NEWS: Mentos UP2U Gum GETS3NU Flavors

Mentos UP2U Gum (Sweet Mint/Bubble Fresh and Daylight Mint/Mintnight Mint) Pieces

Last year, Mentos introduced their UP2U line that came in four flavors, which we reviewed (here and here).

Wait. Actually, that’s incorrect.

There were four different packs and each one had two flavors, so there were really eight flavors. Well, there are now 14 flavors because Mentos has recently release three new UP2U varieties:

Chillax Mint and Energy Strike

Superfruit Smasher and Tropical Mixer

Striped Red Strawberry and Starmint

The Gum Connoisseur’s Tumblr has reviews for Chillax Mint and Energy Strike and Superfruit Smasher and Tropical Mixer.

Here are some quick notes about the new varieties: The Energy Strike flavor does contain caffeine; Superfruit Smasher includes pomegranate, yuzu, cranberry and other fruity flavors; and Striped Red Strawberry and Starmint comes in patriotic packaging that makes me want to stand up, put my hand on my heart, and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

NEWS: Red Bull Total Zero Could Be Your Next Energy Drink Hero

Red Bull Car

Update: Click here to read our Red Bull Total Zero review

In April, Red Bull will release nationwide a zero calorie, zero carbohydrate, and zero sugar energy drink called, Red Bull Total Zero. Personally, the only Red Bull products I would call total zeroes are Red Bull Cola and Red Bull Energy Shot, because they failed commercially and were discontinued.

In order to be calorie, carbohydrate, and sugar free, Red Bull Total Zero is sweetened with aspartame, sucralose, and acesulfame K. To help you get your wings, the energy drink contains B vitamins, caffeine, and taurine.

Red Bull Total Zero will come in the usual Red Bull 8.4 ounce can, but it will also be available in 12 and 16 ounce cans. The 8.4 ounce size will have a suggested retail price of $2.19, the 12 ounce size will be priced at $2.99, and the 16 ounce can will cost $3.79.

The nutrition facts for a can of Red Bull Total Zero aren’t all zeroes. Along with the 0 calories, 0 grams of carbohydrates, and 0 grams of sugar, it also has 0 grams of fat, but it has 60 milligrams of sodium, less than 1 gram of protein, 100% niacin, 80% vitamin B12, 250% vitamin B6, and 50% pantothenic acid.

Source: Drinkfolio

Image via flickr user sugagaga / CC BY ND 2.0

REVIEW: Burger King Crispy Chicken Snack Wraps (Honey Mustard and Ranch)

Update 8/25/23: This is a review of the previous wraps Burger King offered. If you want a review of the BK Royal Crispy Wrap, click here.

I just spent the last hour reading about trademarks on Wikipedia and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) website. While staring at pages that had very little pictures, I learned about “trade dress” and “trade dilution.” However, I didn’t learn why Burger King can offer their new Ranch and Honey Mustard Crispy Chicken Snack Wraps when McDonald’s was first to offer Ranch and Honey Mustard Snack Wraps and owns the “Snack Wrap” trademark.

Well, I don’t know whether McDonald’s really owns the trademark because while using the USPTO’s Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) I learned McDonald’s registered the Snack Wrap trademark in 2007, but also learned they abandoned the trademark in 2007. To be honest, I don’t know what any of that means.

Also, to be honest, I didn’t really spend an hour learning about trademarks. For 15 minutes I read about trademarks, got extremely bored, spent five minutes reading a Wikipedia entry about parkour, then wasted 15 minutes watching European parkour videos on YouTube, followed by six minutes of attempting parkour, and then spent 19 minutes on the ground in pain after tripping on a fence I tried to jump over.

But let’s not dwell on my poor athletic ability, but instead focus on whose Snack Wraps are better: McDonald’s or Burger King.

A McDonald’s Snack Wrap brings together one of their Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips with shredded lettuce, a shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese blend, either McDonald’s ranch or honey mustard sauce, and a flour tortilla. Burger King’s Snack Wraps combine seven lettuces, one of their new Chicken Strips, a three-cheese medley, and either Ken’s Ranch Dressing or Ken’s Honey Mustard Dressing in a white flour tortilla.

