Blue Bell Honey Vanilla Ice Cream Review

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Blue Bell Honey Vanilla Ice Cream pint design

Honey goes great with many things, such as mustard, Nut Cheerios, badgers, Baked Ham, and Boo Boo. Honey clearly has range, but how does this sweet bee vomit pair with ice cream? Blue Bell offers up an answer with its new Honey Vanilla flavor.

I’ll get right to it: this is very vanilla, as in almost just vanilla. After my first taste, I truly thought someone at the Blue Bell factory forgot to push the “add honey” button. Only after a second taste, and a fair amount of Zen-like concentration, was I able to confirm that there was indeed a faint hint of honey.

Blue Bell Honey Vanilla Ice Cream vanilla spoonful

Blue Bell Honey Vanilla Ice Cream so vanilla looking

I did enjoy this as a vanilla ice cream, but I’m not sure I would have picked up on the honey part if a stranger came up to me, offered me a taste, and asked me to identify the flavor. (It probably wouldn’t be wise to accept ice cream from a stranger, but I totally would.)

Blue Bell Honey Vanilla Ice Cream with added honey

Given the lack of honey flavor provided by Blue Bell, I thought I’d go the extra mile, or at least a few extra feet to my pantry, and try adding some. Surprisingly, at least to me, due to my general lack of honey-related knowledge, the viscous goo became even more viscousey (apparently not a real word, but I like it and I’m using it) when it hit the cold ice cream. It almost turned into a giant honey gummy worm on my ice cream. As for the taste, it was pleasant enough, but even with the added honey kick, it was not anything spectacular.

Blue Bell Honey Vanilla Ice Cream honey doesn't make a difference

So if you are looking for vanilla ice cream with just a touch of honey, then maybe this is for you. Otherwise, this will be a disappointment for anyone looking for a complete honey experience.

Purchased Price: $3.99
Size: One Pint
Purchased at: Brookshire Brothers
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup) 200 calories, 10 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 90 milligrams of sodium, 23 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 22 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

Smartfood Fiber Pop Popcorn Review

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Smartfood Fiber Pop Popcorn bags

I’m not sure why Smartfood didn’t call this just Smartfood Fiber. The “Pop” seems unnecessary when everything Smartfood makes is popcorn. I’m pretty sure anyone who has set foot in a grocery store already knows this is popcorn.

Also, “Pop” should’ve been left off because, if you wanted to, you could upload an image of the Smartfood Fiber Pop bag to your favorite AI chatbot and ask it to replace that “Pop” on the bag with what fiber helps with in your body. Again, if you wanted to.

And, if you wanted to, you could post that AI-generated image to your social media. I won’t be doing that because I do not want to deal with the email that may follow from the Smartfood PR folks who have my email and home addresses.

Anypoo, Smartfood Fiber Pop comes in two flavors — Sweet & Salty and Sweet & Salty II: Toffee & Sea Salt. I find it a little odd both varieties are sweet and salty with no savory options. A cup and a half serving provides six grams of fiber from corn soluble fiber, which is 22 percent of your daily recommended amount — a significant jump from the one or two grams you’d get from regular Smartfood products.

Smartfood Fiber Pop Popcorn Sweet & Salty

With the first few kernels of the Sweet & Salty variety, I could barely register sweet or salty on my tongue. The flavors started to pop out when I ate more, though. Looking into the bag, I noticed that some of the mushroom popcorn pieces were more heavily coated than others, which led to inconsistent flavor levels with every pull from the bag. A few pulls were duds with very little flavor, others were mild, and others popped. The sweet and salty flavor is similar to others in the kettle corn space, but the saltiness is notably mild.

Smartfood Fiber Pop Popcorn Toffee & Sea Salt

The Toffee & Sea Salt variety is the clear winner of the two. A strong buttery aroma rises out of the bag, and the flavor matches that intensity. It’s also saltier than the Sweet & Salty. Like with the other flavor, the least coated pieces deliver a less desirable level of flavor, but the butteriness from previously eaten kernels tends to linger, which helps prevent truly flavorless bites. With both varieties, the sugary coatings give the popcorn a pleasant sugary crispiness to go along with the popcorn’s standard crunch.

