The Impulsive Buy

NEWS: OMG Campbell’s Tries To Appeal To Youngins LOL With Their Go Soup Pouches TTYL

September 26, 2012December 24, 2020 Marvo 15 Comments

Soup is soooo uncool.

Well, I don’t think so, but it appears that’s what Campbell’s thinks and it’s trying to change that with a new line of soups marketed to Millenials. The new soups are called Campbell’s Go and feature ingredients with fun names to say, like chorizo, quinoa, madras, gouda, poblano, and shiitake.

The soup doesn’t come in an old fogey can, because that would be uncool. Instead it comes in a microwaveable pouch. So if you’re feeling particularly lazy, which is what Millenials have sometimes been called, you can eat it straight out of the pouch. Or you could heat it up on the stove like your grandma. Or you could heat it up like your great great great grandma did and do it over a fire.

Campbell’s Go Soup comes in six fancy pancy flavors:

Moroccan Style Chicken with Chickpeas – spicy chicken and whole chickpeas with vine-ripe tomatoes. An 8-ounce serving has 160 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 790 milligrams of sodium, 6 grams of fiber, and 13 grams of protein.

Golden Lentil with Madras Curry – golden lentils, tomatoes, and savory spinach with spicy madras curry. A serving has 160 calories, 7 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 770 milligrams of sodium, 5 grams of fiber, and 4 grams of protein.

Creamy Red Pepper with Smoked Gouda – Tomatoes and sweet, roasted red peppers with smokey gouda cheese. An 8-ounce serving has 220 calories, 15 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 780 milligrams of sodium, 2 grams of fiber, and 6 grams of protein.

Coconut Curry with Chicken & Shiitake Mushrooms – Chicken in a coconut curry broth with shiitake mushroom slices. A serving has 160 calories, 6 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 830 milligrams of sodium, 2 grams of fiber, and 9 grams of protein.

Chicken & Quinoa with Poblano Chilies – Chicken chunks and quinoa with poblano chilies. It has 160 calories 2 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 790 milligrams of sodium, 5 grams of fiber, and 12 grams of protein.

Spicy Chorizo & Pulled Chicken with Black Beans – Chorizo slices, sweet corn, black beans, and pulled chicken. A serving has 210 calories, 7 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 710 milligrams of sodium, 6 grams of fiber, and 11 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Taco Bell A.M. Crunchwrap (Bacon & Sausage)

September 26, 2012August 30, 2023 Stephanie 12 Comments

There are many terrible things I am more likely to do before I ever again eat the latest addition to Taco Bell’s signature FirstMeal menu:

Walk barefoot in an Irish bar on St. Patrick’s Day.

Get some fillings when I don’t really have cavities, “just for the heck of it.”

Watch Paranormal Activity by myself in an empty house and then leave the bedroom door open when I go to bed.

Steal my boss’s corporate card to buy myself an expensive lunch and defiantly say it’s because “they owe me.”

Accidentally swallow a goldfish.

That is how little I enjoyed these pudgy little artery-cloggers they call the Taco Bell A.M. Crunchwraps. Speaking of which, let’s break down the title of this new breakfast item: “Taco Bell” – OK, so we know where we can buy this. “A.M.” – Only available in the morning. Check. “Crunchwrap” – Woah, now… slow your roll. There wasn’t anything crunchy inside these wraps. Just chewy, oily, and rubbery things.

The A.M. Crunchwrap comes in two inexpensive, standard breakfast varieties, Bacon or Sausage. I tried both, and let me tell you that while the grilled flour tortilla is warm, toasty and crisp around the edges, the insides do not crunch. Both A.M. Crunchwraps come with the meat on top of a layer of scrambled eggs and cheese paired with a once-crispy hash brown. Unfortunately the hash brown patties inside of the two A.M. Crunchwraps I got were soggy with grease and excess moisture from being trapped in between a jacket of melted cheese and a flour tortilla, so what had probably been a nice, hot golden exterior was now golden mush. They get some points for even thinking of including hash browns though. It’s the idea of hash browns that counts.

That still isn’t the worst of it. Let’s talk specifically about the Bacon A.M. Crunchwrap. Contrary to my preconceived notions, there were no crisp, savory strips of bacon in this breakfast contraption, just bacon bits — the kind you’d probably find in a pre-packaged Cobb salad sold for $10.95 at the airport sandwich express counter right next to the case of SoBe and Evian. If Taco Bell were being really honest, they would’ve named this thing the “Bacon Bits A.M. Crunchwrap.” And if Taco Bell were being really, really honest, they would call it the “Chunks of Rubber A.M. Gushwrap.”

The hash brown made everything excessively oily. The bacon bits were tough. I imagine ground-up eraser tips from #2 pencils would taste like those bacon bits. Furthermore, they were stuffed inside one corner of the wrap instead of sprinkled throughout, so when I sliced it in half, all the bacon bits spilled out onto the plate. I can’t imagine what would’ve happened if I had been eating this straight out of the wrapper. Best case scenario, I would’ve ended up with a final bite filled with nothing but bacon bits. Worst case, a shower of bacon bits on my lap. The decent flavor of the scrambled egg and cheese was the only factor that kept the Bacon A.M. Crunchwrap from being 100 percent garbage.

