#76: Crispy Pineapples, Apples and Apricots

"real fruit, real taste, nothing else!"
I went digging for a midnight snack last night. I wanted something somewhat light so I tried the Crispy Apricots I received earlier that day from Crispy Green. My package from them included the 6-pack of Crispy Apricots and 6-pack of Crispy Pineapples that I ordered. It also included one package of the Crispy Apples that they provided as a free sample (unlike Kate at Kate in the Kitchen who received 2 free samples!). These Fruit Chips are really dehydrated fruit. I found them because they were listed as #76 on Food & Wine's 100 Tastes to Try.

My first taste of the Crispy Apricots was a bit disappointing. The natural apricot flavor is there for sure, but I felt a bit tricked when eating these. They are crispy and LOVE crunchy snacks but there is no follow through. The fruit disintegrates on your tongue and I finished them feeling unsatisfied.

This morning I tried the Crispy Pineapples and I like them 10x better. They are somehow more fulfilling than the apricot. And pineapple is one of my favorite fruits. I became more excited about this product because the Crispy Pineapples are definitely something I would bring to work as a snack when I'm in a "healthy eating" mood. And since I am attempting to taste everything on Food & Wine's 100 Tastes to Try, I tried the Crispy Apples next.

I really enjoyed the Crispy Apples. I think they are my favorite of the three I tried. They somehow keep the apple consistency after you chew them and they do not disintegrate as easily as the apricots. It may be that I am more familiar with apple being "crispy" because there are so many other apple flavored products out there.

Overall, I think these would be really good for someone who likes to bike or hike or camp alot. They are very tasty and would be a really great snack to throw in your backpack. They are as healthy as fresh fruit because all the nutritional value is retained in the freeze-drying process. I suppose anyone on the go alot would appreciate these, I however would rather have a granola bar or something else as a snack.

note* Each package of crispy fruit is 1 Weight Watchers point. Actually, you can have two packages and it still counts as only 1 point.

#15: Salty, Sugary, Crunchy. . . Popcorn!

I knew Aspen Kettle Corn was the first thing I wanted to order when I saw it listed as #15 on Food & Wine Magazine's 100 Tastes to Try in 2007. I love popcorn and it seemed more comfortable and familiar to me than other items on the list. I placed my order on a Sunday evening and received my popcorn the following Thursday. It arrived via U.S. Priority Mail. Their website mentions a two-bag minimum but somehow it allowed me to order only one. I wasn't paying attention, I thought I would get two. I wish I ordered six. Each bag is $6.00 and the shipping to Florida cost $7.50. And it is very, very much worth the price. I could smell it while I was carrying the box into my house and my mouth started watering while I was opening up my other mail.

Be warned if you try this: it is ADDICTING. You will CRAVE this. I couldn't stop eating it when I "tasted" it before dinner. And then I went at it again after dinner. Between those two sittings I ate half the bag. Just me, by myself. Well, my little parrot snuck a few kernels out of the bag and he loved it too. And of course I had to toss a few down to the dogs, but that only totalled about a handful. The rest was all me and I enjoyed every piggy bite of it. This is so good I'm going to be ordering it for my friends as housewarming presents and maybe place a few orders next Christmas.

Kristen over at Dine and Dish is spot on as she describes the back and forth between sweet and salty which you will experience. My first impression was that it reminded me of carmel corn. Very, very light and fresh carmel corn. And then the salt hit me and it reminded me of really good hot air popped popcorn. It is not greasy at all. And there is barely any corn syrup on it, just enough to give a nice, subtle sweetness. So it is still really healthy. There is no nutritional information on the package so I am not positive, but I think it is a pretty safe snack. I'd say it's great for the dieters out there to get a sweet fix in a healthy way, but I know there is no possible way to enforce any type of portion control because it's just too damn good.

So what are you waiting for? Go order some. Now. SOMEONE in your life has to like popcorn (if not you) and you will impress anyone you get this for. I know I'm going to be placing another order very soon.