Who’s Ken?

This is Ken.

After pulling out the Burger King Snack Wraps from their paper wrapping, I was surprised by how small they were. They were shorter than McDonald’s Snack Wraps. Because of their size, I felt the $2.29 I paid for each was a slight ripoff. Of course, here on this rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, we tend to have higher prices for things, so you’ll probably pay less than I did. But even at two dollars, these are still a little pricey since I pay $1.49 for a McDonald’s Snack Wrap.

Maybe it’s pricier because of the seven lettuces Burger King stuffed into each Snack Wrap. Or, in other words, it takes more green to make these Snack Wraps more green.

I’m sorry for the previous sentence.

However, in both Snack Wraps I purchased, I only counted only two different leafy vegetables. Mind you, I only know of three lettuces: dark green, light green, and red. However, even those two were a colorful step better than McDonald’s one iceberg lettuce. As for the cheese, it didn’t seem to do much to enhance the flavor and the flour tortilla was just like the one McDonald’s offers. I would like to say it would’ve been nice if the tortilla was warmed up.

The chicken strip in the Burger King Snack Wraps had a pleasant crispy exterior, but the meat inside was dry and a little tough. The chicken was marinated, and I could taste some of it while mowing through each Snack Wrap, but most of the Snack Wrap’s flavor comes from Ken’s dressings, which were tastier than their McDonald’s counterparts. Ken’s Honey Mustard had a stronger flavor and more mustard spiciness, while Ken’s Ranch Dressing was mild, but it still made the McDonald’s ranch sauce taste a little watered down.

So if I had to choose between Burger King’s and McDonald’s Snack Wraps, which would I choose? I’d have to pick the McDonald’s Snack Wraps, because their flavors aren’t vastly inferior compared with BK’s Snack Wraps, they’re cheaper, I have the option of getting grilled chicken, and they have fewer calories, fat, saturated fat, and sodium.

Update: Grilled chicken is now being offered. Grilled chicken was not available when this review was posted.

How much less do they have?

The McDonald’s Crispy Honey Mustard Snack Wrap has 330 calories, 15 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, and 700 milligrams of sodium, while the Burger King Crispy Chicken Honey Mustard Snack Wrap has 390 calories, 21 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, and 990 milligrams of sodium.

Overall, Burger King’s Snack Wraps are a tasty addition to the menu, even though they’re pretty much photocopied versions of McDonald’s Snack Wraps.

(Nutrition Facts – 1 snack wrap – Honey Mustard – 390 calories, 21 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 990 milligrams of sodium, 37 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of sugar, and 12 grams of protein. Ranch – 370 calories, 21 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 1,060 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of sugar, and 12 grams of protein.)

Item: Burger King Crispy Chicken Snack Wraps (Honey Mustard and Ranch)
Price: $2.29 each
Size: N/A
Purchased at: Burger King
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Honey Mustard)
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Ranch)
Pros: Really good Ken’s Honey Mustard. Decent Ken’s Ranch. Crispy chicken exterior. Watching parkour videos on YouTube. Vegetation variety.
Cons: Pricey. No grilled chicken option. More calories, fat, and sodium than McDonald’s Snack Wraps. Chicken meat was dry and a little tough. Photocopied versions of McDonald’s Snack Wraps. Learning about trademarks is boring.

NEWS: Jones Soda To Release Au Naturel Sparkling Water In Plastic Bottles

Jones Soda has never been sold in plastic bottles.

Actually, that’s not quite correct. Jones Soda’s discontinued line of vitamin enhanced water did, but Jones Soda soda has never been sold in plastic bottles.

Well, that’s about to change with their new line of Au Naturel sparking waters. Of course, this disappoints me because if I’m drinking one at a picnic and a fight breaks out, I can’t smash the plastic bottle on someone’s head or on a tree to make a weapon to defend myself.