Now that Frito-Lay has gotten fiber popcorn out of the way, maybe fiber potato chips should be next? If they’re as good as these Smartfood Fiber Pop flavors, I guarantee I’ll reach my recommended daily fiber intake with them. Wait. Is potato soluble fiber a thing? I’ll ask my favorite AI chatbot once it’s done generating a particular image I requested.

Purchased Price: $4.00 each
Size: 5 3/4 oz bags
Purchased at: Times Supermarket
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Sweet & Salty), 8 out of 10 (Toffee & Sea Salt)
Nutrition Facts: (about 1 1/2 cups) Sweet & Salty – 130 calories, 6 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 100 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of fiber, 7 grams of sugar (includes 6 grams of added sugar), and 1 gram of protein. Toffee & Sea Salt – 130 calories, 6 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 60 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of fiber, 6 grams of sugar (includes 6 grams of added sugar), and less than 1 gram of protein.

Starbucks Iced Toasted Coconut Latte Review

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Starbucks Iced Toasted Coconut Latte in a cup

Starbucks keeps rolling out spring drinks like it’s trying to will warm weather into existence, and honestly? I respect the optimism. This year’s lineup features toasted coconut everywhere: in a cold brew, a macchiato, and a Toasted Coconut Latte, which Starbucks now offers hot or iced. The drink combines the new toasted coconut syrup with signature espresso and milk.

OK, so here we go right out of the gate: The biggest downfall of this drink was that the coconut wasn’t strong enough. It was very mellow and muted, despite there being three pumps of syrup in a tall. Between the toasted flavor and the milk, it just… fell a bit flat. I wonder how it would differ if you swapped dairy milk for coconut milk? Coconut on coconut could be interesting…

Looking down at Starbucks Iced Toasted Coconut Latte in a cup

But what I DID like about it was that it wasn’t a super sweet drink. Even with 19 grams of sugar in a tall, I felt like I was having my morning latte versus a dessert. I was also pleasantly surprised with the protein content – always an added bonus!

If you’re a coconut enthusiast, it’s worth a try. But I’d be interested to see if the flavor shines through more in the other new toasted coconut drinks. Let me know if you’ve tried any of the others!

And as a small aside, when I got this drink, my two-year-old tried the new Frog Cake Pop, also here for spring. She would definitely give it a 10 out of 10!

Purchased Price: $5.45
Size: Tall
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 130 calories, 3.5 grams of total fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 15 milligrams of cholesterol, 90 milligrams of sodium, 19 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 19 grams of total sugars, 6 grams of protein, and 75 milligrams of caffeine.

Sonic Sour Shamrock Slush Review

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Sonic Sour Shamrock Slush green color

When you hear that something is “shamrock” flavored, you probably assume it’s mint. But why does that have to be? I’ve never eaten an actual shamrock, but I’m guessing it doesn’t taste like mint. For years, I’ve been saying we should include other green flavors with our annual March treats.

Sonic seems to agree, because its new Sour Shamrock Slush is not mint but apple. It’s a green apple slush with sour popping candy throughout, capped with whipped topping and a rainbow candy piece.

Sonic Sour Shamrock Slush cloud, rainbow, and pot of gold

This thing is a beauty. It evokes not just green fields of shamrocks but also a cloud with a rainbow and a pot of gold at the end. It’s much more creative than all the mint shakes we get at this time of year.

The slush has a typical green apple candy flavor. It’s vibrant and enjoyable, a bold flavor choice. The texture of the slush is just the right amount of grainy and liquidy. Sonic has mastered making slushes, and this one is no different.

