grocery Archives - Curiously Carmen

Food: Trader Joe’s Haul

May 22, 2018

Woohoo! This post makes me so happy to do because it’s a long time coming. I did a Trader Joe’s haul four years ago and wanted to do more reviews on their products, but then the exchange rate became crap and we stopped going to the states as often. But finally we came back!

Going to Trader Joe’s is always a highlight of the states and during my visit in February, I made sure to stock up!

This will be a review of the items that I bought!

Bamba peanut snacks: These were quite interesting. They had a light fluffy texture like Old Dutch’s Popcorn Twists. The taste was the same except that right after you bite it, it goes from salty to a powdered peanut butter taste. I didn’t really like the taste and wouldn’t order it again… Maybe if it wasn’t peanut butter flavoured.

Chocolate hazelnut cookies: Oh gosh, these were AMAZING. I wish I bought more than one box. The cookies were light but tasted like shortbread. The hazelnut spread inside was super delicious. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth but these were so good!!!

White truffle potato chips: We are huge truffle oil fans, so this went into the grocery cart instantly. They tasted like regular chips but with a hint of truffle oil. Would definitely repurchase this as well!

Strawberry rhubarb soda: The soda was alright, nothing too special about it. It had more of a rhubarb taste and didn’t taste like strawberry. Not bad but not super good either!

Speculoos Cookie & Cookie spread: The OG product that made me fall in love with Trader Joe’s in the first place. A combination of their chocolate and cookie spread, this goes well with so many things!

Almond butter: The almond butter spread is pretty good too, although obviously not as good as the Speculoos 😉 It’s a good alternative to peanut butter and also does a good job in keeping you full.

Honey crisp apple cider: I was quite excited to try this, but it tasted just like regular apple juice instead of a cider. It was still delicious and refreshing though.

Dark chocolate Speculoos cookie: This was an impulse buy while waiting in line to check out. But man, am I glad I got this because it was delicious! Dark chocolate with a layer of Speculoos cookie inside? Can’t go wrong with that 😉

Mac and cheese: The boyfriend ate this when I was not home one night. He said it was very disappointing, so I’m glad that I didn’t miss out on much. He said that it wasn’t cheesy or creamy at all. That’s a bummer!

The items at Trader Joe’s are either hit or miss. It all sounds delicious on the packaging so the real test is when you purchase and eat it. Hopefully this post will help you not have to test out as many products and save some moolah (especially since it’s in USD)!

Read more: We stayed one night in the states, and I did a review of the hotel we stayed at!

Food: Sabra Hummus Review

February 25, 2018

Mmm, hummus. What is there not to love about hummus? It is a healthy, delicious, versatile snack. I was introduced to Sabra’s hummus line via my blog, here’s what I thought about it!

Sabra has many different flavours of hummus. The different kinds are the following: classic, caramelized onion, jalapeno, black olive, roasted garlic, roasted pine nuts, red pepper, spinach artichoke, sun dried tomato with Italian herbs, supremely spicy, and taco inspired! Which one sounds the best to you?

The boyfriend and I got our Sabra hummus from the Real Canadian Superstore. Superstore did not carry all of the flavours mentioned above, but we were satisfied with our two picks!

Classic hummus: You can’t go wrong with classic hummus. The hummus was creamy and flavourful. There was also a hint of garlic in this one which added a nice touch.
Roasted red pepper: This was the boyfriend’s choice! It was the same flavour as the classic hummus above. The difference was that there was some red pepper in the middle, which we ended up spreading around to mix the flavour.

There was a strong red pepper taste. I was not expecting it to taste that strong because it didn’t seem like that much red pepper, but it was yummy!

Photo Credit: Sabra Hummus Press Release

Sabra Hummus is vegan, kosher, gluten free and contains no gmo-s. I would recommend eating hummus with crackers, vegetables, or adding it in a sandwich or bagel. Hummus is high in protein, fiber and iron.

You can find Sabra Hummus at Wal-Mart, Superstore, No Frills, Extra Foods, and more. Use this store locator to find the closest location to you! They also sell hummus-on-the-go cups, guacamole, salsa, and spreads.

Yay!

Press product featured. Opinions are own.

