BetterOats Multigrain Hot Cereal

This is how I knew I was getting old--I woke up one morning and I wanted to eat oatmeal...voluntarily. It's quite a blow to your ego when you're forced to admit that the speed at which your body runs is more correlated to your fiber intake rather than your caffeine intake. I don't think I care to get into anymore detail about my ever dwindling physical appeal, so I'll get right to the oatmeal. Man, this is depressing. I'm writing about oatmeal. I might as well start trying out adult diapers, denture cream, and letting you know what Care Centers have the best Bingo. Okay, back to oatmeal...smoatmeal...double-boatmeal...here goes oatmeal...
BetterOats has appealing-looking boxes. This is the first reason I tried this product. I also like that they contain individually packed servings. They are microwavable. The pouch doubles as a measuring cup for your water. They come in interesting flavors. And they actually don't taste that bad. They are made of some good stuff, for example, the Chai spiced Oatmeal contains organic oats, flaxseed, quinoa, barley, rye, wheat, and "natural flavor" (whatever that means). That's a whole lot of old people ingredients, so you know it's good for you.  It's also a good source of Omega-3, and I hear I need to start worrying about Omega-3 at my advanced age. But here's the good news: They make a Dark Chocolate flavor. And it's made with REAL chocolate, not carob, not that fake chocolate flavored WAX that those other cereals are touting as food. It's got chocolate chips, cocoa, and cocoa butter (and as I read the label--chocolate liquor!! Who knew breakfast could be this good?), so you know it's going to have some legitimate flavor. That sounds great, right? Well, it's certainly not bad for oatmeal. You should try it. At your age, you can't afford not to.

Hi-Chew, Bilar Candy Cars, and Wonka Fruit Marvels

Hello, my name is Jennifer, and I'm a sugar addict. I stole my first peach at the age of three, just to get that sweet, sugary high. The moment I made my first dollar I escaped to the grocery store, on my own, to get my fix of Pixie Stix, Ghiradelli's chocolates, Circus Taffy, Big League Chew , and whatever else would give me the most bang for my buck. The situation has of course escalated since those days. I've been on and off the wagon a million times. Each time I fall off, I fall into a bigger pit of fudge than before (mmmm, fudge...penuche...marzipan...Turkish Delight...but I digress). These days you can find me combing the candy aisle, in a fashionable trench coat, in the wee hours of the afternoon, searching for the latest craze in sugary confections. I look for anything new, anything that catches my eye and can be quickly consumed to give me that delectable buzz, that glorious, sweet feeling of well-being. The more exotic the better for my tastes, but in a pinch I have been known to raid the brown sugar bowl. On my most frequent prowls I have found some awesome treasures. Here are a few that I would like to share with you (not literally):

Hi-Chew. I have actually known about these for years, but they seem to be moving more main stream and I can find them in lots of different places, and in lots more flavors, than I used to. I LOVE these. In fact, these may be my favorite candy (along with a few others). They are super duper chewy. You can dislocate your jaw on them if you are an amateur. They taste like real fruit. They have real fruit puree in them, so they are "healthy". They come in amazing flavors. And they are extremely, completely, impossible to share, so you don't have to feel guilty about that either. TRY THESE.

Ahlgren's Bilar Chewy Candy Cars. So addicting--even if you are not a sugar addict! I love these, too (my other favorite). You can find these at Ikea. They are chewy, spongey, menthol-y, lovely little treats. They are a unique experience and may not be for every taste, but I can't get enough of them.
 
Wonka Exceptionals Fruit Marvels. They are made from real fruit juice (and sugar) and have a great candy coating surrounding a soft jelly center-- the perfect church candy. The texture and shape can keep your tongue and mind entertained through a good portion of Sunday School and if your toddler finds them and spills them all over the floor you can fill a good five minutes scrambling to pick them up. These should be a staple in every church bag.

LIGHT Keeper Pro

You need this. This product will save you money and time and heartache. Let me tell you a Christmas story: My tree came to me pre-lit. It's a perfect little tree. Its life-like and slender form fits beautifully in my space-challenged living room. It has a type of flat-ended light on it that I have never seen anywhere else. It is the brightest, shiniest and happiest little tree ever. And the fact that I got it out of a dumpster makes it no less special to me. It might even make it more special. I found it and loved it and took it home and fluffed it up and decorated it with all my favorite ornaments and it turned into a beautiful swan. Not literally, that's another story. But it became the envy of all who passed it in the dumpster before me. It's a great tree. But tragically, when it came out of storage this year, it would no longer light up, at least not in a predictable sort of fashion. The first time I plugged it in, I got one strand to light up. The next day, I had two strands light up. After a lot of worry, a lot of gently shaking limbs, and another day of pacing the floor, one more strand lit up--only to un-lit a few hours later. Then slowly, the little tree began to lose all it's happy twinkles. Hope seemed to be lost. Back to the dumpster, the little tree must go. But suddenly...what to my wondering eyes should appear? My husband with a plastic bag containing our hero, The LIGHT Keeper Pro!! Just stick the barrel of this gem into one of the dead bulb sockets, click the trigger a few times, and Voila--LIGHT!! I'll save you from all the boring electrical details about how and why this works, but just know I tried it, and it DOES WORK. It saved our tree. It saved my sanity. It saved me hundreds of dollars. And it saved the spirit of Christmas Joy.

