Posts Tagged ‘Corn’

Big Island Candies Corn Chip Crunch Bar

1 Comment » Written on April 19th, 2012 by
Categories: Food
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Product: Big Island Candies Corn Chip Crunch Bar
 Price: Free (Ben liberated it from his company’s snack jar)

Even though Hawaii is the 13th best travel destination in the world according to “Traveleye.com” (which apparently has such an eye for travel that they ranked Orlando, Florida number on the list), I’ve never been there, partly due to the fact that I am a shut-in whose alabaster skin crisps like bacon at even the faintest hint of sunlight. Nevertheless, as a food adventurer, I’m always looking to broaden my culinary horizons and venture across the Pacific to my neighbors in the west. It’s perfect for today’s product, a chocolate treat that Ben picked up from work

I started where any typical American tourist would go: The FAQ page of the Hawaii Tourism Authority website.

Who knew that I don’t even need a passport to visit this tropical paradise because it’s a part of the United States? And they accept US Dollars?! Hot damn! And did you know that anytime of year is a good time to visit Hawaii? That’s unlike the Pacific Northwest where the answer usually is “sometime in June” or frankly “never”.

If you’re sick of co-workers bringing back Hawaiian Host chocolate covered macadamias or repulsed that they brought you Spam flavored nuts, but you’re still looking for a sweet AND salty fix, Big Island Candies Corn Chip Crunch Bar might just be the treat for you.

The Corn Chip Crunch Bar is described by Big Island Candies (or for my sake, BIC) as a “crunchy, sweet and salty delight. With a peanut center filled with corn chips and covered in milk chocolate, you will definitely enjoy this new confection.” I’ve pretty much resigned to calling it “Fritos ‘n’ Chocolate.”

The crunchy, creamy, sweet and salty combo is a pleasant surprise. While I would never think about putting chips in a chocolate bar (Doritos, you’re next) BIC has pulled off a successful junk food fusion that will probably contribute to my beginning stages of heart disease.

(Ben: It’s not secret that Marisa and I are total nuts for savory corn based snacks. I just can’t stuff enough of them into my face fast enough to satisfy my love of the crunchy corny goodness but that’s neither here nor there since none of them came doused in a liberal amount of rich chocolaty chocolate.)

Speaking of corn snacks – if you’re ever feeling adventurous and want to blend some more random foods with your favorite corn chips, check out the Fritos brand recipe page. You can create culinary delights such as: FRITOS® Ranch Chicken Delight, Apple Hash and Pumpkin Gravy FRITOS® Pie or Hawaii-inspired Hawaiian Pineapple Ham FRITOS® Pie. If you don’t like it, maybe the kiddos will or your dog. Also, dear Fritos: the chips don’t count as part of the recipe if you’re serving them on the side.

Big Island Candies also feature loads of other delicious looking chocolate that I am too cheap to buy, so try some out and let me know what you think!

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Yogi Chips (Transcendental Meditation Not Included)

2 comments Written on July 27th, 2011 by
Categories: Food
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Product: Yogi Chips (Sour Cream & Chives Flavor)
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet (South Tacoma)
Price: 3 bags/$1 or 33 cents each

I’m sure you vaguely remember your mid-life Eastern Mysticism phase – escaping away to India, searching for the meaning of life, plucking away at a sitar, hanging out with your band mates – good times. Unfortunately, gone are the days of gurus and ashrams, and we’re now stuck with Google and Apple, but you still need a snack that will help you find the inner light.

But I digress – I’m playing one trick pony with the name “yogi” when in fact, these chips are made by a brand called Wai Lana and feature a picture of a Hawaii yoga conglomerate of the same name. While her retail/personal website is quite humble (“Wai Lana is not only a beautiful and charming modern-day yoga advocate but also a highly energetic and prolific artist.”), she not only sells Yoga DVDs and Yogi Chips, but Yogi Fruit Bars and even Yogi Kids Snacks for your budding Bodhisattva.

The Yogi Chips come in several different varieties (including Barbeque, Pizza and Swiss Cheese) but we found a huge box at Grocery Outlet selling the Sour Cream & Chives variety for 3/$1. And what a deal!

In fact, the prestigious Wall Street Journal even said that Yogi Chips are “a delicious salty snack that you could joyfully ravage while consuming fewer calories and, hopefully, some extra nutrition.” [emphasis mine] and who could doubt the WSJ – owned by Rupert Murdoch?

The chips aren’t really that impressive when you dump them out of the bag onto the 1970s era dish of your choosing. While they may appear more as “curled up crackers” than chips, they’re actually made with neither of the main components of those products (wheat/flour or potatoes) and use a bevy of corn, beans and starchy roots (tapioca and cassava):

Corn, Tapioca, Cassava, Sunflower Oil, Brown Rice, Mung Bean, Cane Sugar, Dehydrated Vegetables, Milk Solids, Maltodextrin, Onion, Hydrolyzed Maize Protein, Cheese and Onion Flavor, Sea Salt, Natural Acidity Regulator, Parsley.

