Product review: Marshmalow (zefir) "Charmelle" Apple Taste / groceries home delivery

This box is described as 255 grams but does not state how individual Zefirs are inside.  Turns out there are six. When I purchased it, this box cost was $4.59 which means the cost of each candy is 77 cents. The price on RussianTable.com is better then the price on Amazon even if you take into account the shipping cost (which are $15.75 for two-day shipping from New York to New England). I ordered in April 2020 and the expiration date on the box was July 2020. Pretty reasonable, and Zefirs tasted fresh.

These Zefirs are described as Apple flavored, they do not have the standard apple zefir taste and they are pink rather than white. Never the less, the taste is pretty nice and I liked them. 

I fell in love with while visiting Russia.  I was introduced to zefir by Russian friends on my trips to Moscow.  Russian zefir can only be described as an American marshmallow as an approximation.  Zefir is made by whipping fruit and berry purée (apple puree or strawberry puree) with sugar and egg whites. It is less chewy than a marshmallow and has a lot more flavor, not just sugar.

Ali Julia review

Product review: Simply Asia, Noodle Bowl, Roasted Peanut, 8.5 oz / home grocery delivery during COVID-19

This box of New Asia moodles only has noodles and peanut sauce.  Even though the picture on the box shows shrimp the content has no add-ins, if you want them you need to buy them separately.

The bowl is 480 calories.  To prepare it you need to open four packages(noodles, sauce, peanuts, herbs), add two tablespoons of water, and mix.  The overall flavor is not as good as I expected, but edible. It is not overall salty, not too sweet, not too spicy.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Whole Food bananas / Whole foods grocery home delivery during COVID-19

I ordered bananas as part of a home delivery order (i.e. unseen and not personally selected) and they were perfect.  Not too ripe, no too green, tasted great.  This was my first home delivery and it went very smoothly.

You can find bananas on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Renpure Biotin and Collagen Shampoo

This is a giant 32 oz of shampoo, I thought it was a really good deal. This is my first-time purchase so other then the good price I did not know what to expect.

The good:

* It smells great, to me it was some botanical scent, not flowery, not coconut, light and pleasant.

* Very sudsy, feels great when I use it.

* Tightly closed, no spillage during shipping (see related issue under The bad)

The bad:

* Strengthening hair is slow-acting, after 2 weeks of usage I do not see significant difference looking at the drain.

* It is very hard to open. Thanks to that nothing spilled during shipping, but I had to use plyers to open the bottle.


How to open:

The cap of the bottle has three parts.  The bottom part that is screwed on to the bottle, a thin ring, and a pump. To make the pump work it needs to pop up. To make it pop up you need to hold the thin ring steady and turn the pump counter-clockwise while pushing down. It took me a good number of tries to get it open, what finally worked was holding the ring with the thin-nose plyers.  See my video for additional illustrations for opening the bottle.

Ali Julia review

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Whole Food Native Forest Organic Classic Coconut Milk Can / Whole foods grocery home delivery during COVID-19

This is my first purchase of Native Forest Coconut Milk as part of home delivery from Whole Foods.  It tasted good and the curry I made using it was excellent.

This can was part of my first on-line delivery from Whole Foods, and the ordering and delivery worked well.  6 of the 12 items were out due to COVID-19 and I got texts with substitutions, which I could accept or reject.  The delivery occurred within a promised two-hour period, with the substitution messages happening one hour before.  WholeFoods, of course, is not a bargain. The price of the items and the delivery tip did make it pretty expensive. However, in the current situation, it is a very helpful option to have.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Genuine Instant Pot Silicone Cover Lid for 6 Quart

I got this Instant Pot silicone cover for 6 quarts Instant Pot, so I can store the inner pot in the refrigerator without transferring the content to another container after cooking.  There were several cheaper options that were not made by Instant Pot but I went with a slightly higher priced option to ensure a perfect fit. I am very satisfied. Instant Pot cover is made out of heavy-duty silicone, it is thick and the fit is perfect is closes with a satisfying click.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product reiview: Progresso Traditional Soup, Split Pea with Ham

Split pea soup from Progresso has a nice flavor with small pieces of ham that add a noticeable flavor.  The thickness of the soup was satisfying. Overall, I thought it was one of the Progresso's better soups.  The can has two servings, and each serving is 130 calories.  I also like the easy to open top.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