Is The Price Right? A Cost-Taste Analysis of Sahale Snacks

$4.29

$4.29 for 4 ounces.

We have been pondering this price - pondering it, and not paying it.

That's how much a package of Sahale Snacks costs at the local grocery store. And that's the only bad thing about the Sahale Snacks - they are so, so good, but so, so expensive.


We had received two samples of Sahale snacks to review for free, and Foodgoat, who normally hates cashews, loved the Cashew with Pomegranate and Vanilla mix. They are more like candy than nuts - really, really good candy. The cashews are mixed with pomegranate and apple and lightly glazed with a hint of vanilla. I tried the Soledad Almonds with Apple, Flax Seeds, Date, Balsamic Vinegar + Red Pepper, and it too was yummy - the bit of heat and vinegar made for an interesting flavor.

Sahale has managed the to combine nuts and fruits in a balance of crunchy and chewy and nutty and sweet. It's really very good.

But since we've gobbled up the samples, we haven't tried it since. Because it $4.29 for 4 ounces.

Not that we haven't thought about it. No, each week Foodgoat walks by the snack aisle at the grocery store, looks at the Sahale Snacks, looks at the price, remembers how tasty it was ... but then keeps on walking.

Under $4, Foodgoat would probably buy it. Over $4, that's the gray area. So yummy ... yet kind of pricey. How much would you pay for a really good snack?

Per FTC disclosure guidelines, we got two samples of Sahale Snacks for free.

Cover Up Your Shame: Naked Protein Zone Smoothie

What was that word I was going to use to describe the Naked Protein Zone juice smoothie?

Oh, yes. DISGUSTING.

Okay, maybe that was a little harsh. It's not quite to level of chugging the contents of the grease jar, for example. Not quite. But it isn't good.


It sounded good - pineapple, banana, orange. But it also has soy and whey isolates, which packs in 30 grams of protein (as much protein as a hamburger patty with a slice of bacon), but also seems to give those delicious fruit juices purees an awful grainy, powdery texture. Think undissolved granules in a fruit sludge thickly layering your thirsty tongue.

Bleah.

I'm not even sure why I decided that what I needed to drink today was a protein drink. Protein drinks are for the muscle-aspiring, the workout fiends, the athletes. Not the desk worker squeezing in lunch during a conference call. In other words, not me. I think I had the vague idea that more protein would fill me up until dinner since I had a long afternoon of work ahead of me.

Instead, I got a long afternoon of work ... with grainy mouthfeel.

I would have fixed it with a much more delicious and refreshing Naked Blue Machine juice smoothie, but did I feel like giving that company another $4? I did not.

Chobani Greek Yogurt

Chobani recently sent us samples of their Greek yogurt.

I frequently make my own yogurt, but this was my first foray into trying Greek yogurt. What's the difference? Greek yogurt is usually made from sheep's milk, although cow's milk is also common. It is usually more strongly flavored, higher in fat and thicker.

My expectations of this were .... low.

I started making my own yogurt a couple of years ago, and since then, store-bought brands of yogurt have tasted increasingly bad. The more we got used to homemade yogurt, the more store bought brands seemed far too sweet and far too flavored. Even the organic, more naturally flavored brands were hard to take after we got used to freshly made, plain, tart yogurt.

So we were pleasantly surprised to find the Chobani Greek yogurt turned out pretty good.

It really was much thicker than even our yogurt. It wasn't quite as sour and tart as the yogurt I make - it was more creamy and mild. Basically, it was like eating sour cream. (I see now why my brother uses Greek yogurt as a sour cream substitute).

For the most part, I'll take plain any day. But the flavors, which include strawberry, blueberry, peach, vanilla, and honey, weren't bad. Not so overwhelmingly fruity as to overpower the yogurt, and not artificial-tasting at all. Even the peach one was good, and peach yogurts are generally my least favorite.

We might actually buy this yogurt

Pom Wonderful

A case of Pom Wonderful recently landed on our doorstep.

The pomegranate juice is being promoted as an antioxidant superdrink, practically a vitamin in a bottle, but Foodgoat's first reaction upon trying the Pom Wonderful juice (provided by the company for review here):

"This would be great with alcohol."

Foodgoat, in fact, liked Pom Wonderful all around. It's similar in taste to grapefruit juice - tart, not too sweet, refreshing. In fact, he even liked it better than grapefruit juice.

I, on the other hand, don't care for grapefruit juice. So, I didn't care for Pom Wonderful.

