Smartfood Fiber Pop Popcorn Review

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Smartfood Fiber Pop Popcorn bags

I’m not sure why Smartfood didn’t call this just Smartfood Fiber. The “Pop” seems unnecessary when everything Smartfood makes is popcorn. I’m pretty sure anyone who has set foot in a grocery store already knows this is popcorn.

Also, “Pop” should’ve been left off because, if you wanted to, you could upload an image of the Smartfood Fiber Pop bag to your favorite AI chatbot and ask it to replace that “Pop” on the bag with what fiber helps with in your body. Again, if you wanted to.

And, if you wanted to, you could post that AI-generated image to your social media. I won’t be doing that because I do not want to deal with the email that may follow from the Smartfood PR folks who have my email and home addresses.

Anypoo, Smartfood Fiber Pop comes in two flavors — Sweet & Salty and Sweet & Salty II: Toffee & Sea Salt. I find it a little odd both varieties are sweet and salty with no savory options. A cup and a half serving provides six grams of fiber from corn soluble fiber, which is 22 percent of your daily recommended amount — a significant jump from the one or two grams you’d get from regular Smartfood products.

Smartfood Fiber Pop Popcorn Sweet & Salty

With the first few kernels of the Sweet & Salty variety, I could barely register sweet or salty on my tongue. The flavors started to pop out when I ate more, though. Looking into the bag, I noticed that some of the mushroom popcorn pieces were more heavily coated than others, which led to inconsistent flavor levels with every pull from the bag. A few pulls were duds with very little flavor, others were mild, and others popped. The sweet and salty flavor is similar to others in the kettle corn space, but the saltiness is notably mild.

Smartfood Fiber Pop Popcorn Toffee & Sea Salt

The Toffee & Sea Salt variety is the clear winner of the two. A strong buttery aroma rises out of the bag, and the flavor matches that intensity. It’s also saltier than the Sweet & Salty. Like with the other flavor, the least coated pieces deliver a less desirable level of flavor, but the butteriness from previously eaten kernels tends to linger, which helps prevent truly flavorless bites. With both varieties, the sugary coatings give the popcorn a pleasant sugary crispiness to go along with the popcorn’s standard crunch.

Now that Frito-Lay has gotten fiber popcorn out of the way, maybe fiber potato chips should be next? If they’re as good as these Smartfood Fiber Pop flavors, I guarantee I’ll reach my recommended daily fiber intake with them. Wait. Is potato soluble fiber a thing? I’ll ask my favorite AI chatbot once it’s done generating a particular image I requested.

Purchased Price: $4.00 each
Size: 5 3/4 oz bags
Purchased at: Times Supermarket
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Sweet & Salty), 8 out of 10 (Toffee & Sea Salt)
Nutrition Facts: (about 1 1/2 cups) Sweet & Salty – 130 calories, 6 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 100 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of fiber, 7 grams of sugar (includes 6 grams of added sugar), and 1 gram of protein. Toffee & Sea Salt – 130 calories, 6 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 60 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of fiber, 6 grams of sugar (includes 6 grams of added sugar), and less than 1 gram of protein.

OTHER THINGS I CONSUMED: 2/9/2026

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Don't Quit! Root Beer Protein Soda

Don’t Quit Root Beer Protein Soda

I finally found this! I don’t know if it’s the quaint-looking can or my desire to drink 15 grams of protein in root beer form, but I didn’t quit looking for it. Are you proud of me? Others might’ve quit, and others might’ve shaken their heads over disbelief that anyone would put so much effort into finding a protein soda. But I believed in myself and the stores around me. In the end, it all paid off. That’s what not quitting will get you.

With that said, I will be quitting from buying any more Don’t Quit sodas. While it does have a familiar root beer taste, it’s doesn’t have the same bite as Barq’s, doesn’t mug my taste buds with the root beer flavor of Mug, and doesn’t have something close to the always winning flavor of A&W. I don’t know if it’s because it has zero sugar, no artificial flavors or colors, or the whey protein, but its root beer flavor is a bit toned down from other popular root beers. Yes, it does have the same texture as other protein beverages that use whey protein. Also, $4.50 for a can is a bit hard to swallow.

