Day 167 - Villagio Marzano Tomatoes

We bought these to pair with tiny mozzarella bits (reviewed yesterday).  We had SOME small plum/cherry/grape-ish tomato as a sample at the Trader Joe’s in Florida recently and it was good.

This apparently wasn’t the one.

I think HEAVENLY is stretching it a bit...

These were not BAD, per se, but they were not TASTY.  They did not taste, as the writing on the bag would have us to believe, Heavenly.  They were just sort of blah, like most store bought tomatoes are.

Granted, it did not help that we picked some cherry tomatoes today off our little home grown plant and ate them.  There is nothing as lovely as HOME GROWN tomatoes.  Once they start coming in for the season, I guess no store bought tomato, no matter how expensive or how fancy the packaging, can match. 

Hmmm, maybe we should try the NOT mini version of the Marzano Tomato...  Perhaps it is more "highly prized"

I guess these will do if it is IMPOSSIBLE for you to grow your own.  But seriously, our cherry tomato plant is in a POT, not even the garden.  And it is doing fiiiine.  So if you are an apartment dweller or even live in your mamma’s basement – put a big pot out and plant yourself a cherry tomato plant!  Ours has not gotten any love at all this year and is still producing fruit.

Short of that, I guess you can invest in these Marzano tomatoes from Trader Joe’s.  They are bland, but maybe if you don’t have anything to compare them to they will be alright.

By the way – IT IS MY BIRTHDAY TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Price – $2.79

Rating – 3.25

Day 166 - Marinated Celigene Mozzarella Cheese

We recently were at a NEW TO US Trader Joe’s (in Fairfax, VA, a very nice store!).  

Hey!  Fairfax, VA Trader Joe's!

While there we decided to pick up supplies to make a tasty summer appetizer that we had recently at a TJ’s in Florida – tiny tomatoes with mozzarella on them!  We already had balsamic at home (Trader Joe’s, of course, to be reviewed later in this blog), and we hoped the basil we planted would be big enough for us to cut a bit off to top the dish off.   This is the mozzarella we chose:

Marinated Celigene (or is it Ciliegine?) Mozzarella Cheese

Now, there have been two previous mozzarella cheeses reviewed in this blog – one was our our regular one “the chub” reviewed on day 17 (4 stars).  The other one was one that we tried for our big TJ’s dinner party, reviewed on day 125 (which I personally gave a total of 1.75 stars to, but because it was a dinner party review I had to factor in reviews of the other guests and begrudgingly use the average of all reviews which brought it up to a 3…).  Normally we serve mozzarella over TJ’s kumatoes (reviewed on day 5 – 4 stars), and in the summer we serve it over tomatoes we grown in the garden.  But this time our home grown tomatoes were not ready to be eaten yet, and the taste test we did in Florida using the cherry tomato variety was yummy, so we went with what we saw – Marzano Tomatoes (sorry to be so confusing – I will review those small tomatoes soon!).

In any event, this review is about the tiny mozzarella balls!  First off, my partner David is the one who prepared this dish and he reports the container was very, very hard to open.  The size of the balls is good – he is quite obsessive so he cut some in thirds and some in fourths, but I reckon if you wanted to you could simply cut them down the middle and call it a day.  The sign said the cheese is marinating in “salted water” but David swears, “There’s somethin’ oily going on…”.  (The label of the actual product lists canola and Extra Virgin Olive Oil…  Maybe the signage at TJ’s was wrong?  When I look at the photos now I see that the SIGN spelled the cheese Ciliegine and the package spells it Celigene…  Maybe the incorrect sign was placed above these containers but we did not see any other containers nearby?  Who knows…)

The taste is pretty good.  It is not as great as the chub mozzarella, but way better than the stinky day 125 mozzarella.  The biggest problem by FAR with this dish was the inability of the teeny tiny tomatoes and mozzarella to hold enough balsamic vinegar!  There just was not enough surface area.

Isn't it PRETTY?  Turns out we did have enough basil, yippee!!

This cheese is not bad, but the convenience of having the tiny portions does not beat the tastiness of the chub cheese.

Price - $3.49

Rating – 3.5

Day165 - Taco Seasoning

It is strange how many of these reviews start with, “We don’t normally eat…” or “We don’t often buy…” – I guess it just goes to show you how many DIFFERENT products we are buying and eating this year because of this review project!  But I fear I must start another one with, “We don’t make tacos very often…” because it is true, we don’t!

