O Canada! -- Maple Leaf Cream Cookies

The list of Canadian things that are amazing is relatively lengthy. There's universal healthcare, hockey, hard rock power trios, Tim Horton's and Dudley Do-Right, just to name a few. Which reminds me - if you live in or travel to Chicago, stop by Do-Rite Donuts - although they aren't Canadian, they're amazing too. Anyway, another amazing thing is maple syrup. It's delicious. I mean, where would the humble pancake be without it? This week I saw maple cookies at the local ALDI and decided to give them a try. Ladies and Gentlemen, hang on to your tuques, I give you - Benton's Best Maple Leaf Cream Cookies!

*Dipping Syrup Not Included

Simply Nature Week Finale - Uncured Pepperoni Thin & Crispy Pizza

I love pizza and not being able to find that Simply Nature pepperoni pizza earlier this week was nagging at my soul. When I went back yesterday to restock the Lady's supply of banana bars, I rooted around a little and found it! So doctor's warnings be damned, today I give you - Simply Nature Uncured Pepperoni Thin & Crispy Pizza!

Busted!

I'm not sure why I had such trouble finding this thing. It was sitting in the frozen section right up front along with it's cousin, Simply Nature Cheese Thin & Crispy Pizza. Both varieties are $3.49 which is only $1.50 less than a Little Caesars Hot and Ready. Hey, can we take a minute to discuss a non-ALDI food topic? Isn't it amazing that we live in a day and age when you can simply walk into a pizza joint and walk out with a pizza for 5 bucks? I mean it's no Antico (BTW -if you haven't been to Antico, you should go right now. This post will be here when you get back.) but it's not $20 either. I kind of feel bad for the poor LC franchisee when I buy one. I mean, how much could they possibly be making on a $5 large pizza? Oh, well here's the answer. That doesn't seem too bad. P.S. I love you internet.

Simply Nature Week - Garden Salsa Brown Rice Crisps

I'm sleepy. Here's the low down on Simply Nature's Garden Salsa Brown Rice Crisps. Crushed up, Wendy's would put these chips on their "Asian-style" salad, calling them "crispy Asian noodles."

Simply Nature Week - Creamy Banana Fruit Bars

Before I talk about how flipping amazing these popsicles are, I just want to apologize in advance for the lackluster-ness of this review. Please don't let that diminish how much I loved these, but I just got home after a quick trip to Jekyll Island and back for work. That's about 5 hours each way and I am not a happy traveler. (Also, I took a muscle relaxer about 30 minutes ago so I'm sort of under the gun to get this review finished before my brain shuts off.)

BANANA POPSICLES!!

Simply Nature Week - Steel Cut Oatmeal

Hey there, I missed you all. Hope you had a wonderful holiday season. I haven't posted anything in a long, long time. Kudos to the Lady for keeping this thing rolling while I recovered from the Piepocalypse. New Years resolution: post more. Anyway, keeping with this weeks theme, I needed to pick a Simply Nature product. I was going to try the uncured pepperoni pizza but luckily for my cholesterol levels, I couldn't find it in our local ALDI and since the Lady was out in the car waiting, I grabbed Steel Cut Oatmeal in a panic. Eh, I needed something to take to work for breakfast and I do like steel cut oatmeal so in my inaugural 2013 post I give you...Simply Nature Steel Cut Oatmeal!

Is it Nature? Simply.

First a disclaimer - as we probably all know, ALDI and Trader Joe's are somehow related. I think the same multinational conglomerate owns them. I've tried the same product from Trader Joe's and I didn't like it. It was lacking the thing I like most about steel cut oats - the kind of hard toothie snap you get when you bite into a spoonful. In short, it was like rolled oats - mushy. So to begin with, I was a little bit skeptical but this is what happens when you panic purchase.