Junk Food Nation, it’s football day!  I know – I’M shocked I remembered with all this amazing October baseball going on.  Today, I’m actually headed to the Redskins game thanks to my Neil, so let’s get right to it.  Last week, I went 10-5 (OH YEAH.) That puts me at 35-28 on the season.  56% winning percentage…I’ll take it!

Week 5, here we go:

CARDS @ RAMS: If you had told me that Kevin Kolb would’ve been sacked nine times, I wouldn’t have believed you.  I would’ve said that the ARZ swarming defense would’ve beat up Sam Bradford.  I would’ve been wrong. CARDS (boo.)  I’m down 0-1 already?? Maybe the Rams are for real…

DOLPHINS @ BENGALS: I think the Cincinnati Reds could beat the Dolphins. The Reds certainly looked good last night.  BENGALS.

PACKERS @ COLTS: I expect Luck to hold his own, but now that Rodgers looks back in form, the PACKERS will roll.

RAVENS @CHIEFS: The Chiefs will get an old fashioned beat down at home at the hands of Baltimore. RAVENS.

FALCONS @ REDKSINS: REDSKINS.  Here’s why – although it’ll be the air show in Washington, as D. Hall tries unsuccessfully to stop Julio Jones, it’s a cold blistery windy day here in DC.  The Air Show won’t be aired as much…and Skins can stop Turner on the ground.

BROWNS @ GIANTS: One of these days the Browns will win…but not today. GIANTS.

EAGLES @ STEELERS: Look, I’m sorry, the Eagles aren’t that good…are they? The Steelers Can’t be that bad…can they?  I’m putting $ on the STEELERS.

SEAHAWKS @ CAROLINA: Cam Newton will get embarrassed at home…again. SEAHAWKS.  They were angry about last week’s STL loss, and they’ll be looking to regain momentum.

BEARS @ JAGS: Cutler looked better last week, one more step to my Bears-in-the-Super-Bowl prediction. BEARS.

TITANS @ VIKINGS: Toss-up game between two MEH teams? Let’s take the road team, for no reason! TITANS.

BRONCOS @ PATRIOTS: The Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady matchup will be epic, and I expect Manning to come out on top. BRONCOS.

BILLS @ NINERS: Never bet against Buffalo. BILLS. (Wait, the Niners shut out the Jets last week?  Err…..)

CHARGERS @ SAINTS: Who Dat finally gets off the hump this week. SAINTS.

TEXANS @ JETS: Sorry, no Tebow time here. Houston will crush this listless Jets team. TEXANS.

Today’s junk food: Blue Diamond Pumpkin Spice Almonds!

Blue Diamond Pumpkin Spice Almonds: The Money Shot

Blue Diamond Pumpkin Spice Almonds were found in my local Walgreens, buried behind some cans of Jalapeno Smokehouse Almonds.  I don’t know why these were hidden – YOU CAN’T HIDE FROM ME, PUMPKIN SPICE ANYTHING.

Even though these had no “new” label on them, I’d never seen or eaten these before.  I can only assume this is a seasonal offering.

I LIKE PIE

In a lot of ways, these Blue Diamond Pumpkin Spice Almonds make sense – if you’re gonna make pies in the Fall/Winter, you’re often going to make pecan pies or pies that have almonds in them.  I fully expect these nuts to evoke memories of fresh baked pies full of spice.

Paprika!

I love that these Blue Diamond Pumpkin Spice Almonds have some paprika in them and not just sugar – add a little savory to kick up that spice quotient!

Like their wrapped in sandpaper

I popped the can of Blue Diamond Pumpkin Spice Almonds open and the smell that wafted out was heavenly.  Warm, pumpkin spice smelling, and it did indeed remind me of smelling a pumpkin pie.  Whoa nelly.  I’m gonna like these.

Furry with powder

As soon as I popped a few Blue Diamond Pumpkin Spice Almonds into my mouth, I knew these would be my favorite nut for the next two-three months.  They tasted, quite simply, outstanding.  Fresh almond crush, none of the nuts were stale.  The amazing almond taste was accented by a really big, really developed pumpkin spice flavor – lots of sugar and cinnamon and spice.  As I chewed, the spice flavor filled my mouth…it reminded me of when I used to make cinnamon bread by buttering up some toast and sprinkling some cinnamon and sugar over it, then toaster-oven-ing the hell out of it.  This had that same flavor, that buttery sugar-cinnamon flavor.

But these nuts, to be clear, were NOT overly sweet – these are not candied nuts by any stretch.  There is no candy shell, and the powder covering of the almond is not just a bunch of sugar crystals.  The sweetness was general – just enough to give you that overall sense of pumpkin spice.  That, mixed with the superb almond flavor, made these almonds a treat I could enjoy ANYTIME.

These were really, really, really good.  If you can find these, eat them.

PURCHASED AT: Walgreens

COST: $3.00

Thoughts? Please comment below (I always reply) or hit me up on Twitter @junkfoodguy or LIKE my Facebook Page and message me there. Also, you can always email me at junkfoodguy@junkfoodguy.com. Let’s hang out.

Sincerely,

Junk Food Guy