Archer Farms Non-Dairy Peanut Butter & Chocolate Frozen Dessert

"Best non dairy ice cream hands down." "Better than Ben & Jerry's." "Amazing." "The best vegan ice cream by far."

These are the kinds of things I've been hearing about these not-so-new-anymore non-dairy ice creams from Archer Farms...on social media, in reviews, and by word of mouth. To tell you the truth, I don't think I've heard a single negative thing about them. And I've been trying to procure a pint for quite while now, but we've either not been anywhere close to a Target during our travels, or the Target stores nearest to us were sold out of the products in question. After months of anticipation, I FINALLY found some at a Target store only 15 minutes away from our campground near Rapid City, SD. All that to say...my hopes were exceedingly high going into this.

That's never a good thing—to have any expectations, let alone lofty ones that can never be met in real life.

Now don't get me wrong, this product isn't bad by any means. And I will be seeking out all of the other AF non-dairy flavors to review them individually. But as a non-vegan, I don't think this particular flavor works as well with almond milk as it does with dairy milk. The base of the ice cream here is significantly thinner than that of traditional ice cream. A bad thing? No, not necessarily. I just think both peanut butter and chocolate lend themselves to dairy milk, personally.

Note: this was the only flavor left at the Target I visited. Not a single pint of ANY of the other non-dairy flavors were left. Based on what I know now, I really think this almond milk base might lend itself to vanilla bean or vanilla cake and cookie dough a little better than something as rich as peanut butter and chocolate.

Again, I'm NOT hating here. This is some very good ice cream...er, sorry: frozen dessert. As far as this sort of thing goes, it doesn't get a whole lot better, although I would never declare this better than B&J's vegan offerings...not this flavor, anyway. We've even seen non-dairy ice cream from Trader Joe's that I'd prefer over this particular product.

Would I buy this flavor again? Sure, if it's the only one on the shelves again. But I'm gonna make every effort to try those other offerings before I come back to this one. $3.59 for the pint.

I give this flavor 7 out of 10 stars.

Simply Balanced Organic Vanilla Bean Granola

Kind. Quaker. Nature Valley. Bear Naked. Even Archer Farms. There are a lot of granola brands out there these days. So what sets this one apart from the pack, other than Target's "Simply Balanced" moniker?

Not much. The ingredients here are mostly organic, which can't hurt. But flavor-wise, there's not really anything to set this above and beyond the myriad choices of vanilla-flavored granola gracing the shelves of Target and every other department and grocery store in America.

In a blind taste test, I doubt I could tell this apart from any Archer Farms brand selection from the very same shelf at Target. If anything, I think I might prefer the AF flavors I've had. But again, that certified organic label counts for something.

My wife's preferred granola has been Bear Naked for a while. That particular brand, too, was available on the very same shelf as this product at the last Target we visited. Although it's non-GMO, Bear Naked's version isn't necessarily certified organic.

The wife definitely prefers the taste of Bear Naked to this product for reasons she can't quite put her finger on. At first she said there might be an aftertaste here, but immediately took that assertion back. Then she said there might be a hint of something chemical-tasting in here. Odd, considering there are only a few non-organic ingredients. Perhaps it's the "mixed tocopherols"? Who knows?

Personally, I just taste another random vanilla-esque granola product. They tell me it's organic, so I believe them. I won't score it much higher or lower than any other vanilla granola we've looked at here or anywhere else.

While Bear Naked might collectively get 8 stars from the wifey and me, this product will score just slightly lower.

I give this granola 7 out of 10 stars.