91. Coles Christmas Sweets

Here is your text optimized and cleanly formatted for copying and pasting directly into Spotify for Podcasters (or any standard podcast hosting platform):Lauren returns from a sweltering trip to Barcelona to reunite with Aaron and Brendan for a deep dive into international snacking. In this episode, the trio debates the psychology of travel snacks—do you eat more to experience new flavours, or less because you’re preoccupied with "fancy" main meals?ON THE TASTING TABLE:• Ruffles Sabor Jamón: Thick, crinkle-cut chips featuring a salty, cured Spanish ham flavour.• Riskettos: A Spanish cheese snack similar to Twisties, but with a sweeter profile and iconic packaging featuring characters in sunglasses.• Palmiers (Palm Trees): Known as "pig’s ears" or "butterfly biscuits," these bite-sized, sugary pastries were the episode's standout, earning a high 8.5 rating.INTERNATIONAL SNACK CHAT & FOOD CULTURE: The conversation travels from the "real fruit" textures of Japanese gummies and Royce ganache chocolate to the nostalgia of the Rolo ice cream stick. Lauren also shares her local insights into Barcelona’s food scene, including the syrupy sweet bread known as "Coca" and why Crema Catalana beats crème brûlée.TRAVEL HACKS & LOCAL GEMS:• Discover a genius chip-packing hack to save room in your backpack without your snacks going stale.• A discussion on Melbourne’s "fancy" IGAs, the legendary vanilla slices at La Manna in Essendon Fields, and the "luxurious" vibes of Leo's Fine Food.Produced by: Lauren, Aaron, and BrendanFollow us on Instagram: @thesnackpackpodSubscribe to The Snack Pack Pod for more snack reviews and travel tales!

Join Brendan, Aaron, and Lauren for our final festive episode as we rate Coles' Christmas chocolate blocks using "Elves on Shelves" and "Christmas Puddings." From debating "wet" trifles to Aaron’s chaotic lasagna technique, we’re covering everything you need to survive the holiday season!Find us on instagram @thesnackpackpod

Join Aaron, Lauren, and Brendan as they dive head-first into the middle aisle of Aldi for a festive holiday snack raid!In this special episode, the hosts taste-test seasonal treats, including the "extremely sweet" Deluxe Speculoos Bomb, the boozy Jamaican Rum Tarts (1.8% alcohol), the deeply divisive Iced Christmas Cake, and very alcoholic Cherry Liqueurs.Beyond the snacks, the conversation spirals into classic Aldi culture, covering the competitive dash for cast iron cookware dupes and debates over the "holy trinity" of HSP sauces. They also lament the rise of pointless birthday vouchers and discuss the highly competitive addiction of snagging discounted club cakes on the "Too Good To Go" app. Finally, a showdown erupts: Is sherbet "disgusting" or merely misunderstood?Tune in as the hosts rate every treat using their special festive metrics like mistletoes and Santa hats!Find us on instagram @thesnackpackpod

The holidays are here! 🎄 Join Lauren, Aaron, and Brendan for a special Christmas edition of The Snack Pack Pod. They debate if it’s truly the "most wonderful time of the year," tackling holiday stress, unique Aussie Christmas traditions, and Aaron's ambitious tiramisu recipe. Plus, the main event: a festive chocolate taste test! Find out which treat earns top marks in Rudolphs and which one is a total Grinch disaster.Find us on instagram @thesnackpackpod

Here's an episode description for The Snackpack Pod:Welcome back to The Snackpack Pod! This week, Brendan, Lauren, and Aaron are back to tackle another round of chips and chip-adjacent snacks. But before they get to the main event, prepare for a winding journey through their minds!The snack-loving trio kicks things off with a nostalgic dive into Brendan's bizarre childhood dreams, which somehow leads to a "would you rather" challenge involving crabs and horses, and a collective aversion to anything resembling a coconut crab. They also touch on everything from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs to films like District 9 and The Accountant, which is set in South Africa.You'll also hear them reminisce about the glory days of old phone technology (including hamburger-shaped landlines and the ever-mystifying fax machine) and ponder the complexities of modern social media. Plus, they'll air their grievances about supermarket layouts and slow shoppers, and share their latest fizzy drink obsessions, including Schweppes Blood Orange and Aldi's apple cider vinegar-infused sparkling water, which naturally leads to a detour into the world of stop-motion animation like Fantastic Mr. Fox and Wallace and Gromit.Finally, the moment you've been waiting for: the snack reviews! This episode features:Smith's Limited Edition Tasty Cheese (Crinkle Cut) chips: Will these cheesy crinkles be a hit or a miss?The Golden Duck Co. Sour Cream and Sriracha chips: Do these gourmet, Pringle-like chips live up to their fancy appearance?Cheez-It Snapped Cheddar, Sour Cream, and Onion crackers: Are these diamond-shaped delights a cheesy dream or a sour disappointment?Tune in to find out! And stick around for a quick chat about their travel preferences before they sign off.Don't forget to follow The Snackpack Pod on Instagram (@theSnackpackPod), leave a rating and review, and share with your friends!

