QUICK REVIEW: Kellogg’s Frosted Mini Wheats Vanilla Latte Cereal

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Kellogg s Frosted Mini Wheats Vanilla Latte Cereal

What is it?

It’s your basic bowl of shredded wheat cereal with a vanilla latte-flavored icing.

In essence, this is Kelloggs’s way of saying, “You’re welcome” to everyone out there that wants to double up on their morning cup o’ joe by eating and drinking it at the same time.

How is it?

Put simply, you’re going to want a cup of coffee on the side, because this iteration of Frosted Mini Wheats leaves all of its flavor in the box. Even though this cereal smells like the inside of a Starbucks, I couldn’t pick up on even the slightest hint of coffee or vanilla when I ate a bowl of it.

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Oddly enough, even though this flavor supposedly has as much sugar as Original Frosted Mini Wheats, it seemed way less sweet in my opinion. It basically tasted like a bowl of regular Shredded Wheat with a sparse sprinkling of sugar on top, which is really just a bowl of mushy sadness once it gets mixed with milk.

Is there anything else I need to know?

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Since the Vanilla Latte version of Mini Wheats don’t actually have coffee listed in their ingredients, I decided to try and make them taste more like sweet caffeine by replacing the milk in my cereal bowl with a Vanilla Starbucks Frappuccino drink. Even then, the Mini Wheats just seemed to cancel out all of the coffee flavor from the Frappuccino, and, in the end, I just had a bowl tasteless wheat gruel suspended in milky coffee.

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You know, I think that it’s the rough blandness of the shredded wheat in the cereal squares themselves that’s not allowing the icing to convey any kind of defined taste. Especially given how good the icing component smells, I feel that this flavor would do so much better in a medium where the texture isn’t distracting me so much, like in a puffed or flaked cereal.

Conclusion:

Despite the delicious-sounding premise, I’d pass on these in favor of Maple Brown Sugar Frosted Mini Wheats with a real vanilla latte on the side.

Purchased Price: $3.69
Size: 20.4 oz. box
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 3 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (21 biscuits) 190 calories, 10 calories from fat, 1 gram of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 0 milligrams of sodium, 200 milligrams of potassium, 45 grams total carbohydrates, 6 grams of dietary fiber, 11 grams of total sugars, and 5 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Ben & Jerry’s Chip off the Dough Block Ice Cream

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Ben Jerry s Chip off the Dough Block Ice Cream

TIL: Ben & Jerry’s was the first to make cookie dough in ice cream happen.

What?!

Mind. Blown.

When I worked there in high school, that fun fact was not on any training or marketing materials. Glad they’re tapping into it now because that’s some serious cred!

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For the summer, they’ve launched three Scoop Shop-exclusives that are chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream to the nth power. The Chip off the Dough Block flavor is the most extreme of the three; its chipper description reads: “Chocolate Chip & Chocolate Ice Creams with Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough & Chocolate Chip Cookies.” I for one don’t think there’s such thing as too much chocolate chip cookie ever and the Flavor Gurus clearly agree.

Before trying the new flavor, I sampled the OG cookie dough one to orient my taste buds. The small sample was enough to remind me of that tasty, raw cookie dough flavor. I went all in for the new flavor though! When the scooper was scooping it, it was visibly much softer than some of the other ice creams. I appreciate that he dug a little deeper into the carton to get the bits that were a little more frozen.

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The ice cream was light milk chocolate in color with visible caramel-colored streaks and studded with chocolate. I could see that they were bigger chunks, which fondly reminded me of the delicious chunks in one of my favorite flavors, Coffee, Coffee BuzzBuzzBuzz. Because there’s no caramel in this flavor, I speculated that the streaks were smeared bits of the chocolate chip cookies.

The first lick (yes, fellow ice cream lickers unite!) was distinctly cookie dough but with a milkier, almost muted taste. The raw cookie dough flavor wasn’t as pronounced. But, I liked that I got the same texture-y goodness – if not more texture-y goodness.

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As I continued eating, I noticed that there were also smaller chips like in Famous Amos cookies. I enjoyed both the chunk and chip. I didn’t see any real pieces of chocolate chip cookies though, which was disappointing. Bits of real cookie would have been a treat! The best textural element ended up being the chunks.

This flavor has all the qualities of great Ben & Jerry’s ice creams – smooth, creamy, scoop-able with fantastic texture – but it’s not worth a trek out to a Scoop Shop. I was able to achieve a close enough flavor experience with a Milk & Cookies pint from the local grocery store.

(Nutrition Facts – 1 scoop – 210 calories, 110 calories from fat, 12 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 60 milligrams of cholesterol, 55 milligrams of sodium, 23 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 19 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.)