Habibi’s Mediterranean Foods

July 21, 2016

Many people are surprised when they found out that many sauces and dips include dairy. I was also surprised to find out how limited my options were with sauce and dips! Now, I usually just order food without sauce because they most likely have dairy, unless it’s some sort of vinaigrette or Asian style sauce.
So, I was quite happy when Habibi’s Mediterranean Foods contacted me and told me they had dairy free options! In fact, most of their dips and spreads are dairy free with the exception of Tsaziki and Labneh. I knew I had to try them!

I tried three of their hummus flavours: sriracha, Lebanese, and basil & garlic. In addition to the hummus, I tried the lebanese garlic spread as well.

Habibi’s spreads are super versatile, and you can eat this with anything you want! I used my hummus and spreads for veggie dips, crackers, sandwiches, and tortilla chips. The ingredients are all natural, and are all easily recognized which is always a plus!
Srircha jalapeno hummus: I was expecting this to be pretty spicy, but that wasn’t the case at all. It was very mild with only the slightest hint of spice. I didn’t taste any srircha in here.
Ingredients: chickpeas, tahini, fresh jalapeno, olive oil, Sriracha, fresh garlic, sea salt, vinegar, citric acid.

Lebanese style hummus: The Lebanese style was the most simple one, suitable for those who just want good ol’ hummus. I liked using this in my sandwiches along with slices of deli meat and veggies. It added some protein and more flavour to my sandwich.
Ingredients: chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, fresh garlic, sea salt, vinegar, citric acid

Basil garlic hummus: This was a personal favourite for the boyfriend and his brother. I really enjoyed this flavour too! We all love anything garlicky so we enjoyed this. Using this dip was pretty much the only reason why I willingly ate raw veggies, LOL.
Ingredients: chickpeas, fresh garlic, fresh basil, tahini (sesame paste), olive oil, vinegar, pure citric acid , sea salt

Garlic sauce: Moving away from the hummus now, the garlic sauce was really good too. There was a VERY strong and concentrated garlic taste which made it spicy. I absolutely LOVED this and couldn’t stop snacking on this with crackers. The only thing I should warn you about is that your mouth will smell strongly of garlic afterwards, so have gum or a toothbrush and toothpaste handy!

Overall, I really enjoyed Habibi’s and will be picking up more at the grocery store! Since the ingredients are all natural, they spoil relatively fast. After a month of having it in the fridge, I noticed that mold had started to grow in the hummus and spread – that’s when you know they have no preservatives!

Retailers include Whole Foods Market, Choices Market, IGA, Donald’s Market, Fresh Street Market, Fairway Market, Loblaws, Nature’s Fare, SPUD, and other independent grocers. The retail prices range between $3.75-4.99.

Yay!

Press products featured. Opinions are own.

Veggemo: Plant Based, Non-Dairy Beverage

January 2, 2016

Since I have been confirmed with lactose intolerance (lab test) a few months ago, I’ve been really mindful of the food I eat and which restaurants I go to. Although it sucks, I’ve come to be a lot more conscious of what I can eat. Luckily, I didn’t have much of a sweet tooth to begin with so cutting out desserts and ice cream wasn’t so hard.

It’s the cheese that is hard to give up because I love my cheeseburgers, nachos, and other cheesy goodness. I am able to eat dairy in very small amounts without reacting (eg. a few spoonfuls of Greek yogurt because it has less lactose than regular yogurt, dark chocolate, cookies, etc) or I take Lactaid pills before eating. However, those pills don’t work half the time for me since I guess my case is slightly more ‘severe’ so I find it easier to just avoid dairy in general.
I’ve been trying non-dairy alternatives recently, which was why I was super excited to learn about Veggemo (Bonus points for being Canadian!). Veggemo is a veggie based, non-dairy beverage that was recently introduced on the shelves a couple of months ago.

I’m always very interested in finding out how companies come up with innovative ways to combine different ingredients to resemble dairy products! Veggemo is composed of peas, tapioca, and potatoes.

The peas provide some protein and flavour, while the tapioca gives it a creamy texture. Potatoes make Veggemo smooth and easy to drink, and gives it a milky-white colour.

