SPOTTED (TRADER JOE’S EDITION): 12/5/2022
Here are a few interesting new products found at Trader Joe’s by a fellow reader. If you’ve tried any of them, share your thoughts in the comments.
(Spotted by Sarah R at Trader Joe’s.)
PRIZE DRAWING: Accumulated Swag Mystery Box Giveaway (Fall 2022 Edition Part II)
It’s ANOTHER Accumulated Swag Mystery Box Giveaway!
Will there be a Part III this holiday season? That’s also a mystery.
But I can tell you that the Accumulated Swag Mystery Box Giveaway (Fall 2022 Edition Part II) Box doesn’t have a plastic bowl. Sorry, plastic bowl fans. However, there are many less plasticky things inside this box, and it’s noticeably heavier than the previous box.
RULES:
To enter this prize drawing for this Accumulated Swag Mystery Box that doesn’t have a plastic bowl, leave a comment with THIS post, and that comment MUST include the word “gochujang.” It’s a spicy paste used in Korean cooking.
Remember to fill out the email field because we’ll be emailing the randomly selected winner for their mailing addresses.
We will stop accepting entries on Saturday, December 10, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time. Only one comment is allowed per person, and it’s only open to U.S. residents.
JUST A FEW OF NOTES:
If you post a comment and it doesn’t show up, it ended up in our comment spam or trash folder for some strange reason. There’s no need to attempt to post another comment because I’ll be pulling those out of the comment spam vortex regularly.
Do not leave your comment using the blue REPLY button at the bottom of other comments. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and leave your comment in the section above the blue POST COMMENT button.
Good luck!
FINE PRINT:
The Impulsive Buy won’t use your email address to send you emails regarding anything about the $50,000,000 deposit waiting for you or use your mailing address to send you tears from a clown. Bribes will not be accepted. The Impulsive Buy will not be responsible for lost mail, damaged mail, or you not being impressed with what’s in the box.
REVIEW: Dairy Queen Frosted Sugar Cookie Blizzard
What is it?
It’s the December Blizzard of the Month featuring sugar cookie pieces, icing, and sprinkles. It shares the December spotlight with the Candy Cane Chill Blizzard, but that one is not new. This one is different than the similarly named Frosted Animal Cookie Blizzard from a couple of years ago.
How is it?
I did not have high expectations for this one based on the lackluster components and my notion that the sugar cookie flavor would not stand out in a vanilla ice cream base. Even with the bar set low, this was a miss for me, both in taste and presentation.
Now I’m not one who normally cares what a Blizzard looks like, and sometimes the top layer can be deceiving. At first sight, this gives off a bland and boring vibe, and it backs that up with a bland and boring taste. As you can see in the photos, my local DQ was apparently experiencing a sprinkle shortage. The DQ website notes the sprinkles are “festive” but fails to mention they have absolutely no taste. So it didn’t really matter that my particular Blizzard only had a smattering of festiveness.
I can’t really tell you what the icing brought to the table because I could only faintly distinguish that flavor in this. So that left the sugar cookie pieces as the only ingredient left to pick up the ball and score, but since sugar cookie pieces don’t have arms or legs, the ball remained on the field and no touchdown was recorded. Maybe I just got a bad batch of cookies, but they were not “soft” as the DQ website promised. They were quite crumbly and really had no flavor that I could describe, other than generic vanilla-ish cookie.
The sum of the parts of this Blizzard adds up to disappointment.
Anything else you need to know?
I don’t remember having the Frosted Animal Cookie Blizzard in 2020, but another reviewer on this site loved it. While that one has almost the same name, it does seem that it had a more complex variety of flavors, so maybe it’s time to petition DQ to bring that one back and sit this new version on the sidelines.
Conclusion:
I’ve never tried a new Blizzard that I didn’t finish, and I can confirm that my amazing streak of consistency is still intact. But if I had ordered a medium or large instead of a small, then I’m not sure if I would have completed the task. This is still ice cream and cookies, so it’s far better than anything containing kale or carrots, but it definitely ranks as one of my least favorite Blizzards.
