Archer Farms Pumpkin Spice Instant Oatmeal

Other than the extremely unique pumpkin salsa, we've had a difficult time finding pumpkin products and other seasonal treats at our two local Target stores. This is only the second one we've discovered. And trust me, we've been looking. Just check out the dozens of pumpkin reviews we've done on What's Good at Trader Joe's?

This product isn't particularly complicated. There are no bits of pumpkin or chunks of pumpkintacular spiciness floating throughout the product. It looks just like regular oatmeal.

And it only tastes slightly more pumpkinny than it looks. There's just a hint of pumpkin and very little, if anything, in the way of traditional pumpkin spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, or allspice.

On one hand, that could afford someone a golden opportunity to add his own spices and tailor the flavor to his own taste buds, but on the other hand, lazy dudes who can't cook like me would like some "expert" to add the spices in for me in logical proportions before I even open the box. Lo and behold, the ingredients list doesn't mention any spices. I just think that's weird not to throw in a little cinnamon at least.

But on the plus side, there aren't many ingredients at all, and that means it's good-ish for me, right? Also, it's sufficiently sweet to make it palatable, regardless of its low pumpkinosity levels. Furthermore the sweetness comes from "sugar," not from HFCS or weird chemicals. And the texture is, well, you all know what the texture of oatmeal is like. The box adds these words of wisdom: "For thicker oatmeal, add less water OR more water for thinner oatmeal."

Well, duh!

I give this product 6 out of 10 stars.

Simply Balanced Sparkling Cranberry Cherry Juice Beverage

A short while back, I looked at the Grapefruit Juice equivalent of this stuff. In my opinion, it's pretty amazing.

This cranberry version isn't too far behind. It stands to reason that if you prefer cranberry juice over grapefruit juice like my wife does, you'll actually like this one a little better. I, however, prefer grapefruit juice. Furthermore, I think the aforementioned Grapefruit Juice Beverage approximates an actual citrus soda more than this drink approximates any previously-established beverage.

That is to say: it is its own thing...and that's not a bad thing. But if I had to compare it to something I've tried before, I'd say it's similar to Cranberry Ginger Ale, but like its citrusy sibling, the thing that really makes it stand out is that there's absolutely no high-fructose corn syrup. In fact, these drinks are only sweetened with fruit juice.

And don't think it tastes exactly like cranberry juice either. It's much sweeter than that, thanks to the white grape juice and apple juice. And of course, it's carbonated like a soda.

I've now tried 3 out the 4 flavors I saw available at my Target. They're all highly-drinkable, but this is my second-favorite one so far.

I give this product 8 out of 10 stars.