Khloud Cinnamon Roll Protein Popcorn

Khloud Cinnamon Roll Protein Popcorn bag

I liked the first Khloud Protein Popcorn flavor that I tried, but this one is underwhelming. It has a pleasant cinnamon flavor, but there’s nothing about it that makes me think of a cinnamon roll, like a tangy cream cheese frosting flavor. It’s pretty much just cinnamon, which isn’t necessarily bad. However, that cinnamon flavor is also relatively mild. Maybe because the spice is listed last?

Khloud Cinnamon Roll Protein Popcorn kernels

Also, I don’t know if I got a bad bag, but the popped kernels looked smaller than the ones in the Olive Oil and Sea Salt flavor I tried last year. One last thing, there were two unpopped kernels at the bottom of my bag. That just seems weird to me because I’m pretty sure every bag of Smartfood and Skinny Pop I’ve consumed didn’t have unpopped kernels.

Starbucks Lime Watermelon Refreshers Concentrate

Starbucks Lime Watermelon Refreshers Concentrate

It’s about time for us to be able to make Starbucks Refreshers at home. I mean, I haven’t been clamoring for it because I’m too addicted to coffee triple-digit caffeine amounts, but ever since Starbucks came out with its bottled coffee concentrate, I wondered if there would ever be one for the chain’s fruity drink.

A serving is very simple to make. The instructions say to pour six ounces of the concentrate over ice, then add six ounces of water, mix, and voila, you’re a Starbucks barista! Instead of plain water, you could use lemonade, coconut water, or sparkling water. I ended up using plain water. FYI, a serving has 35-40 milligrams of caffeine.

When I drink it, there’s something about it that makes my mouth wonder if it’s apple juice. It’s definitely not apple juice because when I close my eyes and swish it around my mouth like an expensive wine or mouthwash, I get the lime’s sourness and a watermelon flavor. It’s pretty good, and I’m sure it would be even better if I had tried it with another mixer.

I could only find this flavor, but I’ll be on the lookout for the others.

Lays Baked Roasted Garlic & Herbs Potato Crisps

Lays Baked Roasted Garlic & Herbs Potato Crisps bag

New Lays Baked flavors are rare, but there have been two recent additions: Loaded Baked Potato and these Roasted Garlic & Herbs. Between the two, I was more excited about the former. However, after trying the latter, I kind of forgot about the Loaded Baked Potato one.

Lays Baked Roasted Garlic & Herbs Potato Crisps closeup

Not only do they have garlic and herb flavors, but they’re also made with olive oil, all of which creates a tasty combination. If you told me these were pizza-flavored potato crisps, I’d believe you. I love pizza-flavored snacks, though these don’t quite have the same flavor profile. However, they still bring it to mind.

Now, I guess the only issue is whether you enjoy the texture of Lays Baked Potato Crisps. I’m okay with it, but the flavor of these makes me even more okay with it.

REVIEW: Khloud Olive Oil and Sea Salt Protein Popcorn (Video)

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The video of the sky in this video is not stock video that I purchased. Nope, I waited for a nice sunny day with white clouds and a blue sky and went outside and spent 15 minutes shooting video of the sky. My neighbors must’ve thought I was crazy or spying on them. I did the spying AFTER I took the video of the clouds. Anyhoo, enjoy the video.

Purchased Price: $4.99
Size: 4 oz bag
Purchased at: Target
Nutrition Facts: (3 cups – 30 grams) 150 calories, 8 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 170 milligrams of sodium, 13 grams of carbohydrates, 3 gram of fiber, 0 grams of sugar, and 7 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Skinny Pop Harry Potter Butterbeer Popcorn

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Butterbeer, the fictional beverage from the world of Harry Potter, is having quite a comeback. I’m not sure if it’s in early preparation for the new HBO series (coming 2027) or if the snack-powers-that-be simply wanted the wizarding world to remain in the social zeitgeist, but Harry is back in the snack, big time. Mr. Potter’s Butterbeer has already had collaborative releases this year with Hershey’s Kisses, Keebler Fudge Stripes, and Goldfish, so if next in line isn’t going to be a new bizarro sweet and salty Lay’s, why not some Skinny Pop Popcorn?