Purchased Price: $6.50
Size: Small
Rating: 5 out of 10
Pros: Great texture-y goodness from both the chocolate chunks and chips. You might enjoy this flavor if find regular cookie dough ice cream too raw tasting!
Cons: Where are the pieces of chocolate chip cookies? Not worth the trek – similar in taste to Milk & Cookies.

REVIEW: Snickers Salty & Sweet, Espresso, and Fiery Intense Flavors

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Snickers Salty Sweet Espresso and Fiery Intense Flavors

When Snickers announced back in October that they would release three new varieties – “Intense Flavors,” I was intrigued. Salty & Sweet, Espresso, and Fiery sounded interesting. But that was crisp, cool autumn. Now it’s sweaty June, the Intense Flavors are here, and it seems like a curious move. Who wants melty chocolate all over their hot fingers? I’m guessing this release might have been timed to defeat the summer chocolate slump and tear us away from our ice cream cones. Could be a smart move – it got me on board at a time when I’d be more likely to reach for the freezer.

The Snickers Intense flavors packaging is a subtle shift from the usual Snickers wrapper – so subtle that in a bin of bars, I had to dig around to locate each flavor. They looked like a pile of the same product. But this similarity did effectively communicate one thing – these are essentially Snickers bars with flavors added.

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Also, they’ve stuck with the “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” themed logos. The Sweet & Salty bar says “Indecisive?” instead of “Snickers.” The Espresso says “Irritable?” and Fiery asks if you’re “Wimpy?” I hate this particular gimmick – the visual of all the different words offends my sense of graphic cohesion – so that definitely made me “Irritable.”

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Snickers Intense flavors are slightly smaller than the basic Snickers. Now .04oz lighter doesn’t sound like much, but when I lined them up next to the Snick OG, it’s noticeable. The silver lining is that they’re 10 calories less than the original!

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Aroma-wise, only the Snickers Espresso had a unique smell layered on top of the usual choco-nuttiness. The unmistakable scent of coffee.

Snickers Salty & Sweet tasted like a basic Snickers with a pinch of salt. That was the only difference I detected, but it was a welcome addition. It makes so much sense that I questioned for a hot second whether original Snickers had a salty kick all along. I had to go back and sample one to make sure. It may not be revolutionary, but it was delicious. Like a Snickers+.

Rating: 9 out of 10
Pros: What can’t be improved with a pinch of salt? Just make this the default Snickers flavor already.
Cons: It’s so right, it should have existed already…so not surprising at all.
Nutrition Facts: (1 bar) 240 calories, 11 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 230 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 26 grams of total sugars, 25 grams of added sugars, and 4 grams of protein.

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Snickers Espresso was the biggest departure. Coffee isn’t a new or risky flavor these days, but it’s done well here. The espresso was richer than the usual coffee flavor products. It was present from the first bite but didn’t smother the original Snickers combo that I love. This was my favorite of the three and I would definitely buy it again.

Rating: 9 out of 10
Pros: Great espresso flavor that works well with the basic Snickers formula.
Cons: Makes me ashamed of how much I hate coffee (the drink).
Nutrition Facts: (1 bar) 240 calories, 11 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 115 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 27 grams of total sugars, 25 grams of added sugars, and 4 grams of protein.

Snickers Fiery was disappointing. It felt like ages until the chili pepper heat hit me. I’d finished chewing and started swallowing when the back of my throat lit up and stayed that way for longer than I’d have liked. The heat level was about 3, which is fine for me, but it felt out of place. It didn’t have the fun flavor whiplash of the Skittles and Starburst Sweet Heat candies. Fiery is great for people who love low-level peppers that stick around like unwelcome houseguests.

Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: I ate it, so I must not be wimpy, as the logo implies.
Cons: Implying I’m wimpy. Heat that shows up to the party late, then refuses to leave – even after you’ve turned the music off and yawned loudly.
Nutrition Facts: (1 bar) 240 calories, 12 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 120 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 26 grams of total sugars, 24 grams of added sugars, and 4 grams of protein

Purchased Price: $1.25
Size: 1.82 oz. bars
Purchased at: CVS

QUICK REVIEW: Burger King Crispy Pretzel Chicken Fries

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Burger King Crispy Pretzel Chicken Fries 1

What is it?

Hooray, it’s a new Burger King menu item that ISN’T just a slight variation of its King burger formula! Alas, that doesn’t mean said product is anything radically unique, though. Instead, BK’s newfangled Pretzel Chicken Fries are more or less a minute redressing of its meaty side dish…complete with a snazzy cardboard container featuring plenty of puns about both poultry and pretzels.

