SPOTTED (STORE BRANDS EDITION) – 1/13/2020

Here are some new store brand products found on store shelves by your fellow readers. If you’ve tried any of them, share your thoughts about them in the comments.

Trader Joe s Nori Komi Furikake
Trader Joe’s Nori Komi Furikake
Trader Joe s Organic Toasted Coconut Granola Bark
Trader Joe’s Organic Toasted Coconut Granola Bark

(Spotted by Rachel C at Trader Joe’s.)

Trader Joe s Chocolate Chip Cookies
Trader Joe’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
Trader Joe s Pearl Sugar Cookies
Trader Joe’s Pearl Sugar Cookies
Trader Joe s Black Bean Dip
Trader Joe’s Black Bean Dip

(Spotted by Sarah R at Trader Joe’s.)

Trader Joe s Kale Gnocchi
Trader Joe’s Kale Gnocchi

(Spotted by Leila P at Trader Joe’s.)

Walmart Strawberry Mini Donuts
Walmart Strawberry Mini Donuts

(Spotted by Amanda Y at Walmart.)

Marketside Iced Marble Cake and Banana Nut Cake Slices
Marketside Iced Marble Cake and Banana Nut Cake Slices

(Spotted by Chris N at Walmart.)

Sprouts Fruit Medley and All American Salt Water Taffy
Sprouts Fruit Medley and All American Salt Water Taffy
Sprouts Assorted mix Salt Water Taffy
Sprouts Assorted mix Salt Water Taffy

(Spotted by Sylvia at Sprouts.)

Swoon by H E B Cookies  Cream Ice Cream
Swoon by H-E-B Cookies & Cream Ice Cream
Swoon by H E B Chocolate Ice Cream
Swoon by H-E-B Chocolate Ice Cream

(Spotted by Robbie at H-E-B.)

Simple Nature Goat Cheese Macaroni  Cheese  Original Garlic  Herb and Alfredo Basil
Simple Nature Goat Cheese Macaroni & Cheese (Original, Garlic & Herb, and Alfredo Basil)

(Spotted by Tommy at Aldi.)

If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email ([email protected]) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. Or reply to us (@theimpulsivebuy) on Twitter with the photo, where you spotted it, and the hashtag #spotted. If you’ve tried the product, share your thoughts about it in the comments.

Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something or if the product is old, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

SPOTTED: Chobani Oat Drink

Chobani Oat Drink  Chocolate and Plain

Chobani Oat Drink  Plain Extra Creamy and Vanilla

Chobani is so in love with oats that it really should create a separate brand called Choatbani. (Spotted by Leonard G at Shoprite.)

Thank you to all the photo contributors! If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email ([email protected]) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. Or reply to us (@theimpulsivebuy) on Twitter with the photo, where you spotted it, and the hashtag #spotted. If you do so, you might see your picture in our next Spotted on Shelves post.

Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something or if the product is old, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

If you’ve seen the product, help out your fellow readers by letting them know in the comments what city and store you found it in.

REVIEW: Starbucks Almondmilk Honey Flat White

Starbucks Almondmilk Honey Flat White

What is the Starbucks Almondmilk Honey Flat White?

Starbucks is promoting its dairy-free options in 2020 with several new beverages, including the Almondmilk Honey Flat White. A spin on the classic Flat White, this one has almondmilk and honey for a touch of sweetness.

How is it?

As someone who typically doesn’t order almondmilk with my coffee, I was intrigued by this one. Although I enjoy almondmilk itself, I don’t always feel it mixes in as smooth in my coffee drinks. But it might be user error on my part when I try it at home because it certainly was mixed in well by a professional barista. I approved!

Starbucks Almondmilk Honey Flat White 2

Let’s get down to the flavor: The first sip had a lot of foam with a subtle nuttiness from the almondmilk. I’ve had plenty of standard Starbucks Flat Whites in my day, and this one had more foam than usual, in a good way. (For those wondering, a Flat White is made with ristretto shots, which are shorter shots of espresso with less water.) The honey was a welcome addition – just the right amount of sweet. Despite it having 24 grams of sugar in a grande, it definitely doesn’t taste like it!

The Almondmilk Honey Flat White can also be made iced, and that’s next on my list to try.

Is there anything else you need to know?

If you care about what specific type of espresso is in your beverage, you can get the Almondmilk Honey Flat White with either regular espresso or the Starbucks Blonde Espresso.