We were recently back at our “home” Trader Joe’s and saw a lady with some flour tortillas in her cart (which we do not buy very often and had never purchased at Trader Joe’s – oops – there is ANOTHER one of those disclaimers!).  Anyway, the sight of the tortillas, mixed with my hunger, made me think TACOS! 

So we set about finding the ingredients we would need to make tacos.  We don’t eat tacos often, and when we do, it is at a restaurant or my sister’s house I guess!  J  But this time, we were going to make them ourselves.  So we got:  flour tortillas (to be reviewed another day), hamburger (probably also to be reviewed at some point), and hot pico de gallo (which got a glowing review on day 25 of this blog).  We wanted some taco seasoning, but couldn’t find any where we expected it (by the jars of salsa, right?) so we assumed TJ’s didn’t carry it and planned to pop into another store on the way home. 

But before giving up, we asked an associate, who led us to the packets of taco seasoning in a very out of the way place on a very hard to find bottom shelf.  THEY HAD IT!  (Note to stores:  these don’t take up much shelf space at all, maybe you could display them in a couple different places?  By the canned refried and black beans, by the tortillas, and by the jars of salsa?  Just an idea to making shopping easier.)

These packets were HIDING!  

We are NOT taco seasoning experts.  I think I have only ever bought one brand and probably only invested in that a couple times in my life.  So I really cannot compare this TJ’s brand to any other, in taste, quality, or price.  But I CAN say it made good taco meat!  It was super easy, we followed the meat recipe on the package (onions, green peppers, can of  tomatoes (from TJ’s), beef, and the seasoning).  The package recommended using HALF of it for a milder taste, and ALL of it for a super spicy taste.  GO BIG OR GO HOME, right?  In almost all of it went! 

Tacos being made...  That is a pound of ground beef, which turned out to be a LOT for us (like 4 meals...)

I saved a bit to put on small Portobello mushrooms I sliced and was making to put on the tacos (wow, I just checked the blog and am surprised I have not reviewed these, we eat them a ton.  To be reviewed…).  It turned out that the taco seasoning on the mushrooms was super good and my favorite part of the whole meal! 

And the "Best Use of Taco Seasoning" award goes to - these mushrooms!

I think I will keep a packet of this seasoning in the cupboard to use on veggies.  I am going to experiment and see how it tastes on things other than hamburger meat! 

Price - .79 cents

Rating - 4

Day164 - Tuscan Cantaloupe

 If ever a fruit deserved a 5 star rating, this is it. 

My partner David came home from Trader Joe’s raving about the “Tuscan Cantaloupe” he had sampled in the store.  Personally, I was skeptical.  I mean, a CANTALOUPE is a CANTALOUPE, right??  And if you think of all the fruits you could possibly eat, cantaloupe would not normally make my top 5 list.  (Maybe I was also skeptical because I was ticked at him…  I had to work all day and I THOUGHT we were going grocery shopping TOGETHER, after I was off work, and here he just went without me…  Ok yeah, that was part of my negativity, I confess…)

Anyway, he brought one of these cantaloupes home with him.  Even before it was cut it sort of stunk up our kitchen with cantaloupe smell (oh my, “stunk up”, my crankiness at being left behind while he gallivanted around is really showing, isn’t it???).  I guess a little piece of me might have also thought, “Here it is, the moment David turns into his father.”  You see, David’s dad (Stanley) ate cantaloupe for breakfast EVERY SINGLE DAY.  When we lived with him to take care of him the last couple months of his life, we cut cantaloupe every morning (plus prepared a bowl of the same cereal (Special K), a banana, and Entenmann’s – now that I write that out I realize that was a HUGE breakfast!).   You can see why my brain went, “Wow, David is now in love with cantaloupe, could this be the final conversion where he BECOMES his father???”.  J

Here it is, amoung the pineapples, the TUSCAN CANTALOUPE

But the next morning David sliced that melon open and served it up for breakfast.  YES.  It is a GOOD CANTALOUPE!  I am not sure what it is about “Tuscan” cantaloupe that makes it different from, say, Tallahassee cantaloupe, but whatever it is, I say YES.  This is a really tasty melon!  There is no mushiness, yet it is not too firm either.  Often with cantaloupe I put on a bit of salt to give it some flavor, but this melon needs nothing added.  Well, if I was going to add anything, it would be very thinly sliced prosciutto.  Oh now my mouth is watering at the thought of that…  We are going to an outdoor party tomorrow evening, maybe that is what we will bring!  It sounds perfect!

