Category: Spotted on Shelves

To say the energy drink market is crowded would be an understatement. So many companies have jumped on the energy drink bandwagon that I don’t think the bandwagon moves anymore because its wheels have been crushed by the weight of all those companies who want a piece of the multibillion dollar energy drink market. Or the bandwagon might not be moving because Steven Seagal’s energy drinks are as heavy as he is now.

One of the latest companies to jump on the bandwagon is V8.

V8 V-Fusion + Energy drinks are made by combining a blend of vegetable and fruit juices with green tea. The green tea provides 80 milligrams of caffeine, which is the same amount in a skinny can of Red Bull. Each energy drink has 50 calories and don’t contain added sugar. The 2.5-ounce V8 Energy Shots contain a blend of nine vegetable and fruit juices, plus green tea. Each energy shot also provide vitamins A, C, E, and a number of B vitamins.

The V8 V-Fusion + Energy Drinks are available at 2,400 Walmart locations and retail for $3.98 for a six-pack of 8-ounce cans. The beverages come in two flavors — Pomegranate/Blueberry and Peach/Mango. ED Junkie posted a review of the V8 V-Fusion + Energy drinks. The V8 Energy Shots retail for $2.99 and are available at participating locations in Colorado, Florida, and Minnesota.

Image via flickr user Tambako the Jaguar / CC BY ND 2.0

The new Honey BBQ Cheetos Puffs surprised me because it seemed like a weird flavor for Cheetos to produce. Every variety I can think of has been cheese-based or based on a food that has lots of cheese, like pizza.

Honey BBQ Cheetos still has cheese flavoring, but it’s not the main flavor. I guess Cheetos is running out of cheesy varieties, although Garfield and I have been waiting for lasagna-flavored Cheetos.

I learned about the new variety of Cheetos after read a review of them over at That Bootleg Guy. After doing a quick Google search, it appears Honey BBQ Cheetos has been available since May.

A one ounce serving has 150 calories, 90 calories from fat, 10 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 220 milligrams of sodium, 14 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and 1 gram of protein. It’s gluten-free and contains no MSG.

Source: That Bootleg Guy

Update: Click here to read our Extra Dessert Delights Apple Pie Gum review

Update 2: Click here to read our Wrigley’s 5 Swerve review

Sometimes I wonder if Wrigley’s 5 Gum should change its name to I Thought I Told You That We Won’t Stop because the chewing gum line, which is marketed to teens, keeps expanding like my waistline has over the past seven years The Impulsive Buy has been around.

If you don’t know the 5 Gum flavors, let me fill your grey matter with a useless list that may write over some of your precious childhood memories: Cobalt, Flare, Rain, Elixir, Lush, Solstice, Zing, React Fruit, React Mint, Prism, Vortex, React 2 Fruit, and React 2 Mint. Oh wait, let me write over your memory of your first kiss with the next 5 Gum flavor, a tropical one called Swerve.

When Swerve becomes available later this year, it will be the second tropical flavor in the 5 Gum line, following Lush.

Also later this year, Wrigley will be adding Apple Pie to its portfolio of Extra Dessert Delights sugarfree gum. The flavor follows Strawberry Shortcake, Mint Chocolate Chip, Key Lime Pie, and Orange Creme Pop.

Come on, Wrigley! Stop ruining desserts for me! If I want to eat poor representations of desserts I’ll go to McDonald’s or make the desserts myself.

Both sugarfree gum flavors will come in the usual 15-piece slim pack.

Update: Click here to read our Cocoa Puffs Brownie Crunch review

I’ve gone cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, but after going cuckoo too many times, I just don’t get a rise from eating a bowl of it. Not even the chocolatey milk the cereal leaves behind or crushing the cereal into a fine powder and snorting it using a rolled up 75 cents off Cocoa Puffs coupon gets me to go cuckoo.

However, it looks like I might be riding the cocoa cobra again because General Mills has introduced a new Cocoa Puffs variety — Brownie Crunch Cocoa Puffs. The cereal doesn’t have any puffs, instead it’s made up of naturally and artificially flavored sweetened chocolatey squares.

A 3/4 cup serving has 110 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 130 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 9 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein, and a bunch of vitamins and minerals.

Update: Click here to read our Post Limited Edition Pebbles Boulders review

I wonder if kids nowadays know Fred Flintstone as the main character of a 1960s cartoon or as the fatso on the front of Pebbles cereals boxes? I’d find out myself by producing some children of my own, but I thought it would be faster, cheaper, and less poop-filled to just ask those who already have young children.

The reason why I bring Mr. Flintstone up is because his mug is on another Pebbles cereal. This time it’s the Limited Edition Caramel Apple Pebbles Boulders, which consists of two types of cereal — brown, caramel-flavored, boulder-shaped cereal and green, apple-flavored, bone-shaped cereal.

Limited Edition Caramel Apple Pebbles Boulders boasts it has more whole grain than Honey Nut Cheerios. So does that mean it may also help lower cholesterol like Honey Nut Cheerios?

A 3/4 cup serving of Pebbles Boulders without milk has 110 calories, 10 calories from fat, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 75 milligrams of sodium, 50 milligrams of potassium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, 12 grams of other carbohydrates, and is fortified with a bunch of vitamins and minerals.