Author: Marvo

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

Marvo

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

Marvo 6 Comments

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

Marvo 5 Comments

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

NEWS: Kleenex Advances Facial Tissue Technology With Their Cool Touch Tissues

Marvo 4 Comments

Whenever I need to wipe my nose, I use my sleeve or, if I’m topless or wearing just a vest, the sleeve of the person nearest to me.

So I don’t think I’m the targeted consumer for Kleenex’s new Cool Touch Tissues, which have coconut oil, aloe extract, and stuff found in anti-aging creams to soothe sore, dry noses.

Also, I don’t think I’m willing to pay a roughly 65 percent premium over regular Kleenex tissues for the Kleenex Cool Touch Tissues. Although, I have to admit, even if I did use Kleenex, I’d probably just steal wads of it whenever I’m at a friend’s house or in the lavatory of an airplane.

It’s just like when I steal wads of napkins from the self-serve napkin dispensers at Costco and certain fast food restaurants. I haven’t bought paper napkins in years.

According to Kleenex, when a Cool Touch tissue comes in contact with a person’s skin, body heat activates the formula of cooling moisturizers and aloe to release a cool sensation.

Kleenex Cool Touch tissues are available now and have a suggested retail price of $2.19 for a box of 50.

Image via flickr user sunshinecity / CC BY 2.0

REVIEW: McDonald’s Caramel Apple Sundae and Caramel Apple Parfait

Marvo 17 Comments

McDonald's Caramel Apple Sundae

McDonald’s once used fresh apples slices for good, but with their new Caramel Apple Sundae and Caramel Apple Parfait, they’ve now gone over to the dark side of the Force.

I’m sorry. I should warn you that this review might be sprinkled with Star Wars references because I have both trilogies in my head thanks to Spike TV, who showed Episodes 1-6 multiple times over the Labor Day weekend. This is not the first time I got caught up in watching all the Star Wars movies on Spike.

Much like Bothans losing many lives to provide the Rebel Alliance with information about the second Death Star, I have lost many three-day weekends watching all the movies multiple times since 2008, when Spike TV started broadcasting all the films. Although, to be honest, it’s not a complete waste, if you count the custom permanent butt mold in my couch that was made with all the sitting I did.

With all the Star Wars in my head right now, my dreams are a little weird. Do you know what it’s like having Jar Jar Binks popup in your dreams? It’s like having a car alarm go off in your head. Not even imagining gold bikini Princess Leia can help overcome that.

Wait. What was I talking about before? McDonald’s Chewbacca Anakin Solo? McDonald’s Calrissian Antilles Padmé?

Oh, that right. McDonald’s Caramel Apple Sundae and Caramel Apple Parfait.

Both desserts use the apples found in the much more wholesome Fruit & Walnut Salad and Fruit & Maple Oatmeal. The apples in both desserts are smothered with a generous serving of gooey caramel, making the apples look like they’re floating in a Dagobah swamp. While the apples will keep the doctor away, the caramel might not keep the dentist away. The sundae version also includes McDonald’s reduced fat soft serve ice cream, while the parfait has low fat vanilla yogurt.

McDonald's Caramel Apple Parfait

The caramel is the Order 66 that turns the apples from wholesome to evil. And when I say evil, I mean really good.

Both desserts had a delicious caramel apple flavor. Although I could taste the apples more with the parfait. The crunchy apples were cut into small enough pieces that it easily allowed me to mix everything with the included spoon and, thanks to the added calcium ascorbate (calcium and vitamin C), the apples looked as golden and fresh as a recently cleaned C-3PO. As I mentioned earlier, there’s a lot of caramel, but there’s also enough apple chunks to ensure you get a little bit of everything in each spoonful.

Now, the thing is the caramel is the dominant flavor in both the sundae and parfait. It’s dominant enough that it negates the flavors of the soft serve ice cream and vanilla yogurt. Basically, the Caramel Apple Sundae and Caramel Apple Parfait pretty much taste the same. So deciding which one to choose really depends on how much you’re willing to spend or how many calories you’re willing to take in. Although, the Caramel Apple Sundae’s serving size looks smaller than McDonald’s regular sundaes, so you should also take that into consideration.

However, whichever one you choose, you can’t go wrong. The McDonald’s Caramel Apple Sundae and Caramel Apple Parfait are both really good desserts.

May the Force be with you.

(Nutrition Facts – Caramel Apple Sundae – 330 calories, 9 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, 20 milligrams of cholesterol, 120 milligrams of sodium, 55 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 35 grams of sugar, 7 grams of protein, 8% vitamin A, 130% vitamin C, and 20% calcium. Caramel Apple Parfait – 180 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 85 milligrams of sodium, 34 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 24 grams of sugar, 5 grams of protein, 130% vitamin C, and 20% calcium.)

Thanks to Impulsive Buy reader Lane for letting me know about these.

Other McDonald’s Caramel Apple Sundae and Caramel Apple Parfait reviews:
On Second Scoop
Brand Eating

Items: McDonald’s Caramel Apple Sundae and Caramel Apple Parfait
Price: $2.29 (Caramel Apple Sundae)
Price: $1.99 (Caramel Apple Parfait)
Size: N/A
Purchased at: McDonald’s
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Caramel Apple Sundae)
Rating: 8 out of 10 (Caramel Apple Parfait)
Pros: Tastes like caramel apples. Lots of caramel and apple chunks. Small apple pieces made it easy to mix. Star Wars. Custom couch butt molds. Gold bikini Princess Leia. The Force.
Cons: More expensive than regular sundaes and parfait. Sundae and parfait pretty much taste the same. The Caramel Apple Sundae’s serving size looks smaller than regular sundaes. Wasting a three-day weekend watching nothing but Star Wars movies multiple times. The dark side of the Force.