The Impulsive Buy

SPOTTED: Stuffed Puffs S’mores Kit

Marvo / September 17, 2019 / Spotted on Shelves / 1 Comment

You could buy this or you could purchase Stuffed Puffs and some Honey Maid Graham Crackers separately. I don’t know what janky generic graham crackers could be in this. So go with what you know. This caption was not brought to you by Nabisco. (Spotted by Bob K at Walmart.)

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: Taco Bell Toasted Cheddar Chalupa

Louis / September 17, 2019 / Reviews / 6 Comments

Like the bright shimmer of hidden gold from the lost city of El Dorado, Taco Bell’s newest menu item is a shining beacon of simple ingenuity filtered through pure borderland knowhow. The Toasted Cheddar Chalupa is a revelation of fried bread and cheese, combined the way Quetzalcoatl intended.

When unwrapped from its thin paper sheath, the grease stains catching the light allows the chalupa shell to portray a certain kind of inalienable beauty. Taco Bell has turned this thick carb-heavy casing into a surprising work of edible art that feels right at home in my quivering hands.

The basis of the Toasted Cheddar Chalupa is the chalupa shell itself: an amazing feat of Tex-Mex handcraftiness. It’s a fried centerpiece that, now with the yellow bits of cheddar cheese clinging for additional flavor, is a treasured piece of corporate frybread that one could eat all day if they ever decided to stop living by the laws of common decency.

Seriously, if Taco Bell were to ever offer these chalupa shells by themselves, I would order a slick dozen fresh from the fryer, no problem. Call it sacrilege if you must, but I actually prefer them to the lauded Doritos Locos taco shells.

The typical Taco Bell fillings are all present and accounted for — temperate ground beef, cool lettuce, chopped tomatoes, stringy cheese, and reduced fat sour cream. They all seem to be spiritually created simply to mate graphically with this chalupa shell.

It was still crunchy even after an hour or two of sitting by itself on my dining room table. Even the best tacos the Bell has to offer can’t live up to that scrutiny.

More of this please, Taco Bell.

Purchased Price: $2.49
Size: N/A
Rating: 10 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 450 calories, 30 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 550 milligrams of sodium, 29 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of dietary fiber, 3 grams of sugar, and 16 grams of protein.

SPOTTED – 9/17/2019

Marvo / September 17, 2019 / Spotted on Shelves

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

Good Gather Savory Chicken Bites and Beef in a Korean Style Sauce — *Good & Gather Savory Chicken Bites and Beef in a Korean Style Sauce*

Good Gather Coconut Curry Chicken and Homestyle Meatloaf — *Good & Gather Coconut Curry Chicken and Homestyle Meatloaf*

Good Gather Chicken Tikka Masala — *Good & Gather Chicken Tikka Masala*

Good Gather Beef in a Barbacoa Sauce — *Good & Gather Beef in a Barbacoa Sauce*

Good Gather Seasoned Pulled Pork in Original Barbecue Sauce — *Good & Gather Seasoned Pulled Pork in Original Barbecue Sauce*

Good Gather Italian Style Beef Meatballs — *Good & Gather Italian-Style Beef Meatballs*

Good Gather Creamy Chicken Mushroom — *Good & Gather Creamy Chicken Mushroom*

Good Gather Grilled Seasoned Beef Strips — *Good & Gather Grilled Seasoned Beef Strips*

Good Gather Sriracha Seasoned Chicken Strips and Grilled Chicken Breast Strips — *Good & Gather Sriracha Seasoned Chicken Strips and Grilled Chicken Breast Strips*

Good Gather Chicken Meatballs — *Good & Gather Chicken Meatballs*

Good Gather Roasted Poblano Mac Cheese — *Good & Gather Roasted Poblano Mac & Cheese*

Good Gather Spiced Mashed Sweet Potato — *Good & Gather Spiced Mashed Sweet Potato*

(Spotted by Amanda Y at Target.)

*Zone Perfect White Chocolate Peanut Butter Macros Bars*

Zone Perfect Macros Fruity Cereal Bars — *Zone Perfect Fruity Cereal Macros Bars*

*Zone Perfect Birthday Cake Macros Bars*

(Spotted by Amanda Y at Target.)

*Cup Noodles Stir Fry Sweet Chili Flavor*

*Cup Noodles Stir Fry Korean BBQ Flavor*

There are also Teriyaki Beef variety. (Spotted by Jarred and Karri F at Walmart.)

*Del Monte Veggieful Roasted Red Pepper Veggie Bowl with Quinoa*

Del Monte Veggieful Southwest Style Corn Veggie Bowl with Quinoa Brown Rice — *Del Monte Veggieful Southwest Style Corn Veggie Bowl with Quinoa & Brown Rice*

Del Monte Asian Style Soy Sesame Veggie Bowl with Quinoa Brown Rice — *Del Monte Asian Style Soy Sesame Veggie Bowl with Quinoa & Brown Rice*

20190916 201918 — *Del Monte Garlic & Herb Veggie Bowl with Quinoa & Riced Cauliflower*

(Spotted by Amanda Y at Kroger and Robbie at H-E-B.)

