Here are some new seasonal products found on store shelves by your fellow readers. If you’ve tried any of them, share your thoughts in the comments.
(Spotted by John W at Kroger.)
(Spotted by Mark M at Walgreens.)g
(Spotted by Mark M at Smiths.)
(Spotted by Bianca L at Target.)
(Spotted by Bianca L at Target.)
(Spotted by Mark M at Target.)
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Update: These are now Target’s Favorite Day Pumpkin Cheesecake Ice Cream and Apple Crisp Ice Cream.
One has pumpkin cheesecake-flavored ice cream (made with pumpkin puree) with a graham cracker swirl. The other features artificially flavored apple crisp ice cream swirled with caramel and oatmeal pieces. Both are seasonal varieties at Target.
Well, let’s start with the Pumpkin Cheesecake one. If you force-fed this pint to me and said it’s pumpkin cheesecake-flavored, I’d grab the pint from your hand, get a clean spoon (because I don’t want any indirect kissing), force-feed you a spoonful, and then ask you in the most dramatic tone I could muster, “Is it pumpkin cheesecake-flavored?”
I initially notice cheesecake tang, but that quickly goes away with the first spoonful. With subsequent spoonfuls, all I taste are pumpkin, spices, and gritty graham crackers, which, according to Thanksgiving math, equals a pumpkin pie. As a pumpkin pie ice cream, it’s delightful and accurately hits all the pie’s flavors. But without having that tang throughout, it doesn’t convince my mouth that anything cheesecake is involved.
The apple crisp ice cream base has a mild taste similar to Fuji apple-flavored products I’ve had. But when eaten with the caramel, the apple is heightened. The oatmeal pieces, when my mouth finds a whole one, have a taste and texture that reminds me of Quaker Oatmeal Squares Cereal. Their crunch and subdued sweetness are a contrast to the other two components.
While the Apple Crisp one is also tasty, a few spoonfuls had an off flavor. It’s not anything that made me spit it out, but it’s a striking difference to the other spoonfuls.
This is my first time experiencing Market Pantry Ice Cream. I don’t know why it’s taken me this long. It’s not as if the price is holding me back since pints cost half of any name brand. I’m also not a brand name snob because I’m typing this on a $7.99 BingoTechStyle Bluetooth Keyboard I bought on Amazon that’s no longer being sold.
Both are super easy to scoop. I’m talking frozen dairy dessert easy. Maybe air should be added to the ingredients list?
If you’re looking for high quality, dense ice cream this fall season, look elsewhere. If you want to enjoy inexpensive holiday frozen treats, Market Pantry’s Apple Crisp Ice Cream or Pumpkin Cheesecake Ice Cream might satisfy your seasonal sweet tooth.
Purchased Price: $2.35 each
Size: 1 pint
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Pumpkin Cheesecake), 7 out of 10 (Apple Crisp)
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup) Pumpkin Cheesecake – 200 calories, 10 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 105 milligrams of sodium, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 20 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein. Apple Crisp – 190 calories, 9 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 85 milligrams of sodium, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 21 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.
The cereal aisle provides us with MANY choices. But the ONLY one I want to try with Limited Edition Lucky Charms Just Magical Marshmallows is Kellogg’s Raisin Bran.
Whyyyy?
Maybe I want to taint the wholesomeness of a healthy cereal pillar with marshmallows. Maybe because most of the cereals I’ve wanted to try with marbits already have them, like Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops, and Cocoa Puffs. Or perhaps I want to add some vibrant colors to one of the most depressing cereals to look at.
Yes, I could’ve tried this years ago because dehydrated marshmallows have been available on Amazon for years. But I’m not going to trust no-name, boring-shaped marbits. I also could’ve transplanted the mallows from Lucky Charms into another cereal, but then I’m stuck with the sweetened oat pieces. Blech!
So I’m glad we now can purchase Lucky Charms cereal marshmallows sans-cereal in pouches for $3.99. Although, I’m not glad they’re only available at select retailers for a limited time.
The marshmallows are what you’d get in regular and special edition Lucky Charms – red balloons, blue moons, green clovers, purple horseshoes, pink hearts, yellow stars, rainbows, and unicorns. They’re sweet, and, not surprisingly, have the same flavor as what’s in the cereal. Because they have a satisfying crunch and taste like I’m eating pure sugar, I’ve been enjoying the handfuls I’ve been shoving into my mouth. Although that could be the sugar talking.
So how are Lucky Charms marshmallows with Kellogg’s Raisin Bran?
