Snack Review: Smartfood Popcorn Clusters

I love popcorn for breakfast. Every morning, I always take those 100 calorie bags of kettle popcorn with me to work, because they are low in calories and they take a while to eat. However, for the past few weeks I took Frito-Lay Smartfood popcorn clusters with me to work and not only were they tasty, they seemed to satisfy my hunger every morning.

These delicious clusters contain something different in each flavor. Each flavor was coated in caramel, but not so much that it stuck to your teeth. The popcorn had a fresh crisp texture to it and I had to stop myself from pouring the whole bag down my mouth. There were three flavors that I tried: Chocolate Cookie Caramel Pecan, Honey Multigrain and Cranberry Almond.

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Snack Review: Chex Mix Chocolate Peanut Butter

Everyone loves Chex Mix, right? It’s been around forever, what’s not to love about it? Especially that Chex Mix muddy buddies recipe you can make from the box… whoever invented that was a genius. Well, Chex Mix can only get better when you add chocolate and peanut butter to it.

I recently tried out Chex Mix Chocolate Peanut Butter. Well, I’ve tried it out more than once in the past few days. It’s found in grocery and convenience stores because I’ve always seen them around, but never picked one up.

When I first opened the bag, I spread out everything on my table. There was an assortment of chocolate- and peanut butter-covered Chex Mix, pretzels, candies, and nuts.

Now, I could have eaten each of these items separately, which I did at first, but I wanted to see how it tasted all mixed together in my mouth.

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Snack Review: Emerald Wasabi Peanuts

This week has brought me face-to-face with one snacking surprise after another. First, I ran across a complex, nuanced and tasty Mexican-style pastry in a gas station’s convenience store. Next, a bag of lemon cookies which practically screamed “Cheap ‘n’ Stale” turned out to be delicious and natural-tasting.

Today, I was introduced to a third snack which turned out to be quite different from what I’d expected. I’d like to say the surprise this time was as pleasant as my last two. Unfortunately, if I did I’d be lying. My experience with Emerald Wasabi Peanuts left a slightly bitter taste in my mouth which had nothing to do with the intended flavor.

Emerald, a subdivision of Diamond Foods, is probably my favorite nut brand, and Wasabi Peanuts are among my favorite snacks. Something about the wonderfully rich, toasted little nut encased in crisp Japanese mochi and coated with sinus-clearingly hot wasabi powder really hits the spot in my book. They’re not for everyone (least of all spice-o-phobes), but I’ve been known to happily munch ‘em by the handful.

So there you have it - Emerald. Wasabi Peanuts. This snack should have been beyond perfect. Yet, it was far from. What in the name of Scovillah, Spice Diety of the Seven Chiles, went wrong here?

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Snack Review: Luna Bar Nutz Over Chocolate

I decided to try out a Luna Bar because I’ve heard so many people talking about them. They advertise these bars as “The Whole Nutrition Bar for Women,” and I’m a woman, so I thought I’d give it a try.

The bar that I tried was Luna: Nutz Over Chocolate.

The packaging is pretty. It shows three women in various exercise or yoga poses while standing behind a light blue background of the moon. But enough with the looks, let’s get into the product.

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Musical Snack Review: “Roasted and Peeled” Chestnuts In A Bag

While writing one of my more recent reviews, it occurred to me that I tend to ramble at times, and I made a personal vow to practice being succinct. I saw the perfect opportunity upon discovering a bag of Chinese “Roasted and Peeled Chestnuts” at a nearby Asian market, and I was inspired to try something different. I know it isn’t really season-appropriate, but bear with me.

Buy Roasted Chestnuts Online:

• at Amazon.com