i'm branching out!

Hello there!  I've decided to broaden my horizons and work on a lifestyle blog instead.  Don't worry, my snack and other food reviews with crappy pictures will continue to live on.  

Hope on over to whatkarensaid.wordpress.com to check it out.  Thanks for reading and happy snacking!

speculoos cookie butter

What's better than a delicious cookie that is like the lovechild of a Digestive biscuit and a gingerbread cookie?  Why, the same cookie in a spreadable form, so it can be smeared on and enjoyed along with something else (like another cookie)!  

I have been keeping an eye out for speculoos cookie butter since I first read about it in the New York Times food section months ago.  I could never find it in any of the local grocery stores around here.  In fact, even now, I can't find the "original" speculoos cookie butter produced by Lotus Bakeries.  Instead, I settled for this version by Penotti that I picked up at Superstore.

The speculoos cookie is a shortcrust cookie that originates from Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany.  The cookiues are thin, slightly browned, and are mildly flavoured by spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger, among others.  The cookie butter essentially contains crushed up speculoos cookies, more sugar, and an emulsifier, allowing the "cookies" to be enjoyed on other foods such as toast, pancakes, other cookies, on Triscuits (as shown above), or spooned directly out of the jar (guilty as charged).

The cookie butter looks thicker and dryer than peanut butter, but actually spreads quite easily.  The taste of the cookie butter is true to the original cookie itself...in other words, yummy!  I'm usually not a fan of the sweet-and-salty combo, but the cookie butter served on a Triscuit was unexpectedly satisfying (I'll have to credit my husband for that pairing).  I joked about eating the cookie butter directly out of the jar (okay, so maybe it wasn't exactly a joke), but if you choose to do so, indulge sparingly: the cookie butter contains all the fat, calories, and sugar of peanut butter, but hardly any of the protein. 

Buy again?  Yes.  I'm still going to rake the shelves at the store for the Lotus Bakeries version, but until then, consider me a repeat customer of this brand.  ~400g jar, C$3.99

knight's dark chocolate bar

My neighbourhood Save On Foods is really starting to fuel my snacking habits.  Each time I go to pick up a couple items, I can't help going down their snack and bulk food aisles.  Without fail, I always end up with a new item to try by the time I hit the self-checkout counter.

My latest purchase was a dark chocolate, almond and cherry bar by Knight's Fine Chocolates.  The humongous 350g bar had intially caught my eye, but I was very much relieved to find that the same variety was offered in a reasonable 70g package as well (I swear, I wouldn't have bought the 350g bar.  A girl's got to have some boundaries).

Knight's is based in Kelowna, British Columbia.  Their chocolate contains sour cherries that are grown on a family farm in Kelowna.  I went through a phase where I was scarfing down chocolate-covered dried cherries and strawberries like there was no tomorrow, so the combination of cherries, almonds, and dark chocolate sounded utterly perfect.

And it would have been perfect, if it wasn't for that chocolate.  The chocolate had a bit of a chalky taste to it and reminded me of a Hershey bar (which I am not a fan of).  It just did not deliver that rich taste and smooth texture that I have come to expect from a good chocolate bar.  The cherries and almonds did not disappoint, but that chocolate just brought the overall quality of the bar down several notches.

Buy again?  No thank you.  It's a no-brainer: the star of any chocolate bar should be the chocolate, and this just didn't happen here.  ~70g bar, C$2.99

Our chocolate is filled with the same type of sour cherries grown on the family orchard based out of Kelowna B.C. Each bite possesses a unique flavour mixed with a crunch of almond and chewy dried sour cherry. This dark chocolate comes without the traditional bitterness of other dark chocolate. In an attempt to satisfy health concerns, Knight’s supplies gluten-free chocolate in all types and sizes. - See more at: http://knightschocolate.com/#sthash.gopLXbLI.dpuf

Our chocolate is filled with the same type of sour cherries grown on the family orchard based out of Kelowna B.C. Each bite possesses a unique flavour mixed with a crunch of almond and chewy dried sour cherry. This dark chocolate comes without the traditional bitterness of other dark chocolate. In an attempt to satisfy health concerns, Knight’s supplies gluten-free chocolate in all types and sizes. - See more at: http://knightschocolate.com/#sthash.gopLXbLI.dpuf

full of beans deluxe kitchen sink soup mix

I know bean soup doesn't really count as a snack item, but it will be the last review to round out the items I received in my February Foodie Pages tasting box.

Full of Beans is a small, family-owned business in Ontario.  The products offered by Full of Beans pretty much came out of necessity: the owners' son was put on a wheat-free diet, so the mother learned to make gluten-free options for him.

