REVIEW: Wrigley’s 5 Swerve Gum

Wrigley's 5 Swerve

I’m going to help Wrigley Gum.

I’ve come up with a bunch of names they can use for free for any upcoming Wrigley’s 5 flavor. Why free? Because I’m too lazy (and cheap) to file trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

I was surprised by how easy it was to come up with possible names. If you look at all the current flavors, it appears naming them involves either watching the Weather Channel (Rain, Solstice, Flare, and Vortex), throwing darts at the Periodic Table of Elements (Cobalt), or pulling random words at Urban Dictionary (Elixir, Lush, and Zing). So that’s what I did.

So here you go, Wrigley: Lunar, Polar, Reverb, Iridium, Mackadocious, Tungsten, Arcus, Radium, Aurora, Nickel, Ununhexium, Neon, Xenon, Razor, Fierce, Uranium, Plutonium, Avalanche, Blizzard, Brisk, Thrill, Celsius, Fahrenheit, Savage, Corona, Cyclone, Glam, Dew, Smooth, Flood, Kewl, Freeze, Halo, Radballs, Hurricane, Matrix, Iridescence, Redonkulous, Mist, Nocturnal, Fizzy, Nucleus, Ozone, Sassy, Crystal, Pulse, Solar, Crisp, Storm, Thermal, Thunder, Typhoon, Volcano, Vapor, Wave, Zodiac, and Tits.

You’re welcome, Wrigley.

Swerve was another word I found at Urban Dictionary, but it’s already being used by Wrigley for their latest addition to the 5 Gum line. For some of you who talk or text on your cell phone while driving, I’m pretty sure you’re quite familiar with the word “swerve”…and middle fingers. Wrigley has taken that word and used it to name their latest gum and its ability to go from a tangy to a sweet tropical flavor.

Wrigley’s 5 Swerve Gum is the second tropical flavor in the 5 Gum line, with the other being Lush.

Wrigley's 5 Swerve Closeup

Swerve’s initial sourness wasn’t harsh and it had a little citrus flavor to it. The sour flavor goes away after 30 seconds and then you’re left with a standard tropical flavor, which tastes like it’s made up of some citrus, pineapple, and another fruit I couldn’t make out. It’s good, but I think I prefer Lush’s tropicalness.

Swerve significantly loses its flavor after 45-60 seconds and become a bit tougher to chew. After 3-4 minutes of chewing, I thought the gum had reached well beyond its end of life and deserved to be placed at (but most likely spat towards) the bottom of Hefty Jones’ Locker, which is what I call my trash bag-lined trash can.

Wrigley’s 5 Swerve Gum is good for about 60-90 seconds, but after that it makes a sharp swerve downhill. So, perhaps, Wrigley should rename this gum using another term I found on Urban Dictionary — Minute Man. Because, like all minute men, it doesn’t last very long.

(Nutrition Facts – 1 stick – 5 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 milligrams of sodium, 2 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of sugar, 2 grams of sugar alcohol, and 0 grams of protein.)

Item: Wrigley’s 5 Swerve Gum
Price: $1.29
Size: 15 pieces
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: Pleasant sour flavor. Good tropical flavor. Sugar-free. How easy it is to come up with possible Wrigley’s 5 gum names. Only five calories per stick. Urban Dictionary.
Cons: Doesn’t last very long. Gets tougher to chew after 60 seconds. Referring to Urban Dictionary for the billionth time in a review. The cost of filing trademarks. People who talk or text on their cell phones while driving.

NEWS: Burger King Reveals Soft-Serve Desserts and Takes Another Step Closer to Becoming McBurger King

burger king en Gran vía, Madrid

Yesterday, Burger King rolled out a soft-serve desserts menu, which includes premium sundaes, traditional sundaes, soft-serve cones or cups, and milkshakes.

Yes, most of those soft-serve desserts sound similar to what McDonald’s offers.

The premium sundaes, which aren’t really like anything McDonald’s offers, come in four varieties:

Peach and Granola (Nutrition Facts: 280 calories, 5 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 43 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein.)

Oreo (Nutrition Facts: 440 calories, 12 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 57 grams of sugar, and 8 grams of protein.)

Oreo Brownie (Nutrition Facts: 530 calories, 17 grams of fat, 10 grams of saturated fat, 70 grams of sugar, and 10 grams of protein.)

Mini M&M’s (Nutrition Facts: 450 calories, 13 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 62 grams of sugar, and 8 grams of protein.)

The Peach and Granola Sundae has a suggested retail price of $1.79, while the others have a SRP of $2.49.

The traditional sundaes, which are like something McDonald’s offers, come in three flavors:

Chocolate Fudge (Nutrition Facts: 280 calories 7 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 43 grams of sugar, and 6 grams of protein.)

Caramel (Nutrition Facts: 280 calories, 6 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 37 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein.)

Strawberry (Nutrition Facts: 190 calories, 4 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 31 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.)

All flavors have a suggested retail price of $1.

The milkshakes come in three classic flavors: chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla. All will come with whipped topping. A regular size will cost $2.49, while a large will go for $3.49. As for the vanilla soft serve cones and cups, they will sell for 89 cents.

Image via flickr user aabrilru / CC BY 2.0

NEWS: Limited Edition Sweet Cinnamon Wheat Thins Will Sweeten My Holiday Season and Ruin All Following Seasons When They Disappear

Since 2009, I have lamented the discontinuation of my beloved Lightly Cinnamon Wheat Thins, which were introduced in 2008. I gave them a 9 out of 10, but Nabisco gave me heartache when they stopped producing them.

