REVIEW: Kellogg’s Limited Edition Peeps Cereal

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Kellogg s Limited Edition Peeps Cereal

What is Kellogg’s Limited Edition Peeps Cereal?

Forget winter. It’s a marshmallow world in the springtime, and Kellogg’s has joined the trend of Peep-ifying everything by creating Peeps Cereal. It consists of yellow, pink, and blue marshmallow-flavored rings and small marshmallows.

How is it?

Kellogg s Limited Edition Peeps Cereal Dry

When I first opened the box, I got a strong whiff of generic sweetness. It reminded me of Sugar Cookie Pop Tarts. The rings look exactly like Froot Loops or Apple Jacks, just with different colors, and the marshmallows are small, white pieces.

Kellogg s Limited Edition Peeps Cereal Wet

When I eat the cereal, there’s not really a flavor to it. I can’t say it tastes like marshmallows, but then again, I can’t say that marshmallows really taste like anything. It’s sweet enough that I enjoy eating it, but there’s nothing groundbreaking here. I can totally see them swapping the pink and blue rings for red and green and calling it Sugar Cookie Cereal for Christmastime.

Kellogg s Limited Edition Peeps Cereal Swimming Peep

The flavor is mostly identical whether it’s dry or in milk, so enjoy it however you prefer cereal. The milk at the bottom of the bowl is enjoyable, but again, I don’t think of Peeps. I do appreciate that the marshmallows aren’t too crunchy compared to the cereal, which is sometimes a problem with other cereals.

Is there anything else you need to know?

Kellogg s Limited Edition Peeps Cereal Box Back

I absolutely love the cheerful packaging: the spring colors, the iconic chick and bunny, the flowers made of the cereal. On the back of the box is a Candy Land knockoff, called Peeps Land (what else?). Instead of drawing a card from a pile to determine how many spaces to move, you draw a cereal piece. See, it’s better than Candy Land, because you actually get something out of it.

Conclusion:

As a cereal, it’s OK. As a seasonal novelty product, it’s simply adorable.

Purchased Price: $3.79
Size: 18.7 oz. box
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup) 110 calories, 5 calories from fat, 0.5 grams of total fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 0 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 120 milligrams of sodium, 35 milligrams of potassium, 26 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 13 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Pringles Wavy Crisps

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Pringles Wavy Crisps

Is Pringles having a moment?

Not only did it just release a new line of Wavy flavors – “Flavys” as the kids call them – but earlier this month a Texas woman was banned from Walmart for drinking wine out of a Pringles can.

Quite frankly, I think she was the more innovative one in this situation.

Wavy Pringles are, well they’re Pringles with Ridges. The Ruffle to your regular Lay’s chip. I don’t know if this development is moving the snack needle for you in the era of endless Oreo cookies, Sour Patch Kids cereal, and Lay’s Do Us a Flavor, but maybe the four “new” Pringles Wavy varieties will strike a chord.

Since there are four flavors, I’ll review them on an “Inability to stop once popping” scale. I’ll hit you with the worst to first. Meh to yeah! Least to BEAST! Boo to, get on with the damn review already dude!

Classic Salted

Pringles Wavy Classic Salted Crisps

Have you ever had Original Pringles? Well, if you wanna try those with waves, now’s your chance. I think the ridges make these slightly worse than Original Pringles, as it makes them taste a bit stale – more stale really, Pringles always have a “these might be old” kinda texture. Still, these are fine. I guess.

Purchased Price: $1.44
Size: 4.5 oz. can
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 oz./12 crisps) 150 calories, 9 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 190 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 0 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

Applewood Smoked Cheddar

Pringles Wavy Applewood Smoked Cheddar Crisps

These tasted almost exactly like those bags of TGI Fridays Potato Skins. The cheese flavor was identical to me, to the point I was tricking myself that there was an “Applewood Bacon” flavor too, despite there being no signs on that. These were the saltiest of the four, but still pretty poppable.

Purchased Price: $1.44
Size: 4.8 oz. can
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 oz./12 crisps) 150 calories, 9 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 310 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 0 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

Fire Roasted Jalapeno

Pringles Wavy Fire Roasted Jalapeno Crisps

After one chip I was ready to crown them the Wavy Kings. Before the heat kicked in, there is actually somehow a refreshing burst, like literally biting into a pepper you just ran under the tap.

