Category: Reviews

REVIEW: Jack in the Box Sauced & Loaded Tots

Marvo 10 Comments

Jack in the Box Sauced Loaded Tots Boxes

What are Jack in the Box Sauced & Loaded Tots?

They’re a follow-up to Jack’s Sauced & Loaded Curly Fries. They’re available in two varieties — Cheddar Bacon and Jalapeño Ranch. The former features cheese sauce, shredded cheddar cheese, and bacon bits on top of tater tots. While the latter has cheese sauce, shredded cheddar cheese, jalapeño slices, and buttermilk ranch plopped on tots.

How are they?

In my experience, it’s rare that anything involving cheese-covered deep-fried potato thingies ends up being awful, so it’s not surprising I enjoyed these Sauced & Loaded Tots.

Jack in the Box Sauced Loaded Tots Cheddar Bacon Closeup

Jack in the Box Sauced Loaded Tots Cheddar Bacon Forked

But having tried multiple varieties of Jack’s Sauced & Loaded Curly Fries, I think topped curly fries are a better experience than these. The curly fries’ seasoning stands out a little more among the cheeses and sauces, and the coating helps prevent the potato product from falling apart. With both tots varieties, by the time I got to the middle of their boxes, the viscous toppings softened most of the coated tater tots to the point where they fell apart when picked up with a fork.

Also, I don’t mean to be a Danny Double Downer, but Cheddar Bacon and Jalapeño Ranch are uninspiring flavors. If you’ve been eating Jack’s food for years, the flavor combinations will be familiar, so they’re not anything unique.

Jack in the Box Sauced Loaded Tots Jalapeno Ranch Closeup

Jack in the Box Sauced Loaded Tots Jalapeno Ranch Forked

With that said, both are tasty, but if I had to pick a favorite between the two, it would be the Jalapeño Ranch. I prefer the ranch’s tang and jalapeño’s zing over the porky and cheesy flavors of the other one. Although, I do wish there were more pickled peppers in the container and with all the cheese and sauces, the jalapeños don’t have a strong kick.

Anything else you need to know?

I’m going by memory, but this might be the first time Jack has offered tater tots. Unfortunately, unsauced and unloaded tater tots aren’t its own thing on Jack in the Box’s menu. However, using the chain’s app, I could remove all the toppings to turn them into plain tots. But, of course, the price doesn’t change even after the deletions. I was able to try a few tots on their own and they taste like any ol’ tots you’ve had.

Conclusion:

If you enjoy anything involving cheese-covered deep-fried potato thingies, Jack in the Box’s Sauced & Loaded Tots will satisfy your cheese and carbohydrate cravings.

Purchased Price: $4.00 each*
Size: N/A
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Cheddar Bacon), 7 out of 10 (Jalapeño Ranch)
Nutrition Facts: Cheddar Bacon – 740 calories, 47 grams of fat, 13 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 1670 milligrams of sodium, 65 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, and 15 grams of protein. Jalapeño Ranch – 750 calories, 49 grams of fat, 13 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 1770 milligrams of sodium, 66 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, and 12 grams of protein.

*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.

REVIEW: Multi Grain Cheerios with Real Strawberries Cereal

Holly 6 Comments

Multi Grain Cheerios with Real Strawberries Cereal Box

What is Multi Grain Cheerios with Real Strawberries Cereal?

As we gear up for New Year Resolution season, General Mills is coming in hot with a new version of the popular Multi Grain Cheerios. This variety of the 5 grain, lightly sweetened cereal includes bits of real (freeze-dried) strawberries.

Multi Grain Cheerios with Real Strawberries Cereal Back of Box

How is it?

As a larger person who grew up in the 90s, I am no stranger to the boom that happened in the category of “diet cereal.” I vaguely remember when General Mills introduced Multi Grain Cheerios, but we weren’t a cereal family, so I don’t recall ever having it. That being said, I was interested in trying this variety. I’m a fan of Special K with Red Berries (strawberries) and was curious how this would stand up to that.

Multi Grain Cheerios with Real Strawberries Cereal Bowl

Upon the first sniff, it smelled like…well, really nothing. However, the overall taste was quite good. The oat and grain flavor of the cereal itself is perfectly serviceable (albeit a little bland), but the added fruity sweetness of the strawberry pieces made the flavor far less boring.

Multi Grain Cheerios with Real Strawberries Cereal Pieces

Speaking of the strawberry pieces, they were small enough to blend well with the familiar O-shaped cereal that allowed for an even distribution of flavor in each spoonful. Oftentimes with cereals that have extra elements, the ratio tends to be off. But in this case, they were perfectly balanced; just enough strawberry in every bite.

