Well, for starters the bag of Better Chip Jalapeño and Sea Salt chips smelled like a large pepper which is a good sign if you like peppers (Full Disclosure: I don’t.). As I held the whole, circular tortilla chip in hand I wondered if the green pieces inside were real. After my first bite I learned that A) The chip itself was a bit dry B) The jalapeños were real and C) They were HOT!!

Like a standard Jalapeño , you can taste a bit of the pepper at the beginning and feel confident that your tastebuds and heat tolerance are high. As I was taking my first bite, Roy had already taken his and after a few moments yelled [Expletive] these are hot! A quick glance at the back of the bag showed that it include 40% fresh Jalapeño and onion pieces and that my friends is definitely a nice improvement over seeing all types of “flavorings”  in the ingredient list.

Overall I think the non-Jalapeño part of The Better Chip Jalapeño and Sea Salt left something to be desired though if you like your chips spicy they are right up your alley and are definitely healthier and feel fresher than other similar chips. Overall it is an average chip but we have a few other bags to test so stay tuned for reports on other flavors.

The bright green bag welcomed us with a picture of the chips along side some onion, a good visual description of what was to come. When we opened it up, we were welcomed with a corn chip smell (Surprise! Corn is the first ingredient of these whole grain chips). The taste, however, was absolutely delicious. From the first bite you are welcomed with a strong but not overpowering onion flavor (think Ruffles Sour Cream and Onion) that is then followed by the distinct flavor of Sun Chips which is a bit corny and with a taste of oats and a slightly sweet finish.

In terms of crunchyness, these wavy chips provide a light crunch that dissipates nicely with each bite but is very satisfying. Even with the various grains included in these chips, you could see the standard green onion flecks that are generally found on onion flavored chips. Although a minor complaint, we do think that it would be great if the flavor lasted just a tad longer, however, the taste is so good that its disappearance makes you want to go for another one almost immediately.

After nearly demolishing the bag in a matter of minutes, we had no choice but to give Sun Chips French Onion our coveted Must Munch status. These delicious chips will satisfy your craving for something to enjoy that is *slightly healthier than your average chip. With a combination of a more common but tasty onion flavor, and the unique sun chips multigrain chip, if you see these, its worth the buy.

When we grabbed the first chip it was surprise to see they were actually textured like Ruffles. The Hot Chili Squid chips featured fried squid and oil as well as some flames on the front of the bag, but thankfully (and I say this before trying them) the bag felt pretty empty which meant we wouldn’t have to push ourselves (or others) through too many. So how did they taste already??

Well, to be honest I was a little disappointed. Although Lay’s Hot Chili Squid had the smell of the sea, the taste itself wasn’t particularly fishy or squidlike, but rather a mild fishlike taste and a semi-spicy kick at the very end. As you take the bite the hardest part is actually overcoming the smell of the chip and allowing yourself to eat them. Once that first bite is down, however, they aren’t so bad.

The chips had a typical Ruffle-like crunch and a sweet flavor to them which was semi-pleasant even. Unfortunately it was followed by a spicy hot taste at the end which reinforced the overall, mostly negative experience of eating these. I honestly wonder how many people enjoy this snack in its native country because I don’t think it is actually strong enough for local tastes which are probably used to more exotic flavors, so if they were bland to me, how would they taste to those who actually seek these kinds of chips.

Unique? Most definitely. Recommended? Definitely not. If you want to try something unique in Thailand I would say try a real, local snack because these are fun to bring back, but aren’t worth it if you are actually there.

With my first bite I could tell these Sweet Cinnamon Wheat Thins these were no ordinary Wheat Thins. In fact, start to finish there was almost no standard “Wheat Thins” taste, but instead had a very subtle sugary sweetness followed by a Cinnamon finish.

Each cracker was evenly coated and had a nice, natural looking brown cinnamon seasoning on it. As someone who generally dislikes Cinnamon (I hate Big Red!), I was very happy with the amount and the fact that they were true to the “sweet” part of the name.