The heat is a bit overwhelming, so once I popped it was pretty easy to stop. These are sinus clearers for sure. Not only that, transitioning from a super salty flavor to a hot flavor wreaked havoc on my tongue. All that said, these are very true to jalapenos.

p>Purchased Price: $1.44
Size: 4.8 oz. can
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 oz./12 crisps) 150 calories, 9 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 210 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, less than 1 gram of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

And the winner for “Most Poppable Pringles Wavy Flavor” is:

Sweet and Tangy BBQ

Pringles Wavy Sweet Tangy BBQ Crisps

I won’t lie, I pretty much knew these would win because I’ve loved BBQ Pringles since I was a kid. These are a well-done spin on the regular BBQ, almost smelling and tasting like they lean more towards that “Carolina” vinegary BBQ sauce.

They have a perfect level of kick to them, with a sweetness that masks the heat nicely. The tang sets them apart from what you are used to. These hit on all the best elements of the previous three flavors without the negatives.

p>Purchased Price: $1.44
Size: 4.8 oz. can
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 oz./12 crisps) 150 calories, 9 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 170 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

So, in the end, do you know what Pringles Wavy chips taste like?

Pringles.

These are kinda non-starters, but tasty. I’d say the BBQ and Jalapeno chips were the flavors that improved on the similar Pringles I’d had before.

Pringles Wavy Crisps 2

To answer the question posed in the opening sentence, I don’t think Pringles are having a moment at all. They can use an exciting brand extension. Bad enough they’re usually buried by the Chex Mix in the supermarket. They need to get their name back out there in a better way than just adding ridges. Each of these flavors would have been as good if not better without the waves.

Maybe they’ll start selling Pringles Wine Glasses on Etsy.

REVIEW: Kellogg’s Honey Nut Frosted Flakes

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Kellogg s Honey Nut Frosted Flakes Cereal

I want to start this review by writing about the back of the box of Kellogg’s Honey Nut Frosted Flakes.

It’s pure edutainment. It’s as if a Highlights for Children magazine, Where’s Waldo book, and the Wikipedia entry for honey got put into a stew.

I haven’t been paying attention to the back of cereal boxes lately, but this one is mwah. You might be thinking puzzles on the back of a cereal box are super easy and you could solve them before the third spoonful enters your mouth. But these aren’t. I mean, they aren’t as difficult as a Saturday or Sunday New York Times Crossword puzzle, but they seem to stimulate my mind slightly more than the cereal impresses my tongue.

Kellogg s Honey Nut Frosted Flakes Cereal Spoons

Kellogg s Honey Nut Frosted Flakes Cereal Clovers

Kellogg s Honey Nut Frosted Flakes Cereal Honeycomb

The puzzles include finding six spoons in the scenery, finding a four-leaf clover in a patch of three-leaf clovers, and going through a honeycomb maze. Plus, there’s this tidbit (or tidbuzz?) on the box: Honeybees visit more than 2,000,000 flowers just to make one pound of honey. Did you know that? I didn’t, but now I do thanks to this box.

As others on the internet have pointed out, Kellogg’s Honey Nut Frosted Flakes seems like it’s meant as payback at General Mills for coming out with Lucky Charms Frosted Flakes last year that featured a font similar to what Kellogg’s uses with its Frosted Flakes. A later box design came with a different font, but it seems Kellogg’s didn’t forget what the Big G did. So here we are with a cereal to compete with Honey Nut Cheerios.

While they both are “honey nut” cereals, their flavors are entirely different. Both use real honey, but Buzz the Bee should be jealous because the frosted corn flakes are noticeably sweeter than the whole wheat oat pieces. But what might be helping with that is the natural sweetness from the corn itself.

Kellogg s Honey Nut Frosted Flakes Cereal Closup

Honey Nut Cheerios may have a lighter sweetness, but it’s much nuttier. This might be because natural almond flavor is one of the cereal’s main ingredients, while the Kellogg’s cereal makes no mention of nuts in the ingredients. This difference is perhaps the reason why the flakes taste, at times, like original Frosted Flakes. Because of that, I slightly prefer Honey Nut Cheerios over its corn flake competition.

But if you want something that’s flavorful and a little functional, then Honey Nut Cheerios is the clear winner. Both are fortified with vitamins and minerals, but because Cheerios is made with whole grains, they provide two grams of fiber per 3/4 cup serving. As for Honey Nut Frosted Flakes, its box has more fiber than the zero grams the cereal has.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free sample of the product. Doing so did not influence my review in any way.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 13.7 oz. box
Purchased at: Received from Kellogg’s
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (3/4 cup) 110 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 150 milligrams of sodium, 35 milligrams of potassium, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 10 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: McDonald’s Big Mac Bacon

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McDonald s Big Mac Bacon

Does bacon make everything better?

That is a question many companies have tried to answer with various bacon-flavored products that I’d list, but it’s so long that if you’re reading this on a smartphone, your finger will cramp from all the scrolling.

