QUICK REVIEW: Dairy Queen Secret Menu Coffee Oreo Blizzard

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Dairy Queen Secret Menu Coffee Oreo Blizzard

What is the Coffee Oreo Blizzard?

The Coffee Oreo Blizzard fulfills my childhood dream of being an ice cream secret agent. This “secret” menu item tasks my alter ego secret agent DQ7 with requesting coffee syrup to be blended with the standard vanilla base and Oreo cookie pieces.

How is it?

Dairy Queen Secret Menu Coffee Oreo Blizzard 2

The basic request for a coffee infusion added a flavor so light that I thought it was undercover itself. A slight mocha note peaks its shy head up in the bites that are light on Oreo magic. A spoonful consisting of cookies galore on the other hand drown out the faint whispers of coffee flavor found in their absence. This raises the vanilla floor, but the Oreo cookie ceiling isn’t even raised enough for Oddjob. The coffee syrup is a pleasant but uninspiring addition.

Is there anything else you need to know?

I take any opportunity to don a tuxedo and affect a terrible, and probably offensive, British accent. It is however completely unnecessary when ordering from the “secret” menu. At least based upon the lack of a convoluted plot to slowly lower me into a gigantic bladed Blizzard stirrer.

Dairy Queen Secret Menu Coffee Oreo Blizzard 3

To order the Coffee Oreo Blizzard for yourself, simply ask for coffee syrup to be added to the Oreo Cookie Blizzard. If you want more than just a hint of coffee, ask them to double it. Just don’t ask for it to be shaken and not stirred unless you enjoy exasperated eye rolls. I was not charged extra for the coffee flavoring, but they may have been scared of my license to chill.

Conclusion:

My first mission as a Dairy Queen secret agent ended satisfactorily. Coffee flavor fans will find this hack to be neutral at worst, and at best, an incremental upgrade unworthy of Q. Next time, I will ask for a heavier hand with the java juice.

Purchased Price: $4.19
Size: Medium
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: None available.

REVIEW: Chobani Flip Peanut Butter Cup

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Chobani Flip Peanut Butter Cup

The Chobani Flip Peanut Butter Cup flavor is like dumping your good Halloween candy into Greek yogurt.

Or, to be more exact, it’s tiny peanut butter cups, tinier peanut butter oat clusters, and even tinier fudge coated peanuts you dump into chocolate and peanut butter-flavored low-fat Greek Yogurt.

Let’s start with the chocolate and peanut butter Greek yogurt base. If it was sold separately, I’d pick it up regularly to get my calcium, protein, L. bulgaricus, S. thermophilus, L. acidophilus, bifidus, L. casei, and L. rhamnosus fix. It doesn’t have a strong flavor because the yogurt’s tang cuts through it like a chainsaw into a marshmallow. But it’s mild enough that eating it sans mix-ins was more than fine with me.

Chobani Flip Peanut Butter Cup 2

But with that said, the mix-ins are what makes this Chobani Flip perhaps my GOAT. The peanut butter clusters and fudge-covered peanuts slightly amp up the sweet flavors and provide a little crunch. But they pale in comparison to what those tiny peanut butter cups do with the yogurt. They pack a punch that makes you forget there are other types of mix-ins. It’s as if I’m eating a peanut butter cup by itself that happened to get a little Greek yogurt on it.

Chobani Flip Peanut Butter Cup 3

With this Chobani Flip variety, you can experience three different levels of chocolate and peanut butter goodness. There’s the yogurt by itself, which would be level one. Then there’s the yogurt with the PB clusters and fudge peanuts, which would be level two. Then there’s the yogurt with just the mini PB cups, which is several chocolatey and peanut buttery levels higher than the others.

All it takes is just one of those tiny PB cups to make a spoonful worthwhile. Unfortunately, there might not be enough of them in every container to make EVERY spoonful worthwhile.

