The Conversation
It’s cold outside, but the snack world is as hot as ever. From spicy to sweet, crunchy to creamy, and healthy to indulgent, here’s everything new we’re snacking on in February. We’ll update this list constantly, so check back in for more best new foods.
Mikey’s Paleo Pizza Pockets ($6): Though Mikey's uses plant-based cheese (a tapioca-based product that melts, stretches, and tastes like mozzarella) and a cassava-cauliflower crust, these nostalgic pizza pockets really do taste like Hot Pockets — but are completely free of grains and dairy. We’re big fans of both the original and Pepperoni flavors.
Safe + Fair Pea Protein Chips ($3): These unbelievably crispy gluten-free snacks are like Pop Chips’ more delicate relative. Our favorite flavor is Sweet Jalapeño, which crunches ever so daintily and leaves a lingering heat. You’ll have a hard time sticking to the 23-chip serving size. But since it only sets you back 120 calories, a second handful is totally acceptable.
Pop & Bottle Vanilla Cold Brew Almond Latte ($5): This creamy, frothy blend of coffee, almonds, dates, and warming spices tastes delightfully like dairy-free horchata. Since each bottle has 14 grams of sugar, we prefer it as a caffeinating post-workout treat rather than our morning coffee.
Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Sunflower Seed Butter Cups ($1): As loyal fans of TJ’s dark and milk chocolate peanut butter cups, we’re proud to report that these are even better. The sunflower seed butter filling is saltier than peanut butter, making it an impeccable complement to the dark chocolate coating. The cups come in packs of two, but just one makes a highly satisfying after-dinner sweet.
(Photo via Sara Cagle/Brit + Co)
Daiya Dairy-Free Peach Yogurt ($2): If you've been craving Yoplait Peach yogurt but are vegan or dairy-free, Daiya has you covered with this coconut-cream-based yogurt, which comes in six flavors. Peach, our favorite, is on the sweeter side, but a topping of low-sugar puffed rice or multigrain cereal balances out the fruitiness.
Bubble Hella Chocolate-Hazelnut Butter ($9): This addictive spread is cleaner and even tastier than Nutella. Unlike the Italian spread’s sticky, stretchy texture, Hella has a richer, fluffier consistency. It tastes deeply like its three ingredients: roasted hazelnuts, cacao nibs, and coconut sugar. Order a few jars; we almost finished ours in one sitting.
Underwood Mei Wine ($6): This vacation-friendly refreshment combines the fruity, floral flavors of your favorite tropical cocktail with the easy-drinking qualities of white-wine sangria. Created in collaboration with Top Chef winner Mei Lin, the Riesling wine cooler tastes like lemongrass, lychee, and guava and is best served over ice.
Caulipower Grain-Free Cauliflower Tortillas ($7): We could easily give up corn tortillas for these cauliflower miracles, which taste like a cleaner, more wholesome version of the real thing. We loved them in a quick cheese quesadilla, and plan to use them in everything from gluten-free enchiladas to huevos rancheros.
Trader Joe’s Mushroom & Company Multipurpose Umami Seasoning Blend ($3): If the salty, savory, funky flavor of miso soup were powdered and bottled, it would be like this versatile umami seasoning. The blend of salt, pepper, onion, mustard seed, mushroom, and thyme doesn’t scream “mushroom,” but it enhances eggs, soups, and anything on toast deliciously.
(Photo via Sara Cagle/Brit + Co)
Chosen Foods Chipotle-Infused Avocado Oil Spray ($10): Chosen Foods’ healthy oil sprays can be used to sauté veggies over high heat, grease a loaf pan, or add a quick spritz of flavor to salads and bowls. We used the Chipotle spray to give a fried egg a subtle smoky flavor, and we’re excited to experiment with other infusions — like Garlic and Warm Gingerbread — for stir-fries and baked goods.
Bubly Raspberry Sparkling Water ($11/18): As much as we love a Spindrift Raspberry-Lime seltzer, we sometimes just want a sparkling water that's calorie-free. Bubly is our answer to that sweet-tart raspberry craving.
Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Core ($5): This cookie milk ice cream, flecked with fudge chips and speared with a cookie dough core, tastes like a heightened version of Ben & Jerry’s OG Chocolate Chip Cookie ice cream — and it’s dang good. Our only complaint is that the cookie dough center has a grittier texture than B&J’s classic cookie-dough nuggets.