Jones Au Naturel is made up of carbonated water, natural sweeteners (organic agave syrup, stevia, and pure cane sugar), flavor essence, and green tea extracts to provide a little caffeine.

A bottle of Au Naturel contain 35 calories, seven grams of sugar, and five grams of fiber. So it has the same amount of fiber found in a bowl of this raisin bran. The sparking water comes in three Ben and Jerry’s flavor-sounding names: Green Apple A Day, Lemon Limelight, and Orange Ya Glad Its Mango.

Au Naturel has a suggested retail price of $1.79 per 16.9-ounce bottle and will be available on the Jones Soda website and natural grocery store.

NEWS: Burger King’s New Menu Items Might Confuse You Into Thinking You’ve Stepped Into A McDonald’s

IMG_1073

Burger King recently unleashed their new website (site was up and running while writing this, but it appears the old version of the site is up) and with it they also debuted a gastric bomb of new products. Many of the menu items will sound familiar because, well, McDonald’s did it. So here they are:

Chicken Strips

Available in 3 or 5 pieces, the white meat chicken is marinated and battered in seasoned home-style breading. The dipping sauces available include: King Kung Pao, BBQ Roasted Jalapeño, Barbecue, Honey Mustard, Sweet and Sour, Ranch, and Buffalo. A 3-piece Chicken Strips has 360 calories, 19 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 1,400 milligrams of sodium, and 14 grams of protein.

Crispy Chicken Snack Wraps

Burger King’s Snack Wraps combine seven lettuces, white meat chicken, a three-cheese medley, and either Ken’s Ranch Dressing or Ken’s Honey Mustard Dressing in a white flour tortilla.

The Ranch Crispy Chicken Snack Wrap has 370 calories, 21 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 1,060 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of sugar, and 12 grams of protein. While the Honey Mustard version has 390 calories, 21 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 990 milligrams of sodium, 37 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of sugar, and 12 grams of protein.

Update: Click here to read our BK Crispy Chicken Snack Wraps review

Smoothies & Frappes

Burger King Smoothies are made with real fruit and low-fat yogurt, and come in two flavors — Strawberry Banana and Tropical Mango. The Strawberry Banana Smoothie has 310 calories, 0.5 grams of fat, 73 grams of carbohydrates, 60 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein. The Tropical Mango has 330 calories, 1 gram of fat, 78 grams of carbohydrates, 63 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

Update: Click here to read our BK Fruit Smoothies review

The frappes are topped with whipped cream, swirled with syrup, and, just like the smoothies, come in two flavors — Mocha and Caramel. Both Burger King Frappes have 510 calories, 22 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, 72 grams of carbohydrates, 49 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

Update: Click here to read our Burger King Frappe review

Salads

While everything else so far looks familiar, Burger King’s new salads don’t look like they’re from McDonald’s. The salads have the option of having either Tendercrisp or Tendergrill chicken and are available in three varieties:

Chicken, Apple & Cranberry Garden Fresh Salad – Seven premium lettuces, crisp apples, dried cranberries, bleu cheese, and Ken’s Apple Cider Vinaigrette. With Tendergrill chicken it has 520 calories, 35 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 100 milligrams of cholesterol, 950 milligrams of sodium, 35 grams of carbohydrates, 35 grams of sugar, and 35 grams of protein.

Chicken BLT Garden Fresh Salad – Seven premium lettuces (including romaine, spring mix, and iceberg), thick cut hardwood smoked bacon, tomatoes, red onions, a three-cheese medley, and Ken’s Avocado Ranch Dressing. With Tendergrill chicken it has 510 calories, 33 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 125 milligrams of cholesterol, 1,610 milligrams of sodium, 13 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of sugar, and 42 grams of protein.

Update: Click here to read our BK Chicken BLT Garden Fresh Salad review

Chicken Caesar Garden Fresh Salad – Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, Parmesan croutons, shaved Parmesan cheese, and Ken’s Citrus Caesar Vinaigrette. With Tendergrill chicken it has 490 calories, 28 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 100 milligrams of cholesterol, 1,620 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 7 grams of sugar, and 41 grams of protein.