The Impulsive Buy

SPOTTED ON SHELVES – 9/4/2017

Marvo / September 4, 2017 / Spotted on Shelves / 3 Comments

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.

Tostitos The Bowl Bag

(Spotted by Robbie at Walmart.)

Ghirardelli Intense Dark Salted Caramel Crunch Squares

(Spotted by Marvo at Target.)

Emoji Not My Day Cola Gummy Candy

Emoji Feelin’ Good Juicy Gummy Candy

Emoji Let’s Go Wild Sour Gummy Candy

Emoji So In Love Foamy & Fruity Gummy Candy

(Spotted by Sylvia at 99 Cent Only Store.)

Tastykake Seasonal Banana Cupkakes

(Spotted by Caitlin J at ShopRite.)

Oprah O That’s Good (Original Mashed Potatoes and Three Cheese Pasta)

(Spotted by Amanda Y at Kroger.)

Glaceau VitaminWater Limited Edition 20-Pack with Breeze-E, Energy, and Focus

(Spotted by Gary A at BJ’s Wholesale Club.)

Campbell’s Slow Kettle Style Bold Beef Chili and White Chicken Chili

(Spotted by Stephen B at Walmart.)

Sam’s Choice Southwestern Chili and Sriracha Chili

Sam’s Choice Chipotle Chili and Jalapeno Chili

(Spotted by Stephen B at Walmart.)

NestFresh Cage-Free Hard Cooked Eggs and Liquid Egg Whites

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

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, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

WEEKEND READING – 9/2/2017

Marvo / September 2, 2017 / Weekend Reading

Here are a few interesting junk food-related stories from the past week or so. Enjoy.

The Tater Tot Is American Ingenuity at Its Finest (via Eater)

Self-Driving Cars Have Begun Delivering Pizza (via Munchies)

Organic Doritos Give Snack Giant a Way Into the New Whole Foods (via Bloomberg)

Check, please: Couple completes quest to eat at every Cracker Barrel in USA (via USA Today)

Image via flickr user punctuated / CC BY 2.0

QUICK REVIEW: Dairy Queen’s Best Chocolate Cake Blizzard

Joe / September 1, 2017 / Reviews / 12 Comments

Chocolate. Ice cream. Cake.

I’m not going out on much of a limb in declaring these to be some of the best things in life. Dairy Queen apparently agrees as they have dubbed September’s Blizzard of the Month, Best Chocolate Cake. The not so humbly named treat combines chocolate cake pieces with white icing and chocolate chunks nestled inside of cocoa fudge blended vanilla soft serve.

The site of chocolate islands awash in a turbulent sea of fudge-tinged ice cream invited me to become a willing castaway. Diving in, the cocoa fudge and chocolate chunks melded into a divine experience rich enough to make Count Chocula blush. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse as soon as my spoon included one of the titular cake pieces. See, the thing about a Blizzard unabashedly named Best Chocolate Cake is that it needs to wow you with, you guessed it, the chocolate cake.

Instead of the promised white icing rich chocolate cake, my taste buds were met with a dull, lifeless dry husk. While providing a coarser texture than the smooth chocolate chunks and creamy base, it failed to deliver on any semblance of the word “best.” Instead, I found myself wishing that they were left out entirely. They felt like speed bumps in the middle of a chocolatey superhighway.

If the white icing exists then it lends nothing to the cake as it is completely overwhelmed by the, admittedly fantastic, chocolate flavor from the other elements. Worse yet, the cake pieces seemed to sink to the bottom and hamper the delayed gratification of the last mix-in laden bites that are typically my favorite part.

Cake misstep aside, I very much enjoyed the Blizzard overall. If you can look past the ill-chosen moniker, the chocolate highs were more than enough to offset the dry cake lows. I hope to see the cocoa fudge and chocolate chunks play a role in future offerings sans cake pieces which are, in fact, not the best.

Purchased Price: $3.59
Size: Small
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (Small) 830 calories, 350 calories from fat, 39 grams of fat, 18 grams of saturated fat, 1 grams of trans fat, 60 milligrams of cholesterol, 310 milligrams of sodium, 111 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 89 grams of sugar, and 15 grams of protein.

Blizzard Dairy Queen Fast Food

ANNOUNCEMENT: Introducing TIB’s DQ Blizzard Reviewer, Joe

Joe / September 1, 2017 / Announcement / 7 Comments

A wise man once said, “It’s dangerous to go alone.” Well, I presume it was a wise man. After all, how could an enigmatic cave hermit thrusting a deadly weapon into the hands of a child be anything other than a fount of wisdom? I believe the historical ranking of the wizened sages goes:

Confucius
Socrates
Nameless, child endangering cave hermit

I however, offer something much more valuable than a mere warning and a trinket. I offer knowledge and foresight into the world of Dairy Queen Blizzards. I shall bear the enviable burden of sampling every new Blizzard Treat of the Month, along with returning offerings, and sharing my thoughts with you, my friend. I will be your guide in addition to arming you with the red plastic spoon plucked from the frozen sheath of your inverted delight.

To that end, let me tell you a little about myself. Because I transition with the grace of a rancor in a pottery shop, I was sired in an Illinoisan shire before spending many years aboard a Navy destroyer on a quest to cast the Onion Ring into the depths of Davy John’s Locker.

Hmmm, maybe I need to read those books again…

I leveled up upon returning home by earning a business degree and entering a career in the thrill-a-minute world of costing and pricing analysis . Much like actual hobbits, I spend many hours in the kitchen to indulge my sweet tooth and many more hours in the gym because of it. Eye roll-inducing puns put an impish grin on my face, and I love all things chocolate, peanut butter, and ketchup. The eagle-eyed amongst you may note that one of those things is not like the other, but that’s okay as it will have nothing to do with Blizzards…probably.

Enough about me though as I’m really here for you, dear reader. I hope that my tales will be illuminating or at the very least entertaining. I look forward to learning more about you as I share my exploits into a very cold and tasty world. Blizzards are coming, and the drive-thru is long and full of terrors.

SPOTTED ON SHELVES (LOTS OF GREAT VALUE FROZEN FOOD EDITION) – 9/1/2017

Marvo / September 1, 2017 / Spotted on Shelves / 16 Comments

Here are some interesting new frozen foods from Walmart’s Great Value brand found by your fellow readers. If you’ve tried any of them, share your thoughts about them in the comments.