QUICK REVIEW: Pillsbury Heat-N-Go! Blueberry Mini Pancakes

Pillsbury Heat-N-Go! Blueberry Mini Pancakes

Purchased Price: $1.49
Size:
Purchased at: Safeway
Rating: 5 out of 10
Pros: Comes in a microwaveable pouch. Can be eaten straight out of the pouch with your hands. Frozen to ready in 75 seconds. Fluffy-ish 2-inch pancakes make Bisquick pancakes seem awesome. Can be found for a dollar or less. Getting some sausage patties and making breakfast sliders with these mini pancakes.
Cons: Blueberry flavor is too light. Not sweet enough for my tastes. If you send your child out into the world with only this as their breakfast, they’ll probably get hungry within an hour after finishing it. Having to wake up for school. Being woken up by a finger poking your belly button, making you giggle.

Pillsbury Heat-N-Go! Blueberry Mini Pancakes Closeup

Nutrition Facts: 180 calories, 45 calories from fat, 5 grams of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 1 gram of polyunsaturated fat, 3 grams of monounsaturated fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 330 milligrams of sodium, 31 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 10 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

SPOTTED ON SHELVES – 9/11/2013

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.

Jimmy Dean Delights Honey Wheat Flatbread Bacon, Egg, & Cheese

Do my eyes deceive me or is that a round piece of bacon? (Spotted by Marvo at Safeway.)

Pepperidge Farm Dulce de Leche Milano

With all the Milano varieties, it makes me think Pepperidge Farm actually grows a crop of something — Milano trees. (Spotted by Lauren at Walmart.)

Kraft Philadelphia Spicy Jalapeno

Oh, how I wish these came in a non-spreadable block form so I could attempt to make spicy jalapeño cheesecake. (Spotted by Richard at Target.)

Crunchtables 2

Crunchtables 1

They aren’t a Crunchtables variety, but I have a feeling not even being breaded and deep fried can help brussels sprouts. (Spotted by Richard at Walmart.)

Thank you to all the photo contributors! If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new or limited edition 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.

REVIEW: McDonald’s BLT Quarter Pounder

McDonald's BLT Quarter Pounder

Below are descriptions of three different McDonald’s Quarter Pounder varieties:

A quarter pound juicy beef patty topped with melty American cheese, crisp red onion, crinkle-cut pickles, thick-cut Applewood smoked bacon, ketchup and mustard, on a toasted bakery-style bun.

A quarter pound juicy beef patty topped with melty American cheese, crisp red onion, crinkle-cut pickles, ripe tomato, leaf lettuce, mayo and mustard, on a toasted bakery-style bun.

A quarter pound juicy beef patty topped with melty American cheese, crisp red onion, crinkle-cut pickles, thick-cut Applewood smoked bacon, ripe tomato, leaf lettuce, mayo and mustard, on a toasted bakery-style bun.

Now that you’ve read them, cover the descriptions with your hand and then guess which one is for McDonald’s Deluxe Quarter Pounder, Bacon & Cheese Quarter Pounder, and new BLT Quarter Pounder.

Go on. Humor me. The answers are at the bottom of this post.

Didn’t get them correct? Don’t feel bad. The differences between the three are slight. It’s as if McDonald’s cross-pollinated their Deluxe Quarter Pounder with their Bacon & Cheese Quarter Pounder to make the BLT version. Or perhaps a better way to explain the BLT Quarter Pounder is to say it’s what you’d probably get if the person making your burger got confused between the Deluxe and Bacon & Cheese and ended up making it wrong.

McDonald's BLT Quarter Pounder Split

The BLT Quarter Pounder is an uninspired burger, but it is satisfying. Because it’s topped with almost every vegetable and condiment a McDonald’s crew member can get his or her gloved hands on, it has a wide variety of flavors. There’s the seasoned beef patty, the salty slices of somewhat crispy bacon, the creamy mayonnaise, the bite of the pickles, the savory cheese, and, at times, thanks to the improved Applewood bacon, the burger tastes like a BLT sandwich. However, with so many ingredients, some of them got lost.

