Food In Real Life

Special K Blueberry Fruit Crisps

Looks: Except for their slightly washed-out appearance (which I assure you is not just a side-effect of the photography), these "crisps" exist as depicted on the box. 4.5 out of 5

Taste: You may recall that I have an "appreciation" for blueberry Pop-Tarts. These crisps are basically mini blueberry Pop-tarts, but even better, because it's socially acceptable to eat them at all hours of the day. No more yearning for Pop-Tarts at 3pm but withholding out of shame - I'll be enjoying some variety of sugar-frosted blueberry cracker snack 24/7. 5 out of 5

• Add your own rating of this food's appearance
• Comment on this post.
• Read other readers' comments.
• Buy Special K Blueberry Fruit Crisps online
• Visit the Official Special K Blueberry Fruit Crisps Product Page

Trader Joe's Mushroom Rice Noodle Bowl

There aren't any Trader Joe's in my area, so this edition of Food In Real Life comes to you courtesy of reader Emily Tanoury. Thanks Emily!

Looks: "Definitely no corn (although the written description on the back of the packaging never lists corn in the description) and you don't really see those bits of rehydrated mushrooms. Also, there is not as much separation of the noodles and liquids as the picture depicts. These rice noodles suck up the broth, and the broth and the noodles are all the same color. In the picture the broth looks a little more of a rich brown." 3 out of 5

Taste: "Wonderful-ness. Not overly salty, but definitely had a mushroom taste to it and the seasonings were quite good as well. The noodles absorbed most of the liquid, but it made it easy to eat with chop sticks. If you are looking for a soup, these noodle bowls definitely are not it, but if you are looking for sticky noodles, these are the best way to go. Missed the corn though." 4.5 out of 5

• Add your own rating of this food's appearance
• Comment on this post.
• Read other readers' comments.

Chex Mix Chocolate Chunk Bars

Looks: This bar looks like someone took the bar on the box and bashed it with a hammer. There are none of those mini chocolate pieces, the Chex pieces are all crumbled, and the bar is struggling to maintain a rectangular shape. 2.5 out of 5

Taste: I think I have the actual recipe for this bar: take some Chex mix, pour some sickly-sweet chocolate all over it, bash it with a hammer, and then have a kindergarten class form this mix into bars. The bar is very gritty - it falls apart when you bite it, and the chocolate is too sweet for this to be in the same category as granola/nut bars, putting it firmly in the cookie/sweets category. 3 out of 5

• Add your own rating of this food's appearance
• Comment on this post.
• Read other readers' comments.
• Buy Chex Mix Chocolate Chunk Bars online
• Visit the Official Chex Mix Chocolate Chunk Bars Product Page