The good news is that the Sausage A.M. Crunchwrap is better. Not excellent, but better. The Sausage A.M. Crunchwrap is sufficiently savory. Ironically, it wasn’t dripping with grease like the Bacon one. I’d think that a thick sausage patty would be oozing with the slick stuff, but alas, no. The sausage patty inside the Sausage A.M. Crunchwrap was of a decent diameter, too, and it was thick — a nice meaty counterpart to the egg, cheese and fried potato inside the tortilla. It also had some heft and felt like more of a substantial meal than the Bacon A.M. Crunchwrap.

The Sausage A.M. Crunchwrap seems like the final draft while the Bacon A.M. Crunchwrap was the shitty rough draft Taco Bell churned out in 30 minutes because they were working under deadline and hadn’t slept a wink after watching Paranormal Activity by themselves the night before.

If you’re in the mood for something relatively cheap and quick that’s not the worst fast food breakfast you’ll ever eat, then the Sausage A.M. Crunchwrap is for you. But if you’re interested in flavor, texture and experiencing complete satisfaction with your breakfast, then why are you eating at Taco Bell?

(Nutrition Facts – Bacon – 680 calories. Sausage – 720 calories.)

Item: Taco Bell A.M. Crunchwrap (Bacon & Sausage)
Purchased Price: $2.50
Size: N/A
Purchased at: Taco Bell
Rating: 2 out of 10 (Bacon)
Rating: 5 out of 10 (Sausage)
Pros: Tortilla is warm and crisp around the edges. Sausage A.M. Crunchwrap has nice heft to it. Sausage patty is savory and thick. The idea of hash browns.
Cons: Greasy. Bacon tastes like #2 pencil erasers. Something totally slamming that bedroom door shut in the middle of the night. Soggy hash browns.

NEWS: Wendy’s To Roll Out Bacon Portabella Melt in October

September 25, 2012August 25, 2023 Marvo 3 Comments

Wendy’s is on a roll!

And that roll is coming up with new sandwiches that are new, but kind of not new.

For example, a couple of months ago, Wendy’s introduced the Son of Baconator, which was just a smaller Baconator. And now Wendy’s will soon offer the Bacon Portabella Melt, which according to Grub Grade, sure sounds a little similar to Wendy’s Bacon Mushroom Melt.

The new melt features a buttered toasted bun, portabella and cheese sauce blend, three strips of Applewood smoked bacon, two slices of American cheese, and a beef patty. Wendy’s Bacon Portabella Melt will be available nationwide for a limited time starting October 1.

Source: Grub Grade

Image via flickr user El Gran Dee / CC BY 2.0

NEWS: McDonald’s Cheddar Bacon Onion Sandwiches Coming Soon, Fish McBites Coming Later

September 25, 2012December 24, 2020 Marvo 5 Comments

According to Nation’s Restaurant News, McDonald’s will launch the Cheddar Bacon Onion Angus Third Pounder and the Cheddar Bacon Onion Premium Chicken Sandwich later this fall.

The sandwiches feature hickory-smoked bacon, caramelized grilled onions, two slices of white cheddar, and a creamy mustard sauce. The chicken sandwich can be ordered with either a crispy or grilled chicken filet.

NRN also reports McDonald’s will offer Fish McBites nationwide sometime next February.

The Cheddar Bacon Onion sandwiches and the Fish McBites have been in test markets since early this year, so if you’ve tried them, let us know what you think of them in the comments.

Source: Nation’s Restaurant News

Image via flickr user MPD01605 / CC BY 2.0

SPOTTED ON SHELVES – 9/25/2012

September 25, 2012December 24, 2020 Marvo 7 Comments

It’s another holiday themed Spotted on Shelves this week. Here are some festive (new and old) products found on store shelves. We may or may not review them, but we’d like to let you know what items are popping up. All of these photos come courtesy of TIB reader Kenneth. Thank you, Kenneth!

When the Halloween season is near, always expect General Mills monster cereals to appear. See Franken Berry, Boo Berry, and Count Chocula with their marshmallow pieces. But don’t buy them before Halloween, wait until after when their prices dramatically decreases.

Betty Crocker offers Boo Berry and Franken Berry Fruit Roll-Ups treats, but that Count Chocula cereal bar is something I’d rather eat.

Eggo Seasons Pumpkin Spice Waffles are back! We gave them a positive review last year. To be honest, I was hoping Kellogg’s would come out with a new Limited Edition Eggo variety for the holiday season. I guess there’s a chance they’ll release something for Christmas.

I guess imitation pumpkin pie-flavored vodka is a festive way to turn a Thanksgiving dinner dysfunctional. Also, with this vodka it’s now possible for me to get drunk from pumpkin pie-flavored vodka and then pass out with my face landing into a pumpkin pie. That would make an awesome Facebook photo.

If you’re out shopping and see a new product on the shelf (or really unusual), snap a picture of it, email it to us at [email protected] with “Spotted” in the subject line, and you might see it in our next Spotted on Shelves post.

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