The Kitchen Sink soup mix contains a blend of 12 different types of beans (13 according to their product description, but 12 per their ingredient list.  Odd...) and additional seasonings.  The package they came in sure isn't lacking in colour.

I soaked the beans overnight and ended up cooking them in the slow cooker.  I made a few modifications: no tomato (as I didn't have any at home), but I added some sausage and mixed baby kale at the end.  My soup turned out to be more of a brownish-grey colour, and not like the version shown on the product page online.  I found the beans did not really preserve the vibrant colours they held in dry form.  As for taste, the soup turned out as I expected.  Keep in mind I am generally not a big fan of beans, so when I make something like this, I don't expect to be blown away by the taste...and I wasn't.  Truthfully, as pretty as the 12 types of beans are, I probably could have done something similar using 4 or 5 different kinds and my unrefined bean palate would not have noticed the difference.

Buy again?  No.  Nothing against Full of Beans, but I am just not a fan of beans in general.  However, I would be interested in trying out their baking mixes, such as the one for these gluten-free brownies, in the future.  ~500g bag, C$5, available on foodiepages.ca

 

be.better oven baked pistachio nut crunch

Be.better is a line of products offered exclusively by Rexall.  According to Rexall's website, the brand contains "over 100 products designed to help Canadians live, feel and be better."  The line includes snacks, cleaning products, vitamins, probiotics and hair care products.  

I had gone into Rexall to mail out a couple items at the Canada Post kiosk and found mysef meandering down the snack aisle on my way out.  The brightly coloured baked nut crunch and rice crisp snack bags caught my eye.  After doing a quick once-over of the nutritional information on each, I picked up a couple and headed off the the cashier.

The pistachio baked nut crunch(es) are clusters of dry-roasted almonds, cashews and pistachios.  Each cluster is about 2x2 cm and all you see are nuts.  The clusters are lightly glazed for sweetness.  Now, I'm not usually a fan of the sweet & salty combo, but these little clusters were delicious.  The taste reminded me a little of the honey roasted peanuts that airlines used to give out on flights, but better.  The nuts were satisfyingly crunchy with just a hint of sweetness.  I wanted to scarf down the whole bag, but restrained myself.  These delightly little clusters are calorie-dense; a half-cup serving (roughly half of the 100g bag shown above) clocks in at 290 calories and 20g of fat.  Aw, nuts...(pun intended)!

Other than the nuts, the nut crunch contains only a few simple ingredients: rice syrup, cane sugar, and sea salt.  That's it.  No weird, difficult-to-pronounce ingredients.  

Buy again?  Yes - I'm a fan.  Provided that I stick to the suggested serving size, these little nut clusters would be great for getting my through the afternoon slump at work.  ~100g bag, $2.99, available at Rexall pharamcy locations.  

cadbury dairy milk chips cookie dough bar

I was browsing around the chocolate section at my local Save On Foods when this package caught my eye.  I have a soft spot for Cadbury chocolate bars (though hubby rolls his eyes at this, as he prefers Hershey chocolate.  Come on...really?!) and when I saw this version, I just had to try it.

The bar, as a whole, looks like an ordinary Dairy Milk bar.  However, hidden inside are little nuggets of chocolate chip cookie dough goodness.

When I buy chocolate bars like this, I like to savour each square by letting it melt in my mouth.  This is probably to stretch out the consumption as long as possible so I don't eat the whole bar in one sitting (this technique is surprisingly ineffective for that purpose).  I did the same for this bar and was left disappointed.  After the creamy dairy milk chocolate melts away, I am left with soggy bits of cookie dough, which had a gritty, unpleasant texture.

Buy again?  No.  I can tolerate adding raisins or nuts to good old Cadbury Dairy Milk, but the cookie dough bits just didn't work for me.  ~100g bar, C$2.50.

meiji almond slice

Meiji is a Japanese company that makes an almost overwhelming assortment of snacks.  I vaguely remember trying a couple of their products in the past, but have generally refrained from buying too many since they are a little pricey (I think most of the cost goes to the pretty packaging).  However, I went to T&T to pick up some groceries around Valentine's Day and saw that a special display of Meiji snacks had been set up (um...last-ditch present, I guess?).  I couldn't resist, so I ended up with a pack of Almond Slice.

 

The package contains 8 individually-wrapped pieces of chocolate (see what I mean about pretty packaging?).  I do give them points for portion control.  However, as great as this product looked from the outside, the actual chocolate was just so-so.  The milk chocolate didn`t quite have that smooth, rich texture I look for in chocolate.  And as you can see in the picture below, the actual quantity of almonds in each slice doesn't quite add up to what is shown on the box.

