It is already well into the month of November but still pumpkin spice is showing up everywhere.  I like pumpkin spice.  I do not love pumpkin spice.  But I am intrigued by all of the items that make an appearance in the fall that have pumpkin spice in their product.  Earlier this year I even found pumpkin spice gum on the Target clearance aisle. I can’t imagine why they did not sell it all in the fall, can you?  Ugh.  It sounds perfectly disgusting to me and I did not spent the 37 cents to try it even if that was a bargain price.

In my effort to be cutting edge entertaining on my blog I figured it was time to finally do a post on some of the pumpkin spice related items I have encountered this fall. No one paid me or bought me products.  If I was still living in North Iowa I would have made this into a taste testing party for the North Iowa Bloggers.

First up – pumpkin spice pancakes. These were tasty–not overwhelmingly pumpkiny but just the right touch of spice and pumpkin.  Chris and I gave them the thumbs up and I would buy this Krusteaz product again.

Next up was a pumpkin spice non-alcoholic drink.  I have to admit I was a bit unsure of this one but honestly—I loved it!  It was fizzy and fun and tasty and I wish I had bought more than one bottle.of the R. W. Knudsen Family ® Pumpkin Spice drink.

How about some pumpkin spice Twinkies? These were definitely not a hit at all.  There was hardly any filling (unlike the picture on the box) and the sickly sweet taste of the Twinkie overwhelmed any pumpkin flavor that might have been there. Next up – the pumpkin spice Pop -Tart®.  These were much better than I thought they would be.  I didn’t even toast them and I think that would have added to the flavor. While I am not a huge Pop-Tart® fan I would recommend these to Pop-Tart® lovers far and wide.  At least there was some filling in these.

Breakfast foods seem to be a favorite for pumpkin spice and Belvita is one of my favorite on the go breakfasts.  I really did love their pumpkin spice version and may have to stock up before they are out of the stores.  I may already be too late.
Another breakfast option is the Kellogg’s® Pumpkin Spice Mini Wheats®.  I am a fan of Shredded Mini Wheats but only the frosted kind so I jumped at the chance to try these. They were crunchy and yummy and had just the right amount of pumpkin and spice to make me happy.  They also look pretty in a bowl, right?

Cookie recipes abound in the fall that use apple and pumpkin and I found some Milano® cookies that featured the pumpkin flavor.  While the cookies were okay I don’t think I would rush out and buy a bunch of them while they are still in the stores.  Something like Milano cookies should not be messed with.  Chocolate Milano is the best so don’t mess with them.

As a tea lover of course I was intrigued by this Bigelow® Pumpkin Spice tea.  It had more spice than pumpkin but I think that is a good thing. My mom had this in her pantry at my list visit so of course I had to do a taste test.  It was okay but not one I would make a point of stocking in my massive tea cupboard.
I did find a lovely pumpkin seed tortilla chip at Aldi and I am definitely wishing I had bought more than one bag.  Once I opened it I discovered how much I loved it.  Crisp with little hunks of pumpkin seeds scattered throughout the chip and I found I didn’t even need to have any salsa or anything with it to satisfy my taste craving.  Yum.

Pumpkin is everywhere in food and while I am not a huge pumpkin fan in entrees or as sides I do appreciate the healthy option of including pumpkin in some foods that are a bit unexpected.  On a recent trip to a health food store I found this display of everything pumpkin in one handy spot.

I think marketing professionals are getting more savvy when it comes to finding specialty items for different seasons.  What do you think?  Are you all in on the pumpkin craze or are you out?  My unofficial Facebook poll indicated that my followers were definitely split –either they love it or they hate it.  Let me know in a quick comment what your true feeling is about pumpkin spice. Inquiring minds want to know and it all counts for Comments for a Cause.