In a nutshell, Peanut Butter Cup the best Chobani Flip flavor I’ve ever had. Although, that could be the sugar in the candy that goes into the Greek yogurt talking. This flavor better be around forever, because if it ever gets discontinued, I’ll eat a large tub of Yoplait Plain Yogurt in protest.

Purchased Price: $1.29
Size: 5.3 oz. container
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 200 calories, 6 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 15 milligrams of cholesterol, 140 milligrams of sodium, 25 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 21 grams of sugar, and 11 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Planters Limited Edition Drizzle Roasted Nuts

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Planters Limited Edition Drizzle Roasted Nuts

Planters Limited Edition Drizzle Roasted Nuts come in two varieties — Roasted Almonds with Dark Chocolate and Roasted Cashews with Milk Chocolate.

If you think about it, with this line, Planters is giving us less of the good stuff. I’m not talking about the nuts, which pay for Mr. Peanut’s closet of top hats, monocles, and canes. I’m talking about the chocolate.

Of course, that is not Planters’ expertise. Nor does its parent conglomerate, Kraft Heinz, have a chocolate brand under its umbrella. But the sweet stuff is what makes these appealing, and they’d be a lot more so if they had more than just a drizzle.

Actually, “drizzle” might not be the most accurate description of how much chocolate is on each nut. Yes, it’s drizzled on top, but underneath there’s a solid thin layer of it. So it covers about 60-70 percent of the nut, but I wish it had more.

But I can understand why Planters didn’t thoroughly coat the almonds and cashews. It doesn’t help highlight the nuts, which is Planters’ bread and butter that pays for Mr. Peanut’s other closet of white gloves, wingtips, and Crest Whitening Strips. I understand it, but I don’t agree with it.

Let’s be honest; drizzle is a fancy way of saying less chocolate. Heck, the word “less” can be spelled using “drizzle,” if you take the L, E, and flip the two Zs horizontally.

Planters Limited Edition Drizzle Roasted Almond with Dark Chocolate

As someone who likes dark chocolate covered almonds, I feel I’m getting a little ripped off here. Why would I pay for partially covered almonds when I can get fully covered almond for the same price or less. It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth that you’d think would go well with the bitterness from the dark chocolate and almonds, but doesn’t.

Planters Limited Edition Drizzle Roasted Almond with Dark Chocolate

My issue is that sometimes I can taste the drizzle, but most times I can’t. When that happens, what my taste buds are left with are plain, unsalted almonds.

Maybe it’s the quality of the confection, which doesn’t seem very good. Or its bitterness gets lost in the almond’s bitterness. Whatever the reason, these aren’t that satisfying if I’m trying to satiate my sweet tooth.

Purchased Price: $13.14
Size: 14.5 oz. bag
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (about 20 pieces) 160 calories, 13 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 70 milligrams of sodium, 8 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 3 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein.

Planters Limited Edition Drizzle Roasted Cashew with Milk Chocolate

FULL DISCLOSURE: I eat a lot more almonds than cashews, but I love the C-shaped nut a teeny bit more. I should mention this because I enjoyed these more than the almond one.

Planters Limited Edition Drizzle Roasted Cashew with Milk Chocolate

The chocolate isn’t that great when eaten by itself because it’s not that sweet, although noticeably sweeter than the dark stuff on the other one. But when eaten with the cashews, the sweetness and creaminess of both parts complement each other.

The combination makes me want to eat a cashew butter and chocolate sandwich right now, which I would do if cashew butter wasn’t so darn expensive. With the almond one, I could pop a few in my mouth, and I’m good. But with this, I want to eat the entire bag.

I do wish they had better chocolate and more of it, but comparing the two Planters Limited Edition Drizzle Roasted Nut varieties, the cashew version is far and away the better one. Also, chocolate covered cashews aren’t very common, so it was nice eating them.

Purchased Price: $13.14
Size: 12 oz. bag
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (13 pieces) 160 calories, 12 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 120 milligrams of sodium, 10 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein.