Usually, when popping candy is included in things like this, the popping is the only thing you get. Since I don’t drink in my car, I could hear my drink snapping during the 18-minute drive home, and I definitely feel a little crackle in my mouth. But with this drink, the popping takes a backseat to the candy’s sour nature. There is no mistaking the sourness here! Not quite the level of an actual lemon, but closer to the sour dusting on Sour Patch Kids. Since the candies are small, they don’t overpower the drink, but you can’t miss them.

The rainbow candy bite seems to be an artificial cherry flavor, like those multicolored candy canes you get in elementary school. I enjoy it, but it’s so chewy that it feels like I’m taking a break from the slush to eat the candy. I’m fine with that, but it doesn’t feel like a cohesive part of the whole.

The whipped topping is the typical grocery store variety, like Cool Whip. It’s not something I ever considered putting on a slush before, but I’m not mad about it. Since it’s mostly oil, it doesn’t really integrate into the slush the way that actual whipped cream or ice cream might.

Sonic Sour Shamrock Slush mixed

As I got to the bottom, I mixed the topping with the rest of the slush, and I didn’t like it as much. But I don’t know whether the whipped topping ruined the flavor, or whether the drink was already losing its flavor as I sucked the slush through my straw.

I’m really delighted with this drink. And I’m hoping this can also help us move into embracing green flavors more broadly during March: lime, pistachio, pear, honeydew, kiwi, avocado, pickle…Think of the possibilities!

Purchased Price: $3.99
Size: Only available as medium
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 440 calories, 6 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 90 milligrams of sodium, 98 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 94 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

Monster Voodoo Grape Energy Juice Review

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Monster Voodoo Grape Energy Juice can

Monster Voodoo Grape Energy Juice contains the following: white grape juice concentrate, apple juice concentrate, red grape juice concentrate, Concord grape juice concentrate, and plum juice concentrate. Despite that concentration of juice concentrates, the can says it consists of only six percent juice. However, I don’t need to concentrate much to notice its great grape flavor.

I’m not sure what the deal is with the whole “voodoo” theme, and I’m not going to concentrate at all on the relationship between grape and voodoo. I’ll let AI do that.

Okay, AI has told me that while voodoo and grape don’t have a direct relationship, the color purple and voodoo, um, doo. Purple is one of the three Mardi Gras colors — along with gold and green — and Mardi Gras has a deep relationship with New Orleans’ voodoo culture. Kevin Costner was in the movie JFK, which was set in New Orleans, and Kevin Bacon played a minor role in JFK. BOOM!

Oh, wait. We’re not playing Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. My bad.

Monster Voodoo Grape Energy Juice purple color

Voodoo Grape’s enticing aroma and delicious flavor are pretty straightforward. If you’ve had a grape soda in your life, or voided a Sodastream’s warranty by using it to pump carbon dioxide into grape juice, you have a pretty good idea of what this smells, tastes, and feels like. It has a bold grape flavor that makes my mouth feel like it just got punched in the face by the Fruit of the Looms red grapes. Its carbonation isn’t as strong as a Grape Crush, but there are plenty of bubbles to tickle your tongue.

While it’s a great tasting grape beverage and it gets my heart pumping with 160 milligrams of caffeine, I can’t say I’d choose it over Monster Energy’s other grape-flavored energy drink, Ultra Violet, if I’m standing in front of store coolers concentrating on what beverage I’m going to pick up to wake my tired body. Ultra Violet also has a great grape flavor and the same caffeine amount, but with no sugar and only ten calories, which is a pretty easy tiebreaker when choosing between two great options.

Also, Milla Jovovich was in a movie called Ultraviolet. She was also in Dazed and Confused. In that movie, Matthew McConaughey played David Wooderson and debuted his real-life catchphrase, “alright, alright, alright.” McConaughey was also in the film A Time to Kill with — that’s right — KEVIN BACON! BOOM!

Purchased Price: $3.75
Size: 16 fl oz can
Purchased at: 7-Eleven
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 150 calories, 0 grams of fat, 190 milligrams of sodium, 39 grams of carbohydrates, 36 grams of sugar (includes 36 grams of added sugar), 0 grams of protein, and 160 milligrams of caffeine.

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