Author: Marvo

NEWS: New Häagen-Dazs Flavors Might Make It Hard For Me To Get Into Speedo Shape This Summer

Marvo 6 Comments

I thought we reviewed all the new Häagen-Dazs flavors released this year (Sweet Chai Latte, Caramel Apple Pie, and Blueberry Crumble), but yesterday I learned we didn’t when a Häagen-Dazs press release showed up in my RSS feeds. So I now have to get out my whip made from Red Vines and force TIB’s writers to review more Häagen-Dazs ice cream and desserts. Here are the flavors we haven’t reviewed yet.

Häagen-Dazs Cranberry Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream: Rich, creamy pumpkin ice cream is balanced with swirls of tart cranberry filling, then lightly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg – a holiday classic. Flavor Top Notes: Warm pumpkin pie, a zing of nutmeg. Flavor Finish Notes: Tangy cranberry with a hint of spice.

Häagen-Dazs Spiced Peach Crumble Ice Cream (Walmart exclusive): Peak-flavor peaches are cooked to perfection, lightly spiced and stirred into sweet cream with nuggets of buttery crust. Flavor Top Notes: Fruity peaches, warm nutmeg and cinnamon. Flavor Finish Notes: Lingering butter and sweet summer peach.

Häagen-Dazs Chocolate Almond Frozen Yogurt: Crunchy roasted almonds are sliced and blended with rich, indulgent chocolate frozen yogurt.

Häagen-Dazs Blackberry Cabernet Sorbet: Tender, ripe blackberries and the distinctive flavor of cabernet grapes combine to create this dark, intense sorbet.

REVIEW: McDonald’s Rolo McFlurry

Marvo 12 Comments

Rolo McFlurry

The McDonald’s McFlurry is a rare treat for me. As a matter of fact, it’s such a rare treat that the last time I had one was when they were introduced almost 15 years ago.

You can blame the McDonald’s Dollar Menu and its Hot Fudge Sundae for my lack of McFlurry purchases over the years. I couldn’t see myself spending the money for a McFlurry because it costs almost as much as three Hot Fudge Sundaes. If I buy one McFlurry, all I can do is eat it. But with three Hot Fudge Sundaes I can eat one, give one to a lucky lady or chubby child, and then pour the third one on my body and then rub it all over like I was using it to block UVA and UVB radiation.

Unfortunately, during my last trip to McDonald’s, I had to forgo my usually pouring of a McDonald’s Hot Fudge Sundae all over my body to cool down and spend my money on McDonald’s limited time only Rolo McFlurry.

A Rolo combines milk chocolate and caramel, which is my third favorite combination involving chocolate. My favorite combination unites chocolate and peanut butter and my second favorite involves melted chocolate poured over a woman’s skin.

When I received my Rolo McFlurry, I was disappointed with it because the amount of caramel it had was significantly less than what I saw in the images over at Foodbeast. Rolo is lame-o without caramel, and so is the Rolo McFlurry. So I ended up having to purchase another Rolo McFlurry from another McDonald’s to get one with a decent amount of caramel.

Geez, if I didn’t have to buy two Rolo McFlurries, I could’ve had six Hot Fudge Sundaes, four of which I could’ve poured all over my head while playing the home version of Nickelodeon’s Double Dare.

Rolo McFlurry Closeup

The combination of soft serve ice cream, milk chocolate pieces, and gooey caramel is a toothachingly good one. Those three ingredients also give the dessert a wide variety of textures. However, when the caramel runs out after eating half of the McFlurry, and I guarantee it will unless you’re really good at portioning, the Rolo McFlurry gets really boring and it makes me yearn for a much better tasting soft serve ice cream and chocolate combination — the McDonald’s Hot Fudge Sundae.

To be honest, adding Rolo candy to a McFlurry seems like an odd choice. Rolo is probably a second or third tier candy in terms of popularity. Heck, more than a third of you probably didn’t know what a Rolo was before reading this review. There are several other candies that would’ve been better than a Rolo. It would’ve been nice if McDonald’s brought back the Reese’s McFlurry or, if caramel is important, a Twix McFlurry.

But again, the Rolo McFlurry is a toothsome dessert. That is, until the caramel runs out.

(Nutrition Facts – Snack size – 510 calories, 16 grams of fat, 10 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 200 milligrams of sodium, 83 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 63 grams of sugar, and 10 grams of protein.)

Item: McDonald’s Rolo McFlurry
Price: $2.69
Size: Regular size
Purchased at: McDonald’s
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: Excellent combination of soft serve ice cream, chocolate pieces, and caramel. Lots of chocolate pieces. Cooling down by pouring a hot fudge sundae all over my body. Playing the home version of Double Dare. McDonald’s Hot Fudge Sundae.
Cons: Needs more caramel. Using Rolo seems like an odd choice. Wasting McDonald’s Hot Fudge Sundaes when there are people in third world countries starving. When the caramel runs out, the soft serve ice cream and chocolate pieces aren’t enough to keep it interesting.

REVIEW: Limited Edition Creamsicle Oreo

Marvo 17 Comments

Limited Edition Creamsicle Oreo

August 14th is National Creamsicle Day.

I didn’t know that until just moments ago and although it’s only a few more months until it comes around again, I’ve been making up for the years I didn’t celebrate National Creamsicle Day by eating one Limited Edition Creamsicle Oreo for each year I missed it. Unfortunately, I don’t know when the holiday was established, so I hope the thirty cookies I’m eating will make up for it.

When the holiday comes around again, I won’t be sucking, licking, or biting a frozen Creamsicle to celebrate the day. Instead, I’ll be eating more of these Limited Edition Creamsicle Oreo cookies to honor the orange and vanilla treat. I hope they’ll still be available, since they’re limited edition.