You can also look at the nutrition facts and ingredients in the photo above. The nutrition facts pictured are from the vanilla flavour, which slightly differs from the original and unsweetened flavours.
Veggemo is a great dairy substitute for those people that require specialized diets, whether it be for health or ethical reasons. At first sip, I noticed that the texture of the original and vanilla was very similar to 2% milk. The unsweetened one had the texture of skim milk.

I found it slightly creamy in texture and the taste of the original and unsweetened to be very mild. The vanilla had a slight hint of sweetness and could use a bit more vanilla taste to it!
I love making smoothies with my Veggemo! I simply blended a banana and the original flavour Veggemo, which tasted delicious. It has the exact texture and taste of a regular smoothie.

In addition to making smoothies, I also use Veggemo for cereal. Since the unsweetened flavour is very plain and mild, my cereal gives it a lot more sweetness and I drink the Veggemo after I’m done eating!

Their super informative and interactive website also has some recipe ideas on how to incorporate Veggemo into your cooking, such as creamy tomato soup, holiday eggless nog, fluffy pancakes, and coffee cakes! I definitely will be trying their suggested recipes with these products!
Tomato soup following the recipe on Veggemo’s website, but added some penne pasta & ham. We also didn’t puree the soup as we didn’t have the proper blender for it. This tasted delicious and was super filling with the pasta & ham!
Banana bread also following their recipe! My friend used original instead of vanilla, and substituted the oil with greek yogurt. She enjoyed the finished product and said it tasted great!

Veggemo is a great dairy substitute in cooking and baking. I would prefer to use Veggemo in a recipe as I found the taste to be very mild, although the texture and consistency was perfect. Veggemo was rated 1 of the 10 most innovative new products (out of 300 products) at the Grocery Innovation Canada show.

You can currently find Veggemo at major grocery stores such as Save On Foods, Pricesmart, London Drugs, Urban Fare, IGA Marketplace, Walmart Supercentres! The price ranges from $2.99-$3.79, depending on which retailer you go buy from.

Thanks for reading!

Carmen

New Product! Prana Coconut Chips

December 7, 2015

Are you the same as me, and prefer savoury snacks over sweets? I would take a bag of chips or french fries over pastries any day. Although everyone I know prefers yam fries, I still like regular fries better because yam fries are sweeter than regular fries.

I love chips, but I try not to eat them often because it’s not healthy and my throat gets sore the next day if I eat anything more than a small handful! Which is why I was excited to try Prana’s new coconut chips and to see if they are a great savoury alternative to traditional chips.
For now, there are four flavours but they only launched last month, so I am predicting that there will be more flavours on the shelves over the next few months or even years.

The coconut chips are 100% organic, gluten-free, and non genetically modified. The only ingredients in the chips are coconut slices and seasoning (except for the classic, which only contains coconut slices). The boyfriend gladly helped with sampling as well, he thought that this was an interesting concept.

Prana Coconut Chips — A mixture of the different flavours!

Also, Flavours are named after popular dances around the world! Can we also take a minute to appreciate the lovely packaging and branding?
The first flavour we sampled was the sea salt & pepper, because I wanted to try the flavour that seemed the most savoury first. It was…very interesting?

I was expecting the chips to be completely dry, but they were slightly moist due to the coconut meat, which I didn’t mind. However, we both thought that the slight sweetness of the coconut chips didn’t go that well with the sea salt and pepper flavour.
After sampling the salt and pepper flavour, we tried the spicy chili next! The spicy chili, or jive, was my personal favourite.This flavour tasted more like your traditional chip since you don’t taste the sweet coconut, yet can feel the slightly moist but crunchy texture of the coconut meat.

Unlike the salt and pepper flavour, the subtle coconut taste went really well with the spicy chili by making it more rich and the spice less intense.
Third on the list was the barbecue flavour, or charleston! Again, the bbq flavour went really well with the coconut taste. This was the boyfriend’s favourite flavour because he loves anything barbecue.
Lastly, we tried the original, or classic flavour. This is just pure coconut slices with no other added ingredients. This one was nice and simple, and really showed the quality of the coconut!

All in all, the Prana coconut chips are a great healthy alternative to chips. I can eat more of these without feeling as guilty or wake up with a sore throat. Although I wouldn’t have the sea salt and pepper flavour again, I enjoyed the other three and will be munching on these in the weeks to come!

Thanks for reading!

Carmen

Press samples featured. Opinions are own.