Just a quickie for today. Sonia drank most of this beverage. I just tasted it and noped out pretty quickly.
It's chalky as I suspected it would be. I can also taste the pea protein underneath the chocolate and almond flavors. There's really not a ton of chocolate flavor, to be honest.
It was $3.49 for the 16 oz bottle. Sonia liked that it was filling and full of protein. She'd buy again in a pinch but wouldn't necessarily seek it out. I wouldn't drink it again.
Today, I'm gonna check out Trader Joe's Crunchy Pops. I really like snacks made with alternative grains and flours and ingredients. The only thing that makes me a little nervous is "pea." Yeah. I like peas okay but not necessarily in my crunchy snacks. I'm a little leery of pea protein in anything, be it any kind of smoothie or shake or protein bar so I'm not sure how it's going to work out here. I think the potato and corn will hopefully offset any weird pea flavor that I might not like.
Upon opening the bag, it smells faintly of peas and corn. They're bigger than I thought they'd be. They're very salty. Very crunchy. Hollow.
They're like Chex but bigger and more rigid, more robust. You can taste the grainy flavors of potato, peas, and corn. The pea flavor doesn't turn me off at all. It's a pleasant flavor but I don't know if it would be the number one thing I'd reach for over potato chips or tortilla chips.
I wish they were dusted with some kind of flavor like barbecue sauce or something spicy. Even a cheddar cheese flavor would be interesting. A viewer on YouTube suggested sour cream and onion would work, and I totally agree.
$2.49 for the bag. Kosher. I don't know why they wouldn't be gluten free, but they're not listed as such. Maybe they were processed on the same equipment as wheat products or something like that.
Would I buy them again? I don't think I would in this current format. If you like the taste of potatoes, corn, and peas and don't mind very salty snacks, you'd probably like these. The texture is excellent if you like firm, crunchy, crispy snacks. I like salty snacks a lot, but I feel like the saltiness overshadows everything else in this case.
I give Trader Joe's Crunchy Pops 7 out of 10 stars. Sonia will go with 7.5 out of 10.
