Favorite Day Sweet & Salty Nut Topping

Peanuts, cashews, and almonds. I love each of them separately, and I love all three together in one bag. They're salted and sweetened slightly, so that makes them even better.

I wouldn't say any one nut dominates the combo, flavor-wise. It tastes like all three at once, and at the same time, it doesn't really taste like any existing nut. It's just a generic nuttiness, you know. It's super nutty, but the flavor is not distinctly peanut plus cashew plus almond.

Also the nut bits are very tiny, so they don't look or feel like any of the three constituent nuts. They're great for topping a bowl of ice cream or yogurt. I'd even add them to oatmeal or certain types of cereal. 

It's also good for turning creamy peanut butter into chunky peanut butter, in case you live in a house divided over the whole chunky/creamy peanut butter debate. You can just let those creamy weirdos have their way and simply add a topping of these nut bits when you make your PBJ's.

And of course you can eat the stuff straight from the bag, but I prefer whole nuts to these tiny little chunklets. You really need a big handful to make a single satisfying bite, and their diminutive size means they get stuck in between teeth easily.

$1.79 for the bag. I'd buy 'em again.

I give this topping 7.5 out of 10 stars.

Good & Gather Organic Apple Cinnamon Instant Oatmeal

Let's face it: oatmeal has never been the sexiest food in the world, but because of its convenience, affordability, and nutritional value, it's still a part of most people's diets. It doesn't take much to make it palatable: some milk, a sweetener, and maybe some mix-ins of some kind, and you're in business.

Now if you've got instant oatmeal and the manufacturer has already made the mix tasty for you, then that's even better. And that's exactly what we have here. There's your usual whole grain goodness, plenty of apple cinnamon flavor with little bits of real apple, and the sweetness level is just about perfect, too. Just add water or milk.

Of course I add milk. It makes it much thicker and richer. About two minutes in the microwave, and presto: quick, easy breakfast. $2.99 for eight packets. 

How many other products are out there that will provide eight meals for three bucks? Not many. Not these days. Of course the milk is a little extra, but if I had to use water, I could live with it. I've had a lot of flavors of instant oatmeal in my day, and these are probably toward the top for a lot of reasons: taste, value, convenience. Would purchase again.

You ever met one of those people that refers to oatmeal as "hot cereal"? What's up with that?

I give this oatmeal 8 out of 10 stars.