Why not honor a Creamsicle by eating a Creamsicle? Because I believe one should honor something by eating something else that honors it. I wouldn’t eat an actual flag on Flag Day or a mother on Mother’s Day. In the case of Flag Day, I would eat something that honors the flag, like a cake or cookie decorated to look like an American flag or a pizza that uses pepperoni and mozzarella cheese to create the thirteen stripes.

Although, to be honest, I don’t really celebrate Flag Day, because no one gets the day off, there aren’t any fireworks, and I don’t want to blow my entire patriotic load before the Fourth of July.

Speaking of blowing entire loads, it looks like the folks at Nabisco have been doing just that with their Oreo cookies. Over the past two months, they’ve not only released these Creamsicle Oreos, but also Berry Burst Ice Cream Oreo, new flavors of Oreo Fudge Cremes, Oreo Brownies, and Triple Double Oreo.

Limited Edition Creamsicle Oreo Closeup

However, out of that high fructose corn syrup-sweetened group, Creamsicle Oreo is the only one labeled limited edition and I’m disappointed by that because they make me wish every day was National Creamsicle Day.

After all the twisting, licking, biting, and other verbs that sound sexual but are also done with Oreo cookies, I think the cookie as a whole doesn’t taste like a Creamsicle. However, the orange and white creme itself does taste very similar to the frozen treat, but it doesn’t have a strong enough flavor to stand out from the vanilla Oreo cookie. When the creme is combined with the vanilla Oreo cookie, its flavor reminds me of Fruity Pebbles.

Even though the Limited Edition Creamsicle Oreo as a whole doesn’t taste like a Creamsicle, it’s still a pretty good cookie. And I look forward to celebrating National Creamsicle Day with it.

(Nutrition Facts – 2 cookies – 150 calories, 60 calories from fat, 7 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 1 gram of polyunsaturated fat, 3 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 15 milligrams of potassium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, less than 1 gram of protein and 2% iron.)

Item: Limited Edition Creamsicle Oreo
Price: $2.98
Size: 15.25 ounces
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 8 out of 10
Pros: Creme taste like a Creamsicle. As a whole, it tastes like Fruity Pebbles. Honoring something by eating something that honors it. The number of Oreo varieties released recently.
Cons: As a whole, it doesn’t taste like a Creamsicle. Limited edition. Missing years of celebrating National Creamsicle Day. Eating an actual flag on Flag Day.

NEWS: David’s Signature Beyond Gourmet Jelly Beans Make Jelly Belly Buttered Popcorn Seem Less Gross

Marvo 5 Comments

Full of beans Project 365(2) Day 270

For those of you looking to fill your brain with knowledge that will come in handy if you happen to face IBM’s Watson in a battle of answering trivia questions to determine whether the supercomputer takes over the world, David Klein is the inventor of Jelly Belly jelly beans.

You’re welcome, Planet Earth.

Although Mr. Klein is no longer at Jelly Belly, he’s still creating candy and this week at the Sweets & Snacks Expo in Chicago he, along with Leaf Brands, will debut David’s Signature Beyond Gourmet Jelly Beans, which according to the press release, “is the first confectionary product of its kind: blending exotic cuisine and luxury candy.”

How exotic can jelly beans get?

Imagine chewing on jelly beans that taste like “the world’s finest and most exotic spices, herbs, roots, flowers, fruits, and nuts specific to world culture.” A couple of David’s Signature Beyond Gourmet Jelly Beans sets include “Tastes Around the World” and “Hot Peppers Around the World.” Oh I wish for a habanero jelly bean for me to chew on and then immediately spit out.

The jelly beans allow eaters to create in their mouth the flavor of complex dishes using different jelly bean varieties.

Finally, David’s Signature Beyond Gourmet Jelly Beans will also include a rare product that includes a “special blend” of the rarest and most exotic ingredients in the world, which will be enclosed in a 24-karat gold bean. All of that will be placed in a crystal jar. The price tag for these rare jelly beans and the packaging it comes in is set at $500.

NEWS: Mentos UP2U Gum Lets You Choose What Your Breath Is Going To Smell Like

Marvo 2 Comments

Update:

Each pack of Mentos’ new UP2U Gum contains two flavors and according to the packaging it’s up to you to decide which flavor you’re going to choose to chew.

It sounds like a simple decision to make, but let me make it complex for you. Mentos UP2U Gum comes in four varieties: Daylight Mint/Mintnight Mint, Sweet Mint/Bubble Fresh, Berry Watermelon/Fresh Mint, and Mandarin Strawberry/Spearmint.

So you’re going to have to choose between those four varieties, but before that you have to choose which checkout line you’re going to wait in. Do you go with unfriendly male cashier who scans items quickly, but sucks at bagging goods? Or do you go with the talkative female cashier who asks you how you’re doing, but stops scanning in order to do so?

Once you pick a checkout line, which is where you’ll most likely find the Mentos UP2U Gum, you’ll then have to choose between the four varieties and you have to do it before the cashier rings up the people in front of you. Depending on what the shoppers in front of you are purchasing and whether or not you have a slow cashier, you have somewhere between 30 seconds to 4 minute to decide. You could buy all of them, but do you really chew that much gum?

Once you’ve chosen your pack, you’ve narrowed it down to two flavors, but I prefer to not think of them as flavors. Instead, I think of them as what your breath is going to smell like. What your breath smells like as you chew Mentos UP2U Gum could determine whether or not you get that first kiss, or whether or not your co-workers feel comfortable working closely with you, or it’ll determine if your grandma will kiss you on the cheek or mouth.

Good luck with choosing which flavor to chew.

Each pack of sugarfree Mentos UP2U Gum contains 14 pieces and will retail for $1.49.