Olipop Strawberry Vanilla Sparkling Tonic: This alternative beverage is not calorie (35) or sugar free (3g) but incorporates lots of unexpected alternative ingredients like kudzu root, elm bark, and Jerusalem artichoke, along with vanilla bean and strawberry essence. Their marketing describes this as beneficial "prebiotics, plant fiber, and botanicals" to support your digestive health. I didn't really care so much about the ingredients and was mostly drawn to the nicely designed packaging and flavor combinations I naturally gravita... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended pic drinks olipop strawberry vanila sparkling tonic 3.5
Harvest Snaps Yellow and white cheddar Popper Duos: Cheese puffs are some of my favorite junk food, and this pea-based yellow and white cheddar combo snacks are even better than the original corn-based ones. They’re more dense, so they have more of a bite, but they’re still crispy, and the coating has all the rich, savory flavor of a flavor-engineered Frito Lay snack but without the weight of artificial ingredients. A super dependable tasty snack that I am sure I’ll be buying again. 4.0/5.0
recommended cheese sprouts harvestsnaps yellow white cheddar popper duos 4.0
Lay’s White Cheddar Poppables: I was hoping these would be like 3D Doritos, but unfortunately they didn’t have the same impact. The chips are like football-shaped pockets with a lattice exterior similar to waffle fries. The dominant taste is of fried oil, and the white cheddar is there but not especially strong. I wouldn’t try them again, or any other flavors in this product line. 2.5/5.0
safeway lays white cheddar poppables 2.5
Trader Joe’s Spicy mango lemonade: I wasn’t quite expecting this spicy mango lemonade to be as spicy as it is, thinking it would be more fruity with a small chili-spiked aftertaste, but this is definitely not a drink to gulp down as you might normally with a thirst-quenching glass of lemonade. The heat is pretty upfront, stemming from a mix of jalapeño and cayenne, but if you like spicy drinks, I can see how this can be a refreshing take. You can definitely taste the mango too. Kudos to Trader Joe’s for not diluting the ta... (read more) 3.0/5.0
drinks traderjoes spicy mango lemonade 3.0
Happy Lemon Bubble waffle: There are several Happy Lemon shops in Seattle and one right in the middle of Amazon’s campus. It’s central location to downtown always gives it a sizable line, mostly because of the popularity of their bubble waffles, a snack I hadn’t yet seen at other locations I’ve been to (the last one I went to was in Shinjuku Tokyo about a year ago). They come in a few flavors including original, chocolate, Oreo, and matcha and are sized for sharing, though I have to admit I ate this one by myself over... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended dessert happylemon bubble waffle 4.0
Milk Bar Pie ice cream: Available at Whole Foods, this Milk Bar branded ice cream is strangely slightly smaller than a pint and tastes more like breakfast than pie, thanks to oat-like crumbles throughout. It’s very rich and sweet and reminds me of Friendly’s butter crunch, with a brown butter caramel flavor. The type of dessert you can enjoy a few scoops of before you realize it’s too rich to eat more — but those couple of scoops are pretty enjoyable. 3.5/5.0
recommended whole foods icecream milkbar pie ice cream 3.5