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How is it?

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If you’ve tried the BK Chicken Fries before, you know what to expect here. The taste, text and general mouthfeel is the same, and to be perfectly honest with you fine people, I thought the pretzel flavor — while noticeable — was still a little underwhelming.

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You might expect the fries to have a nuttier, saltier taste, but by and large you have to really focus to even absorb the pretzel taste while you’re chewing. And in case you’re wondering, using any of BK’s proprietary sauces pretty much negates any kind of pretzel flavoring you might detect in these suckers.

Is there anything else I need to know?

Long story short, if you’ve had the regular Chicken Fries, you’ve basically already tried these. Yes, there is a subtle pretzel flavor in there, but it’s so subdued that I’m not even sure I’d be able to distinguish it from the regular Chicken Fries in a blind taste test. That said, the 9-piece set is actually astonishingly filling — you may not think that less than 400 calories worth of side dish can put a dent in your stomach, but these things might just surprise you.

Conclusion:

Although the product is only nominally “new,” as a limited-time-only offering it’s not bad at all. The fries are warm, flavorful and chewy, and they go incredibly well with the in-house zesty sauce (which, I think we can all agree, should’ve become a retail item a LONG time ago.)

As an overall fast food item, I’d say it’s well above average, but as an “event” food, so to speak, it’s hardly anything worth going out of your way to experience. And if you’re a health-conscious consumer, don’t even think about going anywhere near these things: with a whopping 1,200 milligrams of sodium, the Pretzel Chicken Fries contain nearly 30 percent MORE salt than a regular old BK Whopper.

Purchased Price: $2.99
Size: 9-pieces
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 340 calories, 21 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 45 milligrams of cholesterol, 1,200 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, less than one gram of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and 16 grams of protein.

REVIEW: McDonald’s Cold Brew Frozen Coffee

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McDonald s Cold Brew Frozen Coffee

Superman is Clark Kent without glasses and a suit.

McDonald’s Cold Brew Frozen Coffee is the Golden Arches’ Cold Brew Frappe without the whipped cream and chocolate drizzle.

While it’s hard to believe no one realizes Mr. Kent is the Man of Steel, it’s easy to see the Cold Brew Frozen Coffee is a Cup of Slush.

The fast food behemoth’s newest attempt to cool and caffeinate you at the same time is a combo of the chain’s new cold brew coffee Frappe base and ice that ends up looking like a chocolate shake. Sadly, McDonald’s isn’t offering a non-frozen version of the beverage. Although, if you wanted a less crystalline drink, you could buy this and let it melt in the summer sun.

With McDonald’s Frappe, the whipped topping, drizzle, and syrup in and on it create a coffee camouflage that does a great job at hiding from your taste buds the fact you’re drinking java.

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This blended beverage is still sweet and creamy, like a Frappe, but without the added sugary ingredients, the coffee flavor stands out a bit more. The cold brew process creates a sweeter and smoother cup of joe than hot brewed, but it’s impossible to tell in this since it comes with a bunch of sugar and cream.

Although I didn’t try the Frappe version, this has the right level of dairy and sweetness for me. Whenever I order a Frappe or a Starbucks Frappuccino, there’s almost always a point when it gets too cloying and I don’t want to finish it (but I somehow find the strength to muscle through it). But with this, I sucked the whole thing through a straw without hesitation.

Okay, not completely without hesitation. There were moments when I had to pause due to brain freeze.

Because I like my McDonald’s java drinks to be sugary, creamy, and made with a proprietary coffee base, this is right up my caffeinated alley. So if you enjoy McDonald’s Frappe beverages, but wished there was something that tastes and looks less like a dessert, the Cold Brew Frozen Coffee might be for you.

Of course, if you have coffee running through your veins from a country I can’t find on a map, you will probably shun this delicious combo of cold, coffee, caffeine, cream, and sweet crystals.

(Nutrition Facts – small – 290 calories, 100 calories from fat, 11 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 120 milligrams of sodium, 41 grams of carbohydrates, 34 grams of sugar, 0 grams of fiber, and 6 grams of protein.)

Purchased Price: $2.50
Size: Small
Rating: 9 out of 10
Pros: A delicious combo of cold, coffee, caffeine, cream, and sweet crystals. Tasty way to get caffeinated. No whipped cream, syrup, or drizzle to mask the coffee’s flavor. Not cloying like a Frappe (but still sweet).
Cons: Hard to notice the nuances of cold brew coffee. Was so easy to drink that I got brain freeze. Unknown amount of caffeine. McDonald’s cold brew should also come in a non-frozen form.

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