QUICK REVIEW: Hostess Peanut Butter Totally Nutty! Bars

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Hostess Peanut Butter Totally Nutty Bars

What are Hostess Peanut Butter Totally Nutty! Bars?

Having grown up in a family that always had Little Debbie treats scattered around the house, these new confections seem to be Hostess’ take on its rival’s iconic Nutty Buddy Bars. They feature layers of peanut butter filling sandwiched between fudge-coated wafers.

How are they?

Hostess Peanut Butter Totally Nutty Bars 2

Hostess was right to call these treats Totally Nutty because they were all about the peanut butter. It was the most prominent flavor I noticed when I initially tasted one of the bars, and it was also the aspect that made me want to reach for another pack after polishing my first one off.

With all the nutty goodness going on, I forgot each bar has a fudge coating. Well, at least until it started to melt on my fingers. It’s easy to forget about because it’s bland compared to the rest of the bar.

Hostess Peanut Butter Totally Nutty Bars 3

If I had to describe the specific flavor of the peanut butter filling, I would say it’s quite close to what’s in Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Creamy, sweet, and salty enough to make them hard to put down, it was the perfect companion for the light and airy texture of each wafer layer.

Is there anything else you need to know?

Unlike Nutty Buddy bars, which come in twin packs, these are individually wrapped. So don’t plan on being able to split a sleeve between you and a friend all that easily.

Conclusion:

Despite the fudge coating’s shortcomings, I still found these quite enjoyable. They may not carry the Reese’s name, but peanut-butter-lovers everywhere should definitely make a spot for these in their snack cabinet.

Purchased Price: $2.99
Size: 12 oz. box (8 bars)
Purchased at: Kroger
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 bar) 230 calories, 140 calories from fat, 16 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 105 milligrams of sodium, 23 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 16 grams of total sugars, and 2 grams of protein.

QUICK REVIEW: Kit Kat Chocolatory Sublime Ruby (Japan)

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Kit Kat Chocolatory Sublime Ruby

What is the Kit Kat Chocolatory Sublime Ruby?

While in Tokyo recently, I made a stop at the Kit Kat Chocolatory store & café and brought home some goodies. Ruby Kit Kats are a new type of chocolate made from unfermented cocoa beans (regular chocolate is fermented). There’s no coloring added, so the dusty mauve tint is the natural shade of the cocoa beans.

Kit Kat Chocolatory Sublime Ruby 2

How is it?

Ruby Kit Kats smell like white chocolate and taste like a blueberry or blackberry-flavored white chocolate. There’s a prominent cheesecake-style tang.

Kit Kat Chocolatory Sublime Ruby 3

It’s a tasty Kit Kat, but I expected something out of left field since it’s a whole new category of chocolate. However, it tasted like something I’ve had before. Without the press releases and special packaging, I would have figured it was just another novelty flavor.

The color is lovely. It gives the illusion that it’s more natural than the bright pink most berry items sport these days. Maybe it is since there’s no coloring added?

Kit Kat Chocolatory Sublime Ruby 4

Is there anything else you need to know?

Wanna know how to spend $42 in a Kit Kat store? This is it. These are ‘spensive – $3.50 for a tiny box. The packaging is so distinctly Japanese – graphically clean and minimalist, carefully wrapping a precious single stick of Kit Kat – as in 1/4 of a standard Kit Kat package here in the US. $3.50 for one finger of a Kit Kat! I was so disappointed, then nauseated by my American-sized gluttony. So I ate another one.

Conclusion:

These are interesting, but no more than any other random flavor variety of Kit Kat. I hope millions weren’t spent developing this new ruby chocolate, because it’s not all that. Try them if they’re easy to get and the price lowers, but don’t bend over backwards to find them.

Purchased Price: 400 yen (approx. $3.52 US)
Size: 12 g bar
Purchased at: Kit Kat Chocolatory main store, Ginza, Tokyo
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (12 g bar) 61 calories, 3.6 grams of fat, 2.4-11 milligrams of sodium, 6.5 grams of carbohydrates, and 0.61 grams of protein.

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