Julia's Food Reviews

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough: 7/10 - I think I would give it a 7/10 considering it's a protein bar but only a 6/10 on a 'normal bar' scale. I usually hate protein bars because of how chewy and dense they are. They also almost always taste the same and I feel like it would be impossible to create one that tastes like fruit (for example), or doesn't have chocolate in/on it.  That being said, this was just as chewy, dense, salty, and chocolate-y, as I expected. However, I've had worse protein bars which is why it got a high rating on my 'protein bar scale.' It didn't taste awful although I definitely prefer ordinary Luna bars as opposed to their protein versions. Like I said, it tasted very similar to all other protein bars that I've had (from different brands) and I would just describe this one as a chewy, thick center coated in salty chocolate. But then again, in my opinion, it is indeed very hard to get a protein bar to actually taste good so kudos on

Snowboard Sandwiches Vanilla Ice Cream: 10/10 - This is the first item that I've reviewed to get a 10/10! I thought that the chocolate cookies tasted amazing and weren't too sweet but they still were chocolate-y enough!  Each of the individual parts of the sandwich were also all great textures/densities.   The cookies on the outside were soft and light while the ice cream managed to be 'hard' enough and didn't melt as soon as you took it out of the freezer. Another plus was that they were really neat and easy to eat. I half expected them to fall completely apart or for the ice cream to squeeze out the sides but they stayed perfectly intact and were a great treat!

Homestyle Eggos: 3/10 - These waffles were very hard and crispy. Maybe I cooked it wrong (even though I just followed the instructions) but I was expecting more and was sadly let down. They were also much smaller than I realized which was also kind of disappointing.  I think I also would've rated these higher if my previous expectations weren't so high. Because these were so tough and tiny, it was kind of hard to put enough toppings on them which just made it taste worse. 

Fruit & Grain Strawberry Bar: 8/10 - This bar has a nice, fruity taste. I also couldn't find anything wrong with the texture. I would say the only thing 'wrong' with this is that it's bland but it's literally called a 'fruit & grain bar' which is exactly what it tastes like so I wasn't expecting it to be that flavorful or different anyways.  These are super easy to pack with you and eat anytime so I would definitely get these again and recommend trying them!

NadaMoo Rockiest Road: 6/10 - I could definitely tell it was dairy-free which I'm sure to people who can only eat dairy-free ice cream, wouldn't mind/notice a difference. I also personally don't love chocolate ice cream so my review is pretty biased.  There were also vegan marshmallows mixed in which was really surprising texture-wise but I would label it as a bug instead of a feature. This is a great option for those who normally eat dairy-free and actually like chocolate ice cream, I'm just picky with my ice cream. There are also lots of chunks of nuts in this which makes the texture even more uncomfortable. The more I have, the more the taste itself grows on me but I don't think I'll ever really enjoy the texture that much. 

Tofu Vegetable Dumplings: 6/10 - Personally, I found that these were a bit overstuffed. They had a nice taste but the texture was extremely chewy and like I said, these were pretty full.  I also appreciated how these were filling and tasted great even though they just used tofu and veggies. But again, not really a fan of the texture or density. 

Ricotta & Lemon Zest Ravioli: 8/10 - I don't typically like ricotta but the tang of lemon was really delicious. They also all stayed together really well and none of the filling was coming out and there was no pasta falling apart which was a huge plus.  I'd say the only thing I didn't like was how bland they were but that could easily be fixed by adding seasoning or sauce of some sort. Overall a great flavor.

Caramel Macchiato Ice Cream: 9/10 - Each of the flavors were great separately and all together. I gave the chocolate a 7/10, the coffee 8/10, and the caramel 9/10 just based on personal preference but it's overall a great flavor and definitely worth the purchase.  Everything is light, fluffy, and creamy and every single flavor is absolutely delicious. I would've given the chocolate a higher rating but it was my least favorite out of the three even though it still tasted amazing, but I wanted to keep the ratings to scale. 

