I tried 43 of Trader Joe's fall foods, and would buy at least 31 of them again

Tech Insider
trader joe's fall snacks in a cart
Trader Joe's sells an array of festive fall staples.

Savanna Swain-Wilson

I tried 6 different brands of syrup from the grocery store. It's worth paying a little extra for the big names.

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six pancake syrups from the grocery store lined up in a row
I tried six different brands of pancake syrup.

Paige Bennett

I put Trader Joe's $9 gel-moisturizer dupe to the test. I'm never spending $60 on Clinique again.

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jar of trader joes moisturizer next to jar of clinique moisturizer
Trader Joe's has a moisturizer that's similar to a popular Clinique product.

Jen Glantz

I compared the same 4 sandwiches at Subway and Wawa. As an East Coaster, I'm shocked my go-to chain let me down in every category.

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sandwiches from subway and wawa
Subway and Wawa are both known for their sandwiches.

Amena Ahmed

We skipped the Blue Lagoon in Iceland and went to its competitor instead — it was less crowded and way easier to get to

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel
megan posing at the sky lagoon sign
Sky Lagoon is located just outside Reykjavik.

Megan duBois

I tried all the flavors of Olipop prebiotic soda I could find and ranked them from worst to best

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16 cans of Olipop laid out on a wooden table in a pyramid shape.
I tried 16 different flavors of Olipop prebiotic soda.

Ted Berg

I sailed on Margaritaville at Sea's newest ship. The 5-night cruise is a pretty great value, but I wouldn't go again.

Tech Insider : Travel
Margaritaville Islander at Cozumel
I cruised with Margaritaville at Sea's Islander this year.

Lauren Mack

I took my kids shopping for school supplies at Walmart and Target. I found way better clearance deals at the latter.

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Author Terri Peters smiling at a Walmart
I went back-to-school shopping at Target and Walmart.

Terri Peters

I ordered salads from Wendy's, Culver's, Chick-fil-A, and Zaxby's. My old go-to chain didn't make it close to the top of the list.

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cobb salads from chick-fil-a and zaxby's
I wouldn't typically go to Chick-fil-A or Zaxby's for salads, but I did for this taste test.

Meredith Schneider

I asked 5 Starbucks baristas to make me their favorite off-menu drinks. I'd order them all again despite the prices.

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Author Paige Bennett holding Starbucks drink
I tried custom off-menu Starbucks drinks from baristas in California.

Paige Bennett

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