2016 SEASON OF GIVING (DAY 11): $5 Walmart Gift Card

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The card above is the one the winner will receive. Yes, it’s a gift card for Valentine’s Day. No, the Walmart I went to didn’t have any gift cards with holiday designs. It didn’t even have cards with “Congratulations” or “Happy Birthday.” So if you happen to be the winner of this card, I want to let you know that I do love you, but not in THAT way.

RULES:

To enter this prize drawing for a $5 Walmart Gift Card, leave a comment with THIS post. You can write whatever you want, but please don’t forget to fill out the email field because we’ll be emailing the randomly selected winner for his or her mailing address.

We will stop accepting entries on December 25, 2016 at 12:00 a.m. Hawaii Standard Time (2:00 a.m. Pacific, 5:00 a.m. Eastern). Only one comment allowed per person, and it’s only open to U.S. residents 18 years old or older.

Good luck!

FINE PRINT: The Impulsive Buy promises your email address will not be used to send you emails about how you can apply for an auto warranty. The Impulsive Buy also promises your mailing address will not be used to send you a holiday card with me, my wife, and our dogs dressed up as bananas with the words “Hap-peel Holidays” underneath the photo. Bribes will not be accepted. The Impulsive Buy will not be responsible for lost mail or damaged mail.

REVIEW: Lindt Lindor Limited Edition Peppermint Cookie Milk Chocolate Truffles

Mint and chocolate go so well together that they should have a celebrity couple-like name similar to Brangelina.

Chocomint? Mintolate? Chont? Mincho?

Whatever we decided to call the duo, if you love them, these Lindor Lindt Limited Edition Peppermint Cookie Milk Chocolate Truffles will have you melting as quickly as their milk chocolate exterior does when you pop one into the 98.6 degree chamber known as your mouth because they are delightful.

The filling gets its flavor from peppermint oil. But if you’re someone who wants the mint to be strong enough to clear your sinuses, these tasty balls are not curiously strong enough for you. A part of me wishes it was mintier, but another part thinks the Thin Mint cookie-like mintiness was just right.

Speaking of cookies, there are tiny, crunchy choco-cookie bits in the chocolate that give the truffles a texture other than internal body heat-melted chocolate. There’s a decent amount of cookie bits, but they offer an unsatisfying crunch.

It’s as if Lindt gave factory workers a box of Thin Mints and plates during their break, had them eat the cookies over the plates, collected whatever crumbs fell, and then dumped them into the vat with the creamy milk chocolate.

I really wanted a cookie crunch and not a cookie crumb crunch, so I wish Lindt included larger cookie bits or somehow, underneath the milk chocolate, created a layer of cookie that holds the smooth minty truffle filling. The latter doesn’t sound complex, does it? Sure, Lindt would have to spend millions of dollars to build a completely new manufacturing process, but it would be totally worth it to make my sugar-fueled dream come true.

Even though I complained about the mintiness and crunchiness of these Lindt Limited Edition Peppermint Cookie Truffles, they are minor complaints that melt away every time I let one of these delicious morsels melt in my mouth.

(Nutrition Facts – 3 balls – 220 calories, 150 calories from fat, 17 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 45 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 14 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.)

Purchased Price: $4.49
Size: 6 oz. bag
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: Milk chocolate and minty filling is velvety when it melts in your mouth. Thin Mint-like mintiness. A decent amount of cookie bits. Complaints melting away as the truffle melts in my mouth.
Cons: Might not have enough mint for you. Might not have enough cookie crunch for you. Might not have enough truffles in the bag for you.

SPOTTED ON SHELVES: Cinnamon Pebbles Cereal

Cinnamon Pebbles Cereal

Cinnamon Lucky Charms. Cinnamon Cap’n Crunch. Cinnamon Krave. Snickerdoodle Cookie Crisp. Oh, hello there. I’m just daydreaming of all the cereals I’d like to see cinnamon-ized. (Spotted by Christopher G at Food City.)

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.

REVIEW: Wendy’s Spicy Sriracha Chicken Sandwich

Wendy's Spicy Sriracha Chicken Sandwich

Jack and Wendy went to the levee to fetch a pail of water in preparation for her new spicy innovations. Jack fell down and broke his crown because Wendy’s Spicy Sriracha Chicken Sandwich blew away his expectations.

That’s how the nursery rhyme should be updated because Wendy’s take on sriracha is impressive. My complaint with most fast food “spicy chicken” is that it’s never actually spicy. Wendy’s takes the pedal to the medal – quite possibly in a Lexus Sriracha IS – and delivers. It’ll make any O.G. Huy Fong Sriracha fan tear up.