All prepared and ready to E A T

We were at Trader Joe’s last night (yes, we went together this time J ) and I did a price comparison between melons to see if the prized TUSCAN one was more expensive than the others.  It turns out it is exactly the same price as an organic cantaloupe ($3.49) but more than a conventional cantaloupe ($2.99).  Trust me, it is worth the extra .50 cents. 

Traditional cantaloupe is cheaper, but not as good

Organic - same price as Tuscan.  GET TUSCAN!

My advice is:  TRY ONE!  They are a flyer item this month, and I am not sure how long they will carry them.  The signage at our Trader Joe’s (so nice to be back home and get to go to our local store!) said, “One taste and no other melon will do!”.  I agree!  Get one now while you can!

Very honest sign - trust it.

Price - $3.49

Rating - 5

Day 163 - 100% Cranberry Juice

Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, nah, that isn’t gonna happen, I am not buying this juice again. 

Here is what to be on the lookout for...  

Let’s just say, when this label says 100% CRANBERRY JUICE, they ain’t a kiddin’…  The little part that says “No artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives” basically means – NO SUGAR OR ANYTHING ELSE TO MAKE THIS JUICE PALATABLE – DRINK AT YOUR OWN RISK! 

I guess I am spoiled.  I see the words “Cranberry Juice” and I must just expect COCKTAIL.  Even though this label clearly does NOT say cocktail and clearly DOES say 100% juice, I did not know what I was getting myself into!  I am not sure who drinks this juice…  It is as bitter, tart and sharp as the night is long.  It is pure, unadulterated squished cranberries.  We could not even get through a shared teeny tiny juice cup – I asked David if he wanted to add some San Pelligrino bubbly water to it to try and cut it to make it better and he said, “NO!  I don’t want to waste any Pelligrino!!  I will dump that juice out!”.

Not a good way to start your morning....

WHAT THE WHAT IS IN THIS JUICE GLASS????

So we dumped out half a cup of juice, and I am now going to dump out the rest of the (almost untouched) bottle.  Sigh.  What a waste.  But we are leaving Florida tomorrow and need to clean out the fridge, and I cannot imagine the neighbors would be thankful to us for dumping this juice on them. 

It is hard to RATE this product.  I mean, I guess I have never had “real” cranberry juice, only the Welch’s Cranberry Juice Cocktail kind…  So maybe, if you are into pure cranberry juice, this stuff is the bomb…  However, for my taste buds, this stuff just totally BOMBED.   So I am sorry to say I am going to have to give it a zero…  I mean, not even being able to drink a small juice glass has to equal a zero, right???  If you are a 100% cranberry juice drinker, try this.  Maybe it is good.  But if you are more on the cranberry juice COCKTAIL side, steer clear.

P.S. – my partner points out that this juice IS, in fact, what it says it is, PURE JUICE.  So perhaps the score should be higher.

P.P.S. – this stuff tastes like #^&*, I stick by the 0.  J

Price – $3.99

Rating - 0

Day 162 - Caramel Popcorn

Well drat.  I had high hopes for this caramel popcorn.  You see, I adore Trader Joe’s Chicago Style Popcorn (now called Caramel and Cheddar Popcorn) which got a rave review on day 100 of this blog.  So because the caramel popcorn in that mix is SO GOOD, I rather hoped that this little bag of just caramel would be the same quality – basically I hoped they picked all the caramel bits out of a mixed bag and put them in this bag for times I just wanted caramel.

Nope. 

Look how HAPPY David is!  This is BEFORE he tried this popcorn.  Now he feels angry, bitter, and duped...

This caramel popcorn tastes more like CRACKER JACKS than real, honest to goodness delicious caramel popcorn.  It almost has a fake-y taste.  The bag says they tried to find a way to maintain the sweet caramel flavor with less fat “and we did”.  Ummm – no you didn’t.  You maintained the fake-y boring Cracker Jacks flavor.  If I wanted that I would buy CRACKER JACKS, where at least I would get a prize!

Give us back FAT- if fat means flavor we'll take the fat.  You keep the Cracker Jacks.

Color me disappointed.  I will pay extra and stick to the Caramel Cheddar Blend from now on!

Price - $1.69

Rating – 1.75

Day 161 - Alfredo Pasta Sauce

Another cute Florida Trader Joe's sign - flamingo!