Kozy Shack: Honey Lemon Tapioca and CowRageous Snack Pudding

I always have to try the latest by Kozy Shack. If you haven't tried Kozy Shack yet, stop what you are doing and go buy some pudding. This is the real deal. So real, that you won't find it sitting on the regular aisle under a flickering fluorescent light with the other unmentionables. This stuff is in the dairy section--REFRIGERATED, because it's made with real milk parts. And real sugar parts. And parts of real other stuff. It's good. I am salivating all over the keyboard just thinking of the chocolate pudding...but back to the business at hand...
The Honey Lemon Tapioca is good. My mind always scrambles a bit at the first bite of this stuff. The flavors are really unexpected. It tastes a little like a lemon sugar cookie, but the honey gives it a depth I never expect. As are most Kozy Shack puddings, it's incredibly thick, rich and creamy. It's worth trying.
The CowRageous Snack puddings on the other hand--Yuck. I only tried the Vanilla, but it was deeply disappointing. I don't know why, but it tastes exactly like undercooked squash. And it's not up to Kozy Shacks usual creaminess standards. This particular pudding is watery, grainy, bland, and well, gross. It hurts me to say this, but avoid this one.

Hebrew National vs. Nathan's

Some things just sneak up on you.  Like when I realized one day that I had suddenly become a hotdog snob. I used to think all hotdogs tasted alike. But they don't. At least not when you start paying more than a couple bucks for a package. At my grocery store, the two most expensive brands are Hebrew National and Nathan's. I figure they must be the cream of the hotdog crop, so I decided to test these two top-of-the-line hotdogs against each other. Results: They are both good, much tastier than your typical $.59/package wieners. Both have much better texture and taste than the cheaper competition.  But against each other, I have to go with Nathan's. The Hebrews are a close second, but have a little more of that "bologna flavor" than the spicier Nathan's. Nathan's hotdogs just taste like a higher quality dog. I love them. I love them so much I find myself doing previously unthinkable things, like making Mac and Cheese, just so I can add hotdogs to it.

Pssssst! Dry Shampoo

Pssssst! I've got a secret. Don't tell anyone, but I did not wash my hair today. What's that? You can't tell? That's because I used Pssssst! Dry Shampoo. A couple weeks ago one of my fb friends mentioned something about being grateful for Dry Shampoo in her status update (Thanks, Courtney!). When I read her update, the scales fell from my eyes and I suddenly remembered that 10 years earlier I had embarked on a quest for dry shampoo and had never fulfilled my mission. Somewhere along my quest I must have been hypnotized by the greasy hair siren and lost my focus. But at long last I was free to search again. And it didn't take long to find, the first drug store I checked had dry shampoo in plain sight. And several to choose from. How could I have missed this fine product? Well, I don't know, but it's on my must-have toiletries list from now on. My friend was right, what a blessing in a can! Love the stuff. Dry shampoo is a spray on product that does not require the use of water to remove excess oils from your hair. It does not replace that clean feeling that comes with washing your hair with water and liquid shampoo, but it sure does great in a pinch. When I tried it out on my day-old 'do' I got instant volume and movement. No more oil. Nice powder fresh smell. I was pleasantly surprised how well it worked. My hair looked great, like I had actually taken the time to wash it! But there were a couple of negatives to note:
If you have dark hair, you might get a white powdery residue if you spray too closely or too copiously.
Hair feels a bit powdery and may lose some of it's shine.
You can go through this stuff FAST. It seemed like the can went from feeling full to not-so-full really quickly.
I had to reapply after 6-7 hours for more volume (but hey, clean hair goes flat too!).

I have to say my favorite thing about this product is the volume factor. I have really heavy hair and finding a product that gives instant volume is a huge bonus for me. I could just use it daily as a volumizer at a fraction of the price of my normal root booster. And here's the biggest secret: I might just switch to washing my hair every other day, but you will never know!

Kitchens of India Palak Paneer & Archer Farms Cocount Cashew Basmati Rice

 It's less fun writing about a product that I thought was so-so, versus one that I either love or hate.  But I have decided that it's important to note mediocrity as well. Mediocrity is it's own kind of failure. There are so many excellent and exciting things out there to try, why would you want to waste time and money on something that's just middling? 
I'm so glad to see grocery stores around here are finally getting a little more ethnic on me. There is nothing I love more than variety. However, Indian MRE's aren't really what I was looking for. The Palak Paneer was just that, an ethnic MRE. All the preparation needed was to throw the pouch in some hot water for a few minutes to heat and it was ready to eat! Along with this ready-to-eat basmati rice, I had dinner on the table in 5 minutes. And it wasn't bad, just not great. I love the idea of the rice. All that was required of me was to throw it in the microwave for 3 minutes. I didn't even have to add water. The rice had a nice mild flavor, but was still a bit tough and starchy. It tasted like it needed to be cooked in water on the stove instead of in a plastic bag in the microwave. The Palak Paneer was also okay. Not bad for an MRE, of course (it beats the pants off of Chicken a la King). When I served it to my husband, his response was, "Why does Indian food always have to look like baby poop?" But he cleaned his plate anyway. I guess we're used to baby poop.
My opinion on these products is that they need a little work, but if you want a 5 minute meal that doesn't have to impress anyone, this will do. I haven't given up on either of these ideas yet, but I won't be purchasing these particular products again. There's just too many other fun things to try.