Purchased Price: $4.99
Size: Small
Rating: 4 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (Small) 700 calories, 30 grams of fat, 14 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 55 milligrams of cholesterol, 290 milligrams of sodium, 95 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 74 grams of sugar, and 13 grams of protein.
REVIEW: Stuffed Puffs Big Bites Cinnamon Toast Crunch Filled Marshmallows
Cinnamon Toast Crunch is one of the greatest cereals of all time. The original Stuffed Puffs is what happens when graham crackers realize it’s the third wheel and lets chocolate and marshmallow finally be alone together.
As a fan of both, my eyes got as big as marshmallows when I first saw the promo photos for Stuffed Puffs Big Bites Cinnamon Toast Crunch Filled Marshmallows. Even before trying them, I thought a Cinnamon Toast Crunch-coated marshmallow with a Cinnamon Toast Crunch-flavored creme would be epic. But after trying them, my eyes are as puffy as marshmallows from all the crying about how NOT epic they are.
Okay, I didn’t cry, but I’m a little disappointed with these.
Although the cereal is pulverized into dust, I expected some crunch from the coating. There is a crunch, but after getting up close and personal with these, it turns out it doesn’t come from the cereal.
Instead, it comes from opaque crystals dotted across the surface. The light crunch is similar to the sugary coating on Peeps, but because those crystals aren’t everywhere, like on Peeps, the cereal dust’s soft texture gets exposed. Cinnamon Toast Crunch’s lowercase crunch is part of what makes it so great and to not have it here is saddening.
Also, the coating lacks a noticeable Cinnamon Toast Crunch flavor. I think there’s a hint of it, but I’m surprised it doesn’t stand out for something that covers so much surface area. So lack of crunch and flavor makes it seem like the cereal is really there for looks and not much else. If the crushed cereal wasn’t so smashed, the coating might have had an authentic cereal crunch and a bit more flavor.
While the exterior doesn’t remind me of the popular cereal, the creme filling somewhat does, and it provides all the cinnamon flavor. Although, I get more of a cinnamon roll vibe (and aroma) than a Cinnamon Toast Crunch vibe. But I’m not complaining about that because the filling is scrumptious. There are also crumbles in the creme, and I do notice them, but they have a soggy oat texture, and I’m wondering what’s the point of them.
I’ve enjoyed most Stuffed Puffs I’ve stuffed into my mouth, and, of course, every morning, afternoon, and evening is a little brighter after a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but this mashup of the two is just good and not great. Maybe I shouldn’t have had such high expectations, or I’m being a Snack Scrooge. I don’t know. But I’m just closing my eyes and shaking my head at what could’ve been.
DISCLOSURE: I received free product samples. Doing so did not influence my review.
Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 5.9 oz pouch
Purchased at: Received from Stuffed Puffs (but are exclusively available at Walmart)
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 piece) 80 calories, 2 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 40 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 10 grams of sugar (including 10 grams of added sugar), and 1 gram of protein.
NOT FOOD: Swag Snack and Cereal Boxer Briefs
Swag Boxer Briefs have been around for a couple of years, but were brought to my attention only recently. These Hostess Ho Hos Boxer Briefs appear to be the newest style. Yes, there is a Ding Dongs version, if you’re wondering.
Also new this year are these Kellogg’s cereal boxer briefs with the Halloween designs of the boxes. Yes, they also come in the original box designs.
I think what also fascinates me about these is the packaging. The cereal ones come in small cereal boxes and the Hostess one comes in the rectangular shape of Hostess boxes. And here’s a Pop-Tarts variety that comes in a Pop-Tarts-shaped box.
Not only that, but a Cheetos version comes in a bag instead of a box.
(Spotted by Robbie at Burlington and Marshall’s)