Buy again?  No.  The sub-par quality of the chocolate isn't worth revisiting. ~8 x individual portions, C$3.99.

urge oranji chocolate bar

I received a 60g bar of this chocolate from my February Foodie Pages tasting box.  Urge is based in Vancouver, British Columbia.   According to the Foodie Pages site, Urge's head chocolatier is a die hard foodie and wine lover, so the brand's chocolate flavours are intended to be paired with both food and wine.

This is certainly not your typical Nestle or other supermarket brand chocolate bar.  The 60g bar is portioned into 24 teeny tiny squares, so the chocolate is clearly meant to be savoured.  The Oranji bar teams dark chocolate with a hint of orange flavour and a smattering of goji berries.

I have to admit, the $5 price tag initially induced a bit of sticker shock in me, but the difference in quality really comes out upon tasting.  The chocolate was smooth, rich, and left a pleasant cocoa-y aftertaste in my mouth.  Though I usually avoid orange-flavoured chocolate (that combination just doesn't really do it for me), I didn't mind this one because the orange flavour was mild.  The goji berries were a bit of a throwaway for me, since they didn't really enhance the taste of the chocolate.  Goji berries have been hyped up quite a bit as a super food in recent years and it's been showing up in many products (granola, baked goods, etc.).  I find the new hype around goji berries a little irritating, since they`re really nothing new.  My mother`s been tossing them into soup for years!  Ok, I`ll stop ranting now.

Buy again?  I did not like the oranji bar enough to want to buy it again, but I would be more than willing to try other flavours in Urge`s line up. ~60g bar, C$5 + shipping, available through foodiepages.ca.

bix bakery lemon pizzelle

I received a pack of 3 cookies as part of my February Foodie Pages tasting box.  The photo below is just of the box the cookies came in - I didn't bother taking a picture of the cookies as, to my disappointment, they were crushed in transit.

Bix Bakery is based in Toronto, Ontario.  Their products are handmade, all natural, and are free of gluten, dairy, soy and nuts.  Their current product line consists of pizzelles and sorbetto.

Pizzelle are are traditional Italian waffle cookies that are typically made of flour, eggs, sugar, butter or vegetable oil, and some kind of flavouring.  These cookies can be hard and crisp or soft and chewy (depending on ingredients and how the pizelle are prepared).  Bix Bakery's version leans toward the hard and crisp side.

While I wasn't impressed with the shape these wafers were received in, I enjoyed the taste of the pizzelle.  They were light and crispy, with just a hint of lemon flavouring.  I have purchased mass-produced pizzelle from the grocery store before and there definitely is a difference in freshness and the resulting taste.  

Buy again?  Maybe.  These are a little bit on the pricy side, but the other flavours available (chocolate, caramel, ginger spice) look pretty intriguing.  Given these cookies are quite fragile, I would only buy them if I could go to the store and pick them up.  ~3 x 10 pizzelles, C$17.97 + shipping, available through foodiepages.ca.

 

cocolico salted butter caramel

I received a four-pack of these caramels in my February Foodie Pages tasting box.  Please excuse the horrible photograph - I know brown-on-brown wasn't the best choice, but I was too lazy for a do-over.  I have to admit, salted caramel is one of those flavours that, in my opinion, have been overdone in the past couple years (along with red velvet and pumpkin spice).  Also, given the fact that I'm just not a huge fan of caramels in general, I wasn't particularly thrilled to see these in the tasting box.

Cocolico (by Wendy Boys) is based in Vancouver, BC, and is a specialty chocolate company that makes small-batch chocolates and dessert sauces.  More information on the company's other offerings are available on their website. 

The salted butter caramels are apparently a specialty of Brittany, which is a cultural region in the northwest of France.  The website describes these caramels as "chewy, buttery...made with local cream and butter and a generous amount of fleur de sel."  

I actually enjoyed these caramels more than I thought I would.  The caramels had a creamy and buttery texture, and were not as sticky as others that I have tried in the past (you know what I'm talking about...the kind that threatens to pull out cavity fillings).  I was also expecting a strong hit of salt, but was pleasantly surprised by just a hint of salty flavour.      

Buy again?  Not for myself, but I would definitely gift these to a caramel lover.  ~C$9 for a 100 gram bag, available through foodiepages.ca.

 

boulder canyon sea salt hand made style potato chips

These chips were another impulse purchase from Costco (really, we can't resist).  My husband tore into the bag before I could take a photograph of it, which is why you see the lovely blue bag clip in the shot below.

