REVIEW: Whitemint Stride Gum

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Stride Whitemint

If snowboarder/skateboarder/redhead Shaun White ever forgets his name, I hope he’s carrying around a pack of his Whitemint Stride Gum because it’ll help him remember his name quickly since it’s printed ALL OVER the gum’s packaging.

His name is on the front of the pack. It’s on the top and bottom of the pack. His signature is on the back of the pack. Oh, but that’s not all. The wrapper that surrounds each piece of Whitemint Stride Gum also has his name on it…many times. I estimate Shaun White’s name is printed more than a hundred times on and in each pack of his gum.

I’ve seen his name so many times now that I’m beginning to think my name is Shaun White.

Personally, I’m surprised Stride didn’t go that extra mile and engrave his name on the back and front of each piece of gum. Although, maybe if I look at the packaging through a powerful microscope, I’ll see that all the graphics are made using microscopic printings of Shaun White’s name.

That would blow my mind.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a microscope, or access to one of the labs at the nearby university that have microscopes because I’m not allowed on campus for one year due to “complaints” from female students, so I can’t find out.

But I hope the graphic designer who came up with the packaging designed it with tiny printing, because, if so, Whitemint Stride Gum would have something exciting about it, since its flavor isn’t completely compelling.

Stride Whitemint Closeup

I swear Whitemint Stride Gum tastes like another Stride Gum flavor, but I’m not sure which one since Stride seems to develop a new mint flavor every six months or so. It has a mild sweet mint flavor, so it could be Sweet Peppermint Stride Gum. Or it could be the sweet and minty Nonstop Mint Stride Gum.

Whitemint Stride Gum is available for a limited time, so don’t expect to see it forever in the checkout line with all the gum, candy, and tabloids you could impulsively buy. While its flavor didn’t blow my mind, like watching Shaun White shred in a half-pipe, I did enjoy having it in my mouth for 15-30 minutes and I also liked the fact that I can chew on it during that time without having to worry about it getting hard in my mouth.

With this gum being able to last as long as it does, I could chew on it while counting all the times Shaun White’s name appears on and in each Whitemint Stride Gum pack and then compare it to the number of times the word “yeah” is said in Usher’s song “Yeah!”

(Nutrition Facts – 1 piece – less than 5 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 milligrams of sodium, 1 gram of carbohydrates, 0 grams of sugar, 1 gram of sugar alcohol, and 0 grams of protein.)

Item: Whitemint Stride Gum
Price: $1.24
Size: 14 pieces
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: Decent sweet mint flavor. Pleasant texture. It’s ridiculously long lasting. Watching Shaun White shred on a halfpipe.
Cons: Tastes like another Stride Gum flavor. Flavor isn’t totally exciting. Shaun White’s name is printed way too many times. Wondering whether the word “shred” is still cool.

REVIEW: Post Limited Edition Stone Age Caramel Apple Pebbles Boulders

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Post Pebbles Boulders

I have an issue with the name selection for Post’s Limited Edition Pebbles Boulders.

Boulders? Really?

Maybe it’s my inner geologist talking, who only took Geology 101 in college because it didn’t involve dissecting anything, but I don’t like that they’re called boulders. They’re nowhere close to having the 256 millimeter diameter needed to be classified as a boulder.

Heck, I can easily lift several of these Pebbles Boulders with one hand, and I’m pretty sure I’m who Hans and Franz would call a “Girlie Man.” I also don’t feel comfortable calling them Boulders because there’s no way one piece of this cereal could lodge my arm against a cavern wall and trap me in the middle of the desert, forcing me to cut off my arm in order to have a chance at survival.

If I were to use the Wentworth scale, these Pebbles Boulders wouldn’t even be Pebbles Cobbles, they’d be more like Pebbles Fine Gravel.

It’s not just the size and weight of this cereal that bothers me. Limited Edition Pebbles Boulders cereal doesn’t even look like boulders. With its green bones and brown cereal pieces, it looks like The Great Kazoo’s bones were buried under a load of tiny tater tots.

Post Pebbles Boulder Bowl

When I opened the bag of Pebbles Boulders, a strong caramel aroma drifted out of it, like I had just opened up a body bag filled with dead Sugar Daddies. It made me think that this cereal was going to be ungodly sweet. Fortunately for my lack of dental insurance it wasn’t toothachingly sweet.