Just what my stomach needs is more delicious Natural Acidity Regulator®.

I was pleasantly surprised when I popped a chip into my mouth. While I was expecting a dry, gritty unflavorful (stereotypically “healthy”) snack, these chips actually taste a bit like their unhealthy, deep fried and fat loaded forefathers, Bugles Corn Snacks (which I’ve very saddened to read are not available in Canada anymore). Unfortunately, I was not allowed to eat Bugles as a kid due to the high saturated fat content (from sweet, delicious coconut oil) so these chips may just be the suitable replacement for all of those missed childhood memories (though you can’t stick Yogi Chips on your fingers and pretend they’re gnarly claws).

Feed your inner zen.

I would suggest picking up a bag or two if you see them on sale in your area (better yet, any of the other flavors). If anything, you can have a taste test of all-natural-trans-fat-free Yogi Chips and evil-deep-fried-grease Bugles (which also happen to be trans fat free – I think they may have taken out the MSG in the meantime too).

They’re a decent snack whether you’re a hardcore yogi or someone like me, whose sole physical activity is clicking a mouse.

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Corn Nuts Chips: Santa Fe Ranch

No Comments » Written on May 21st, 2011 by
Categories: Food
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Product: Corn Nuts Chips (Flavor Reviewed: Santa Fe Ranch)
Purchased at: Grocery Outlet (Lakewood)
Price: 50 cents a bag

Marisa’s Take: The last time we reviewed a Corn Nuts product (which was also one of our first reviews), mainly I ragged on the chipotle flavor fad and a amusing/euphemism-filled 90s era radio ad campaign (which I still find myself singing in terribly inappropriate places, like grocery stores and public transit). While ashamedly, I am a fan of Corn Nuts, we’d figure we’d try a new kind we spotted recently for 50 cents at our local Grocery Outlet.

If regular Corn Nuts weren’t hardcore enough for you (sidenote: if you thought a great way of removing loose baby teeth was the string-on-a-doorknob trick, try Corn Nuts), now you have a more mouth friendly option. They are called Corn Nuts “Chips”, but a more accurate description would be “Mini Corn Disks”. The chips are ground corn, fashioned into a little discus, a bit smaller than a dime. While the chip moniker may allude to large flat tortilla triangles that are dippable (with salsa, queso or whatever you choose) but these are just a variation on the familiar Corn Nuts we’ve come to know and love (everyone loves Corn Nuts, right…right?).

As far as the taste goes, since the ingredients are the same, they’re essentially the same as Ranch Corn Nuts. However, in regard to the texture, in a parallel universe, they would be marketed as Albuquerque Ranch Fritos Circles. They’re very similar to the corn chips and would be probably be awesome in a Frito Pie variation.

Ben’s Take: I’m quite useless whenever a Corn Nuts product comes my way. Their high concentrations of salty flavor and maximum tooth shattering crunch cause the rational and objective centers of my brain to shut down. I become extremely impulsive and just pile them into my face (or basket, and then into my face) without regard for how ridiculous I might look, or the potential health implications of consuming that much sodium.

Interestingly I really don’t care about Fritos. Even the spicy chili flavor. You would think a pulverized fried corn product that’s loaded with salt would cause me to go crazy but I find their size and shape rather unappealing. I really didn’t know what to think when Marisa explained that these were basically almost-dime-sized Fritos.

The small form factor of the Corn Nuts chips really did have me worried. Would my near-universal love of Corn Nuts products be shattered by this foray into old and unexciting territories?

As it would turn out, it’s not the size of the wave chip, but the motion of the ocean total radness of the package. The size of the chips actually allows more of that cool ranch flavor to coat the toasty and extra crunchy corn center making them even more flavor packed than any Frito ever dreamed about being. The undippable size even works to the chip’s advantage because they don’t shatter and turn into spiky corn dust unlike their bigger counterparts. Instead they allow you go venture into the unexplored chip frontier. On their own you can shovel handfuls into your mouth. In a salad, they’re the best croutons you’ve ever used. Even in chowder their texture holds up quite well and the ranch flavoring didn’t hurt the clams in the slightest. You just don’t want to coat these guys with anything because they’re so dang tasty.

The best part is: at $.50 a pack they’re cheaper than croutons and any other chip brand. I would eat handfuls of these everyday if I didn’t care about my health. Heck, I just might do that anyways.

Buy Corn Nuts Chips Santa Fe Flavor on Amazon.com!

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