Diet Coke Blueberry Acai ($1): Well, we’ll be darned: We were surprised by how much we liked this unexpected new flavor from Diet Coke. The combination of the tart, sweet berry and the smooth cola is downright tasty and refreshing, and there’s no unpleasant aftertaste.
Vital Proteins Collagen Shots ($54/12): Get seven out of the recommended 10 to 30 daily grams of collagen with these quick and convenient shots. There’s a designated shot for every few hours of the day — from morning Glow to bedtime Sleep — but we’d happily have the post-workout Tart Cherry & Turmeric multiple times a day.
Trader Joe’s Chili & Lime Flavored Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips ($2): Trader Joe's take on Takis has a cleaner ingredients list and twice the lime flavor. At first crunch (and these are really, really crunchy), you taste mouth-puckering citrus. Next, an intense heat takes over your tongue, and you can’t help but go back for chip after blissfully fried chip.
(Photo via Sara Cagle/Brit + Co)
Pop-Tarts Cereal ($4): The exterior of this cereal has a simple, Puffins-like taste and crispy texture. That’s a good thing, since it lets the classically sweet Pop-Tart filling shine. We like the Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon flavor best, but Frosted Strawberry is a close second.
Perfect Keto Lemon Poppyseed Keto Bars ($39/12): These filling protein snacks taste more like candy bars than power bars, but they still pack 11 grams of protein a pop. Thanks to a clean base of almond and cacao butters, coconut oil, and collagen, the smooth bars melt in your mouth instead of being overly chewy. We love the bright, not-too-sweet citrusy flavor of Lemon Poppyseed.
Fat Snax Double Chocolate Chip Keto Cookies ($30/12-pack): We’ve used Fat Snax to crush cookie cravings while on the keto diet since the brand launched last year, and we’re pleased to say that the new Double Chocolate Chip is their best flavor yet. The cake-like cookies (2 net carbs each) are chewier and more substantial than other flavors, and the dark chocolate is rich and free of any stevia aftertaste.
Suja Wellness Shots ($3): Keep a stash of Suja’s three-sip Wellness Shots on hand for when you need to ward off sickness and stress spells. We like fruity Digestion, a blend of ginger, apple cider vinegar, camu camu, ginseng, and probiotics. The ginger flavor isn’t overly fiery, but it’s robust enough to perk you up.
GT Pure Love Kombucha ($4): This fizzy, crimson kombucha, which is tart from blood orange and floral from hibiscus and rose, knocked us right out of our winter funk. Its only flaw is that it’s not available all year long.
Peckish Boiled Eggs and Crunchy Dip ($4): Each package of Peckish’s impeccably cooked hard-boiled eggs comes with a crispy “dip,” which is more like a seasoning packet. You can dunk a whole egg into the dip so each bite is seasoned, or you can slice the egg onto avocado toast or a bagel with cream cheese the sprinkle the seasoning on liberally. We love the green oniony, tamari-rich Fried Rice and the sweet and smoky Maple Waffles dips, but if we had to pick a favorite, we’d choose the delightfully garlicky Everything flavor.
OJAS Studio Cardamom, Cinnamon, and Walnut Date Bites ($11): These chewy bites are creatively inspired by ayurvedic principles. Sweet from dates and dried cherries and comforting from warming spices, the cardamom flavor is as vibrant as the vata dosha.
Kettle Brand Krinkle Cut Wasabi Ranch ($4): These addictively crunchy kettle chips did not last long in our office. Flavored with onion and garlic powders, parsley, wasabi, and sea salt, they taste like spicy ranch dressing and would be awesome with a mellow sour cream dip.
Trader Joe’s Vacuum-Dried Crunchy Red Dragon Fruit Chips ($4): These unsweetened chips have plenty of natural sweetness from real dragon fruit and nothing else. The extremely crunchy, strikingly pink-purple shards make a satisfying snack solo but would also be excellent on yogurt.
Halo Top Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pops ($48/4 boxes): At long last, these are a version of Halo Top ice cream that you can realistically eat with some portion control. The size is smaller than we’d prefer, but at 50 calories a pop, there’s zero shame in polishing off two.
Trader Joe’s Ruby Cacao Wafers ($3): First developed in 2017, ruby chocolate gets its pink hue not from additives but from its completely natural source, the ruby cocoa bean. TJ’s has dibs on a limited supply of “the fourth chocolate” and has used it to make these mini wafers. They taste lightly of berries and melt smoothly to add an eye-catching pink touch to Valentine’s Day desserts and beyond.
