A Review of New Things I've Tried #9 (Spreads and Dips Edition)

 More spreads and dips! Expanding possibilities! Or an attempt at that with mixed success, anyway.

1. Country Crock Plant Butter with Almond Oil

This dairy-free margarine is pretty similar to the Country Crock version with olive oil, but less savory, and if it's not my imagination it's also less salty. I think I liked the olive oil one better, but you can't always find the same things, so it's good to have some alternatives.

2. Peanut Butter & Co. Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

On the quest to find new alternatives to Nutella that are more Nutella-like than Justin's (Justin's chocolate hazelnut spread is good, but let's face it, it's too healthy to be a real substitute for Nutella!), I found I could get this one I'd never tried shipped to me. It's more like Nutella in some ways and less like it in others. It has chicory in it and I think that's the main "this is not Nutella" sign. I suspect they put chicory in to give it a more "dark chocolate" flavor. It's really good--I will definitely get through this jar!--but be prepared for it not really tasting like Nutella if that's what you're going for. If you can accept this as its own thing, I expect you'll like it.

3. Taste of Inspirations Olive Mediterranean Inspired Hummus

It sounded like such a nice idea--hummus with olives and artichokes--but it wasn't that well executed. If you know much about artichokes, you know that you don't want to eat the stiff part, but I kept finding hard bits of artichoke in this dip. For this brand, at least, I don't think I'll order anything else with artichokes in it!