NEAROF

I adore macarons, but what about macaroons? Compared to the dainty French treat, macaroons are much more down-home, red-state fare. There’s no fancy flair, no colourful pretensions, no curious flavours. (Rose? Lavender? Salted caramel brulée? Yummy, yes, but decidedly more Holt Renfrew than Sears Factory Outlet.) It’s enough to make a guy wish macaroons were [...]

Last I checked, aloe vera is used for a whole lot of other things, but I’ve never once thought of drinking it. I have absolutely no idea what aloe tastes like, so this is going to be a curious experience. The Pitch: “You’ve probably used aloe vera to soothe sunburns and help heal cuts, but [...]

I’ve seen plenty of energy bars before, but an energy ball? Isn’t that just a polite way of selling a smaller, rounder energy bar? We’ll see … The Pitch: This Fudgie Walnut Brain Storm flavour is described as “a chewy mix of nuts, carob and seeds.” Also: GM-free and gluten-free, with no artificial preservatives, flavours [...]

Corn chips are about as commonplace as a snack food can get. There are countless tortilla chip varieties ready for dipping in salsa, along with pre-seasoned things like Doritos and Fritos. But chips made with popcorn? I’d never seen such a thing until I ran into Popcorners. The Pitch: “The new shape of popcorn. Popcorners [...]

Continuing an oft-revisited theme here at NEAROF!, I fell victim to the inescapable draw of a grocery store end-unit display. This time, it was a shelf full of MaraNatha Dark Chocolate Peanut Spread at Planet Organic that did me in. My wife balked at the price (“$6.29?” she asked, incredulous), but I bought it anyhow, [...]

One bite of Savi Seed and you’ll appreciate Mary Poppins’ view that a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. Though in this case, more than a spoonful is needed to distract from the awful taste of this latest health-craze snack. Having clearly learned nothing from my experience with Trader Joe’s Chocolate Covered Edamame, [...]