I wanted to like it, because I think it's marketed towards me - female (the bottle even looks feminine, doesn't it?), subscription to Shape magazine, likes the word "wonderful" - but the taste just didn't do it for me.

But had they not sent us a case of POM Wonderful, would Foodgat, who did really like it, have tried it on his own? Would he have purchased that girly bottle with a big red heart in the middle of POM Wonderful on it?

No, he probably would not.

Perhaps he might have if they had called it ...

POM Awesome

POM Sport

or

Bomb-egranate (Maybe with a grenade-shaped bottle?)

There you go, POM Wonderful, some rebranding ideas for branching out into new markets.

Fortunately, Foodgoat likes it enough now that he would in fact buy it again. A tart, fruity drink, perfect for hot summer days, for cocktails, and even for men.

A Not-So-Great Great Lakes Glockenspiel

The latest seasonal 4-pack to come out of Foodgoat's favorite brewery, local or otherwise, is the Great Lakes Glockenspiel, a Weizenbock, which is a strong wheat beer.

Sadly, Foodgoat didn't like it.

While he likes the fact that it's 8% alcohol, as opposed to the usual 5%, it's one of their rare misses.

The problem?

Too ... German-y.

Actually, the Glockenspiel just doesn't taste like a Great Lakes beer. Not that it was bad, per se. But it lacks their signature ... something. Hand any other Greak Lakes to Foodgoat, and he could instantly taste the brand. This? Not so much.

Great Lakes Grassroots

When Foodgoat first opened a bottle of the new Great Lakes Grassroots ale, he took one sip, then handed it to me saying, "I think you'd like this." Which, I think, was an insult.

Yes, it's light and mild and not too alcoholic and it does have that hint of chamomile ... okay, yes, it is kind of a girly beer. But it was refreshing and tasteful and sweet and perfect, I think, for Memorial Day weekends when it's hot outside and you're finally putting those tomato and pepper seedlings in the garden.

Wrong Date but the Right Bottle of Wine

Foodgoat and I were halfway through a bottle of sparkling wine tonight when we were informed by Foodgoat's mother that actually, our wedding anniversary is next week.

It's bad enough when one spouse gets the anniversary date wrong, but both? At least we both remembered it was around Memorial Day weekend.

At least we got to discover Roederer Estate Anderson Valley Brut, which was smooth, fresh, and an entirely enjoyable sparkling wine. Approximately 60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir, it was not too sweet, but quite nicely flavored, and went well with the crepes (or supper pancakes, as he grew up calling them) Foodgoat made for dinner.

We may have to open up another bottle next week.

The Chili-Delphia Story: Dorito's Spicy Sweet Chili Chips

How much did we enjoy Dorito's Spicy Sweet Pennsylvania Primary Coverage From Chili-Delphia - The City of Brotherly Crunch! - on the Colbert Report last week?

Enough to try out the Dorito's new Spicy Sweet Chili flavored tortilla chips! (Not that we are ever influenced by clever marketing ploys at all.)

Foodgoat found them, surprisingly, not bad at all, considering that he doesn't care for the regular Doritos Nacho Cheese flavor much. A little spicy ... and then, yes, a little sweet. Crunch-goat-licious!

Nothing Says Love Like Bacon

For Valentine's Day, Foodgoat and I shared an intimate meal ... over burgers and fries from Wendy's. After all, what could be more romantic than matching Baconators?

The Wendy's Baconator, introduced last June, consists of six strips of bacon on top two quarter pound beef patties with two slices of American cheese, mayo and ketchup.

Besides having the most awesome burger name ever, the Baconator is actually really tasty. Wendy's burgers tend to be among the better of the fast food choices, but the Baconator stands out as being particularly yummy. The key, I think, is the bacon: the hickory smoked bacon is slightly sweet and quite flavorful and crisp. It's an aptly named product. And it's huge - much bigger than I could finish off. Or would want to: the Baconator comes in at (gulp!) 830 calories.

But every once in a while, Foodgoat and I look into each other's eyes ... and decide what we really want is a Baconator.

Horehound

Foodgoat was sick last week, and treated himself partly with a bag of Horehound candy. (And here you thought this was going to be another Larry Craig post.)

Horehound, a weed in many countries and a member of the mint family, is an old herbal treatment for coughs and colds and other sorts of respiratory troubles. Claey's has been making the horehound herb tea candies for generations, and still brews and steeps them in copper kettles.