*Olde Thompson Nashville Hot Chicken Seasoning*

(Spotted by Amanda Y at Walmart.)

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.

REVIEW: McDonald’s Chicken McGriddles and McChicken Biscuit

Vin / September 16, 2019 / Reviews / 8 Comments

While everyone sits around twiddling their thumbs waiting for Popeyes to announce the return of its chicken sandwich, Ronald and the gang have quietly dropped a couple of intriguing chicken sammies of their own.

I’ve never understood chicken for breakfast, but guess what? I don’t have to understand it. We live in the golden age of fast food, so I could roll up to the drive-thru and get a Chicken McGriddles and a McChicken Biscuit at three in the afternoon – and that’s exactly what I did.

I’m pretty sure these sandwiches aren’t “new,” but this was the first time they hit the menu in my neck of the woods. “Secret Menu” aficionados probably scoff at the idea of a McChicken on a biscuit or griddle cake, but these were revolutionary to a sheltered sap such as myself.

Do you like the McChicken? Do you like McDonald’s biscuits and McGriddle cakes? Well then, I think you can imagine what you’re getting here. Personally, I can live without the McChicken, but those McGriddle cakes, ohhhh baby, do I love me some McGriddle cake.

I’ll start with the biscuit because it was the less successful of the two. The McChicken is not exactly a moist (he said “moist,” oh the horror!) piece of meat, so pairing it with a dry, crumbly biscuit only works if you also slather it in some kind of sauce. It doesn’t come with one.

In hindsight, some honey or maple syrup would have improved this significantly. If you’re not in the mood for breakfast, some BBQ sauce will work as well. That’s the beauty of chicken on a biscuit. So, the McChicken Biscuit is decent, but make sure you ask for sauce.

The McGriddles version is a McChicken patty between the two cakes, no eggs or cheese, and that was fine with me. The grease and maple syrup pockets of the McGriddle cakes provided the lubricant (a word more gross than “moist”) that the biscuit lacked.

Anyone who enjoys the sweet and savory combo of chicken and waffles should be all-in on the Chicken McGriddles. I’m of the opinion that the McGriddles are the best McDonald’s menu addition in the past 20 years, and this isn’t changing my mind. I might go back and see if I can try them with eggs added. I’m sure it’s legit.

I have to reiterate the McChicken is a middle of the road fast food sandwich at best. I couldn’t help but think this would be better with someone else’s chicken. A Popeyes filet patty between two McDonald’s McGriddle cakes would be an instant 10.

These both go down easy and can be eaten at any time of day, so they’re definitely worth checking out. They should make you forget about your Popeyes fever for a spell.

I dig this expansion of the McDonald’s brand. Maybe we can try a McGriddles Burger soon without knowing someone who works there or ordering from some secret Illuminati’s menu.

Purchased Price: $5.52 (for both – 2 for $4 before 10:30 a.m.)
Size: N/A
Rating: 5 out of 10 (Biscuit), 7 out of 10 (McGriddle)
Nutrition Facts: Biscuit – 420 calories, 20 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 1040 milligrams of sodium, 46 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 2 grams of sugar, and 14 grams of protein. McGriddle – 390 calories, 15 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 1000 milligrams of sodium, 51 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 14 grams of sugar, and 14 grams of protein.

Fast Food McDonald's

ANNOUNCEMENT: Looking for New Reviewers (2019 Edition)

Marvo / September 16, 2019 / Announcement

We’re looking for reviewers again.

If you’d like to apply, here’s what you’ll need to send:

One review sample.
Photos of the product you reviewed. (Full resolution versions, please!)
A bio that includes why you want to write for The Impulsive Buy.

A Few Notes:

For the product you select to review, choose something new and something you’d see reviewed here at TIB. “New” means something that came out within the past six months, and it can be something we’ve already reviewed. “Something you’d see reviewed here at TIB” is something somewhat to very much bad for you.
We have two review formats here at TIB, a long format (around 500 words) and a short format (around 300-400 words) and comes with subheadings. Do a long format review.
It’s a paid gig. It’s per review, and it varies based on whether it’s a long or short format review. Also, the pay is not enough for you to quit your day job, but it’s enough for you to gorge on a lot of Taco Bell tacos or even more Jack in the Box tacos.
At this time, we’re only looking for writers located in the United States.

Please send your review, bio, and photos as separate attachments. Do not embed your photos into your review.

To apply, please email your sample review, pictures, and bio to [email protected] with “I think Josta should come back” in the subject line. We will stop accepting applicants on Sunday, September 29, 2019.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email us.

Thank you.

Marvo
Editor

SPOTTED: Stuffed Puffs S’mores Kit

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REVIEW: Taco Bell Toasted Cheddar Chalupa

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SPOTTED – 9/17/2019

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REVIEW: McDonald’s Chicken McGriddles and McChicken Biscuit

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ANNOUNCEMENT: Looking for New Reviewers (2019 Edition)

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