The amount of mustard in the two sandwiches I ate was a bit pitiful. Peeling back the bun, there was a lot more mayonnaise than mustard, and it looked like someone was trying to write their name in the snow with their pee. To be honest, I don’t understand why mustard is included. Because I’m pretty sure BLT sandwiches don’t come with mustard. And the same can be said about the pickles and onions. Speaking of the crispy red onions, which I’ve always thought were more pungent than white onions, they were as low-key as the green lettuce and tomato slice.

Now let me take a moment to complain about the “bakery-style bun.” It’s toasted and a decent vehicle for all the meat, vegetables, and condiments. However, I don’t like those thingies on top of the bun. They tend to fall off easily, leaving a mess. It’s messier than McDonald’s sesame seed bun.

Much like the Deluxe and Bacon & Cheese Quarter Pounders, there isn’t anything that screams “LOOK AT MEEE!!!” about the BLT Quarter Pounder. It’s basically a bacon deluxe cheeseburger. However, it’s a decent burger with good flavor, and if you enjoyed the other varieties you’ll probably like this one too. But your taste buds will probably think, “Yeah, we’ve had this before.”

(Nutrition Facts – 640 calories, 310 calories from fat, 35 grams of fat, 14 grams of saturated fat, 1.5 grams of trans fat, 110 milligrams of cholesterol, 1360 milligrams of sodium, 46 grams of carbohydrates, 10 grams of sugar, 3 grams of fiber, and 37 grams of protein.)

Item: McDonald’s BLT Quarter Pounder
Purchased Price: $4.99*
Size: N/A
Purchased at: McDonald’s
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: Great, if you love bacon deluxe cheeseburgers. At times, it tastes like a BLT sandwich. The bacon. Green lettuce (not the pale stuff on Big Macs). Making readers do weird things in front of a screen.
Cons: An uninspired burger. With so many ingredients, some of them get lost. Too similar to other Quarter Pounder varieties. The thingies on top of the bun make a mess. Red onions and mustard didn’t add anything.

*because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean I probably pay more than you do.

Answers: Bacon & Cheese, Deluxe, and BLT.

QUICK REVIEW: Lay’s Cheese Lobster Potato Chips (China)

Lay's Cheese Lobster Potato Chips (China)

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 45 gram bag
Purchased at: Received from a friend
Rating: 4 out of 10
Pros: Cheese flavoring makes it somewhat tolerable. Not as gross as I thought it would be. Having some English translation on the packaging. It’s a regular flavor in China, so if you find yourself there, you can pick these up. Lobster on packaging looks like it enjoys having cheese poured on it.
Cons: Couldn’t really taste lobster; it has more of a generic seafood flavor. The cheese flavoring, at times, tastes like butter. Smells sweet. I couldn’t eat an entire bag in one sitting. Makes my fingers greasier than regular potato chips. Putting cheese on lobster sounds weird, but that’s the American in me talking.

Lay's Cheese Lobster Potato Chips (China) Closeup

Nutrition Facts: 993 kJ, 14.4 grams of fat, 215 milligrams of sodium, 23.9 grams of carbohydrates, and 2.4 grams of protein.

Other reviews: AsiaObscura, Revolting Snacks, cbthechaser

ANNOUNCEMENT: The Nosh Show Episode 12

NoshLogo

In this episode, we discuss the upcoming McDonald’s Mighty Wings and Pumpkin Spice Latte, Campbell’s Soup K-Cups, favorite fall-flavored products, deep fried soup, Monster cereals, and much more.

Links to many of the products and reviews we refer to in the episode can be found on The Nosh Show’s blog.

You can listen right now using the player below:

You can also download the episode, subscribe to the show on iTunes, subscribe on Stitcher Radio, or, if you want to listen in the podcast player of your choice, subscribe to the show’s feed.

If you enjoy the show and subscribe to it on iTunes, we would greatly appreciate it if you took the time to rate us or write a review. Rating and reviews help us get noticed by the overlords who run the iTunes podcast section.

Thanks for listening!

Scroll to Top