New Orleans Famous Praline Company: Classic Pralines #Review #PralineInLove

We have always loved anything that is “New Orleans” related from the food to the decor, we have enjoyed it. There is a reason why New Orleans Square at Disneyland was our favorite place to hang out when we had the park’s passports. I make everything at home trying to mimic and bring back that piece of memory from making Beignets, Gumbo, to even Red Beans and Rice with Andouille at home. Most things I can make and hit the mark but the one thing I can’t imitate, is those pralines! You can imagine my excitement when I had the opportunity to review them.

The New Orleans Famous Praline Company has been sharing their delicious clusters with us since 1996. Calling them a candy is just too simple. Candy to me is a piece of gum drop, to a sour patch straw. It’s just not enough of a justifiable name to what really is a treat all of it’s own. This is a delicacy that you make it right or wrong, no middle ground here. The N.O.F.P Company (as I call them), offers you 3 different types of Pralines to choose from:

• The Original “Classic” Praline
• The Creamy Praline and
• The Chocolate Praline

Three things done right means you can get away with a short selection but do not discount them!

Verdict:

I received the box and let me tell you when I opened it, it smelled like the store at Disneyland. That store that stocks all the items you can’t find anywhere that originate from New Orleans. My goodness, did I spend my pay check at that store! It was such a joyful scent of sweetness and butter, with a hint of nuts. New Orleans Famous Praline Company packs a gorgeous little box that even serves as a souvenir itself because it’s that adorable. The box’s image is a drawing of a the shoreline. You see the city and the ships, plus the colors give it that vintage feel; very much like the century old recipe the company uses to produce these beauties. The company only uses real quality ingredients that is why these differ from the rest. Each praline is lovingly sealed in it’s own wrapper, so you have guaranteed freshness and let me get started on how they taste. You have the pecans that are chopped into pieces and floating in a buttery and sugary filling that almost resembles the inside of a pecan pie. The confection is crumbly but not dry or hard, it literally melts in your mouth. Not grainy at all but smooth and it has that classical cluster texture where it’s creamy but not gooey. Just perfectly blended and the proper thickness too. Enjoyable to the last bite and I first devoured this praline as is, but then crumbled some on ice cream (Southern Pecan of course) and it just made that bowl of ice cream pure happiness! These are a must and especially from a company that takes care and pride in what they produce. I hope in the future to taste their other creations, the creamy and the chocolate pralines!

Connect with New Orleans Famous Praline Company at:

• Online
• Amazon
• Facebook
• Google+
• YouTube

 

I received the above product(s) free of charge from New Orleans Famous Praline Company. I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion. My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

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Red Vines: Fruit Vines Bites in Cherry #SweetSide #FrostyVoxBox

As part of my Frosty Vox Box via Influenster, they included the new Fruit Vine’s Bites in cherry flavor. Why fight a licorice straw when you can just munch away one bite at a time? Keeps your hands free while you snack! I’m a huge licorice fan and liked the bite size twist, however I noticed the flavor was lacking. The fruit was not intense in taste and especially from a product called Fruit Vines. Once I turned the package over and read the ingredients, I noticed there is no fruit. Not even a percentage that is low in cherry just none but artificial flavors and the kind of things that I dislike, like artificial colors and sugars galore. I so wanted to love this sweet treat but when I see cherry…….I sort of expect even 1% to be there!

Retail Price Point: $1.28 to $1.79, prices vary by package size

Connect with Fruit Vines Bites at:

• On-line 
• Facebook
• Twitter
• #SweetSide
• #FrostyVoxBox

I received the above product(s) free of charge from Influenster and Fruit Vines Bites. I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion. My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

Betty Lou’s Organic Angell candy bar made with Dark Chocolate, rich cocoa and almond center

I always love to find an organic alternative and especially when it comes to candies and/or chocolates. So many chocolates are so sugary and sweet that the last thing you can actually taste is the chocolate itself.

Betty Lou’s was running a nice little promotion via Facebook where if you entered your information, they would send you an item for free in exchange for a review. It’s chocolate so I was game!

Soon after a candy bar arrives via mail and with California’s hot weather, I was worried it wouldn’t be intact but miraculously it was. I see it says dark chocolate that it has a rich cocoa and almond center, so I’m thinking it’s like a truffle bar and just richly filled with goodness. Being that it was early in the day and I’m an advocate that chocolate is good at anytime, I figured I wait and split the bar with my Husband later in the evening.

We have dinner and we are a “sweets family”, so we always end our meals with a small treat. I take out Betty Lou’s Angell bar and split it in half. I noticed the center of the bar, which stated was rich in cocoa and almond…..is not really visible to the eye and the nut pieces are spread throughout the bar. No matter, I take a bite.