Trader Joe’s Joe-Joe’s Slims ($2): It’s always been a battle for us to stick to the two-cookie serving size of classic Joe-Joe’s. These crispier, snappier Slims are made with thinner wafers and a lighter (but sufficient) serving of creme, which means you can have four cookies for just about the same amount of calories.
What are your favorite new snacks? Let us know on Twitter!
What are your favorite new snacks? Let us know on Twitter!
Originally published on February 8, 2019
What are your favorite new snacks? Let us know on Twitter!
What are your favorite new snacks? Let us know on Twitter!
Originally published on February 8, 2019
Brit + Co may at times use affiliate links to promote products sold by others, but always offers genuine editorial recommendations.
More From Food News
Welcome to Selfmade Finance School, our new money series with Block Advisors to help small business owners with their tax, bookkeeping, and payroll needs year-round. This week, we explore the tax implications of bringing family members into your business.
The question for today is this: Does hiring your family members make sense for your business? Let me be clear. This is not a piece about whether hiring your family members makes sense for your relationships with those family members. As someone who is part of a family business, I could fill up a lot more than 600 words on my opinions about that. For today's purposes, we focus on whether it makes sense from an overall "good business and tax implication" perspective. As it turns out, there is a decent amount of tax nuance when it comes to employing your family. Let's break it down based on relationship to the employee:
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Spouses Who Are In Business Together
Personally, if I had to be in business with my husband, it would not go well. However, many couples build viable, strong businesses together and I say, good for them! Depending on how you have your business entity structured, it will make a big difference on the tax treatment of you and your spouse working as partners. Because a business jointly owned and operated by a married couple is generally treated as a partnership for Federal tax purposes, the spouses must comply with filing and record keeping requirements imposed on partnerships and their partners. The election to file two Schedule C (Form 1040) forms, (one for each spouse) permits certain married co-owners to avoid filing partnership returns, provided that each spouse separately reports a share of all the businesses' items of income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit. Under the election, both spouses will be subject to self-employment tax and on net earnings from self-employment and receive credit for Social Security earnings.
One Spouse Employs Another
If you have a dynamic where your spouse is an employee of your business, then your spouse's wages are subject to income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes. If you are self-employed (not a corporation or a partnership), your spouse's pay does not have to be included in your federal unemployment tax account (FUTA) contributions and payments. However, if your business is a corporation or a partnership you must include that spouse's pay in your unemployment tax contribution calculation.
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You Employ Your Child
First, let's be clear. I work in my family business, but I am an adult, so I am treated just like a normal employee. However, if you, for example, run a family restaurant and want to hire your children under 18 to work for you, there are some tax benefits. But first, you should check with your state for rules on how many hours minors can work (in non-agricultural jobs) and reference the Fair Labor Standards Act for information on limitations on the kinds of work children can perform.
"This is an often overlooked or under-utilized strategy. Paying your children for true services they provide in your business can be a powerful tax-saving tool," says Cathi Reed, Block Advisors Regional Director. "If you are a sole-proprietorship or single member LLC, and the child is less than 18 years of age, the business is not required to withhold FICA or payroll taxes. The child can use his or her standard deduction against income you pay."
You Hire Your Parent
Oh dear. If you are brave enough to do this, know that you will need to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on your parent's wages and make the appropriate withholdings, but you don't have to pay unemployment taxes. Now all you have to do is convince your parent that you are the boss. Have fun with that!
Is Hiring Family Members Worth It For The Tax Benefits?
"There are some positive tax advantages to hiring family members. It's important to treat a family member like any other employee. Hiring your children can result in substantial savings for businesses. Make sure your child has real, age-appropriate work to do and a reasonable pay rate, comparable to other employees. Consult with a Block Advisors small business certified tax pro to ensure that you are complying with all requirements," advises Reed. "Block Advisors, a team within H&R Block, is dedicated to meeting the tax, bookkeeping and payroll needs of small business owners year-round. To start working with the tax experts at Block Advisors, visit blockadvisors.com."
In my opinion, you should not hire a family member solely because of the tax benefits. You should always hire based on whether that person is right for the job and keep in mind how this hire could materially impact your relationship with that person and others in your family. Finally, as I mentioned, make sure you have a tax professional on your team when making these determinations. As you can see, things can get a little tricky!
*All details were sourced from IRS.gov and blockadvisors.com
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor with regards to your individual situation. Comments concerning the past performance are not intended to be forward looking and should not be viewed as an indication of future results. Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. O'Keeffe Financial Partners and any other entity listed herein is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS Investor Disclosures: https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosures