Forget the chips, forget the pretzels: Our favorite crunchy snack is Cheddies cheddar cheese crackers.

Cheddies were a serendipitous food find.

Last summer, we were at an enormous trade show—think the Disneyland of food, occupying an entire convention center.

After tasting samples of every type of food for four hours straight, we could not eat another bite. It was time to go home.

On the way out, someone handing out samples offered us a bag of Cheddies. We were food-bleary and too tired to refuse, so we dropped them into our tote bag and headed out.

The next day, as we sorted through the tote bag, we found the little bag of Cheddies and ate them. Delicious!

We headed to the website, and then to Amazon, where we used our Amazon Prime subscription to save on a shipment of six family-size bags.

And after re-ordering and enjoying bag after bag, we concluded: Cheddies are more than delicious. They are addictive.

There are four varieties:

 
The line is all natural, preservative-free and certified kosher. We promise you happy crunching.
 
 
BEYOND SNACKING

We also use Cheddies for/in/with:

[1] Cheddies are made in four flavors. White Cheddar is the classic (all photos © Cheddies).

[2] For portion control, we use a bowl—or we’d go through the whole 3.2-ounce package.

[3] You can taste the real cheddar.

The Cheddies line was created by two brothers in college, who weren’t thrilled with the snacks they bought from the store.
After surveying their peers, nearly all of them enjoyed snacking on cheese crackers.

So the brothers got to work, starting with whole block, all natural cheddar cheese as the main ingredient. You can taste the cheddar quality in each bite.
 
 
GET YOURS

[1] Finally, an easy way to make wide vegetable ribbons (both photos © Betty Bossi).

[2] Cannelloni made with vegetable “noodles.”

If you use a spiralizer to slice vegetables into pasta-like strands, here’s something new for you:

The Betty Bossi Veggie Sheet Slicer.

It lets you cut your vegetables and fruits into wafer thin sheets.

This specialty slicer helps you make healthy, colorful and creative meals.

Slice cylindrical or round fruits and vegetables into paper-thin sheets as long as you like (at least, until you use up the fruit or veg).

Consider:

Our products of the week are sweet ones: beverages from Almond Breeze, organic sugar from Dulcie and mochi from My/Mo.

As with all of our Products Of The Week, we consume them all, regularly.
 
 
1. ALMOND BREEZE ALMONDMILK MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE

Recently we reviewed the line of Almond Breeze Almondmilk nondairy milk drinks, which have become a favorite of ours.

When we feel like a milkshake, we pour ourselves some smooth, creamy Almondmilk Horchata or Almondmilk Blended With Real Bananas.

Now there’s something new in our fridge: limited-edition Almond Breeze Almondmilk Mexican Hot Chocolate.

It’s made with traditional Mexican hot chocolate ingredients like allspice, cayenne and cinnamon, and is delicious hot or cold.

Served hot or cold- This new beverage can be enjoyed multiple ways.

A dairy-free option for the holidays, the line is dairy- free, gluten- lactose- and soy-free. It is certified kosher-dairy by OU.

Another holiday-appropriate beverage, Almond Breeze Almondmilk Nog—egg nog without the eggs or dairy—is on the shelves now through January.

Discover more at BlueDiamond.com.
 
 
2. DULCIE ORGANIC CANE SUGAR

If you’re trying to eliminate refined foods from your diet, remember to include your sugar.

Dulcie is a new brand of organic, unrefined, whole cane sugar. It’s panela sugar, a type most people aren’t familiar with, which is extensively used in

An unbleached and unrefined sweetener made from sugar cane, it resembles brown sugar.

However, because it is unprocessed it contains more minerals than brown sugar, which is a refined product (unrefined sugar is called raw sugar).

Golden in color, it can be used in the same way as refined white sugar. In coffee or tea, it has a richer, rounder flavor (as opposed to a cloying flavor).

Panela is popular in Colombia. A variation called piloncillo is used in Mexico, and a variation called rapadura is made in Venezuela.

All of these are related to the jaggery of India and to the muscovado sugar of Barbados.

Dulcie retains all the natural vitamins and minerals found in the sugarcane plant, which are stripped during the refining process for white sugar.

Dulcie is handmade by artisans in Colombia, and goes plant-to-jar. Here’s how it’s made.

Dulcie is certified organic, kosher (by K M), non-GMO, gluten-free, plant based and vegan.

