SPOTTED ON SHELVES: Lay’s Kettle Cooked Garden Tomato & Asiago Potato Chips

Yup. Garden tomato & asiago is a fitting flavor for Lay’s Kettle Cooked. The chip gets all the “classy” flavors, like sharp cheddar, aged cheddar & black pepper, cream cheese & chive, and olive oil & herbs. (Spotted by Carla at Walmart.)

If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email ([email protected]) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. If you’ve tried the product, share your thoughts about it in the comments.

REVIEW: McDonald’s Fried Guava Pie

Two things you should know about McDonald’s pies in Hawaii.

  1. They’re fried. Hawaii is one of the few places in the United States that offers fried McDonald’s pies. (Oddly, we are also the healthiest state in the country.)
  2. We have local seasonal pie flavors many of you would call “exotic.” The Haupia Pie features a coconut-flavored filling with gelatinous pieces and the Taro Pie has a purple filling with gelatinous cubes.

McDonald’s Hawaii’s newest fried pie doesn’t have jellylike cubes, but it does have a thick guava-flavored filling. To be honest, I’m surprised our local McDonald’s didn’t come out with a guava pie sooner because guava is our state fruit.

And if you look that up on the internet, you’ll learn it’s not. But we use the fruit in enough products that it should be.

Even though we love the tropical fruit, the 50th state can’t brag about it being the first one to have McDonald’s guava pies. Florida can claim that fact that no one from there will brag about. Although, not to brag, theirs was baked.

The exterior of the Fried Guava Pie looks like the skin of someone who was in a freak chemistry laboratory accident. But, man, that bubbly skin is crispy like the best fried chicken you’ve ever had. It has a level of crispiness that you wish McDonald’s chicken filets, patties, and McNuggets had.

The viscous pink filling has a flavor that reminds me of the canned guava nectar I drank as a kid, but warm. Perhaps, too warm (and maybe a bit too sweet). My taste buds are so used to having that delicious flavor ice cold that it’s weird to taste it at a higher temperature. It’s like drinking warm soda. Also, a few chomps had a sweet chemical zing to them. It was a turnoff to my taste buds, but it wasn’t in every bite so it didn’t prevent me from eating the whole pie.

Haupia and taro are foods I don’t eat, but love them when in the form of McDonald’s fried pies. With guava and McDonald’s Fried Guava Pie, it’s the opposite.

(Nutrition Facts – 210 calories 60 calories from fat, 7 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 140 milligrams of sodium, 35 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 16 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.)

Purchased Price: $1.00
Size: N/A
Rating: 5 out of 10
Pros: Flavor reminds me of canned guava nectar. Super crispy shell. Fried pies.
Cons: Occasional chemical bite. It’s weird tasting a flavor I usually consume cold. Regional pie variety. Wikipedia saying Hawaii’s state muffin is the coconut muffin.

SPOTTED ON SHELVES: Oreo Egg (U.S.)

Were you jealous when Canadians could crack open Oreo Eggs last year? Be jealous no more because the U.S. now has the creme filled candy with cookie pieces. (Spotted by Jenn G at Dollar General and Amanda Y at Target.)

If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email ([email protected]) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. If you’ve tried the product, share your thoughts about it in the comments.

SPOTTED ON SHELVES – 2/16/2017

Here are some interesting new and limited edition products found on store shelves by us and your fellow readers. If you’ve tried any of the products, share your thoughts about them in the comments.

Little Debbie St. Patrick’s Day Mint Creme Rolls

Perhaps Little Debbie should call these Shamrock Rolls next year so that they don’t have such a wordy name. (Spotted by DaddyOfThr3e at Walmart.)

Entenmann’s Limited Edition Honey Glazed Donuts
Entenmann’s Limited Edition Chocolate Lovers Soft’ees

Entenmann’s boggles my mind with the number of products its bakeries produce. (Spotted by Gary A at Weis Markets and Amie Z at Acme.)

Smartfood Parmesan Garlic Popcorn

(Spotted by Melody T at Meijer.)

Gevalia Kaffe Cold Brew Iced Coffee Concentrate (Vanilla and House Blend)

Cold brew coffee is big. Come on, Folgers! Turn your crappy coffee into a cold brew. (Spotted by Carla at Fred Meyer.)

Red Vine California Collection

What’s in the Red Vines California Collection? I’m glad you asked because I spent three minutes looking that up and I wouldn’t want those three minutes to go to waste. It has black licorice twists, original red twists, black licorice bites, original red bites, Super Ropes Candy, Original Red Bar, and Superstrings Candy. What are those individual candies? (Spotted by Sylvia at Ralphs.)

Tyson Any’tizers Chicken Twists
Tyson Any’tizers Chicken Twists (Savory Bacon and Spicy)

Oh Tyson! What won’t you do to chicken? (Spotted by Karri F and Melody T at Meijer.)

Fairlife SuperKids 2% Reduced Fat Ultra-Filtered Milk
Fairlife SuperKids Chocolate 2% Reduced Fat Ultra-Filtered Milk

At a quick glance these look like regular Fairlife milk but marketed to kids. But after doing some quick research, it’s Fairlife milk with Omega-3s. (Spotted by Gary A at Weis Markets and Carla at Safeway.)

Purple Cow Limited Edition Espresso Chip Iced Latte Ice Cream
Purple Cow Limited Edition Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Ice Cream

(Spotted by Sascha at Meijer.)

Thank you to all the photo contributors! If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email ([email protected]) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. If you do so, you might see your picture in our next Spotted on Shelves post.

SPOTTED ON SHELVES: Vanilla Cupcake M&M’s

I don’t think I’ve ever had cupcakes topped with M&M’s. I need to eat better cupcakes. (Spotted by Rene B at Target.)

If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email ([email protected]) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. If you’ve tried the product, share your thoughts about it in the comments.

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