Conclusion:

I liked this one but didn’t love it – I’d order it again, but it won’t become one of my usuals — only one of my once-in-a-whiles.

Purchased Price: $5.45
Size: Grande
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 170 calories, 5 grams of total fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 135 milligrams of sodium, 30 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 grams of dietary fiber, 24 grams of total sugars, 3 grams of protein, and 195 milligrams of caffeine.

Click here to read our previous Starbucks reviews.

SPOTTED: Glaceau Smartwater Flavors (Cucumber Lime and Pineapple Kiwi)

Glaceau Smartwater Flavors  Cucumber Lime and Pineapple Kiwi
Glaceau Smartwater Flavors (Cucumber Lime and Pineapple Kiwi)
Glaceau Smartwater Flavors  Watermelon Mint and Strawberry Blackberry
Glaceau Smartwater Flavors (Watermelon Mint and Strawberry Blackberry)

Glaceau Smartwater has been around for almost 15 years, but only now there are flavored versions. That doesn’t seem very, um, what’s the word I’m looking for? It’s on the tip on my tongue. Bah, I don’t know. (Spotted by Leonard G at Shoprite.)

Thank you to all the photo contributors! If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email ([email protected]) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. Or reply to us (@theimpulsivebuy) on Twitter with the photo, where you spotted it, and the hashtag #spotted. If you do so, you might see your picture in our next Spotted on Shelves post.

Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something or if the product is old, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

If you’ve seen the product, help out your fellow readers by letting them know in the comments what city and store you found it in.

REVIEW: Doritos Flamin’ Hot Limón

Doritos Flamin Hot Limon

Nowadays, if you throw a Doritos chip while blindfolded in the chip aisle ninja star-style, there’s an excellent chance it’ll hit a snack that has “Flamin’ Hot” blazed across its packaging. That’s because Frito-Lay has been in the giving mood with the seasoning over the past couple of years. It has found its way onto Ruffles, popcorn, pretzels, and more.

Last year, some of that love got us Doritos Flamin’ Hot Nacho. This year, we have Doritos Flamin’ Hot Limón, a new spicy chip to chomp on while watching football, binge-watching something on Netflix, or Googling to find out if “limón” is Spanish for lemon or lime.

With Doritos Flamin’ Hot Limón, there’s no confusion whether it’s lemon or lime, thanks to the green color that takes up most of the top half of the chip’s bag and the lime wedge image sitting at the bottom of the bag that might secretly wish it was at the top of a Corona bottle.

Full disclosure, I didn’t fully enjoy the previously mentioned Doritos Flamin’ Hot Nacho. Its cheesiness didn’t help make it stand out from other Flamin’ Hot products. If it flamed out and disappeared to the depths of hell, I wouldn’t care. But I feel a lot different towards this citrus-flavored version.

While they appear spicy, nothing about the chip’s look or smell gives away that there’s a bit of lime. But its sweet and tangy flavor is noticeable with every chew. It’s as potent as the Flamin’ Hot seasoning. Actually, it might be even more so because the citrus seems to temper the spiciness, making these chips a little easier to eat than other Flamin’ Hot products. But, for the heat-adverse, they’re still quite spicy.

Oh, there are a couple of cheeses listed in the ingredients, but they get lost among the bombardment of pepper, spice, and lime. And I don’t care because, with the way they are, these chips are my favorite snack of the year. Yes, I’m writing this in the first half of January, but I’ve been enjoying every moment with them.

Although, I have to admit I like them a little less than I did when I first tried them. That happened because my curiosity got the best of me. I wondered in the back of my head, “Didn’t Frito-Lay already have something like this?”

That, of course, led me to the internet, which took me to Doritos Flamas, a spicy, lime-flavored chip under Frito-Lay’s Mexican Sabritas brand. That led me to a review of those chips, written by a former TIB writer who, on his blog, described them as tasting like a very spicy lime Froot Loop. I haven’t tried Doritos Flamas, so I can’t make a comparison. But when I read that description of it, it made my tongue and brain think in unison, “Oh, this does too. That’s super weird.”

But even with that nugget of slight buzzkill stuck in my head, this combination of lime and Flamin’ Hot seasoning is extremely tasty.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free sample of the product. Doing so did not influence my review in any way. Although, it totally seems like it. But I assure you it did not.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 9 3/4 oz. bag
Purchased at: Received from Doritos
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (about 12 chips) 150 calories, 8 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 190 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, less than 1 gram of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

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