Friday, October 24, 2014

Pumpkintopia Day 1: Muffins, Yogurt and Macarons, oh my!

Kicking off Pumpkinpalooza (I really need a better name for this), I had a very pumpkin day yesterday: pumpkin cream cheese muffin for breakfast, pumpkin spice latte for lunch, pumpkin macarons for dessert and pumpkin yogurt for an evening snack. Surprisingly, I haven't found myself hating pumpkin or pumpkin spice yet.



Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin: Despite what they looked like from the container, these weren't pumped as full of cream cheese as I thought. Interestingly, they're sprinkled with pumpkin seeds on top, which don't seem to be a very popular food item here in America. The seeds didn't really add anything to the muffin, although they did partially cut through most of the "sameness" of the muffin. The spices in the muffin were pretty strong, especially the cloves, and it tasted exactly like a bready pumpkin pie. The cream cheese was actually a welcome addition and softened the spice quite a bit.

Pumpkin-ness: 3/5 could taste some
Spice: 3/5 proportions could use adjusting
Value: $3.99 for 4, cheap breakfast option
Overall: 3/5




Pumpkin Macarons: Found in the freezer aisle next to the non-seasonal macaron assortment, these littler than little macarons were a surprise. I didn't expect them to be of the same quality or freshness as a bakery-bought macaron, but they actually tasted pretty good. The spice is much more subtle and the squash flavor is more pronounced, and while they didn't retain the crunch of the outer shell, they were just as chewy and flavorful as their more expensive counterparts. I wanted to eat them all but ended up eating "just" three.

Pumpkin-ness: 5/5 just the right amount
Spice: 4/5 subtle but still there
Value: $4.99 for a box of "about 6" servings
Overall: 4.5/5




Pumpkin Greek Yogurt: I was expecting this yogurt to be bright orange and really thick like pumpkin spice latte syrup, but it was actually naturally colored and about as thick as greek yogurt mixed with pumpkin puree. I'm not gonna lie; this yogurt is very, very good. It's as close to pie as yogurt can get. The spices are perfectly balanced, it's not terribly sweet, and the pumpkin flavor is actually there. I would eat this for dessert and not feel cheated or like I'm trying to be healthy. I'm pretty sure you can even put this on your skin and it would make you look 10 years younger. It's just that good.

Pumpkin-ness: 6/5 tastes like pumpkin
Spice: 5/5 perfect
Value: $1.29 for an 8 oz container
Overall: 5/5

Looks like I'm on a roll! Who knows what tomorrow will bring? (Hopefully not food poisoning.)

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Pumpkinpocalypse, pumpkinpalooza, pumpkin 2: Electric Boogaloo, etc

After more than a month of hiatus I'm back with some pumpkin-flavored vengeance. After seeing this month's Trader Joes' Fearless Flyer and nearly 4 whole pages of nothing but pumpkin, I decided I would take Pumpkin Spice season to the next level and try out everything I could find at my local TJs. Turns out I actually had to take two trips to get all of this:


...and I'm sure I missed something. What're obviously missing are any alcoholic beverages that might be pumpkin spiced or pumpkin-flavored; I'm leaving that to the experts (see: Exhibit A).

I tried to organize everything by "type":

Breakfast:
Pecan Pumpkin Oatmeal
Pumpkin Granola Cereal
Pumpkin Waffles
Pumpkin Cereal Bar
Pumpkin Rolls (frozen)
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins (RTE)
Pumpkin Greek Yogurt

Breads:
Pumpkin Bread Pudding (frozen)
Pumpkin Bread and Muffin Mix
Pumpkin Cornbread Mix
Pumpkin Cranberry Scone Mix
Pumpkin Pancake and Waffle Mix
Pumpkin Bar Mix
Pumpkin Croissants (frozen)

Beverages:
Instant Pumpkin Chai Latte
Ground Pumpkin Spice Coffee
Pumpkin Spice Rooibos Tea
Pumpkin Soup (RTE)

Snacks, Cookies, Etc:
Pita Crisps with Pumpkin Seeds and Cranberry
Pumpkin Cornbread Croutons
Pumpkin Joe-Joes
Pumpkin Butter
Pumpkin Caramel Sauce
Pumpkin Biscotti
Iced Pumpkin Scone
Pumpkin Pie Mochi
Pumpkin Ice Cream Sandwiches
Pumpkin Ice Cream
Pumpkin Macarons

(For those who are curious, all of this came out to be less than $100. So if you really wanted to live on pumpkin-flavored food for a month, you could AND you would save money, because you wouldn't want to eat any pumpkin thing ever again.)

For obvious reasons I'll be trying the perishable items first. They'll be rated on pumpkin-ness, yum-ability, ease of pairing, and overall value.

See anything I missed? Let me know! I live to please eat!