Try it in your favorite baked goods, on oatmeal, in coffee and tea, and anywhere you need some natural sweetness.

Dulcie is available at natural food stores, and online at Amazon.

Discover more at Dulcie.com.
 
 
3. MY/MO MOCHI ICE CREAM

“Chew Your Ice Cream” says My/Mo Mochi. If you’ve had mochi, you know what that means.

It not, it’s time to try them, especially with the limited edition seasonal flavors:

 
My/Mo Mochi Ice Cream is a two- or three-bite ball of ice cream that’s wrapped in chewy, pillowy mochi dough.

The dough is gluten-free, made from rice.

While it sounds like a dessert from Japan, it was actually invented in in 1993 in Los Angeles. Here’s the story.

Available in 12 year-round plus seasonal flavors, My/Mo Mochi gives snackers a fun way to enjoy ice cream in a handheld form—no dishes or spoons required.

The line is gluten free and rBST free, and certified kosher by OK.

Take a look at all the flavors.

Discover more at MyMoMochi.

[1] Dairy-free, spicy Mexican hot chocolate (photos #1 and #2 © Blue Diamond).

[2] Celebrate the holidays with dairy-free, egg-free “egg nog.”

[3] Organic, unrefined sugar tastes so much better (photos #3 and #4 © Dulcie).

[4] Fruit not sweet enough? Sprinkle it with Dulcie.

[5] Peppermint mochi for the holidays (photos #5 and #6 © My/Mochi Mochi Ice Cream).

[6] My/Mochi fall flavors: Apple Pie a la Mode and Pumpkin Spice

[1] Fright Night pizza (photos © DeLallo).

[2] Are you looking at me?

There’s no need to turn on the oven to make these Fright Night Pizzas. The personal-size rounds are pan-fried, then placed under the broiler to melt the cheese.

The pizza dough was made with the Italian Pizza Dough Kit from DeLallo.

You can use store-bought dough or make it from scratch with your own recipe.
 
 
RECIPE: HALLOWEEN PIZZA

Ingredients

 
Topping Ideas

Here are combinations to make the pizzas in the photos:

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the flour mix and yeast packet in a large mixing bowl with the lukewarm water. Stir with a fork until dough begins to form.

2. KNEAD by hand for 3 minutes, or until dough is soft and smooth. Transfer to a clean, lightly oiled bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. (After this step, you can refrigerate it for use within 1-3 days.) Once the dough has risen…

3. DIVIDE into 8 small equal pieces. Flatten into rounds by hand on a well-floured surface. Gently stretch.

5. FRY the dough. Pour enough oil into a deep frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 325°F. Once the oil is hot…

6. FRY the dough rounds until they are golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Fry in batches. Remove the cooked rounds with tongs or a slotted spoon. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet or cooling rack.

7. TOP the fried dough with toppings. Optional: Heat under broiler to warm the toppings and melt the cheese.

Then, bite the fright!

Enjoy your Aperol Spritz—or other colorful cocktail—in this fish-shaped stemware.

The shape is actually not the Japanese clownfish, the species of orange-and-white-striped hero of Finding Nemo.

Instead, it’s the infamous Japanese blowfish, or fugu.

If blowfish isn’t prepared properly, lethal amounts of the poison tetrodotoxin, which exists in its inner organs, will leak into the flesh—and kill you.

Thus, you can call your drink the Killer Cocktail.

Or you can go for the gentler name of Finding Nemo.
 
 
ABOUT THE GLASSES

The glasses hold 8.5 ounces and are made of borosilicate glass, a newer and superior formulation.

Borosilicate does not crack under extreme temperature changes as regular glass can. Its durability has made it the glass of choice for high-end restaurants and wineries.

Here’s more about it.

This glass-as-art (or is that art-as-glass?) doesn’t come cheap. At $74.16, it is pricey, to say the least.

It was designed by 100% Chef, which designs creative serveware for the restaurant and catering industries.

But for the right person, it’s a special gift.
 
 
>>> GET YOURS AT KOERNER-CO.COM. <<<
 
 
WANT SOME AFFORDABLE FOOD FUN?

Check out these 15 DIY glassware-decorating tutorials, showing beautiful designs you can make yourself.

And although they look like elegant artisan glassware, the article claims that “really pretty simple to make.”

[1] An Aperol Spritz in a “Finding Nemo” glass (both photos © John E. Koerner Company).

[2] Or, more accurately call it Brutus The Blowfish. Get yours here.