Horehound drops were commonly sold in pharmacies The FDA banned horehound as an active ingredient from cough drops in 1989 due to insufficient evidence supporting its efficacy, but horehound is still widely used in Europe, and can be found in European-made herbal cough remedies - such as Ricola. And it is still recognized as safe when used in small amounts to flavor beverages, candies, foods, and medicines. For Foodgoat, the horehound worked about as well to soothe his sore throat as any other cough drop or hard candy.

But how does horehound candy taste? Well, sort of root-beer-ish, somewhat bittersweet. Not bad.

Best and Worst of 2006: Hungry Howie's Pizza

It was a rise and fall for the ages.

Pizza joints are a dime a dozen, and we don't usually go around trying each and every one that pops up. We have Guiseppe's square Sicilian pizza with bacon, onions, green peppers and when we're feeling especially naughty, Papa John's Hawaiian pizza with garlic butter sauce, and those usually suffice. However, during the hectic, pre-holiday, scramble, there was one especially night where we couldn't even manage those 10-15 minute drives. So we picked up a pizza at the brand new, bright yellow and brightly lit Hungry Howie's pizza place around the corner.

It was delicious - hot, tasty, a flavored crust. And the garlic Howie Bread? Yummers, absolutely yummers. We exulted - tasty pizza a stone's throw away.

So when Foodgoat's had extended family over one holiday night, we served up three Hungry Howie's pizzas, and it was quite the hit. All was well and good.

Little did we know that Hungry Howie's triggered something - something dark and frightening - in Foodgoat's brother. The mild-mannered Bostonian accountant was transformed into Crazy Obsessed Pizza Fiend.

We had Hungry Howie's pizza five times in a week and a half, racking up a pile of empty pizza boxes in the kitchen that made Foodgoat hang his head in shame whenever his mother came over. The very idea of pizza makes me slightly nauseous. We will not be visiting Hungry Howie's again - at least, not until President's Day.

Separated at the Production Plant

The new Lemon Burst flavor of Eclipse gum reminds me something ... what was it? ...









Oh of course! Ricola Lemon Mint cough drops! The overwhelmingly artificial lemon flavor! The nasal clearing effect! The chemical taste that can only be withstood when one is weakened by a viral infection! That's it!

Watered-Down Water

While in Vegas, we happened to sample a new bottled water, Aquarius water.

This is no ordinary water. Oh no! It is **crystallized, oxygenated water!!**

It uses an exclusive, trade-secret, ulta high tech technology which "makes water whole again".

Really! (The brochure said so! Advertising doesn't lie!)

And how does it taste? Well ... thin. Like ... it's been watered down. It tastes like watered-down water.

Thankfully, we paid no money for this stuff. The booth promoting John Gray's (who, by the way, is a total quack) new Mars Venus health book was giving it away.

Honey Dijon, FTW

Meet the BEST CHIPS EVER.

Kettle Chips brand, Honey Dijon flavor. Deeeeelicious. Jam-packed with flavah. And not the too-salty, too-chemically, typical chip flavah. The other flavors of Kettle Chips are also very yum-yum, but honey dijon blows even them away. We can only find them at the food co-op, but it's so worth it.

On the other hand, if the you find that the cafeteria is all out of regular coffee at 2:30 in the afternoon, and all that is left is the Cinnabon flavored coffee, with only the French Vanilla non-dairy creamer to chase it down with, I advise you to suck it up and suffer through the afternoon sleepies, because that crap is nasty. Trust me on this one.

Foodblogging has yielded finally some tangible perks!

Granted, receiving two packages of Hefty's Serve n' Store Everyday Bowls and Plates from a PR firm to review isn't quite the same level of a press pass to Iron Chef America. But we'll take what we can get.

I was all set to do a scathing review ripping yet another overpackaged, wasteful, non-biodegradable product. And they are overpackaged, wasteful, and non-biodegradable.

But, if you were to use disposable tableware for whatever reason, the Hefty Serve 'n Store ones are pretty convenient. They would be splendid for potlucks or hostesses who like to send guests home with some of the food. Construction isn't flimsy, so you can balance them on your knee without danger. They're made of something plasticky, so the watery and oily stays on the side you want to keep the watery and oil.

And the snappy clicky-clicky Interlok thing? Works great. It's actually quite a convenience to just grab another plate instead of looking for a lid that fits, or using plastic wrap or foil that won't stay on and won't let you stack things. Then it goes right into the fridge ... then right into microwave ... then onto table.

