore of these. Well, lets take it a step further and say if they were free again, I would not even take more in that scenario. Surprisingly, coffee bean was next least nastiest. All in all, it was a trifecta of terror. They were all so strong in flavor, I literally forgot that these were considered a "candy".

I see how the brand was trying to offer snackers a "taste of Columbia" by creating snacks that highlights the country's natural riches. Unfortunately, none of these three items does a good job of capturing snacks from Columbia that I would love to have more of. It's actually quite the contrary.

Video of the Week

Super Hero Dad for the win

I've seen some videos in my day, but this one was pretty amazing. Here is a seemingly regular Dad working on his scooter. Next thing you know something is happening out of frame and his children is in the middle of the action. He doesn't miss a beat and does what we would all hope to be able to do if ever needed.

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.