The combo tastes naughty like I’m adding tater tots to a salad to be the croutons. They add crunchiness when the flakes’ somewhat crispy texture reliably flakes out within 30 seconds of sitting in milk. But, more importantly, the amped sugariness blocks out most of the bran flavor, which is what I hoped. It’s wonderful.
Because my snacking and cereal mashup-ing didn’t put much of a dent into the six ounces of magical goodness each pouch contains, I decided to create some General Mills synergy by smooshing some into Pillsbury’s Safe to Eat Raw Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and baking them. Unfortunately, the batch I made didn’t taste or feel as if there was synergy. All the marbits added was a bit of color, no crunch or amped up sugariness.
I didn’t let my imagination run wild with these Limited Edition Lucky Charms Just Magical Marshmallows, but it’s a product with many possibilities. It also easily adds some color to any drab-looking food, like Kellogg’s Raisin Bran.
DISCLOSURE: I received free samples of the product. Thanks, General Mills! Doing so did not influence my review. Also, sorry, General Mills, for mentioning a competitor’s product and not adding these to your Total Raisin Bran.
Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 6 oz pouch
Purchased at: Received from General Mills
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (3/4 cup) 120 calories 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 0 milligrams of sodium, 29 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 23 grams of sugar, and less than 1 gram of protein.
Nestle’s Coffee mate has three new seasonal flavors for Fall 2020, if you’re tired of the usual pumpkin spice and peppermint mocha. They are Nestle Toll House Cookies ‘N Cocoa Creamer, Natural Bliss Mint Truffle Creamer, and Natural Bliss Caramel Toffee Almond Milk Creamer.
When I started drinking coffee, the first creamer I tried was Coffee mate’s Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie. I loved how it turned black coffee and its bitter flavor into brown coffee with sweet notes of chocolate and cookie dough. Sadly, the flavor no longer exists. Even sadder, this Nestle Toll House Cookies ‘N Cocoa Creamer doesn’t evoke any memories of the variety that helped start my daily coffee addiction consumption.
While this doesn’t bring back thoughts of my coffee drinking origin story, it does make my daily cold brew taste chocolatey. Although, not as much as other chocolate-flavored creamers, like the Snickers and Dove Chocolate ones. I don’t taste cookies when I drink it with coffee, but I kind of do when drinking it straight. But, I mean, who regularly drinks creamer straight from the bottle, pouring it into their mouth like it’s the basin for a water fountain sculpture.
I’ll happily use this up, but overall I found it to be a little disappointing.
Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 32 fl oz bottle
Purchased at: Received from Nestle
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 tbsp) 35 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 0 milligrams of sodium, 5 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.
When taking a sip of my coffee with this creamer, my first thought was, “I’ve had this creamer before.” I want to say it reminds me of Coffee mate’s Peppermint Mocha, but I don’t recall ever trying it. Maybe I’m confusing it with all the Andes XL Snap Bars I’ve been eating to cope with the guilt of receiving a case of the candy and forgetting to promote it on this site and social media. #sorry
Natural Bliss Mint Truffle has an equal balance of mint and dark chocolate. The mint level isn’t going to make you think you’ve brushed your teeth or chewed on a piece of gum. If you’re not familiar with the Natural Bliss line, they’re all natural creamers made with real milk and cream from cows that aren’t treated with added growth hormones.
This creamer is a great addition to my cup of cold brew. It’s tasty enough that I wish it came in a bigger bottle. Maybe next year.
Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 16 fl oz bottle
Purchased at: Received from Nestle
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 tbsp) 35 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 5 milligrams of sodium, 5 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.
Hey, didn’t you just write that the Natural Bliss line are all natural creamers made with REAL MILK AND CREAM? This has almond milk. Okay. Okay. Coffee mate also has another Natural Bliss line that contains plant-based milks, like almond, oat, cashew, and coconut.
Usually, with almond milk creamers, I can tell if they have the nut milk. But with this one, I didn’t notice that. The caramel and toffee flavors are potent, so maybe they overwhelm the nuttiness. Also, and I know I said this about the Mint Truffle one, this one tastes similar to another creamer I’ve had. Geez, I’ve tried so many products to hide the flavor of black coffee.
My thoughts about this mirror what I think of the Mint Truffle variety. So much so that I’m going to copy and paste this: This creamer is a great addition to my cup of cold brew. It’s tasty enough that I wish it came in a bigger bottle. Maybe next year.
Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 16 fl oz bottle
Purchased at: Received from Nestle
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 tbsp) 30 calories, 1 gram of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 15 milligrams of sodium, 5 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein..
DISCLOSURE: I received free samples of the products. Thanks, Nestle! Doing so did not influence my review.