Like their standard cousins, these limited edition Wheat Thins were packed into a box and definitely provide value for money in terms of the amount you get in a box. The main area I would say where they were lacking would be that the taste seemed to fade a bit too fast for our liking.

If you are looking for a holiday snack that goes great with egg-nogg, definitely add Sweet Cinnamon Wheat Thins to your shopping list.

Brought to us from a friend in Spain, we were interested in how an independent Spanish (Valencia) company handles making our favorite munchie. On the outside the bag was very full from which was very nice to see. When we opened the bag, which also thankfully listed the ingredients in several languages, we were welcomed by a nice potato odor.

The first bite of Vincent Vidal Patatas Artesanales  was actually pretty delightful. The chips have a light potato flavor followed by a nice, mildly salty finish. The chips are reminscent of Lay’s Classic Chips but are just a tad thicker which makes for a nice crunch without them completely falling apart in your mouth as you eat them. Without really thinking I found myself continuing to eat them as we discussed the flavor. The unforced eating of chips actually happens much less often than you’d probably think.

As previously mentioned, the bag of Vincent Vidal Patatas Artesanales was almost full to the brim with chips which in a mass produced era seems to be less and less the case. The plain bag also gave the chips a more “down home” feeling. I personally think these would be really delicious with salsa because they are thick enough to dip without breaking and the potato flavor would blend nicely.

If you happen to find yourself in Spain we would recommend grabbing a bag of these. Plain chips are often the hardest for us to judge but these instantly stood apart from many of the “standard” chips we’ve tried here at MunchiesBlog and I’d love to try some of their other flavors.

We once tried Estrella Bacon Chips and were disappointed because in reality they were more ham like, well this case was the reverse, I was hoping for bacon even though Jamon=Ham, and so when we opened the bag I wasn’t so much surprised but deflated as they smelled like…ham.

The chips themselves were standard Ruffles, semi-thick and crunchy with the ridges the brand is known for. The chips themselves had no differentiation aside from the smell in fact, no overly red tones, just a standard looking Ruffle that smelled like it was handed over by someone behind a deli counter.

With the first bite of Ruffles Sabor A Jamon you feel like you are somehow eating a potato chip with a slice of ham, but it is all crunch and no deli cut meat. At times the smell is almost pepperoni like but the flavor is definitely ham, in fact I can’t really think of any other way to describe them nor could any of the people I had try them.

If you are feeling particularly unhealthy, you can just get a bag of these instead of having them with a sandwich because essentially it tastes the same. They are salty but you don’t actually feel the salt, but they are definitely greasy. Overall the entire sensation is just weird, and Ruffles Sabor a Jamon are the definition of a unique chip. They aren’t bad, aren’t particularly great, but deserve their own place on the shelf for those looking for something different.

A quick look at the ingredients showed organic chocolate chips nearing the top of the list and the picture on the front of the box of 12 preformed cookies, which to me meant there would be a healthy amount in each bite.

The best thing about Wholly Wholesome is that while trying to stick to my new year’s resolution, I can cook as many or as few as I want. (I want them all, but the ability to pop in the oven as many discs as I choose helps my weak willpower.) They’re easy to cook and smell great coming out. The chocolate is just melty enough to make you want to eat it right off the tray, but wait- they really need to cool before risking a burnt tongue.

While the flavor is great, I don’t think I could pass Wholly Wholesome Chocolate Chip Cookies off as my own, as if often my hope with premade dough. The cookies are sugary (thankfully not so much so as the Pillsbury Sugar Cookies) with a flavor that I can describe as nothing other than fake.

I don’t know what the taste is because, as I mentioned, the list of ingredients reveals nothing out of the ordinary, but it tastes like a hint of plastic has seeped into them from the packaging.  The chocolate chips were the redeeming quality and it was clearly real chocolate- no skimping in this department, which might help justify the premium price.

If you’re willing to be honest with your guests and share your secret of this brand, go ahead and serve these babies up with a cold glass of milk. My friends loved them and said they would buy more if they saw at their supermarket. I’m not as convinced as I was with their Oatmeal version, but they’ll probably find their way back into my freezer.