Multi Grain Cheerios with Real Strawberries Cereal Milk

My only real complaint would be that, by the time the strawberries rehydrated, the cereal itself was far soggier than I personally care for. Letting the strawberries rehydrate in the milk certainly makes their flavor much more pronounced, so it was almost worth the trade-off.

Anything else you need to know?

According to the General Mills website, these are a permanent addition to the Multi Grain Cheerios line. The nutritional stats of this and the original Multi Grain Cheerios are almost exactly the same.

Conclusion:

Multi Grain Cheerios with Real Strawberries Cereal Spoon

If you are looking for a new cereal to add to your morning rotation or possibly to get a kick start on those resolutions, this feels like a good option. It’s nice to see a little variety with this line. If this sells well, it could potentially lead to more Multi Grain Cheerios flavors. Fingers crossed for the return of the Berry Burst Triple Berry Cheerios under the Multi Grain brand.

Purchased Price: $4.99
Size: 11.5 oz box
Purchased at: Winn-Dixie
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 1/3 cup) 140 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 110 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Kellogg’s Eggo Chocolate Waffle Cereal

Vin 3 Comments

Kellogg s Eggo Chocolate Waffle Cereal Box

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve had a waffle-flavored cereal.

Ok, it’s actually been a couple lukewarm-at-best decades.

If you don’t count French Toast Crunch, which had a similar flavor profile, I’m positive I haven’t had a waffle cereal since the very first iteration of Waffle Crisp way back in 1996, aka “the Before Times.”

While I’ve wanted to give Eggo Cereals (and that insane Post Chicken & Waffles abomination) a try, I never got around to it. When I heard Kellogg was releasing a chocolate version, I had to put an end to my 24-year waffle cereal drought.

Kellogg s Eggo Chocolate Waffle Cereal Back

I approached Chocolate Eggo Waffle Cereal with the hopes it would maybe blend the promised chocolate with something like a maple syrup accent. I like most chocolate cereals enough, but they usually leave me feeling like I just had another bowl of Cocoa Puffs. I think a good chocolate cereal needs a co-star.

So, does this have a co-star in the form of maple?

No. No, it really doesn’t. This is pretty much just another Cocoa Puffs clone.

Which isn’t to say it’s bad. I’m not quite cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, but it’s still a classic breakfast cereal. I’m just bummed to say these really don’t break the waffled mold.

They exist in a taste range between Count Chocula’s cereal pieces and Cocoa Puffs. It’s not a super wide range, but there’s just slightly enough to separate each chocolate cereal from the other.

Kellogg s Eggo Chocolate Waffle Cereal Milked

The fun little waffle-shaped pieces are lightly dusted with a sugary coating that I kept trying to convince myself was maple, because it should be. I just don’t think it is.

I want to tell you they taste like genuine waffles, but when was the last time you even had a chocolate waffle? Chocolate chips, maybe, but straight chocolate? Even if these attempted to “taste” like a waffle, the chocolate was always gonna overpower that.

I will say the texture was perfect, but that’s probably because of it being fresh on shelves. Despite having a similar shape to Honeycomb, they aren’t quite as soft, but they also aren’t as pebbly as Cocoa Puffs can be. They maintained a nice outer ring of crunch as the center developed a manageable sog.

There’s a sweet chocolate milk afterburn as you’d expect, and they smell like brownie batter, so there are still plenty of positives. They also make a nice dry snack.

I’m still just mildly baffled about the choice to not include a maple-like flavor.

Kellogg s Eggo Chocolate Waffle Cereal Box Bowl

How many more straight chocolate cereals do we really need? There are already the tried-and-true classics, and we basically get a new one every couple of months. At least these aren’t as dreadful as the Hershey Kisses cereal I picked up a few months back. I thought those were pure trash.

I say pick these up if they’re on sale. Otherwise, I think they’re safe to “Leggo.” They’re good, but nothing revolutionary.

Purchased Price: $3.88
Size: 8.8 oz.
Purchased at: Shop Rite
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 1/4 Cup) 170 calories, 3 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 160 milligrams of sodium, 35 grams of total carbohydrates, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 15 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Snickers Crisp Black Rice Wafer and Snickers Crisp Purple Sweet Potato Wafer

Rachel 3 Comments

Snickers Wafer Wrappers 1

What is Snickers Crisp Black Rice Wafer and Snickers Crisp Purple Sweet Potato Wafer?

Snickers recently released the least Snickers-y Snickers ever. It’s a 6-layer wafer bar! It’s from China!

Ground floor – crispy wafer.

Second floor – black rice or purple sweet potato flavored creme filling.

Third floor – wafer.

Fourth floor – caramel peanut creme filling.

Fifth floor – wafer.

Sixth floor – chocolate coating!