Limited Edition Pebbles Boulders are supposed to have a caramel apple flavor and you’d think the brown cereal would provide the caramel flavor while the green bones would give the cereal its green apple flavor, but that’s not the case. The tiny tater tots provide all the cereal’s flavor, while The Great Kazoo’s bones are absolutely useless, like the regular red birds in Angry Birds, and don’t provide any flavor. Overall, the cereal’s flavor was…Hmm, how can I best describe it using a Flintstones catchphrase? Oh, I know, it was Yabba-Dabba-Eww! I could taste the caramel apple, but only for a brief moment in between a weird unrecognizable initial flavor and an unpleasant aftertaste.

If Limited Edition Pebbles Boulders has one thing going for itself it’s that it has less sugar and more whole grain than Honey Nut Cheerios. But, to be honest, not even that can make up for what its aftertaste will do to your taste buds.

It’s disappointing that the folks who make the awesome Cocoa and Fruity Pebbles couldn’t make Limited Edition Pebbles Boulders cereal equally as awesome.

(Nutrition Facts – 3/4 cup (cereal only) – 110 calories, 15 calories from fat, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 0.5 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 75 milligrams of sodium, 50 milligrams of potassium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, 12 grams of other carbohydrates, 2 grams of protein, and an assemblage of vitamins and minerals.)

Other Limited Edition Pebbles Boulders reviews:
Half Assed Productions

Item: Post Limited Edition Pebbles Boulders
Price: $3.68
Size: 9.5 ounces
Purchased at: The-Monstrous-Superstore-Which-Must-Not-Be-Named
Rating: 3 out of 10
Pros: Less sugar and more whole grain than Honey Nut Cheerios. Limited Edition. Cocoa Pebbles. Fruity Pebbles. Vitamins and minerals.
Cons: Yabba-Dabba-Eww! Unusual initial flavor. Unpleasant aftertaste. Gets soggy in milk quickly. Looks like tiny tater tots mixed with The Great Kazoo’s bones. Not boulder-sized.

NEWS: Frito-Lay Launches Cheetos Crunchy and Doritos Fiery Fusion Snacks

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Update: Click here for our Doritos Fiery Fusion and Cheetos Fiery Fusion review

Snack powerhouse, Frito-Lay, has come out with a new line of spicy snacks called Fiery Fusion. According to the Frito-Lay website, the Fiery Fusion line currently consists of Doritos Fiery Fusion and Cheetos Crunchy Fiery Fusion.

What is Fiery Fusion?

According to the packaging, it’s a combination of “Sizzlin’ Cayenne & Cheese.” But looking through the ingredients list, it’s much more than that. It also includes jalapeno pepper powder, paprika, and other spices.

The Fiery Fusion line continues Frito-Lay’s push into spicy crunchy snacks. Earlier this year, the company released a line of Tapatío hot sauce-flavored snacks.

The nutrition facts for a one-ounce serving of Cheetos Crunchy Fiery Fusion: 150 calories, 10 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 190 milligrams of sodium, 14 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, less than 1 gram of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

A one-ounce serving of Doritos Fiery Fusion has 140 calories, 8 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 160 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 0 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

Update: Click here for our Doritos Fiery Fusion and Cheetos Fiery Fusion review

NEWS: Nabisco, Not Naples, Makes Triple Double Neapolitan Oreo Cookies

/ / Spotted on Shelves

Triple Double Oreo Neapolitan on shelf

Update: Click here to read our Triple Double Neapolitan Oreo review

Remember those Triple Double Oreo cookies we mentioned a few months ago. Well, they’re popping up in stores, so if you want to enjoy these Big Mac-like cookies, you’ll be able to do so. However, alongside the regular Triple Double Oreos, Nabisco has also released a Neapolitan version of the tall cookie.

Yes, Neapolitan, as in the chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla ice cream.

Fat Guy Food Blog has a review of the Nabisco Triple Double Neapolitan Oreo cookies, which consists of three golden Oreo cookies with a layer of strawberry creme filling and a chocolate creme filling in between them.

When I get my hands on them, I’ll try a few of them whole. But I’ll probably end up doing what I always do with Neapolitan ice cream and get rid of the strawberry part.

