Since it’s the start of a new semester and I’m always looking for new food to eat, I decided to try a few grocery items new to Charles Street Market (and my tummy!). I have a few that I recommend trying:
1. Siete Grain Free Nacho-Flavored Tortilla Chips
The Siete brand is a pretty cool addition Char Mar has added this semester, since they are grain-free and usually only found at upscale grocery markets like Whole Foods. They have lime and nacho flavors; usually I don’t go for flavored tortilla chips, but I didn’t have another option. They definitely surprised me; the chips are nowhere close to the Dorito-level of Nacho, and is rather more tasteful and doesn’t overwhelm you. You can definitely eat these with guacamole and have a great time. The texture is pretty similar to that of a normal tortilla chip, maybe a little tougher (like it’s a little stale) but pleasant. It also tastes pretty similar to a tortilla chip but it doesn’t really have the corn flavor. Overall, I think eating the chip if it didn’t have any flavoring would make it bland, but the Nacho flavoring gave it life and was pretty similar to eating a normal chip. Check these out even if you aren’t paleo or have other grain restrictions in your diet!
2. Vigilant Eats Coconut Maple Vanilla Superfood Cereal
Char Mar provided a decent selection of instant oatmeal cups last year, but this fall there are a few new brands on the shelves. The Vigilant Eats brand is pretty cool. It has a lot of fun flavors while also being organic, gluten-free, kosher, non-gmo, and vegan. I went with coconut maple vanilla, since it had dried coconut flakes in it. The oatmeal itself was super easy to prepare, and it even came with a disposable spoon inside. One thing I would note is that it doesn’t say how much of your choice of liquid should be put in the cup, so you have to test it a little. Otherwise I would highly recommend this item, it was very tasty (not too sweet) and gave me a lot more energy throughout the day than a standard cup of oatmeal. I put in hot water, but I’m sure this would taste great with a non-dairy milk or just regular water.
3. Calpico Original Flavor Soft Drink
Interestingly, this Japanese soda is milk-based. After doing some research, I figured out that Calpico is made by fermenting skim milk and adding sugar. This information kind of turned me off, but I knew it was a popular drink so I gave it a shot. I can say it’s honestly pretty good, like a less intense Sprite that’s gone flat. I know that it sounds kind of gross, but I promise it’s not bad. The only milky thing about it is that it’s a cloudy white liquid (there’s no milky taste to it at all). You also don’t have to keep it refrigerated, like any other soda. I would recommend trying this drink if you are a soda fan (like myself), but the lack of carbonation is a little weird. Nonetheless, I am excited to try the other, fruiter flavors they have in Char Mar. I think those might be a safer route for people less adventurous, since drinking familiar flavors like strawberry may make Calpico more palatable.
4. Pepero Original Cookies
These are basically discount Pocky. I would say that they are pretty similar, the cookies are just sticks mostly dipped in chocolate. It may be a little stale too. I probably couldn’t tell the difference between these and Pocky, unfortunately I didn’t eat Pocky right after tasting these for a more accurate comparison but they do have the real deal in Char Mar (which I have already tried before). In my opinion, I would just buy these instead of Pocky if you’re trying to save money, since I’m pretty sure these are cheaper in Char Mar. But if you haven’t had any form of this cookie before, definitely check out the not fake Pocky.