Snickers Wafer Layers 2

There hasn’t been a wafer cookie Snickers yet, nor anything with this many layers before. The flavors may seem odd to the American eye, but purple sweet potato is a common dessert ingredient across Asia and black rice is often used in sweet breakfasts and desserts in Thailand and Indonesia. I couldn’t find any info about why Snickers chose this format, these flavors, and why now.

Snickers Wafer Interior 3

How are they?

These tasted like the flavors of a Snickers dialed down, with the texture of a foam packing peanut. That sounds dire, but it’s not. Foods have gotten so cranked up with spicy/sour/sweet that it was nice to have a break and try something quiet.

Snickers Wafer Potato Fill 6

In the wrapper, these both had a strong peanut butter aroma. I tasted each layer individually at first. The wafers are exactly what you’d expect – bland, tasteless papery stuff. The caramel peanut layer was very peanutty, not very caramely, and not very sweet. There are crispy peanut bits in all the creme filling layers that give it a little crunch.

Both of the creme layers here were dry and crumbled when I tried to separate them. The purple sweet potato layer tasted earthy but not as intensely as matcha, for example. The black rice creme tasted like LITERALLY NOTHING.

Snickers Wafer Ricefill 5

The chocolate layer was where all the sugar and flavor action was. When I nibbled a piece of it alone, it didn’t taste particularly sweet, but the bar as a whole was a 6-out-of-10 on the sugar scale. I knew the other layers weren’t bringing anything to that table, so it HAD to be the chocolate. It also had an undefinable fruity tang to it. So mysterious.

Anything else you need to know?

Loving the packaging here – the pastel pink and purple is such a nice change from Snickers’ usual primary colors and earth tones.

Conclusion:

Overall, a nice but subdued wafer bar with a hint of fruit. If you like fresh-pressed, natural peanut butter, you will love these. If you’re a resident of Guy Fieri’s Flavortown, give these a pass. If you’re living in Flavortown but need to take a zen vacation for a few minutes, they might be worth the gamble.

Purchased Price: $42.99 + free shipping (24 bars, 12 of each flavor)
Size: 31 g bar
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (approx 1 bar) Snickers Crisp Purple Sweet Potato Wafer – 174 calories, 11 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 43 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, and 3 grams of protein. Snickers Crisp Black Rice Wafer: – 174 calories, 11 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 45 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, and 3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Bite-Sized Edible Cookie Dough

Marvo 3 Comments

Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Bite Sized Edible Cookie Dough Pouch

What is Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Bite-Sized Edible Cookie Dough?

It’s Nestle Toll House edible cookie dough covered in a rich chocolatey shell that doesn’t require utensils like the brand’s original edible cookie dough offering in tubs. Okay, technically, you could scoop it out with your fingers like it’s peanut butter or poi.

How is it?

Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Bite Sized Edible Cookie Dough Coating

Let me put it this way. I’ve been eating my way through the bag at a pace that makes me wonder if I should be concerned if the product has an amount of time it needs to be consumed by before it needs to be thrown away. It’s been over three weeks already.

Yes, it’s a Sam’s Club-sized pouch with around 150 bites, so there are many of them. But despite eating some every day, it’s taking me a while to get through the bag because I haven’t been mindlessly eating them like any snack that tickles my taste buds.

It’s not a bad product, but I have yet to close this pouch with regret like I’ve done with numerous ice cream containers and cookie sleeves when I look down and realize I’ve eaten way beyond the serving size.

Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Bite Sized Edible Cookie Dough Innards

The serving size for these cookie dough bites is eight pieces, but I’ve found myself satisfied with four or less because the “rich chocolatey shell” makes them a bit too rich for my tastes. Beyond the coating, I’m able to somewhat taste the buttery and brown sugary cookie dough innards.

But, for the most part, the exterior dominates every bite’s flavor. So much so that if I was given these without being told what they were, I’d think they were chocolate candy with a nondescript center, but not chocolate-coated cookie dough. Maybe a thinner coating might’ve helped with that.

Anything else you need to know?

As I mentioned at the beginning, Nestle Toll House’s original edible cookie dough came in containers that require a spoon (or fingers) to eat. Because they’re spoonable and pliable, I imagine bite-sized edible cookie dough made out of it without a coating and put into this pouch would’ve turned into a pouch-sized edible cookie dough bite over time.

Also, this is currently a Sam’s Club exclusive.

Conclusion:

Again, Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Bite-Sized Edible Cookie Dough isn’t a bad tasting product. But the ingredient I thought would make it better than regular cookie dough doesn’t accomplish that.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free sample of this product. (Thanks, Nestle Toll House!) Doing so did not influence my review. Also, I suspect this review might prevent me from getting any more free samples. We shall see.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 20 oz pouch
Purchased at: Received from Nestle Toll House
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (8 bites) 150 calories, 7 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of sodium, 35 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 15 grams of sugar, and less than 1 gram of protein.