Here are ten other things I consumed last month that I felt like writing about:
Woodstock Organic Banana Water
At the beginning of the month, a reader sent in a Spotted photo for Banagua Banana Water. Given that I go bananas over banana-flavored products, I really wanted to try it. However, I didn’t find it at my local Safeway. However, while browsing the Japanese drinks at one of the grocery stores near my place, I happened to come across Woodstock Organic Banana Water, and yes, that is the overripe banana color of the water in the can. I assure you, I did not pull that water from a storm drain after heavy rains.
While it’s not appetizing to look at, its flavor is unmistakably banana, and not the artificial kind. Of course, that makes sense since the only ingredient is bananas. However, I didn’t know bananas could hold so much water. While I thought it was good, I don’t think I’d ever repurchase it. If I want to drink a banana, I’d just blend one in a smoothie.
Nerds Gummy Clusters Cherry Lemonade Blitz
Despite initially thinking this was a silly idea when I first heard about it years ago, Nerds Gummy Clusters are one of my favorite candies to sneak from my son’s Halloween and goodie bag stashes. I love the contrasting textures and fruity flavors. However, this particular flavor was kind of a letdown. I expected a blitz of cherry and lemonade, but it had a more nondescript fruity flavor that I couldn’t quite convince myself was anything else. Maybe the Candy Gods made it that way to get back at me for stealing my kid’s candy? With that said, I enjoyed crunching and chewing through the entire bag, but I wouldn’t pick it up again.
Bloom Crisp Apple Sparkling Energy Drink
My goodness, this limited edition flavor is super yummy. I don’t taste any of the apple cider vinegar that’s in it, unlike a bunch of Poppi soda flavors I’ve had. And it has such a crisp apple taste with ZERO apple juice. That is…I don’t know what that is. Magic? Science? Magical science? Scientific magic? Sorry, I’m super amped up because, as I mentioned before, this tastes wonderful, and it’s given me a boost with 180 milligrams of caffeine from green coffee bean extract.
What I don’t like about it is how it says it has prebiotic fiber, but it’s only ONE GRAM. Any can of Olipop would roll their tab at that number. And that one gram comes from a source that partially sounds like the worst Marvel villain ever: Galactomannan prebiotic fiber. Yes, one gram is more than almost every energy drink in existence, but with the existence of Olipop and its cans that have more fiber than most of us get per day, I expect more.
Bugles Salt & Vinegar
I love salt & vinegar chips, but these did not do it for me because their salt and vinegar flavor is so mild. I want the vinegar to whip my taste buds awake. I want my mouth to taste enough vinegar that when I talk, it smells like a Filipino kitchen preparing some delicious adobo. I did not get that hit of vinegar that I’ve experienced with almost every bag of salt and vinegar potato chips I’ve ever had. If I got another free bag of these (Disclosure: I got a free sample from General Mills), I’d give it away. Give it away. Give it away now.
Bugles Hidden Valley Ranch
While I’d give away a bag of Bugles Salt & Vinegar, I’d probably keep a bag of Bugles Hidden Valley Ranch if General Mills sent me another one. (Disclosure: I got a free sample.) This one has a stronger flavor than the Salt & Vinegar one, although, with that said, I wish it were a bit more potent. Maybe that’s just how seasoned Bugles are?
Chex Mix Oreo Muddy Buddies
I’m sad this doesn’t come in a bigger bag because I demolished this quickly. According to the bag, these Muddy Buddies are made with real Oreo cookie wafers, and my taste buds believe it. They noticed that darker chocolatey note that Oreo wafers have. And that sugar coating on every piece, which causes the Oreo crumbs to stick to the Chex cereal, brings a sweet, sugary kick that does a great job of standing in for the Oreo’s creme filling. (Disclosure: I got a free sample from General Mills.)
Taco Bell Cheesy Melt Grilled Steak Burrito
It’s no longer on the menu, but the list of ingredients in this sounds like it could’ve been a previous product with a different name or a future product with a different name. There’s seasoned steak, seasoned rice, a three-cheese blend, reduced fat sour cream, and a creamy jalapeno sauce in a flour tortilla. The other burrito that came out the same time as this one, the Chipotle Ranch Grilled Steak Burrito (which I didn’t try), sounded more fun with its steak, lettuce, fiesta strips, cheese, avocado ranch sauce, chipotle sauce, and pico de gallo in a flour tortilla. It had an advertised price of three dollars, which is surprisingly not bad. However, I paid $4.49 for mine. As for its flavor, it tasted much like how its ingredients list looked: familiar. I liked it. It had a decent amount of filling, and I’d order it again if it ever comes back with a new name.
Alani Nu Witch’s Brew Energy Drink
Our reviewer, Sean, convinced me to try this, which has appeared every fall for several years now. Actually, this year marks the first time I’ve tried Alani Nu energy drinks, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by them. Cotton Candy…crazy delicious. Watermelon Wave…wonderful. Sherbet Swirl…succulent. Witch’s Brew…why have I gone so many years without trying this? This caramel apple energy drink, a rare flavor in the energy drink world, is marvelous, and I can see myself revisiting it every year when it returns for the Halloween season.
Oreo Reese’s Cookies
Here’s a second opinion about these cookies. You can read our original review, written by Tiffany, by clicking here if you missed it. To me, there are two types of Reese’s peanut butter. There’s the stuff that gets stuffed into every “Reese’s” product that is Reese’s flavored, and then there’s the filling in the actual peanut butter cups, bunnies, pumpkins, ghosts, nutcrackers, eggs, trees, and whatever seasonal shapes Hershey’s will come up with in the future. To me, they taste different. With that said, these cookies, with their Reese’s peanut butter-flavored filling, don’t bring Reese’s to mind. It does bring to mind Oreo Peanut Butter Cookies, which are damn delicious, and I’d eat one off the floor if it were on there for less than five seconds, because I’m not going to let a wonderful-tasting cookie that was on the floor for only four seconds go to waste.
ZOA Frosted Grape Energy Drink
I haven’t had a ZOA Energy Drink since I reviewed the original one back in 2021. But in case you haven’t noticed from this post, I’m apparently on my 2025 Energy Drink Tasting Tour. This particular zero sugar energy drink tasted great, and I loved the grape flavor. However, I did notice the artificial sweeteners a bit, which is something I don’t get with Monster Ultra Violet. It contains 160 milligrams of caffeine, derived from green tea and green coffee extract, making it an excellent option for those seeking a grape-flavored energy drink with more natural energy sources.