This week, the crew dives headfirst into the fascinating world of Asian Lay's Chips, but not before a hilarious detour into the "millennial pause" and the surprisingly divisive topic of vegetable-based "chips."Hear Brendan rave about "very good" deep-fried eggplant chips from Groove Train (with aioli, of course!), despite his usual aversion to the squishy texture. The discussion also spans zucchini, sweet potato (hello, purple ube!), radish, and even avocado chips, ultimately leading to the hosts' firm stance that potato chips are king, and nobody should mess with them!Then, it's the main event! The Snack Pack team fearlessly taste-tests four unique Lay's flavors from a Hong Kong supermarket:Italian Red Meat: Is it bolognese, or a dessert? Prepare for some unexpected sweetness!Spicy (Red Peppercorn): Surprisingly, this "floral" and sweet chip might just be the best of the bunch.Mexican Chicken Tomato: More ketchup than chicken, according to the hosts.Fried Crab (Golden Seafood): This one triggers a "waft of the sea" and some very strong opinions!Plus, enjoy amusing tangents on the history of Lay's in Australia (RIP, Smiths Lay's!), a heated debate about the apostrophe in "Lay's," and a deep dive into various noodles, including some intriguing "slushy" Korean cold noodles. And if you've ever wondered about kombucha's "vinegary" appeal, the Snack Pack has opinions!Join Lauren, Aaron, and Brendan for a fun-filled episode of snack exploration. Tune in next week to find out what "almost a chip" they'll be tackling!Don't forget to follow @theSnackpod on Instagram, leave a rating and review, and share the episode with your snack-loving friends!

Get ready to pop open a can of knowledge (and maybe some limited-edition crisps!) because this week on The Snack Pack Pod, Aaron, Lauren, and Brendan are going all in on Pringles!In this jam-packed Episode 82, we tackle the "sad" but "most famous shrinkflation" of Pringles, kick off a lively debate about the versatility of potatoes (is there such a thing as potato dessert?!), and test our knowledge with a comprehensive Pringles quiz. Discover fascinating facts like Pringles' surprising origin story with Proctor and Gamble, their wild legal battle in Britain over potato content, and the ingenious mathematical design behind their stackable shape (hello, hyperbolic paraboloid!). You'll even hear the incredible tale of inventor Frederick Burr being buried in a Pringles can!But it's not all history! We're diving into a hotly anticipated review of four limited edition Pringles flavours: Caribbean Spiced Chicken, Japanese Sticky Teriyaki, Sizzling Chipotle Sour Cream, and Zesty Chili and Lime. Find out which flavour was a clear favourite and which ones left us wanting more.Beyond the crisps, we venture into other snack-time staples like Pop-Tarts and Up & Gos, and even weigh in on the great "Team Nagi or Team Brookie" cookbook controversy.Tune in to hear our full flavour rankings, and be sure to let us know your thoughts on Pringles, what other snacks we should try, and if you're Team Nagi or Team Brookie! Find us on Instagram at @thesnackpackpod.

Get ready for a flavour passport as we embark on a delicious journey through European chips! Brendan's recent adventure across England, France, Spain, Portugal, and Belgium brought back a treasure trove of snacks, and this episode we go back to where it all started for us: the humble chip.We try a range of interesting flavours, including a prawn cocktail flavour, a pickle delight, and a European classic: the paprika chip. We also yap about overseas supermarkets, Portuguese egg tarts, the chips that didn't make it back, and Summer Rolls (we really do need to have an episode on these). Join The Snack Pack for an episode packed with snack reviews, travel tales, and of course, those all-important chip ratings!

This week on the pod, we try Peckish Peckables, sampling flavours, honey soy chicken, salt and vinegar, and sour cream and chives. Listen to find out which one of these rice crackers reigns supreme.Find us on Instagram @thesnackpackpod

In this extra-crunchy episode of The Snack Pack, we dive headfirst into the ultimate corn chip taste test. We sampled 8 different brands of plain corn chips, just pure, salty goodness—and ranked them from best to worst. Which chip reigns supreme? Which one crumbled under pressure? From texture to flavour to crunch factor, we break it all down so you don’t have to.Grab a drink, maybe some salsa, and join us for the definitive corn chip showdown.