I thought I would get over those sweetened Wheat Thins when Nabisco released a cinnamon version of their Wheat Thins Crunch Stix, but they just weren’t the same.

However, this holiday season, Nabisco plans to release the Limited Edition Sweet Cinnamon Wheat Thins.

Yes! They’re coming back.

No! They’re limited edition.

Bastards!

Limited Edition Sweet Cinnamon Wheat Thins will use real cinnamon and provide 10 grams of whole grain per serving. A serving of 14 pieces also has 140 calories, 5 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 90 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 5 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

Limited Edition Sweet Cinnamon Wheat Thins will be available in 9.5 ounce boxes.

NEWS: Healthy Choice Gets Inspired by ‘Top Chef’ and Healthy Choice

Do you watch Top Chef and think to yourself, “Damn, I want to try what they made, but licking my television isn’t helping.” Well, pretty soon you’ll be able to taste Top Chef-inspired meals in microwaveable form, thanks to a partnership between Healthy Choice and Top Chef.

The Top Chef-inspired line of Healthy Choice Café Steamers come in eight varieties:

Barbeque Steak with Red Potatoes – Beef with roasted potatoes, vegetables and uncured bacon in a whiskey BBQ sauce. (Nutrition Facts: 330 calories, 6 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 55 milligrams of sodium, 47 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, and 20 grams of protein.)

Chicken Fresca – Chicken tenderloins with red skin potatoes & vegetables in a Chardonnay wine sauce. (Nutrition Facts: 240 calories, 6 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 570 milligrams of sodium, 30 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, and 16 grams of protein.)

Chicken Linguini with Red Pepper Alfredo – Chicken tenderloins with linguini & broccoli in a roasted red pepper Alfredo sauce. (Nutrition Facts: 260 calories, 6 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 510 milligrams of sodium, 28 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, and 22 grams of protein.)

Chicken Margherita with Balsamic – Chicken tenderloins with angel hair pasta, roasted garlic & tomatoes in a balsamic vinaigrette sauce. (Nutrition Facts: 320 calories, 8 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 600 milligrams of sodium, 40 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, and 22 grams of protein.)

Grilled Chicken Marinara with Parmesan – Chicken tenderloins with whole grain penne & broccoli in a zesty marinara sauce. (Nutrition Facts: 280 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 570 milligrams of sodium, 38 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of fiber, and 20 grams of protein.)

Grilled Chicken Pesto with Vegetables – Chicken tenderloins with rotini pasta, zucchini, & spinach in a basil pesto sauce. (Nutrition Facts: 310 calories, 9 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 550 milligrams of sodium, 34 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, and 21 grams of protein.)

Grilled Vegetables Mediterranean with Rice – Grilled eggplant & vegetables, whole grain & barley, and olive oil in a mild tomato sauce. (Nutrition Facts: 230 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 600 milligrams of sodium, 44 grams of carbohydrates, 7 grams of fiber, and 6 grams of protein.)

Roasted Chicken Marsala with Mushrooms – Chicken tenderloins with whole grain penne, asparagus & sauteed onions with marsala wine sauce. (Nutrition Facts: 240 calories, 5 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 420 milligrams of sodium, 29 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, and 18 grams of protein.)

Healthy Choice Top Chef Inspired Café Steamers will be popping up in the frozen food aisle later this month.

NEWS: Nabisco Is Makin’ It Rain New Ritz Cracker Varieties

Ritz Garlic Butter on Shelf

Geez, the people in the Ritz Cracker Division at Nabisco have been busy.

During my last trip to the store, I counted three new Ritz products, and when I did a little more digging on the internet I found out there were two other new Ritz varieties.

Regular Ritz Crackers have two new flavors: Garlic Butter and Honey Wheat. The Garlic Butter is naturally flavored, while Honey Wheat is naturally and artificially flavored, but contains five grams of whole grain per five cracker serving.

Ritz Honey Wheat on Shelf

A serving of Garlic Butter Ritz has 80 calories, 4 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat*, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 110 milligrams of sodium, 10 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and less than 1 gram of protein.

A serving of Honey Wheat Ritz has 80 calories, 4 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat*, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 110 milligrams of sodium, 10 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 2 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

Ritz Bitz Kickin' Cheddar on Shelf

The other new Ritz cracker product I found while shopping was the Ritz Bits Kickin’ Cheddar. The mini Ritz sandwiches have a cheddar cheese filling with a spicy kick. If you buy a lot of products with the word “Kickin'” in its name, you know that it’s either meant for kids or its spicy, but the Ritz Bits Kickin’ Cheddar is the first product I’ve seen that incorporates both meanings.

The other two Ritz cracker products I learned about via the internets are the Ritz Crackerfuls BIG STUFF Colossal Cheddar and Ritz Munchables Buttery Thins Original Flavor.

If you’re not familiar with Ritz Crackerfuls, you can read our review. Basically, the Ritz Crackefuls BIG STUFF Colossal Cheddar is the Double Stuf Oreo version of a regular Ritz Crackerfuls Classic Cheddar. According to Nabisco, it has 75 percent more filling. I guess that mean there’s more cushion for the pushin’…in my mouth.

One Ritz Crackefuls BIG STUFF Colossal Cheddar has 190 calories, 11 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 300 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 3 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

Finally, there’s the Ritz Munchables Buttery Thins Original Flavor, which I thought was a product we already reviewed. But, it appears they made some changes to the Ritz Munchables line so they’re no longer a Frankensnack that combines Ritz crackers with pretzels.

*made with partially hydrogenated oil