Category: Reviews

REVIEW: Chobani Flip Cinnamon French Toast

Marvo 4 Comments

I can’t remember the last time a Chobani Flip variety made my mouth do a chef’s kiss or say magnifique, but this Chobani Flip Cinnamon French Toast got me to do both. The yogurt and mix-in combo features maple-flavored lowfat Greek yogurt with cinnamon rice crisps, maple-flavored cookies, and fudge bark.

I enjoyed this treat so much that after one spoonful I didn’t even take the time to enjoy the mix-ins individually, which I usually do when I try a new Chobani Flip variety. Who eats the mix-ins individually? I do. I’m a bird, okay? But that doesn’t matter here because my mouth turned into a Dyson vacuum and sucked up this tasty yogurt. I ate this so fast that the crunchy rice crisps and cookies never got a chance to even get slightly soggy.

I wouldn’t say the yogurt and mix-ins ultimately tasted like French toast, but it definitely nailed the cinnamon and syrup, which brought the bready breakfast staple to mind. But it didn’t have the slight egginess that French toast has. Despite that, this flavor is so good that I wish Chobani made bigger Flips. Instead, I will have to settle for eating two of them in one sitting. And since this isn’t a limited batch flavor, I can eat two in one sitting without worrying about it disappearing off shelves.

Purchased Price: $1.79
Size: 4.5 oz container
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 160 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 75 milligrams of sodium, 24 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 18 grams of sugar (including 15 grams of added sugar), and 9 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Pop-Tarts Crunchy Poppers

Marvo 6 Comments

I’m not sure why these new Pop-Tarts Crunchy Poppers exist.

Pop-Tarts already has a snack-sized product called Pop-Tarts Bites, which has been around since 2019 and still exists. I’m no conspiracy theorist, but maybe it’s Kellogg’s attempt to remove the Pop-Tarts Bites line without much fanfare, similar to how it quietly removed its name from the front of Pop-Tarts boxes.

Pop-Tarts Crunchy Poppers are available in two varieties: Frosted Strawberry Crunch and Frosted Brownie Crunch. From what I can tell, these Crunchy Poppers are crunchier and smaller than Pop-Tarts Bites. Each box comes with ten pouches, each of which contains 11 pieces that remind me of tiny hot dogs (yes, even the brownie ones), and I like them enough that I wish they came in one large, resealable, and shareable pouch. For now, I’ll just dump whatever I have left into a Ziplock bag and label it “Share Size.” But, spoiler alert, I won’t share them. Nom nom nom.

Let’s start with the texture of these poppable snacks, which are crunchier than a Pop-Tart toasted at almost every browning level, except, of course, the highest, which usually make Pop-Tarts look like they were dipped in Hell. Their crunchiness makes me wish Kellogg’s could figure out how to make regular Pop-Tarts this crunchy right out of its foil packaging. Imagine not having to toast them and burn your mouth with the molten filling anymore. That would be heaven.

As for their flavors, well, they taste like the Pop-Tarts we know and occasionally burn our mouths with. Frosted Strawberry Crunch tastes exactly like the popular Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts, while the Frosted Brownie Crunch reminds me of the Frosted Chocolate Fudge Pop-Tarts. If you buy both varieties, I recommend combining the two in your mouth for some chocolate-dipped strawberry-like goodness. Even though the pieces are small they do have enough filling to pack a flavor punch.

Pop-Tarts Crunchy Poppers are a fine snack, and because of their texture, I feel they’re better than Pop-Tarts Bites. So, it might be time to say goodbye to Pop-Tarts Bites.

Purchased Price: $8.29 each*
Size: 10 pouches
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 7 out of 10 (both)
Nutrition Facts: (1 pouch) Strawberry – 110 calories, 2 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 105 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 9 grams of sugar (including 9 grams of added sugar), and less than 1 gram of protein. Brownie – 110 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 100 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 9 grams of sugar (including 9 grams of added sugar), and less than 1 gram 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: Limited Edition Nissin Everything Bagel Cup Noodles

Holly Leave a comment

Everything bagels are my second favorite bagel flavor, so of course, I fell in love with Trader Joe’s Everything But The Bagel Seasoning and still use it almost daily. Since 2017, Everything seasoning has been a popular food trend and, as with most food trends, companies have tried to find ways to work it into their products. For 2024, Nissin Cup Noodles released a limited edition Everything Bagel with Cream Cheese flavored ramen as a follow-up to last year’s Breakfast ramen.

Announced as a limited edition flavor, it incorporates the spices (onion, garlic, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, caraway seeds) plus cream cheese flavor. Including caraway seeds gave me pause as they’re not commonly found in most Everything-seasoned items. I associate them more with rye bread, but I was curious to see how they would impact the overall flavor of the item.

After opening it, I went to fill it and encountered a unique issue: the noodles and powder had become a brick that the water couldn’t penetrate. A few (gentle) stabs to the noodles broke them up enough to let me fill the cup to the proper water level. After four minutes of cooking and one minute of standing, it was ready to be eaten.