Source: Fat Guy Food Blog

REVIEW: Totino’s Pizza Stuffers (Pepperoni and Combination)

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Totino's Pizza Stuffers

Totino’s Party Pizzas have a special place in my heart, which I hope they’re not clogging with trans fats.

Even though I’ve never seen one at a party, it uses something called “Mozzarella Cheese Substitute,” and its crispy crust sometimes makes my upper palate raw, my mouth can’t help but water when a Totino’s Party Pizza is presented in front of me. So while I’ve never seen Totino’s Party Pizza served at a party, it does create a party in my mouth.

But it’s not just being so damn tasty that makes a Totino’s Party Pizza so special, it’s also its price.

When on sale, you can score yourself one with whatever loose change you can panhandle in 10 minutes outside the store you’re going to purchase it from. Of course, the more charming or desolate you are, the quicker you’ll probably get the one dollar you’ll need to purchase a Party Pizza.

While Totino’s Party Pizzas are tasty and cheap, the two things they aren’t are portable and microwaveable. But Totino’s is trying to solve that with their new Pizza Stuffers, which takes the meat, sauce, and mozzarella cheese substitute on top of a Party Pizza and stuffs it into a golden crust. Think of it as Totino’s delayed answer to the Hot Pocket.

I know Totino’s has their Pizza Rolls, but, seriously, those are meant for 10-year-olds.

The Totino’s Pizza Stuffers come in three varieties: cheese, pepperoni, and combination (sausage and pepperoni). I skipped the cheese one because, really, there’s only so much mozzarella cheese substitute I’m willing to tolerate. Depending on which ethnicity you are, a Pizza Stuffer looks like either an empanada, a gigantic gyoza, a mini calzone, or some kind of dim sum.

Totino's Pizza Stuffers Innards

Preparing a Pizza Stuffer took me about two minutes of microwaving time, flipping it over once at the one minute mark. Just like Hot Pockets, Totino’s hasn’t figured out how to prevent their products from oozing when being microwaved. If you decide to microwave your Totino’s Pizza Stuffer, expect a softer crust that’s a little tough and chewy at the edges. I also baked them in a toaster oven, which takes 20 minutes to heat up at the instructed 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Since they don’t come with fancy crisping sleeves, a crispy crust can only be accomplished in an oven or toaster oven.

If you find yourself staring into the freezer aisle case at your local grocery store because you’re trying to decide which Pizza Stuffers flavor to pick up, I’d suggest picking up the Combination one. The Pepperoni Pizza Stuffers were palatable, but I could hardly taste the pepperoni. Instead, it had a significant tomato sauce flavor. The only difference between the Pepperoni and Combination flavors is the use of pork sausage, but it makes a huge difference in terms of flavor because, unlike the pepperoni in the Pepperoni one, I could actually taste the sausage. I still couldn’t taste the pepperoni in the Combination Pizza Stuffers, but that was expected.

Overall, the Totino’s Pizza Stuffers are a good snack or part of a complete lunch or dinner. If Totino’s Party Pizzas have a special place in your heart, both varieties will have a familiar taste, thanks to that sweet sauce they all have. They’re more expensive and less satisfying than a Party Pizza, but their size makes portion control much easier. Because, seriously, I could inhale a whole Party Pizza in one sitting.

(Nutrition Facts – 1 Pizza Stuffer – Pepperoni – 280 calories, 130 calories from fat, 15 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat*, 15 milligrams of cholesterol, 760 milligrams of sodium, 30 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 5 grams of sugar, and 7 grams of protein. Combination – 270 calories, 120 calories from fat, 14 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat*, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 700 milligrams of sodium, 30 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 5 grams of sugar, and 7 grams of protein.)

*uses partially hydrogenated oil

Item: Totino’s Pizza Stuffers (Pepperoni and Combination)
Price: $3.99 (on sale)
Size: 4 count
Purchased at: Safeway
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Pepperoni)
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Combination)
Pros: Combination flavor is good. Pork sausage brings the flava. If you enjoy Totino’s Party Pizzas, you’ll enjoy these. Portable and microwaveable. Totino’s Party Pizzas.
Cons: Pepperoni flavor was a little disappointing. Uses partially hydrogenated oils. More expensive and less satisfying than a Totino’s Party Pizza. No crisping sleeves. Uses something called mozzarella cheese substitute. Eating a Totino’s Party Pizza in one sitting.

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