I don’t often think of ALFREDO when I think pasta.  I always think of red sauce or pesto (we have a freezer full of little pesto packs we have made from garden basil, so it is an easy thing to make when we want pasta).  But we recently had Trader Joe’s Chicken Pot Pie Ravioli (reviewed yesterday, day 160, on this blog) and we wanted a non-red/non-pesto sauce to go over it.  Enter TRADER GIOTTO’S ALFREDO SAUCE.  It has Romano and Parmesan cheeses – yummmmm.

Grab a jar of this on your next visit to Trader Joe's

It was great on the ravioli!  All we did was heat it and pour it over the pasta.  Ahhhh – almost no work at all to have a tasty, creamy meal!!!  All I added to the sauce was freshly ground pepper.  We used half the jar on this meal which means we have another half jar to enjoy later!  It would be tasty on fettuccine, so maybe that will be the next pasta it goes over.

Alfredo being poured over ravioli - can't you almost TASTE the goodness?

I am going to broaden my sauce horizons and remember ALFREDO in the future.  It is nice to mix things up a bit, and this cheesy creamy sauce deserves some love.

Price - $3.29

Rating – 4.75

Day 160 - Chicken Pot Pie Ravioli

What the WHAAAT???  Chicken Pot Pie RAVIOLI???  How in the world is that combination even POSSIBLE??

Check it out - two great things - CHICKEN POT PIE ANNNND RAVIOLI - all in one!

I am happy that my Facebook friend Gwynn posted the other day about finding this culinary peculiarity at her Trader Joe’s.  We had not seen this in the stores yet but as soon as I read her post I was READY to go find it!  We picked some up at the Pembroke Pines, FL store (that has nice artwork shown on day 156 of this blog – check it out!).

We had the ravioli for dinner tonight.  And it was a pretty QUIET dinner, because we were so busy enjoying the taste of what we were eating that we barely talked.  Well, except to say stuff like, “Oh man…” and “This is GOOD, eh??”, etc. 

Totally reasonable price for something so yummy

Seriously, this is a good thing to eat.  It DOES taste like chicken pot pie AND ravioli, and who doesn’t like those 2 things????  You just put the raviolis in water for 5 or 6 minutes and they are good to go!  The package says to serve them with just olive oil or a sauce.  We tried one with olive oil and decided we liked them better with sauce (we had Trader Joe’s Alfredo Sauce, to be reviewed soon).  The Alfredo sauce was a great compliment to the ravioli – I recommend the combination.

The ravioli with Alfredo sauce (and green beans) - see the rogue carrot on the plate?  That is from a ravioli that burst

The ONLY slight problem with this item is the propensity for ravioli to burst a bit when cooking, thus leaking out a bit of the chicken pot pie goodness.  I think if it were not for the bursting, these would have gotten a 5 star rating…  We will have these again, that’s for sure!  The package says 2 servings and that was perfect for the 2 of us.  It is very well priced, too, at basically $2 per serving (plus sauce).  This is a new product for Trader Joe’s and I sure hope they keep carrying it!

Price - $3.99

Rating – 4.75

Day 159 - Pineapple Spears

Pineapples are tasty.  But they are HARD to cut and serve (in my humble opinion).

Canned pineapple tastes so, so, oh, I don’t know, so elementary school cafeteria to me.

So what’s a person to do when they want a bit of fresh pineapple?? 

Why, buy these pineapple spears from Trader Joe’s of course!  You get the tastiness of FRESH pineapple without the messy mess of trying to cut it yourself.  (And no tin can taste!!)

Pineapple, ready for you to EAT

As you see on the label, these are Del Monte pineapples, so basically they are the same thing you would get if you bought one whole or in a can.  Only, they are in a little plastic container all ready for you to munch on.

Sure, they are a bit pricey, but they are a tasty, healthy thing to eat.  As the sign says, you could also use them in a smoothie. 

Whoever wrote this sign has great handwriting

If you are tired of run of the mill bananas and apples, spice up your life a bit with fresh pineapple.  It tastes summery and juicy.  Go for it.

Obviously this is an OLD photo, best by December 3, 2014!!  I just got more this week and I must say I enjoy them more in hot summer weather.

Price - $3.49

Rating – 4.25

Day 158 - Skinny Dip (New Belgium) Beer

As with most (if not all) beer reviews on this blog, I must preface this by saying that I know practically nothing about beer.  I didn’t drink much of it until a year or two ago, and I still choose wine over it.  But I have been known to kick back a brewsky every now and again (boy that sounds dumb when I say it…). 