Chocolate Peppermint Stick: 7/10 - I'm not sure if this is a high 6/10 or just a 7/10 but I thought this was a pretty good bar except obviously not that special. There was no topping but I did get a hint of a nice minty - chocolate taste.  I really liked how it wasn't too dry and I still got enough flavor even with just the bottom coating. And even though one of the main flavors is chocolate, it was definitely not too sweet at all. 

Caprese Ravioli: 6/10 - I was honestly expecting more from this. The individual ravioli were really pretty and looked super enticing but they were really bland when you tasted them. I thought I would get a burst of pesto from the filling but, to me, it tasted super similar to plain pasta which was dissapointing. But then again, even plain pasta tastes amazing so it's hard to go wrong.  I added lots of salt, pepper, oil, and cheese to make it more enjoyable but I bet it would also be great with actual pesto or tomato sauce. 

Blueberry Bliss: 5/10 - It was much sweeter than I expected. There was a yogurt coating on the bottom and a blueberry 'gel' with a sweet drizzle and some oats on top. I was really excited for this bar but I guess I should've realized that fruit-flavored protein bars are mostly just going to taste like sugar, not fresh fruit.  I definitely liked it better than the non-fruity bars because I think these have more flavor and are more exciting. However, I didn't really like the yogurt flavor or how sweet it was.

Chickpea Curry Bowl: 6/10 - I was really excited to try this dish because all of the ingredients and the description looked great. But once I cooked it, it was just a mushy, spicy bowl of rice.  All of the ingreadients just blended together so it was pretty much a slimy, brown meal which personally doesn't intrigue me.  The flavors still went fine together and it tasted pretty good but I feel like I could've easily made something that tasted just as good (and looked a little nicer) without buying this. Overall, taste was fine (but not amazing) but presentation was definitely a little rough. 

S'mores: 2/10 - The package said there wouldn't be marshmallows so I wasn't expecting too much but when I unwrapped it there wasn't even "decoration/toppings" on the top. There was a chocolate coating on the bottom but that was it. It really just tasted like the "default" bar. I didn't find it interesting or tasty at all.  Obviously, it wasn't awful- I ate the whole thing and didn't complain but it was so, so boring and didn't taste like s'mores at all. I couldn't taste chocolate, marshmallow, or graham cracker.   

Chocolate Dipped Coconut: 3/10 - the smell was amazing (6/10) which made it even more disappointing when I bit into it. This was the opposite of the Lemon/Blueberry bar in that I thought it tasted better eating the coconut on top and chocolate on the bottom separately instead of biting it normally and having the combined taste. The flavor was mediocre but the texture was very dry.  When I unwrapped it I immediately smelled a strong coconut aroma which made me really excited to bite into it but I barely tasted the coconut at all. It felt super plain, there was a thin chocolate coating on the bottom but that's about the only thing that made it special taste-wise. It still tasted totally fine just not a lot of coconut flavor which was their main selling point to me. 

Sea Salt Caramel: 4/10 - I would've given it a better score if my expectations weren't so high but it was super bland. I actually ended up trying it with some peanut butter which I think improved it a little but putting peanut butter on a protein bar is not something I'd want to do more of.  There's nothing "wrong" with this bar but it's kind of just like a dry, sweet, salty blob. And I'm sure some people would enjoy that but I expected it to have a more prominent caramel flavor and just have stronger tastes overall. 

Dillon James: 6/10 - There was a lot more cheese than I expected which I didn't like but I'm sure would be a bonus for some people. There was such a thin crust that it seemed like there was more cheese than crust which made the texture chewy and soggy which is the main reason for my low-ish score.  However, the actual taste was pretty good. Garlic/Basil/Tomato is one of my favorite flavor combinations. Everything was cooked nicely and the textures of the toppings were fine but I didn't like how big the chunks of roasted garlic were. 

LemonZest+Blueberry: 7/10 - I originally gave it a 6/10 when I bit only the blueberry part on top and the lemon part on the bottom separately but I think that the two flavors complement each other really well so that bumped it up a full point.  Obviously, it doesn't taste like real blueberries or lemon but the flavors are very present and go well together. Also, because it's a fruity bar, I don't think it was too dry at all.