I am not a wizard and have never been to the Wizarding World at Universal Studios to try the Butterbeer. However, I am a popcorn connoisseur and lover of butterscotch, so I went into this new fantasy-flavored kettle corn quite excitedly.

The aroma is distinctly that of sugary popped kettle corn with an extra rich burnt sugar flourish that mostly translates to the flavor as well. The taste of the popcorn is 70% that of the standard Skinny Pop “Sweet & Salty Kettle Corn” — corn-forward with a nice little boost of sweetness — but the other 30% is something magical. There’s a deep, toasty, brown-sugar-meets-browned-butter flavor that lands somewhere in between kettle corn and caramel corn. Occasionally, a kernel pops up that’s more coated and crunchy than the others, with an extra dose of buttery sweetness.

Speaking of crunchy, the texture is excellent. Every piece has a firm crunch, but a perfectly soft, airy crumble underneath makes the experience really pleasant. In the finish, there’s a touch of spice. The ingredients say cinnamon but I get a little more of a mild nutmeg. In any case that spiced quality helps contribute to the excellent burnt caramel profile. This is, without a doubt, my favorite unadorned bagged kettle corn I’ve had (not including drizzled varieties), and one that is very snackable without feeling cloying in the slightest.

Initially, despite how much I love the flavor, I thought this popcorn wasn’t quite sweet enough to be a proper butterscotch. But after a touch of proper research, I learned that in the Harry Potter books, Butterbeer is “a little bit like less-sickly butterscotch,” and you know what? I think they nailed it.

Purchased Price: $3.99
Size: 8.4 ounces
Purchased at: Amazon
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2.5 cups, 28g) 140 calories, 7 grams of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 25 milligrams of sodium, 19 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 8 grams of total sugars, and 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Smartfood Chocolate Cake Pop Popcorn

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Much like folks who claim Die Hard is a Christmas movie (raises hand), Smartfood seems to want to make the chocolate cake pop a holiday flavor, even though it’s one that can get slotted into any time of year.

I get it. Getting to say you were the original brand that brought the world the next pumpkin spice or peppermint mocha and have everyone else take your flavor idea and chocolate cake pop-ize every product possible is smart. But Smartfood could’ve done it a little better.

I’ve tasted a variety of chocolate cakes over the years — standard Betty Crocker/Duncan Hines chocolate cake with frosting, Hostess CupCakes, Dobash cake, German chocolate cake, chocolate blackout cake, lava cake, and chocolate birthday cupcakes from a grocery store bakery. But I don’t get a hint of flavor from any of those baked goods in the dark coating on every kernel in this bag of Smartfood Chocolate Cake Pop Popcorn. Heck, I have to reach a state of mindfulness to even notice any cocoa notes.

But that lack of pronounced chocolate cake flavor doesn’t make this unwanted, like a lump of coal or a spindle of blank CDs in your Christmas stocking. While it doesn’t scream chocolate cake or chocolate, there’s a mellow, nondescript sweetness that still makes this a decent tasting snack.

Smartfood Chocolate Cake Pop Popcorn doesn’t fail like a terrorist leader who meets his demise by falling out of a Nakatomi Plaza window. But, despite the green-colored bag with red ribbons, the brand doesn’t convince me that chocolate cake pop is a holiday flavor. It’s trying too hard to make something happen, like me shoehorning a last-minute Die Hard reference into this review to bring everything full circle.

Purchased Price: $2.49
Size: 2 oz bag
Purchased at: 7-Eleven
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (about 1 cup) 140 calories, 6 grams of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 65 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 12 grams of sugar (including 12 grams of added sugar), and less than 1 gram of protein.

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