So we were having a beach party and I wanted to stock up on beer.  I wasn’t sure what to get, but this one is called SKINNY DIP so hey, yeah, THIS IS A SURE BET, RIGHT?  Totally chose it for the name.  J 

SKINNY DIP in action!  No, not SKINNY DIPPING, but drinking a Skinny Dip beer

 And it is a fine beer.  I mean, not FINER than other beers per se, but it does the trick.  The label says the “hops frolic with bready malts for a crisp sip as refreshing as a freshwater dip”.  Damn – that is some fancy  marketing!!   

This is a seasonal beer (summer only – cuz who skinny dips in winter??).  Lucky for you, gentle reader, I did a price comparison and found that a six pack was a full FIFTY CENTS cheaper at Trader Joe’s than at Publix (a large Florida grocery store chain). 

Publix - $9.49!

 Trader Joe's - $8.99 (not great signage - this was the Winter Park, FL store)

So if you like Skinny Dip, pick it up at Trader Joe’s instead of some other grocery store.  Save some money and celebrate SUMMER!

Price - $8.49

Rating - 4

Day 157 - Milk Chocolate Jumbles

We had this little container of chocolate treats on a recent trip that found me WORKING and David SNACKING.  He was kind enough to tell me one night, “If you want to try those jumbles, you better grab yourself one, because I am going to eat ‘em all…”.  J

Around 15 pieces for $3.99 - not a bad price at all

So I have now sat down to taste them.  I ate one, and my favorite part was the “Himalayan pink sea salt” on the top.  Boy howdy was it salty!  But I wish the CHOCOLATE part was more CHOCOLATEY.  You know how sometimes chocolate stuff just doesn’t taste enough like CHOCOLATE?  I don’t know how to describe it, but that is how these jumbles are for me.

They are made of crunchy pecans (those were good!), toasted quinoa, and caramel, covered in milk chocolate and topped with a dash of the aforementioned HIMALAYAN PINK SEA SALT (cuz, you know, plain sea salt wasn’t fancy enough, so they had to make it a COLOR, then simple PINK sea salt just wouldn’t cut it, so they had to trek to the Himalayas to get it!!). 

Maybe if they covered them in dark chocolate they would be tastier to me.  As it is, I think I will let David finish the rest.  The label says that serving size is 3 pieces, and that is exactly how many are left.  Have at ‘em, honey!

David was excited about these even before he opened the package and ate one!

These are not bad at all, and many people will probably really like them.  It’s just if I am going to eat something chocolate, I want it to be CHOCOLATE.

Price – $3.99

Rating – 3.75 (in all fairness I asked David what HE would give these if he rated them and he said 4.75)

Day 156 - Very Green 100% Juice Smoothie

We visited YET ANOTHER Trader Joe’s today!!!  This one was in Pembroke Pines, FL.  The Captain (manager), I think her name was Sarah, was super sweet.  And I really liked some of the signage in this store – it was all beach-y/Florida themes!  Nice. 

Their sample area is called THE GECKO GALLEY - perfect for Florida!!

This was a big painted sign on the front window - "Trader Joe's, where shopping is always a picnic"  :)

One product we picked up was the Very Green 100% Juice Smoothie.  While I adore green veggies, we do not often drink green drinks.  David, in fact, wrinkled up his nose at the prospect of tasting this…

You can tell he is thinking, "Do I really have this??  It is YOUR project, Susan...."

The label on the front says this smoothie is a blend of banana, mango and kiwi purees, apple and pineapple juice, and (I quote) “green foods and other added ingredients”.  Hmmm….  The “green foods” part was a bit off-putting…  Green WHAT?  Oh sure, I doubt it would be green M&Ms, but still, why the secret???  However, when I took time to read the nutritional information, I found out what all of the ingredients were, including the seemingly top secret ones not listed on the front:  apple juice, banana puree, mango puree, pineapple juice, kiwi puree, spirulina, chlorella (what the hell is that one??), natural flavor, dried greens blend (broccoli, spinach, barley grass, ginger, blue green algae, parsley, garlic).

GARLIC?  In a SMOOTHIE? 

As you can see it really IS very green!