Boulder Canyon Natural Foods has been around since 1994, but I don't think their products are widely available in Canada, as this is the first time I've purchased one of their products.  However, since there seem to be so many chip brands out there these days, maybe it's been under my nose the whole time and I just never noticed.  According to their website, their main product line is varying flavours of kettle chips, but they also make some other snacks (vegetable crisps, hummus chips).  This company uses "all natural ingredients" and its products contain zero trans fat, zero cholesterol, and are lower in saturated fat that other brands of potato chips.  The bag we purchased was the sea salt flavour, but when I looked online, I actually couldn't find sea salt on its roster of kettle chips - the closest were "totally natural" and "malt vinegar and sea salt". 

From a flavour perspective, these chips did not blow me away.  They had a touch of sea salt, but other than that, I found the flavour to be quite bland on the palate.  A quick look at the nutritional information provided the explanation: a 50g serving of these chips contained 210mg sodium, whereas a same-sized serving of Ruffles All-Dressed (one of my favourites) clocked in at 580mg.  The other nutritional stats between Boulder Canyon and Ruffles were not significant, but Boulder Canyon's ingredient list stood out to me.  It contains 4 ingredients: organic potatoes, organic sunflower and/or safflower oil, and sea salt.  Plain and simple.  Plus, the use of organic potatoes is a nice touch, since potatoes are on the EWG's "dirty dozen plus" list of fruits and vegetables.

Buy Again?  Yes - despite the blander flavour profile of these chips, the "natural" aspect does appeal to me.  I'm not going to stop buying my Ruffles All-Dressed, but I would certainly repurchase this brand in the future.  ~C$5.99 for 596.4g/21oz bag, Costco. 

crunch bars...back in canada!

OK, so this is kind of old news, but I thought it was still worthwhile to write up a short blurb.  Nestle Crunch bars used to be readily available in Canada when I was growing up, but somewhere along the way (I'm not really sure when), they disappeared from store shelves.  It became one of those chocolate bars that I had to pick up everytime we popped down to the U.S. for vacation. 

This past Halloween, I was pleasantly surprised to see the Crunch bars reappear in supermarkets.  However, they were only available in the Halloween treat sizes, and were sold in bags along with treat-sized Butterfinger and Baby Ruth bars.  No problem: we bought a couple bags, promptly picked out the Crunch bars for ourselves, and gave the rest out to the neighbourhood kids for Halloween (yes, we are that kind of people - giving out stuff we don't like.  But anything for that milk chocolate-rice crisp mixture that just works so well!).

Since then, I have also seen the treat-sized versions available in packs of 10.  I have yet to see the full-sized bars on store shelves, but as long as some version of this is available, I'm pretty content.

Buy again?  Of course!  ~Available at most supermarkets, discount stores, and convenience stores.

foodie pages tasting box - february 2014

After reading a number of reviews about the Foodie Pages Tasting Box, I decided to give it a try for a month.  The Tasting Box includes 4 or 5 product samples from various Canadian food makers, allowing buyers to sample offerings from Canadian culinary talents.  It initially started off as a montly subscription, but then switched to a one-time purchase format in mid-2013 (for around $15).  In January 2014, the price of the Tasting Box went up to $24.95 to "allow producers to recover some of their costs" and also to reflect rate increases from Canada Post.

The website says boxes are shipped on or before the first day of the following month, which led me to believe I wouldn't be seeing anything until at least the end of February, so it was a pleasant surprise when the box arrived yesterday.

Here's what was in the February Box (please excuse the horrible photograph):

• Cocolico’s Salted Butter Caramels (4) 
• Bix Bakery’s  Lemon Pizzelle Cookies (3) 
• Dave’s Roasted Garlic Hot Pepper Jelly (45ml) 
• Full of Beans’ Deluxe Kitchen Sink Soup Mix (250g) 
• Urge Chocolates’  Oranji Dark Chocolate Bar (60g) 

All items were a "tasting" portion, except for the chocolate bar, which was full-sized.  I did a rough estimate of the box value (though I'm not going to post prices here) and the total was about $14.  This definitely sucks if you're a bargain hunter and looking to get the most bang for your buck, but the price is not unreasonable if you are just looking for a chance to try new things that may not be readily available locally.  However, the recent price increase may have served as a deterrent for Tasting Box sales - based on what I read, these boxes used to sell out the day they became available, but as of today, it looks like they were still available.  This is unfortunate for the producers that are looking to gain exposure through the Tasting Box.  Canada Post is going to continue to make it hard for small businesses to thrive in e-commerce (but that's a rant for another day).

