You don't have to get very far in a grocery shop today to be inundated with choice when it comes to snacks to buy for your family. There are snacks to please every family, every person, every lifestyle choice and they meet you right at the door inside the shops! We are a nation of snackers for sure!
Whether you are looking for healthy snacks to buy or wanting to indulge in something a little less healthy, we are truly spoilt for choice.
When I was in the UK, I used to dream about the snacks from home that I could not get and hope that someone would send me some. Now I am back in Canada I am sure that there will be things I miss terribly from the UK that I got used to enjoying.
Since I have been back in Canada I have made it my goal to try some of my old favourites and see how they stack up against my memories of what I was missing for those 20 years. I am also trying some new things which I have never seen before. I thought it would be fun to share my findings on a few of them!
Terra Sweet Potato Chips - Sea Salt I love sweet potatoes. They are one of my favorite vegetables and I was really keen to try these chips. Unfortunately they didn't live up to the hype. They were somewhat crisp, but not totally crisp. I think this is because they are too thick. I think a thinner chip would be a better chip. The ruffles do make them attractive, but in the long run I think un-ruffled would make for a crisper chip. I tried the sea salt ones and they were not quite as salty as a regular chip. This is probably a good thing in many ways, because we all consume far too much salt. Not so good in a potato chip however, in my humble opinion. I did not really like these. Chips are the naughty snack and they should feel and eat as being incredibly moreish. These did neither one. They were not a favorite.
Smart Food Popcorn - White Cheddar
This snack was something I had eaten before I moved over to the UK and it was something which I had missed while I was over there. It was always incredibly moreish with just the right dusting of white cheddar on it. You could easily lose yourself in a package of these. Since my return I have noticed there are a lot more flavours of the Smart Food Popcorn. Gouda & Chive. Jalapeno & Cheddar. Caramel & Cheddar. Flamin' Hot. Sour Cream & Onion. Hot Buffalo. Movie Theatre Butter, etc.
I have not tried any of those, but I did buy myself a small bag of the White Cheddar for old times sake and it was enjoyed. Nice and cheesy and crisp. It tastes of white cheddar as always. My teeth are older however and it was quite husky. I don't think I can enjoy popcorn much anymore. Not to mention the problem with my diverticulitis. This is a younger person's snack for sure!
Covered Bridge Storm Chips.
Old fashioned, Kettle cooked, these are chips I had read about when I was in the UK and was really keen to try. I was really excited when I saw them in the shop. They promised to be a "flurry of flavours." The contain four flavours of chips. BBQ. Sea Salt & Vinegar. Homestyle Ketchup. Creamy Dill. I love all of those flavours of chips on their own, so I really thought I would love these, and kettle cooked. What could be possibly be wrong with that??
Nothing if each chip was individually flavoured. They aren't. Every single chip is coated in all four flavours, which may be to some people's tastes, but they were not to mine. I found them decidedly distasteful, so much so that I ended up throwing them away. (And they were not cheap.)
I think from now on I will be sticking to my old favourites, storm or no.
They were nice and crisp however so on that score there were no complaints! I have had their other chips and liked them. I just did not really like these.
It is all a matter of taste I guess!
Lays Dill Pickle Chips - exactly as stated
Simulated flavor or not, these have not disappointed. Of all the potato chips, these are my favorite kind. I dreamt about these when I was in the UK. My son sent me a small bag once and they were incredibly enjoyed. If you like Dill Pickles, you will like these chips. They are crisp and moreish, with just the right amount of Dill Pickle flavor as well as the tiniest smidgen of garlic flavor as well. At least I could taste the garlic. Not over done, not underdone. Just right.
Apparently there is a Flamin Hot variety of Dill Pickle Chips. I don't think so. But a younger person might be tempted.
What is it with Flamin Hot these days? Does everyone want to stretch their tastebuds beyond their capacity of endurance?
Ritz Real Cheddar Cheese Crackers
Disappointment. There is no other word for it. These were a disappointment. I could not taste the cheddar. They were decidedly orange however, I suppose to help differentiate them from the regular Ritz cracker. I actually expect a cracker purpoting to be real cheddar cheese to taste like cheddar. Neither my sister nor I could taste it, but perhaps that was because they were quite salty. Maybe we just got a bad box. These just tasted like orange coloured ordinary Ritz Crackers to us. Not that we don't like Ritz crackers, but we were expecting the flavor of cheddar. We also both noted that they don't seem to be as thick as they used to be and they are now shaped as ovals, not round.
I will now tell you what didn't disappoint us as far as Cheese Crackers went.