But guess what?  It is not half bad!  It says 2 servings, and I would say that is accurate, not sure I would want to chug the whole 16 oz container in one sitting, but it was good.  The first and strongest taste I got was banana (ironic, since bananas are not green, unless of course you are eating/drinking unripe bananas…).  We also could taste the mango and apple juice and perhaps a hint of pineapple.  It tasted like I was drinking something HEALTHY, but not like I was trying to force down medicine or anything.   I think it is quite expensive for the amount of drink you get, but I guess if you think of the cost of all of the ingredients it is probably not over-priced.

And guess what again?  EVEN DAVID LIKED IT!  Oh sure, at first he only took a teeny tiny sip cuz he was nervous.  But after a drink or two he had to admit that it was good.

Price - $2.99

Rating – 3.75

Day 155 - Coconut Cashews

Not only did we BUY this big bag of coconut cashews, we deliberately went back through line a SECOND TIME to buy them.  We had already checked out at the Palm Beach Gardens, Florida Trader Joe’s when David spied these and we thought, “Why not??!”. 

David is the cashew lover at our house.  Cashews are usually not good to me – too buttery or meaty or something (not that I have anything against butter or meat, I guess what I am trying to say is cashews are not my favorite…).  We were heading into a few days of rest and relaxation for David and stocking up on treats for him to munch on so these seemed like a good fit.  I would be working long hours, he would be munching cashews.

This looks like the perfect snack for a few days of relaxation, right?

 Only, not so much.  I came back to find him in the hotel room eating OTHER snacks but having only consumed a couple of these cashews.  “What’s wrong with them?” I asked.  “They are CASHEWS – you dig cashews!  And COCONUT – also on your “like” list.”  His reply – “They are, I dunno, they are just BLAH.”

So I tried one.  And I agree – blah blah blah.  Salt is listed as an ingredient, but it is the last one listed so I assume it is only a teeny tiny dash per 5,000,000,000 cashews or something.  These puppies could use a more generous dusting of SEA SALT.  We both agree that would perk the flavor up.

Cashews are always crazy expensive and these are no exception

The packaging says “We’ve married two favorite tropical flavors to come up with a Trader Joe’s treat that we bet you won’t be able to stop eating!”.  Well Joe, you lose that bet.  We stopped eating these right after we opened the big, expensive 14 oz bag and will be returning them today for a refund.  Sorry!  These just didn’t work for us.

Our suggestions:  add SEA SALT and package them in a very tiny bag instead of this huge one.  That will make them tastier and cheaper.  David adds, “Add something tasty to them to give them some zing – maybe LIME or CHILI POWDER!”.  Until then – refund please.

Price – $6.99

Rating – 2.5

Day 154 - Mediterranean Hummus Snack Pack

Now THIS is a good snack!!! 

We popped into a new Trader Joe’s today – well, new to US and pretty new to the scene, too!  Turns out the Trader Joe’s in Palm Beach Gardens, FL has been open for less than a year.  It’s lovely!  It is nice and clean, fresh, and has sweet employees (especially the guy who was our cashier, whose name on the receipt says “C. Luke”). 

Me outside the Palm Beach Gardens, FL TRADER JOE'S!

We got two items to eat in the car for lunch (we were on a 4.5 hour drive and needed foooood).  We got a pesto chicken wrap (to be reviewed soon) and this Mediterranean Hummus Snack Pack.  Let’s just say – this snack pack was GOOD, the chicken wrap, not so much…

Here is the package - inside here are 2 individual snack packs!

 This pack contains two sealed little packages, each with pita chips and hummus.  The pita chips were crunchy and tasty and the hummus was great!  It is called MEDITERRANEAN HUMMUS, and I think (but am not 100% sure) it is the same as the larger container of Mediterranean Hummus reviewed on this blog on day 78.  Each snack pack contains 4 oz of hummus and some pita chips – just enough for a snack (for us, a shared snack for 2). 

It looks tiny here (photo taken on my lap while eating this in the car) but it didn't feel tiny in real life

 This would be a fantastic thing to pack in a work or school lunch, or to eat as an afternoon pick me up.  I normally think items packaged as “single servings” or tiny snacks are a waste of both money (being over-priced) and packaging materials, but in this case it does not seem too expensive for what you get and the packaging is quite minimal. This is a healthy snack, and a double pack was $1.99, meaning one snack is only a buck!  Well worth it! 

Good price (but not a great sign...  The other artwork on signs was much better in this store)

Price - $1.99

Rating – 4.75