Mixing it, the smell of “everything seasoning” was present but not overwhelming, and the sauce was smooth. It was still rather hot, but I didn’t want to wait too much longer, as I worried the seasoning would become soggy. My first few bites were surprisingly good. The seasoning still had a bit of crunch, the sauce was creamy, and the overall flavor was balanced.

The caraway was the strongest and the first ingredient I noticed. The mild anise (licorice) flavor stood out initially, but then the other Everything elements came through (garlic, onion, poppy seeds, sesame seeds) to mellow the initial taste. The sauce had no familiar cream cheese flavor, but that didn’t negatively impact the overall taste. The sauce’s creaminess sold the idea of “cream cheese” enough for me.

Everything seasoning has been the darling of the food trend world for a while now. Unfortunately, it has sort of gone the path of bacon and been more gimmick than gourmet. Thankfully, this item actually delivers a delicious interpretation of an Everything seasoned bagel. It won’t replace my usual morning breakfast, but I’ll keep a few cups around when I want to shake it up.

Purchased Price: $1.18
Size: 2.96 oz
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 container) 390 calories, 15 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, <5 milligrams of cholesterol, 1150 milligrams of sodium, 54 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 6 grams of sugar, and 9 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Starbucks Lavender Creme Frappuccino

Jenna Leave a comment

Starbucks’ extensive spring 2024 menu seems to have limited edition beverages for any craving, and if you’re in the market for something frozen, sweet, and extremely floral, the Lavender Crème Frappuccino is the one for you. (It is, however, not the one for you if you’re hoping for some caffeinated pep in your step; the “Crème” designation on a Frappuccino specifically means that it contains no caffeine, as opposed to the java-jammed “Coffee Frappuccinos.”)

Some seasonal menus leave you scratching your head about why anyone would associate that particular flavor with that particular time of year, but that was definitely not the case here. This frap screams “spring” so loudly that I could practically hear birds sing as I picked mine up off the counter! It was as sweet as you’d expect from a drink made primarily of milk, flavored syrup, and whipped cream, but its floweriness was even more noticeable.

If you’ve ever loved the smell of a candle so much that you wished you could eat it, this will be right up your alley. If oversaturated, the flavor could easily become cloying, perhaps even medicinal, but luckily, Starbucks gracefully avoids that pitfall. The lavender was a prominent enough addition to add some intrigue to the Frappuccino’s milky/vanilla-y base but still mellow enough to remain light and refreshing. That being said, it didn’t thrill me; I felt it was definitely good, but definitely not great.

Part of that for me was due to the texture — which admittedly is the same for all Frappuccinos, not just the Lavender Crème one, but if you’ve never tried any of them before, I want to make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into! Some people claim that Frappuccinos, particularly the coffee-less ones like this, are basically just milkshakes, but IMHO (In My Hungry Opinion), they’re more closely related to slushies. After all, once you eat through the pretty covering of whipped cream (or allow it to melt if you’re a bit more patient than me), not even the lovely light purple coloring will distract you from seeing how gritty this frap is. In addition to the tasty ingredients I mentioned earlier, another key component is ice, giving this drink a graininess that I would be quite unhappy to find in a shake. That also means that the frap flavor experience is inherently unbalanced. The earlier sips are likely to be more flavorful as you slurp up more of the syrup, but the closer you get to the end of your drink, the more likely you are to face mouthfuls that are just watery or even straight-up icy, with a taste that can mostly just be summed up as “cold.”

Like the spring flowers that are one day fated to wilt, the Lavender Crème Frappuccino won’t be around forever, so if you love not-quite-milkshakes, the color purple, and/or perfume-y flavors, check it out. But at least for me, when it goes away with the end of the season, it won’t be the end of the world.

Purchased Price: $4.75
Size: Tall (12 oz)
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 260 calories, 12 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 230 milligrams of sodium, 35 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 35 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

REVIEW: KFC Apple Pie Poppers

Mark 6 Comments

One institution of Americana, Kentucky Fried Chicken, has added another icon of Americana, apple pie, to its menu.

These new KFC Apple Pie Poppers feature apple pie filling inside a crust, available in orders of four or ten. They are roughly two inches long, with a seam on one side and slits on the other.

The filling is pretty standard for canned or mass-produced apple pie: small apple chunks in a thick syrup with a noticeable quantity of cinnamon. It’s nowhere near as good as a pie made with fresh apples, but of course, I don’t expect that from a fast food restaurant. I like the way some of the syrupy filling caramelizes as it oozes out of the crust.

And speaking of crust, the pastry is really the star here. It is soft, chewy, and even a little bit stretchy. I know that sounds weird and possibly gross, but I don’t know how else to describe it. It has a wonderful texture! And the flavor is satisfying and buttery.

Taken together, the filling and the crust are similar to apple pies or turnovers from other fast food joints. If you’re reading this blog, you’ve probably eaten something nearly identical at some point.

There is nothing groundbreaking about these KFC Apple Pie Poppers, and I don’t know if I’ll go out of my way to have them again, especially since Kentucky Fried Chicken is not in my regular fast food rotation. However, they are still a tasty dessert option, and they seem like the kind of thing KFC really ought to have on its menu.

Purchased Price: $2.49
Size: 4-piece order
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 piece) 80 calories, 5 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 55 milligrams of sodium, 9 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 3 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.