Cheeze-it Original
These crackers were crisp and tasted exactly like cheese. They were a bit higher in calories than the Ritz ones, coming in at 10 calories more per 20g, but they were lower in sodium. We much preferred these.
I also tried their Cheeze-it Crunch Crackers in the Zesty Cheddar Ranch flavor and they were quite good as well. Both varieties got a thumbs up from me.
Let's face it, when you want a CHEESE cracker you want a cracker that tastes like cheese and these did not disappoint!
Ace Bakery Mini Baguette Crisps. I spied these on special at the Atlantic Super Store over the holidays. I think I paid $7 for two packs. I got the Aged Cheddar ones and the Cinnamon Raisin ones. Essentially they are thinly sliced baguettes, seasoned accordingly and then baked until crisp.
I have to say I found both kinds to be incredibly moreish, on their own, without anything added. (although I can just imagine how wonderful they would be with dips) I really liked the cinnamon raisin ones. So much so that I finished that bag first. They were not totally crisp however, probably due to the raisins. I really enjoyed the cheddar ones as well. Beautifully flavoured, although they need to work at keeping the toasted cheddar on top of the baguette slices. Most of the cheddar had fallen off into the bottom of the bag. Having said that however, it hasn't stopped me from buying another bag of them at full price, or enjoying those lovely little crunchy cheesy bits at the bottom of the bag!
First fault, the dough mix is in one package so there is no option of baking one now and baking the other one later. You do need to mix it all up at once.
Second fault, halved the dough did not come even close to spreading out to fill a 12-inch piece pan. I ended up putting it back together and we had a baking sheet pizza. Our baking sheet was approximately 11 inches by 17 inches in size. It fit perfectly into this pan and was neither too thick nor was it too thin.
The sauce is, well, Kraft Pizza sauce. Not as good as a homemade sauce or a Pizzaria sauce, but as good as you could expect from a pizza mix.
We did not use the cheese, preferring instead to use our own cheese. This was as good as it had ever been. We all enjoyed it, having adapted to use our own favorite toppings etc. This is still something I would have in my own cupboard for emergencies, etc. even if it didn't actually make two pizzas.
From what I could see this was the only complete pizza mix available. I didn't see any others, although you can certainly buy crust mix and sauce separately and the cheese of course. Buying all those things separately is much more costly than buying a complete kit however, so the kit will always be a bargain in comparison.
Old Dutch Popcorn Twists.
These were something I had missed terribly when I was in the UK. Essentially they are like cheesies or wotsits (British version of cheesies) but they taste like popcorn without any of the angst of kernels and hulls getting caught in your teeth. I have always loved them. They are incredibly moreish and they literally do melt in your mouth.
Looking at them you might be tempted to think that they would be squeaky like styrafoam peanuts, but they are not. They do melt. They are nice and salty. Buttery. Addictive.
I picked up two bags before Christmas and I used one to make the delicious Caramel Corn Recipe on the back of the bag. Can you say INCREDIBLY EDIBLY DELICIOUS? That it was.
You can find that delicious recipe here. Prepare yourself to fall utterly and totally in love. Talk about taking something totally delicious and turning it into something even more delicious and to love!
Next to the Crispy Crunch, this was probably one chocolate bar I missed the most in the UK. I did find them on the odd occasion, but they never tasted like I remembered them tasting. There was a powdery taste to them and the chocolate felt a bit waxy in the mouth. Not enjoyable in the least. There was a special on chocolate bars at WalMart the other day however and you could buy three packages for I think it was $8, with each package having four bars in it. A real bargain. I picked up KitKats (who doesn't love those), Jersey Milk (the taste of my childhood) and Hershey's Milk Chocolate with Almonds. Suprise! They magically tasted as they always had in the past. Perhaps I just never got a good one in the UK. These were rich and creamy, not powdery and the nuts perfectly toasted. Score!!
Ketchup Potato Chips
They did have these in the UK, but in all honesty they did not come up to the memory of my North American onesm neither did the BBQ ones. I picked up a small bag in WalMart one day at the cash to eat in the car on the way home (I was starving). They did not disappoint. Same flavor that I have always loved. Just like ketchup. Not too vinegary. Not too tomatoey. Just like eating a plate of fries and ketchup. Yum!
So there you have it. A few of the flavours I had been missing from home. Snacks I was missing. There are many more of course, like Hickory Sticks, and I am sure I will try them in due course, but for now this is my list and thoughts.
The things you do for love . . . I have come to realize that taste memories are subjective, and yes, sometimes absence does make the heart grow fonder.
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