Recently I discovered new food favorites and was reunited with some of my old favorites. The song, “My favorite things” keeps playing in my head when I think about them.
479° Black Truffle and White Cheddar Popcorn
I discovered 479° Popcorn a few years back and my absolute flavor is the black truffle cheddar. It tastes good, has speckles of black truffle, and it’s pretty low in calories, fat and carbohydrates too, making it a pretty guilt-free snack. 479° is based in San Francisco, so I previously was only able to get it on their website or at some stores in Northern California like Whole Foods.
Recently I found it at my local Bristol Farms in San Diego and when I checked online, they have really expanded their locations. You can find a list of all stores that carry 479 popcorn here.
Gevalia Dark Chocolate Truffle Coffee
I love flavored coffees, but a lot of them always smell great when they are brewing but don’t end up tasting like the flavor it’s supposed to. I’ve tried many many chocolate flavored coffees, and the best one I’ve come across is Gevalia Chocolate Truffle. I was so surprised at how chocolatey my coffee tasted, I immediately went online to make sure this wasn’t one of those coffees packed with sugar, cream, etc. But no, this is just a normal coffee flavored with chocolate so the calories are still negligible. I just added a little bit of sweetened creamer to mine and no additional sugar and have really been enjoying this. I also love the packaging.
I’ve tried a few other flavors too. So far all of them do have the flavor they are supposed to and I’ve sampled irish cream, vanilla, and creme brulee. My favorite one after the chocolate truffle is the vanilla. You can buy them online or find them in many grocery stores, though I’ve only found the flavored ones online.
Sprout’s (formerly Henry’s Market) unsweetened dried mangoes
I’ve been obsessed with unsweetened dried mangoes after trying Sigona’s Organic Kent Dried Mangoes from back when my brother was working at Google. Unlike most unsweetened dried mangoes, they were not too tart or too stringy. One of the reasons is that they use Kent mangoes which tend to be sweeter and less stringy. I haven’t been able to find Sigona’s mangoes outside of their Palo Alto store. But I’ve been trying unsweetened dried mangoes from everywhere, and I finally found ones very similar, at Sprouts.
It doesn’t say anywhere if they are Kent mangoes, but they taste sweet even though there is no additional sugar and it’s not as stringy as some other dried mango brands. I’m so happy to be reunited with these mangoes. They are so addicting.
Satsuma Oranges
Have you had a satsuma before? They are in season right now and I’m quite excited. They don’t look so great with their lumpy skin, but these are my favorite of the mandarin orange family. The skin is lumpy because it’s not tight on the flesh of the oranges, so it peels off super easily. You can peel the whole thing off in just a few seconds. The flesh pieces are quite sweet and mostly seedless. And they are pretty small. I usually eat 3 or 4 at a time.
That’s it for now. Hope everyone is having a good weekend!
I’ve had all but the 479 popcorn and agree on all counts! will have to keep an eye out for the 479 to try, in 2013. Bristol Farms, et al.
Question: have you had the black truffle popcorn at Blue Ribbon Pizza, Encinitas? I know that many restaurants are offering truffle fries and some the truffle popcorn, these days. We think Blue Ribbon does an especially good job.
They use truffle oil and cheese, and also a bit of the truffled salt that Williams Sonoma sells. I purchased some there and have attempted to replicate. I’ve come close!
Def try out the 479 popcorn. It’s at the Bristol Farms in La Jolla for sure.
I have not yet tried the black truffle popcorn at Blue Ribbon but now I really want to. I’ve seen some restaurants offering popcorn but so far I haven’t had the truffle ones, only things like curry and thai chili. I love truffle fries, always order it at every place that offers it.
I was actually just thinking of making some truffle popcorn this weekend! I have some truffle cheese, truffle oil and a white truffle cream.
Belated Happy New Year, Kirbie! I’ll look for these goodies on my next grocery run. The coffee sounds so yummy..
I really love the coffee! I feel like it’s more like a treat with the chocolate added to it. It smells great and tastes great. I know I see Gevalia in stores but I haven’t checked for the chocolate flavor. I’ll be looking for it or ordering more online. I’m actually drinking a cup right now. hehee.