The downside of course is that it then goes right into the trash. My review would overflow with love and praise if the Serve 'n Store tableware were only biodegradable, and I could toss it into the compost pile.

Hot Chocolate for a Lazy Day
Yesterday was a lazy Sunday: I wore my pajamas all day long, helped myself to ice cream several times, and waited for the agonizing convulsions of pain that everyone assured me would eventually come after my wisdom teeth were pulled (they never came ... so my advice is to go with the local anasthesia). So it was right kind of day to watch the tres-cute "Chocolat", which celebrates the seductive powers of chocolate and the Johnny Depp pirate look.

Inspired, we started watching "Pirates of the Caribbean", but first we decided to fortify ourselves with steaming cups of hot chocolate. What better time to try out the packet of Aztec Hot Chocolate mix from the Soho chocolatier, Mariebelle, that I picked it up at a gourmet shop in Berkeley?

The hot chocolate mix is made from Belgian chocolate and sugar, and, weirdly, contains no cocoa powder (which is the residue from the cocoa bean, instead of the bean itself) but does contain such spices as chili peppers.

Ah, but it turned out very cozy. Not too sweet, comfortingly chocolatey, and the spiciness was just barely noticeable. I don't think I'll be giving up chocolate this Lent.

Finally, some Decent Pizza for a change

Decent Pizza, the new pizza place down the street, is strangely unambitious. Its name, its green vinyl décor, its location next to a laundromat, all so ordinary.

But their pizzas are definitely not ordinary: it’s California pizza. In other words, gourmet ingredients and unusual, untraditional combinations. In Foodgoat words, weird pizza.

Which is not necessarily a bad thing. Pineapple and ham, still eyed suspiciously by many a pizza traditionalist and food anti-explorers, has long been a Foodgoat favorite. And, as we discovered, bleu cheese on pizza (in the Red, White, & Blue pizza, which also has a red tomato sauce and white ricotta sauce), that can be pretty good, too.

Little did I know that I have second-most-annoying celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck to thank, in part, for these pizza adventures. “California-style” pizza was launched at the celebrated restaurant Spago in West Hollywood, where his signature dish was gourmet pizza made with toppings like smoked salmon and caviar. At least that’s what his website says.

I can’t attest to his pizza, but the best pizzas I’ve ever had were definitely in California: in San Francisco, at Mozzarella di Bufala and in West Hollywood, at Z Pizza. But they don’t deliver. That’s okay, because now we just have to go down the street for some Decent Pizza.

The Quest

Once upon a time, many ages ago (last summer), Ladygoat visited her family in the faraway land of Cal-i-fornia. Her kind-hearted brother and sister, who pitied the Ladygoat for her banishment to Cleve-Land, gave her to drink a mysterious concoction. It was called Pearl Tea, though others spoke of it in hushed voices as Bubble Tea, or Boba Tea, or Milk Tea. The drink was plentiful in their land, it flowed from many trendy shops and Asian restaurants alongside juice bars and coffeehouses, and Ladygoat was enchanted, for the drink was refreshing and fun and used giant straws.

But when Ladygoat returned to Cleve-Land, there was no Bubble Tea to be found, though she yearned for more. She attempted to make it herself, but despite many efforts and the use of a pre-assempted kit, the results were unsatisfactory and un-tasty.

But one day, word came to her that there was indeed one place in the kingdom that offered the tasty drink, as well as various auto parts. Ladygoat summoned them to her but alas, they do not deliver. So she set out, along with her guide the Foodgoat, to seek out this strange shop, this TurboFour: Sport Compact Parts and Cafe.

After many trials and tribulations, and at least 10 minutes of driving, they finally came to 3030 Superior Avenue on a Saturday morning. But a powerful wizard must have hidden the entrance, for they could see the sign but no way to go in! Fear not, our heroes bravely walked around to the back parking lot on E.31st and discovered the True Path.

Inside, a wise man concocted the precious drinks -- a Coffee Mocha, and a Purple Delight (taro-flavored). They waited anxiously; Ladygoat considered a spoiler for her Honda Civic while Foodgoat contemplated a biohazard sticker for his VW Jetta. They offered the wise man the keys to the kingdom but he really only wanted $5.

And so at long last, their long quest was completed and their thirst quenched: the bubble tea was cool and sweet, and the black tapioca balls chewy and filling.