For some of those products, like bacon soda, the answer is definitely HELLLLLL NO. And for products like the new McDonald’s Big Mac Bacon, the answer is, “Well, you should read the rest of this review.”

If you’re a person who’s unfamiliar with the Big Mac, it’s (everyone say it with me) two all-beef patties, Special Sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onions on a sesame seed bun. This pork-infused version has all that, plus three strips of thick-cut Applewood-smoked bacon and it’s available for a limited time.

But here’s the thing regarding the limited time availability: You can get the Big Mac Bacon long after it’s taken off the menu and you could’ve had it all this time. After all, it’s just bacon with a Big Mac, which you can custom order. It’s like requesting no salt fries, tartar sauce on a McChicken, or getting plain soft serve in a McFlurry cup so that you can make an Apple Pie McFlurry. Of course, there’s an upcharge for the three slices. My local McDonald’s asks $1.50 for them.

How do I know this?

Well, because I ordered a Big Mac with bacon this way before the Big Mac Bacon was officially available.

So does bacon make the iconic Big Mac better?

Let me put it this way: If you were to offer me a regular Big Mac and a Big Mac Bacon, I’d choose the regular one.

McDonald s Big Mac Bacon Closeup

The three surprisingly crispy bacon slices add smoky, salty, and porky flavors, but perhaps too much of them. They cause the burger to lose a lot of its Big Mac-ness. The Special Sauce gets less special because the bacon flavors drown it out along with the pickles and onions. It loses a lot of its tanginess, which is what makes the Big Mac so appealing to me. If this had a better balance between the bacon and the Big Mac, I’d probably like it more than I do.

McDonald s Big Mac Bacon Center

With all that said, I enjoyed the Big Mac Bacon, and it’s worth trying. It’s a long overdue twist on a classic that doesn’t get many twists, but this twist doesn’t make it a better Big Mac to me.

Purchased Price: Not sure
Size: N/A
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 610 calories, 33 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 95 milligrams of cholesterol, 1210 milligrams of sodium, 47 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 9 grams of sugar, and 30 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Arby’s Cajun Fish Sandwich

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Arby s Cajun Fish Sandwich

When I think of things that scream Americana, I think regional flavors, wholesome activities I never learned to do like fishing, and chicly decorated fast food restaurants that blare Kacey Musgraves music from their dining room halls. It makes sense, then, that Arby’s decided to welcome in 2019 with a regional take on its seasonal fish sandwich.

Now, I’m not from Louisiana, but I did once rack up a $103.67 bill at a John Besh restaurant. So, I have some experience with the stereotypical (and delicious) Cajun flavors, including the bayou’s take on aioli, remoulade.

Nominally, the remoulade makes Arby’s newest variation of its fish sandwich “Cajun.” I say nominally because Arby’s could have gone the extra mile and stacked shrimp, crawfish, and andouille sausage on top of the triangular fish stick that constitutes the (not-meat) of the sandwich. Overkill? Maybe, but we are talking Arby’s. If venison and pork belly can make it into the fast food world, then shellfish can’t immediately be ruled out.

Arby s Cajun Fish Sandwich Fish

The lack of gumbo-on-a-bun notwithstanding, the sandwich has some Cajun flavor. Emphasis on the some. The remoulade is zesty, with a slight back-heat and just enough sweetness to give that iceberg lettuce a bit of extra flavor, and a composition somewhere between creamy and bumpy (yes, bumpy). But, much like the fish itself, it’s relatively plain, like a slightly spicier version of tartar sauce (which, coincidentally, has nothing to do with steak tartare.)

Arby s Cajun Fish Sandwich Toppiings

Even with the double-sided application, the remoulade fails to achieve optimal bun-protein-sauce ratio, mostly due to the oblong state of the fish and the circumference of the bun. This result is different tasting bites—some more prominent with the fish, others more bun, still others the whole fish and caboodle. And while the fish is executed perfectly — crispy, mild, flaky — it begs for a more assertive guiding flavor.

I get it: Each year, fast food chains attempt to position themselves in the fish sandwich wars with a “new” and updated take on what is actually a very boring sandwich blueprint. And, sometimes, something as simple as adding a sauce makes all the difference. But in the case of Arby’s Cajun Fish Sandwich, the remoulade is a little too mild, and a little too sparse to do the bayou justice.

Purchased Price: $3.49
Size: N/A
Rating: 4 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 590 calories, 260 calories from fat, 29 grams of total fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 45 milligrams of cholesterol, 1060 milligrams of sodium, 63 grams of total carbohydrates, 43grams of fiber, 7 grams of sugar, 20 grams of protein.

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