Buy again?  We'll have to see how much I like these items.  I don't consider myself a foodie and I fit more into the "get the most bang for your buck" consumer category, so the price is a little steep for surprise items that I may not end up enjoying.  ~C$24.95 (including shipping for most provinces), available on the 1st of each month at Noon EST.  50 boxes are available and is sold on a first-come, first-served basis.

Individual product reviews will follow.

suchard rocher hazelnut pralines

I first tasted these babies on a work trip to Switzerland several years ago.  I brought several packs back to Canada with me as souvenirs for others, but ended up eating many of them myself (whoops).  I'm not quite sure why, but just before the 2013 holiday season, I was thinking about these chocolates.  I had forgotten what they were called and couldn't even remember the brand.  I am not lying, but one night, I had a dream about these chocolates.  When I woke up, I hopped on to Google and started searching through French or Swiss chocolate brands.  Five minutes (or so) later, I struck gold!

From what I could determine through my limited Internet research, the rochers are not readily available in Canada.  I ended up going to Amazon to get my hands on these chocolates.  Once the cost of shipping (direct from France) was factored in, these chocolates were not exactly cheap, but then again, they weren't going to break the bank for me, so I took the plunge and ordered 3 packages (each containing 7 rochers) of the chocolates.

A few weeks later, the chocolates arrived at my door, unscathed from customs examinations.  When I opened up the box, I was pleasantly surprised: the packs that I received each had a bonus chocolate, so instead of 21, I ended up with 24 of these delicious gems.

The rochers are slightly smaller than a golf ball and is quite hefty, weighing in at 35g apiece.  The chocolates have a thin chocolate outer shell that is speckled with hazelnuts (so crunchy I initially thought they were toffee bits) and a creamy, truffle-y praline center.

 

Buy again?  These tasted every bit as good as I remember, so yes, I will be buying these again.  ~prices will vary, but expect to pay C$2-3 apiece if ordering online from Canada

7-eleven blueberry tea latte

I had my first taste of blueberry tea latte (I'm going to call it the BTL because it's a bit cumbersome to type it out multiple times) about 2 years ago.  I think I was on my way home from a volleyball game with the hubby when we stopped by 7-Eleven to grab drinks (slurpee for him, coffee for me).  I saw the BTL, gave it a try, and haven't looked back since.  

The BTL is one of the hot specialty drinks that starts in powdered form (like the french vanilla cappucinos, hot chocolates, etc.).  It appears to be a seasonal flavour, as I typically only find it available during the winter months.  I was suffering a bit of BTL withdrawal this year as I haven't been able to find this flavour in the 7-Eleven locations nearby, but the past weekend, as hubby and I were driving home from the mall, we stopped by one location and, lo and behold, there it was!  (Note: I had already downed half the drink before I got around to taking a picture...sorry!)  I was looking for the nutritional information on 7-Eleven's website and was surprised to see that the BTL actually wasn't listed as a current flavour.  I am hoping this will be more widely available over the next few months, or I may have to go back to that particular location and buy up all their stock!

When I first tried the BTL two years ago, that very first sip was magical: it tasted like blueberry muffin batter (I know this may sound gross to some, and I would never actually attempt to drink blueberry muffin batter, but for whatever reason, this drink just really does it for me).  It tends to be on the sweet side, so I typically mix 2/3 BTL with 1/3 brewed coffee.  The one I had most recently had more of a "tea" taste to it, so the manufacturers may have tinkered with the recipe.

Buy again?  Yes!  I probably wouldn't like it as much if I had this everyday, but I would definitely want to indulge at least once a week.  ~C$1.59-2.50 (varies by size), various 7-Eleven locations

 

nature's bakery fig bars

I used to love Fig Newtons when I was a kid, and this continued into adulthood.  However, I rarely bought packages because I could inhale half the package in one sitting (yes, I have some self-control issues).  On a recent Costco trip, while lining up at the checkout counter, a box of these Nature's Bakery fig bars caught my eye.  I decided to give these a try.

Each box contains 24 packages (portion control!), which in turn, contain 2 fig bars apiece.  There were three flavours in the pack: fig (regular), raspberry, and blueberry.  All three flavours are of the whole wheat variety.  All flavours are cholesterol free, dairy free, and kosher. 

I love these bars so much more than Fig Newtons!  They are chewy, moist, filling, and not too sweet.  The whole wheat content adds in 2.5 grams of fiber in each little bar, which makes for a satisfying snack.  For the first little while, I was eating both bars in the package, but then realized that one serving is actually a single bar, or half the package.  Unfortunately, this is increasingly common for packaged foods, where the serving size is actually just a portion of the package it came in.  Deceiving, huh?

Buy again?  Yes, please!  ~C$8.99 for 24 x twin packs, Costco.