Wendy's Spicy Sriracha Chicken Sandwich 2

They say you eat with your eyes first and Wendy’s nailed it with the vibrant but non-off-putting colors – the orange/red palette with the sriracha-infused bun, golden chicken breast, red onion, fresh green spring mix in a bright red box was working for me. Maybe there was some food psychology at work there.

Wendy's Spicy Sriracha Chicken Sandwich 3

I was also impressed by the size and poundage of the sandwich. Wendy’s didn’t skimp on the ingredients. There was a large piece of breaded chicken overflowing from the bun, a solid layer of spring mix and an appropriate amount of bacon.

The first thing I did was taste-test the bacon because soggy and stringy bacon can ruin a sandwich. Crispy? Check! The thick-cut bacon was a thing of beauty. I then proceeded to devour the sandwich. The breading itself was already a little bit spicy so I was enjoying the heat. On my third bite, I got to the sriracha aioli in all its glory and boy was it packing heat! As a balance to all the heat on heat on heat, I appreciated the red onion. It not only added a brightness to the sandwich – visually and taste-wise – but it also added a pleasant textural crunch.

Wendy's Spicy Sriracha Chicken Sandwich 4

About half way through, my nose started to run a little bit from the heat; the sriracha taste bud onslaught was in full force. Each sniffle exponentially increased my love for this sandwich. I loved the “afterglow” as well; my mouth had a pleasant spicy tingle after each bite. Related to the hefty size and poundage, every bite had the perfect ratio of chicken, spring mix, red onion, sriracha aioli, and bacon.

If I had to nitpick, I couldn’t taste the sriracha jack cheese at all. It was completely overpowered by the spice in the chicken breading as well as the sriracha aioli. I also don’t think the sriracha-infused bun added anything. It was a soft bun, but nothing about it seemed sriracha-infused because there was no heat to it. Also, the more I stared at the orange-colored bun, the odder I thought an orange-colored bun was.

Regardless, I didn’t mean to eat the entire thing but I did because it was so dang good.

(Nutrition Facts – 670 calories, 35 grams of fat, 11 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 110 milligrams of cholesterol, 1690 milligrams of sodium, 51 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of sugar, 2 grams of fiber, and 39 grams of protein.)

Purchased Price: $5.39
Size: N/A
Rating: 9 out of 10
Pros: Wendy’s packs heat and makes any O.G. Huy Fong Sriracha fan proud! Crispy thick-cut bacon is a thing of beauty. Red onion works well. Pleasant spicy tingle after each bite.
Cons: Sriracha jack cheese and sriracha-infused bun didn’t really taste like anything.

SPOTTED ON SHELVES – 12/23/2016

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

Tillamook Special Batch Monster Cookie and Oregon Strawberry Lemonade Ice Creams

Tillamook Special Batch Monster Cookie and Oregon Strawberry Lemonade Ice Creams

The Monster Cookie Ice Cream features cookie dough ice cream with peanut butter swirls, crispy oats, chocolate flakes, and candy-coated chocolate. The Oregon Strawberry Lemonade is made up of lemonade ice cream with chunks of real, sweet Oregon strawberries. (Spotted by Carla at Safeway.)

House Foods Go Umami Baked Tofu Bar (Hickory Smoke, Orange Teriyaki, and Savory)

House Foods Go Umami Baked Tofu Bar (Hickory Smoke, Orange Teriyaki, and Savory)

Go Umami! Go to your probably tiny vegan section at your local grocery store to find these! (Spotted by Carla at Safeway.)

Chobani Flip Pistachio Paradise Greek Yogurt

Chobani Flip Pistachio Paradise Greek Yogurt

It would truly be a pistachio paradise if, instead of vanilla cookies and dried cranberries, it had these cran-pistachio cookies from Betty Crocker. This photo caption was not brought to you by Betty Crocker. (Spotted by Chris B at ShopRite.)

Pacific Coast Selections Sriracha Kettle Chips

Pacific Coast Selections Sriracha Kettle Chips

Another store brand sriracha chips. (Spotted by Geoffrey at Save Mart.)

General Mills Lucky Charms Cereal with Mixed-Up Marshmallows

General Mills Lucky Charms Cereal with Mixed-Up Marshmallows

I’d like to see General Mills come out with a Lucky Charms cereal with cereal pieces shaped like the marshmallows and visa versa. (Spotted by Robbie at Tom Thumb.)

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.