A Review of New Things I've Tried #47 (Misc. Edition)

I'm trying to get back into the habit of doing these--both trying new things, and remembering to tell you about the new things I try. There's no theme here other than these are new-to-me things I've tried over the past several months.

1. Underwood Farms Chili Garlic Sauce

I got sick of Huy Fong Foods and their artificially-created shortages, so I picked up a big bottle of chili garlic sauce made by their original pepper supplier, Underwood Farms. This sauce is hotter than the Huy Fong version, but still every bit as delicious. I'm so glad I tried this! Who needs Huy Fong?

2. Regina Red Wine Vinegar

Usually, I just buy store brands, but for some reason--perhaps it was the bad online reviews for the Wegmans brand red wine vinegar--I splurged on this bottle of Regina. It's in a glass bottle rather than plastic, which is nice, but also, it tastes amazing. Seriously, it's good enough to have a spoonful just by itself. If you're into vinegars (I realize how weird that sounds, but...), then perhaps splurge for the good stuff. This one isn't even that much of a splurge, honestly.

3. Wegmans Tomato Basil Soup

"Fun" fact: A lot of canned tomato soup isn't vegan. (Weird, I know. Campbell's isn't even vegetarian.) So I kind of stopped buying canned tomato soup and started making my own. It's probably been years since I opened a can of tomato soup. This was just okay, but it was definitely not something I'd gravitate toward. It had a slightly odd consistency and not much flavor. But if I need tomato soup in a can, I'm glad there is one that is vegan, and it certainly isn't bad. I may just need to remind myself how to make canned soup taste less "canned." And I suspect that if I was already used to canned tomato soup, it would be pretty great.

4. Eden Spelt Ribbons

If you like whole wheat pasta, you'll probably like these. I think they're best in old-fashioned American food, like creamy casseroles or a soup. They're also in ribbon form, which is fun--not a lot of ribbon pastas are vegan!

5. Wegmans Apricot "Stomp"

This is a cold-pressed apricot apple juice. To me, it tasted mostly of apple; I couldn't discern much apricot aside from the thickness of the liquid. It was fine, but not worth the price, in my opinion.

6. Emmy's Organics Dark Cacao Soft & Chewy Coconut Cookies

These had no right to be as good as they were, considering how simple they are and how weird they look. (Seriously, they looked like breakfast sausage patties.) But the flavors are utterly amazing. I loved these and want to try other flavors! These are allergy-friendly cookies, but to me, they're more like coconut macaroons. They're mostly just flavored coconut held together with syrup, but sometimes, the simple things are the most compelling.

7. MadeGood Sea Salt Star Puffed Stars

Here is another oddly addictive snack in the allergy-friendly universe. I love these simple little crackers, made mostly from rice flour and chickpea flour. They come in other flavors, in theory; someday, I hope to find the pizza flavored ones.

8. Bigelow Whispering Wildflowers Herbal Tea

I picked this up when the store was out of what I planned to buy. It as a combination of a bunch of different flowers--chamomile, roses, hibiscus, lavender butterfly pea flower, passionflower, orange blossom--with some other flavors, like licorice, raspberry, apple, and elderberries. The L-Theanine is an amino acid found in green tea, and it supposedly helps reduce anxiety. I loved this tea! It's a gorgeous color and has a lovely, intriguing flavor. I'm glad I tried it!

9. Sola Everything Bagels

These bagels are delicious and have a ton of protein, but I won't be buying them again, sadly. I didn't notice how much fiber they've added to these--each bagel has 30 grams! I eat tons of fiber anyway, so I never undereat that, but the flax and chia in these bagels seem to make them swell in my stomach that they made me feel uncomfortably stuffed with only 300 calories. If this is what you're going for, they might work for you, but given that I often tend to get too full too fast and lose weight without that being a good idea, I'll try something else next time. I could get through the package eating half a bagel at a time, but I always felt vaguely dissatisfied. I wanted a whole one, but whole bagels made me feel ill, alas.

10. Wegmans Dark Chocolate Flavored Drizzled Popped Cakes

These are like a next generation of rice cakes. I love them. They're crispy and light in a way that rice cakes don't tend to be, probably thanks to the wheat. I like rice cakes anyway, so keep that in mind, but I now can't wait to try all the different kinds of popped cakes.