Grocery Bag: December Strawberries in L.A.

If you see strawberries in the store, you’re gonna wonder what’s going on. I did think it was weird to see them in my local grocery store and didn’t think they would be good. Even though strawberry season is long gone, L.A. somehow is still going strong with incredibly sweet ones. Yup, I was not disappointed with my risky purchase. So go pick up these special treats if you see them in your local L.A. store or farmer’s market!

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(Bottom Photo:latimes.com)

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Grocery Bag: Viktor Bene’s Bakery Halloween Cookies

Halloween is here! I love Halloween – candy, costumes, more candy, decorations, more sweets. There’s nothing not to love about it. I can’t help but smile whenever I see all the seasonal candy and treats everywhere. Everytime I go to the grocery store, I check out their seasonal pastry treats. I had to get the Viktor Benês Bakery Halloween cookies in ghost and pumpkin shapes. These are buttery flaky shortbread cookies with sugar fondant icing! My mouth waters everytime I take a bite. The cute colorful shapes make them feel like an extra special treat. I can’t get enough of these.

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Let me know if you’ve tried this or have any recommendations.

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Grocery Bag: Starbucks Italian Roast

I was running out of coffee beans and thought I might try an extra bold roast this time. Normally, I always stick to any bold roast but didn’t mind just a tiny bit of change to my morning coffee. I’ve seen Starbucks Italian Roast plenty of times but never actually tried it out. It’s one of the most traditional extra bold roasts around, and it has taken me forever to give it a go. As all of Starbuck’s coffee bean bags, they perfectly maintain their moisture and freshness which is clearly visible. (I think these are some of my favorite pictures with the way those cute little coffee beans glisten.) I can smell that smoky strong coffee roast without any “ashtray” effect. There was no bitterness at all and the smokiness wasn’t overbearing the caramel flavor – just enough for me to enjoy [...]

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Candy Bag: Panda All-Natural Raspberry Licorice

Here’s the raspberry licorice chew I prefer – Panda All-Natural Raspberry Licorice. These little Finnish boxes of bite-size sticky sweet raspberry licorice are not too soft for me. I don’t have to spend 15 minutes on each chew trying to remove all the pieces stuck to my teeth. The raspberry flavor tastes completely natural and doesn’t leave any weird aftertaste. The molasses is what gives it a more rounded and richer sweetness that other raspberry licorice bites lack. The good news for me is that these are super easy to find in almost any supermarket.
Ingredients: Molasses Syrup, WheatFlour, Raspberry Puree (1.7%), Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Natural Flavouring, Black Carrot Juice Concentrate, Licorice Extract.

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Grocery Bag: FoodShouldTasteGood – Multigrain Tortilla Chips

Here’s a chip that’s a cross between wheat thins, flat bread, and a tortilla chip – Food Should Taste Good’s Multigrain Tortilla Chips. It’s got the same salty corn chip flavor made richer with an impressive layer of multigrain texture that’s even more fulfilling and healthy.

Ingredients: Stone Ground Corn, High Oleic Sunflower Oil and/or Safflower Oil, Brown Rice Flour, Flax Seeds, Evaporated Cane Juice, Oat Fiber, Sesame Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Quinoa, Soy Flour, Sea Salt
Nutrition Facts: 10 Chips/28g, Calories 140, Total Fat 6g, Saturated Fat 0.5g, Trans Fat 0g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 80mg, Total Carbohydrate 18g, Dietary Fiber 3g, Sugars 1g, Protein 3g, Calcium 2%, Iron 6%

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Let me know if you’ve tried this or have any recommendations.

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Candy Bag: Rips® Sweet & Sour Strawberry & Green Apple Bite-Size Licorice Pieces

I picked up a bag of these Rips Sweet & Sour Bite-Size Licorice Pieces because it kind of resembles my latest crave with Haribo Sour S’ghettis. There are two different flavors in the bag – sour strawberry and green apple and they’re just as sour as the Haribo but definitely sweeter. I think it might have to do with the pineapple juice ingredient. The pieces are pretty generous and count as 3 bites for me – although I have no problems eating it all in one bite. These are also a little softer – so if you like soft licorice, then this is for you. I also like that these are much easier to find since they’re in most supermarkets and pharmacies.
Ingredients: Sugar, Wheat Flour, Glucose Syrup (From Tapioca), Malic Acid, Pineapple Juice (From Concentrate), Artificial Flavors, and Artificial Color (Red 40, Yellow 5, And Blue [...]

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Candy Bag: Zingerman’s Zzang! What the Fudge? Candy Bar

Zzang! What the Fudge? Thank you Charlie! I’ve found the chocolate fudgy candy bar I’ve been looking for in Zzang! What the Fudge? – and what a name. This is more than the dark chocolate caramel combo I was orginally hunting down, it’s got the same satisfying rich gooeyness I crave. This candy bar has a thick dark chocolate outer layer with rich muscovado caramel sandwiched between malted milk cream and sweet milk chocolate fudge.
Behind this substantial chocolate fudge candy bar is Charlie Frank. Charlie is actually the pastry manager of Zingerman’s Bakehouse and started the candy factory this September 2009 – the Zingerman’s Candy Manufactory. There are there different candies that they make: Zzang! Original, Cashew Cow and What the Fudge? What the Fudge? is a sweet tooth candy bar combo of dark and milk chocolate made of muscovado brown sugar, fresh milk [...]

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Grocery Bag: New York Flatbreads – Sesame

Every cheese aisle in the grocery market has an area for cracker varieties – mini toasts, wafers, flatbreads. Most of them are pretty pricey and come in fancy wrapping. I’ve tried so many of these to have them take up space in my cupboards. Many taste like a paper box or crumble before I manage to open up the package. I’ve spent a fair share of my paycheck on these to say the least. I’ve finally found one that tastes good even without the cheese! New York Flatbreads, Sesame are all-natural and have a thick crispy crunch. The ingredients are so good, it doesn’t even have any palm or hydrogenated oils! These flatbreads are really hefty and can handle a spread of cheese without crumbing or breaking apart like most.
My favorite part is that it comes in a resealable container that [...]

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Grocery Bag: Little Bear Crunchitos Extra Cheddar

Cheese plus crunch equals Little Bear Crunchitos Extra Cheddar. These taste better than cheetos or doritos and are also far better for my bottom line – the behind bottom, the one that counts. Crunchitos are baked with all natural ingredients, neglible saturated fats and no hydrogenated oil. I can actually taste the salty cheddar flavor in these! My fingers did turn a little orange, but they weren’t fluorescent.
Ingredients: Organic cornmeal, expeller pressed corn oil, whey, cheddar cheese (pasteurized milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), salt, autolyzed yeast extract, annatto and turmeric extracts (for color), lactic acid, citric acid, natural flavor.

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Grocery Bag: Kettle Brand Krinkle Cut Potato Chips

Next to french fries, I love potato chips. It’s much more snack worthy with the same flavor but more crunching. Kettle Brand Krinkle Cut Chips Lightly Salted have the best crunch factor with a balanced ratio of saltiness. These are hand-cooked in small batches for a substantial crunch and coated with a kiss of salt. Now what’s the point of potato chips if they’re not salty enough? Unlike the regular Kettle Chips, these are salty enough for me and have the thickest cut with potato skin – the best part. My favorite way of eating the bag of chips is to crush the bag before opening up – so that there are more broken pieces. Then I shake it up to distribute the salt throughout all the pieces and then open up the bag. I start with the smallest pieces which I [...]

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