Wegmans Organic Fruit Punch

A couple weeks ago, I visited the Columbia, Maryland Wegmans. I checked the coupons they send me in the mail and, I found 1 for that week that would get me a free 8 pack of Wegmans Organic Fruit Punch if I spent $10. I decided to try it. Their 8 pack has 8 6.76 ounce tetra pack containers. The fruit punch is 50% fruit juice and each container has 50 calories of punch. The punch is lactose free, gluten free and meets the requirements for vegetarians. Thanks to their small size, you could easily pack one of these in a lunch box and, they don't have to be refrigerated until they're opened. Also, they have a good shelf life - approximately 6 months. Price wise, I think they were priced around $2.50 though I'm not certain on that.

Taste wise, the punch didn't taste that fruity. I did think I could taste some of the juice but, I wasn't impressed with the drink overall. I've had better fruit punch. Also, I didn't like their small size. 6.76 ounces isn't a whole lot stuff to drink. Kids might like their small size but, I don't think an adult would. I did like the tetra pack thing as this makes them handy on a trip since you don't need refrigeration. Still overall, I wouldn't recommend this product. I wasn't impressed with it.

The Mark of Athena Review

Rick Riordan's "The Mark of Athena" book was released on October 2nd. The The book is the 3rd in a 5 book series called The Heroes of Olympus. The book features 7 demigods: Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel, Leo, Annabeth and Percy. Percy and Annabeth would be familiar to readers of Riordan's books as they were featured in his Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Each of the demigods are the children of different Roman and Greek gods. 3 of them are from the Roman gods and 4 are from the Greek gods. The Roman and Greek gods were actually the same. The only difference was the Romans changed the Greek gods to reflect their thinking which was different from the Greek way of thinking. Example: The Greek god Poseidon became the Roman god Neptune. While the Romans respected Neptune, he was never as prominent in Roman civilization as he was in Greek civilization because the Roman's weren't a great seafaring people like the Greeks were. Rome was predominantly a land power.

Anyway, in The Mark of Athena, the 7 demigods come together for the first time and set off for Rome (and will ultimately head to Greece) in order to defeat the giants and the earth Goddess Gaea. Riordan throws in all kinds of surprises along the way including possessing spirits, treacherous old gods, evil nymphs and a battle with the twin giants Ephialtes and Otis as well as bits of information and dreams our heroes must figure out in order to prevail. Also, they must deal with their own inner doubts as well as their relationships with their other demigods. It makes for an an interesting tale.

Riordan does a great job of moving the story along. It never gets dull or tedious. He finds a good balance between the different demigods so, we can see what each of them are going through and thinking. One concern I've heard is that there is apparently a rumor that one of the demigods dies in the book. This doesn't happen. I do think it'll probably happen later in the series. The reason I say that is because I believe Riordan hints at it in the Son of Neptune book. Also, we learn in The Mark of Athena that the Doors of Death must be closed on both sides i.e. someone is going to have to stay on the side that is in Tartarus to close them on that side and be trapped there with all of Gaea's monster minions. We don't find out who that'll be in The Mark of Athena as our heroes at the end of the book finish their adventures in Rome in a great climactic finish and head to Greece where they'll struggle to close the Doors of Death in the 4th book of the series The House of Hades which is due out the Fall of 2013 (sigh).

Overall, the book is another outstanding read by Riordan. It moves really well. It has lots of unexpected twists and turns certain to keep the interest of his readers while occasionally showing some of Riordan's great sense of humor (I bet Coach Hedge had fun digging the coconuts out of the Argo II's hull.). I would highly recommend this book to any fans of the previous books in the series or of the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series. My only complaint is I'll have to wait a YEAR till they come out with the 4th book. I'll be wondering how will Percy and Annabeth make it to the Doors of Death on the Tartarus side past all of Gaea's monster minions. What new weapons will Leo come up with now that he has the Archimedes sphere. How will our heroes close the Doors of Death and prevent the Roman and Greek camps of demigods from fighting each other while preventing Gaea from awakening. They have just 1 month to accomplish all of this in the next 2 books. It guarantees lots of action with plenty of surprises thrown in by Riordan. Happy reading all!

Wegmans Rotisserie Roasted Chicken

Recently, while visiting the Columbia, Maryland Wegmans store, I decided to try their rotisserie roasted chickens. They were advertising them for $4.99 which seemed a good price. One thing I discovered while looking them over is Wegmans offers their chickens in 5 different flavors - plain, barbecue, lemon pepper, roasted garlic and Caribbean lime. As I like Caribbean stuff (see my recent review on Jamaican style spicy beef patties), I decided to try their Caribbean lime. I found it was a nice flavor and, the chicken was nicely cooked. The meat was tender and, the chicken was reasonably packed in its container. The only drawbacks I saw is you are paying a slightly higher price for the different flavors and, you don't get as much chicken for your money. Sam's Club recently lowered the price on their 3 pound roasted chickens to $4.88 (this was the price at the Laurel, Maryland Sam's Club on October 17th, 2012) which makes them slightly cheaper and, Wegmans roasted chickens weigh in at 2 pounds 2 ounces so you don't get as much chicken for your money as you do at Sam's Club. Still, it is nice to be able to choose among the different flavors. I look forward to trying their barbecue and lemon pepper flavors. If you want to try something a little different chicken wise, you might want to try Wegmans rotisserie roasted chickens. You'll find them in the prepared foods section of the store. Bon Appetit!

Update January 11, 2015: Sam's Club roasted chicken's at the Laurel, Maryland store are $4,98 now. Today, I bought one and, that is how I know the current (as of this update) price. They are still 3 pounds.

Jamaican Style Spicy Beef Patties

One food item I've bought a number of times at Sam's Club is Caribbean Food Delights Jamaican Style Spicy Beef Patties. To folks in the U.S., a pattie is a hamburger. These patties aren't hamburgers. These are basically Jamaican style beef turnovers. They're spiced beef stuffed in a corn meal type shell. Caribbean Food Delights fully bakes the turnovers so all the consumer has to do is heat them up and serve them. I have a 1300 watt microwave and, I can heat 2 of the turnovers at the same time in 2 and 1/2 minutes. I don't know how authentic the turnovers are but, they are tasty and convenient. Concerning the spices that are used in the turnovers, I personally haven't found them that hot. They're definitely not on par with Mexican food I've had. The only drawback I see with the turnovers is you must keep them frozen until you're ready to heat them up. Price wise, a box of 10 individually wrapped turnovers will cost you $10.99 (price quoted is good as of the time of this post for the Laurel, Maryland Sam's Club).

Overall, I'd definitely recommend this product. They're easy to prepare, not exorbitantly expensive and keep to keep as long as you have a freezer of some time. If you like Caribbean food, you might want to try this product. Bon Appetit!