Hmmmm……I don’t taste a rich dark chocolate outer layer or a rich center of cocoa at all and especially with it listing 72% on the packaging. My mouth fills with grit textured pieces that when I can focus on catching one, I decide to check-it out because I don’t taste almond. I also have not chewed sufficiently for the product to be this minced. Sometimes chocolate is not tempered right and maybe this why there is no center, maybe it got lost through out the bar versus staying where it should. I notice what I see is not what it should be, almond. It’s texture is to mush-like and flexible to be a hard nut that resembles almond so I do what I should have done before, check the label with the list of ingredients.

The label starts with organic chocolate, cocoa butter, organic soy lecithin, organic tapioca syrup, followed by organic almonds and then the culprit……organic gluten-free OATS! Okay, it may be organic in nature but a filler even though it’s not positioned in the center of the bar, is a filler nonetheless. That grit that does not taste like a nut are minced up oats. Not what I expected and even if I get past the unfavorable texture, the flavor is not desirable. The chocolate’s intensity is just not present and after my first bite, I jumped ship and in my chocolate world, this is a rare action in my part. My Husband who is a severe chocoholic than I am, finished his 1/4 piece but said, “I’m not finishing it……something is really off”.

I wanted to love Betty Lou and her chocolate because we are so limited in selections at the market, which then means I have to drive over to Sprout’s or Trader Joe’s to find a good quality product through and through. I am for organic products but origin is one thing that should not alter taste. Most time organic products have delivered incredible results and especially if you get Fair Trade labeled products. I don’t like blogging with the intent to share something negative about a brand and product. This is the only Betty Lou product I have tasted and unfortunately it just was not a favorable experience. I saw they carry an array of goods from even powdered peanut butter, a product that I have been super curious about and I hope to taste and flip this review from a 😦 to a :).

• You can visit Betty Lou’s Inc at- http://bettylousinc.com/
• Via Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/Bettylousinc
• Twitter- https://twitter.com/bettylousinc
• Pinterest too- http://pinterest.com/bettylousinc/

 

The above product was sent free of charge from Betty Lou. I am not obligated in providing a favorable/positive review, just my honest opinion. My review is based on my experience with the product, which may differ from yours.

Swaggable: YumEarth Naturals Sour Beans

Being a Swaggable member, my newest item to review was the YumEarth Naturals Sour Beans. The company advertises these little guys as the Jelly Bean with Attitude. Made with real fruit juice and is a gluten free product. This Jelly Bean packs 100% of your daily Vitamin C but is also fat free….who doesn’t want that when it comes to candy?

I have always loved Jelly Beans but I am an addict of the sour stuff, from the ropes, candies, to just dipping my finger in a sour powdered mess, I shall have it! Being such an addict, I was overjoyed when I was picked to try these. I love how they look and being that it was just in time for Easter, they looked like mini Easter eggs for me and they just got me into the whole “Welcoming Spring Feeling!” These little buddies have no artificial dyes and if your little ones (or your big self) have allergies, they are also Soy-Free, Peanut-Free, and Tree Nut-Free. No MSG and I really so not want to know why someone would poison a little Jelly Bean with such things, but I know they do!

The Taste Test:

I started off with the intent to share. I poured part of the bag onto a plate and then had a pink colored jelly bean and my husband did too. He liked them and I had a second one but I must admit the rest is a fog. I will speed up to the ending and it pretty much was me asking if he wanted the last Jelly Bean and he thought I meant the one on the plate and not the last…LAST Jelly bean. I gulped them and I’m not a midday snacker. They were the perfect sweetness and that tartness just smacks your taste buds but in a good way. I then with fear turned the package over because I feared that this fog of goodness was going to end but to my surprise, one pouch that is 7 ounces is a mere 69 calories. I now did not feel bad at all for having them……well I still feel bad I gobbled them up but let’s say the guilt was lifted .

I have been a fan of YumEarth from the Pomegranate hard candies, lolly pops to now these cuties called Sour Beans. I have purchased them at Sprout’s but also Amazon carries a great selection at good prices. I love that they make the simple stuff the good way, so you can smile while you eat because their products not only taste great but they do not punish you for rewarding yourself. You can check them out at http://www.sourbeans.com and I highly recommend you pick up anything from YumEarth because you will not regret it. Have a smile with me because I am so picking up a bag of these Sour Jelly Beans but I promise to share….promise!

I was provided the product above free of charge from Swaggable.  I am not obligated in providing a positive/favorable review, just my honest opinion.  My opinion is based on my experiences with the product that may differ from yours.