I really love Mexican food. As long as it’s Authentic or the lowest level of Mexican food (Taco Bell). Hah! 

However, I’m pretty basic when it comes to what I want. I literally always order street style tacos, crunchy tacos, or chicken enchiladas. Sometimes when I feel like branching out, however, I like a good tamale.

But when I say, ‘I’m picky when it comes to my tamales,’ I mean it. The tamale has to be just right. 

I had an odd find on the Thrive Market website when I was shopping for my last order:

Fillo’s Walking Tamales-Corn Poblano Rajas was selling for $2.49 (originally $2.99).

I thought it might be worth taking a chance because other shoppers had left a few reviews.

Some said it made the perfect snack on the go as they could eat it without heating it up. Others said it was too sweet for their liking. And one said it was a 1 out of 5 stars because it was basically just masa! 

With these reviews, you never really know if they are real or paid… so I decided to jump in and give my two cents, for what it’s worth…well… at least my review is NOT paid. 100 percent honest!

Fillo’s, a company founded by two men (Daniel and Antonio Cabalerro), was established in 2015.

Daniel and Antonio’s father was from Cuba, and they wanted to keep their traditional, childhood foods alive, but on a whole new level.

They had one goal: to create tamales for on the go, to be enjoyed anywhere and anytime. 

Not only are these tamales convenient, grab & go snacks or meals,

they are made with simple, clean ingredients, are non-GMO, and they are also vegan friendly. 

The ingredients include: water, nixtamalized corn flour, sweet corn, poblano pepper, extra virgin olive oil, spinach, sea salt, jalapeno pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and baking soda. 

Yup. Pretty simple ingredients. 

2g Sugar.

3g Protein. 

8g Fat. 

29 carbohydrates. 

And 580 mg sea salt.

For the most part, though, most everything I eat that has a lot of carbs also happens to taste really good, so I’m going to have some higher expectations for these walking tamales. 

Fillo’s likes to suggest that you

I will be trying them at the table because I live nowhere near a mountain, but the question remains… will I be enjoying this tamale? I’m not sure yet…

I heated the tamale per the instructions on the back of the package: heat pouch (vented) for about 15 seconds to warm it up. 

I used the notch (which made it really easy to open) at the top of the package to open/vent the tamale while it was bombed in the microwave. 

15 seconds later… beep. beep. beep. “Take food out.” 

A guilty pleasure of mine is that I have to have a Pepsi with my Mexican food. So what would be fitting right now? A Pepsi. *Crack*

It was only lukewarm, so I thought I would heat it up for maybe 8 more seconds. 

When I took it out of the microwave,

I was met with that sweet, sweet masa smell, mixed with  jalapeno and poblano peppers.

Gosh, it sure is a

good thing that it smells good,

because it

sure as heck doesn’t look good.

Waaaayyy too green…

A person who has never had a tamale would look at this thing and think, “Ugh! That looks disgusting!” And they’re right, it isn’t the most appealing in appearance, but the smell is tantalizing. 

In my brutally honest opinion, most every food that is unfamiliar to you, that looks unappealing, is the telltale sign that it’s most likely about to blow your mind. 

The tamale that came out of this package reminded me of a “Cliff Bar,” kinda like a smashed granola bar. We’ll call this a Tamale Granola Lunch Bar. 

It sure didn’t leave any room for mess though! 

I took a bite and was still displeased at the tamale temp.

It needs to be warmer. 

I got up to heat it up again for another 15 seconds. Now that it was warmer, it was a bit more palatable. 

I could certainly taste the peppers (but it was very subtle) and garlic spices within the masa, but it also included little pieces of corn, which honestly, I really liked.

The texture is just what I would compare to eating squished together refried beans though,

and I really despise refried beans… 

Overall, I wouldn’t say this tamale was terrible. It had decent flavor, a nice aroma, was easy to consume, but eating it without heating it up is not an option for me.

Maybe if I was driving down the road and the sun was shining, I could throw it in my back window for a couple of hours. 

With that said, I’m still not sold on Fillo’s Walking Tamales. 

It’s an IMBHO-maybe for me, so you’ll have to decide this one on your own.

I am honestly just conflicted with this product. I felt like I was eating flavored refried beans as opposed to a tamale, and I don’t like refried beans. At all. Ever.

So there’s that.