After briefly inspecting the bag we opened it and found that as opposed to a tomato-y smell, we actually got a strong whiff of vinegar. The chips themselves, like most other European Lay’s we’ve had, were thicker than their American cousins. One of the benefits to a thicker chip is less crumbs which Lay’s are known for.

The chips themselves, as was expected, were red in color though it wasn’t a very heavy coating like you would see on BBQ Lay’s for instance. Unfortunately, for something that SCREAMED ketchup on the front, Lay’s Heinz Tomato Ketchup Chips actually had a stronger vinegar taste than ketchup. As we ate them we actually felt they more closely resembled salt and vinegar chips we had tried as opposed to tomato flavored chips. There was an initial ketchupy taste but it was mild and dissipated quickly under a vinegar mask.

On the plus side, there were plenty of chips in the bag which was nice to see. Too often you get a bag of chips that is half filled with air, so although the chips weren’t particularly flavorful, there was enough in the bag to share with others.

Overall Lay’s Heinz Tomato Ketchup Chips were pretty average. I can see how people could get addicted to such a chip because the vinegar does leave you craving more, but compared to other similar flavored snacks we’ve had these are in the middle. Not too seasoned or unseasoned they were sort of mis-seasoned.

The package of Immaculate Chocolate Peppermint Cookies has a bit of whimsy with original artwork for the company paired with a picture of the large, natural, chocolate cookies. The ingredient list has everything that you would put in cookies baked from scratch and nothing I couldn’t pronounce. Their claim of “all natural” really is true. The ingredient that excited me most was the peppermint bark, one of my favorite holiday snacks.

I was a bit worried when I didn’t notice a peppermint fragrance when I opened the package, but I couldn’t ignore the black-as-night color of the cookie-shaped, refrigerated dough. There are small white pieces of bark among the chocolate dough and thus far they had lived up to their name.

When I took my first bite, it took me a moment to recognize the flavor, but whatever it reminded me of, it brought a smile to my face. Then I began to think a Girl Scout had something to do with the making of these delights. Immaculate Chocolate Peppermint Cookies contain the goodness of the classic Thin Mints that everyone loves and eating them right out of the oven makes them w-a-y better than the original. I didn’t notice the sugar and the few pieces of bark in each bite (about 2-3) provided enough of the minty flavor.

They will be a bit crispy around the edges when you pull them from the oven and the only downside I can find to this cookie is that they are not foolproof (similar to the sugar cookies we reviewed). One minute short and they can be a bit raw in the middle and one too long- they are burnt, so watch them closely.  Because of the dark color, it can be tricky to tell when they are done.

I cooked three and ate three because they are delicious without being decadent or too dense. You’ll be thankful that the package of Immaculate Chocolate Peppermint cookies has 24 of these extraordinary delights because you’ll need them to share (or eat yourself)!

The first thing I thought when I opened the lunch box sized bag of Combos Zesty Salsa was that they definitely got the zesty right. They had a strong, spicy smell that reminded me of Jalapeno Deli Chips. I was hoping, however, that they wouldn’t only smell zesty, but that they would taste good as well.

Before actually getting to try one myself, one of my co-tasters said simply, “MMMMMMM WOW.” He had never had a Combo in his life and to me this was a good sign.  Compared to a standard or pretzel Combo, you could easily tell that these had a unique, crispier shell. It was crunchy and a bit salty, like a standard corn chip, but it was round and instead of dipping you immediately tasted the “zesty filling.”

The Combo’s Zesty Salsa filling tasted very much like salsa except the texture was thicker (I have no idea how they preserve any of the flavors in combos but in general they have a unique texture). The taste was a mix of different spices that was just zesty enough and finished with a small, hot kick. After the mix of flavors it finishes off with a corn chip taste.

The bag included a few broken Combos which always leaves you with the difficult decision of whether or not to eat a “filling only” piece since the mushy, shell-less texture isn’t for everyone. Overall, Zesty Salsa Combos are a nice snack that is easy to eat. If you are into corn chips and want something on the go these could are a perfect snack to toss in your lunch bag. We polished them off pretty quickly.