REVIEW: Dairy Queen Peppermint Bark Blizzard

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Dairy Queen Peppermint Bark Blizzard in a cup

Just in time for Thanksgiving, Dairy Queen gives us the new Peppermint Bark Blizzard. Sure, December might have been a more logical time to introduce this flavor, but I am glad that DQ only loosely follows the calendar because this is a delicious early Christmas gift.

I can’t give DQ any points for creativity with the straightforward name of this Blizzard, and it has an equally uninspiring look, as the peppermint bark pieces have a lot of white, which helps them hide in the vanilla soft serve. But once they get into your mouth, they deliver a wonderful flavor.

Dairy Queen Peppermint Bark Blizzard top

The DQ website says the peppermint bark has “white and milk chocolatey layers sprinkled with peppermint candy cane pieces,” and I truly could taste all three components. The white chocolate was a nice addition, as that’s not a typical Blizzard ingredient, and the candy cane pieces added a pleasant crunch despite being quite small. The milk chocolate was perhaps the least noticeable of the three, but it provides some contrast and a familiar flavor.

Dairy Queen Peppermint Bark Blizzard mix-ins

I don’t mean this in a bad way, but this Blizzard is kind of like a Liam Neeson movie in that you pretty much know exactly what you are going to get. No, this Blizzard does not have giant plot holes or gratuitous violence, and it won’t threaten you in a deep, guttural voice, but it delivers what is promised. It’s just vanilla ice cream with peppermint bark. There are no surprises, but if you like ice cream, candy canes, and chocolate, well, then you are going to like this. Yes, it’s rather simple, but that’s OK. In fact, this one is more than OK.

This is a splendid Blizzard, and unlike Neeson’s latest flick “Ice Road: Vengeance,” which is somehow both predictable and unbelievable, I highly recommend it.

Purchased Price: $4.49
Size: Mini
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 350 calories, 13 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 110 milligrams of sodium, 54 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 47 grams of sugar, and 7 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Baskin-Robbins Pistachio Chocolate Bar Ice Cream

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Baskin-Robbins Pistachio Chocolate Bar Ice Cream scoop

I can’t say I’ve ever had Dubai-style chocolate because it’s not Dubai-gas-cheap. Seriously, I understand why gas is cheap in Dubai, but why is Dubai chocolate so expensive? Is it also expensive in Dubai, where gas is cheaper than bottled water here? Baskin-Robbins’ Flavor of the Month – Pistachio Chocolate Bar – is inspired by the pricey chocolate bar that’s gotten more lasting attention than ruby chocolate.

The scoop features a mix of pistachio and chocolate-flavored ice creams, pistachio pieces, and chocolate crunch swirls. Sadly, no kadayif (finely shredded filo pastry). But with the green pistachio ice cream and the dark-ish chocolate swirls, it brings Dubai chocolate to mind.

Baskin-Robbins Pistachio Chocolate Bar Ice Cream spoonful

Eating just the two swirled ice creams in one spoonful didn’t have a good balance; the pistachio dominates. The nut pieces included only made the pistachio flavor stronger. It’s only when the stronger-tasting chocolate crunch swirls came into play that this had a better balance, and that’s when I truly loved the scoop. I spent the rest of my time with my scoop making sure I got a bit of swirl with every spoonful. Thankfully, they were plentiful. I also loved its gritty and crunchy texture.

Baskin-Robbins Pistachio Chocolate Bar Ice Cream swirl

The pistachio pieces, which there are a lot of, didn’t have as hearty a snap as those in a bag of Wonderful Pistachios, but they did have a nice crunch. Honestly, the swirls had a more pleasing texture.

As a fan of pistachio ice cream, I thoroughly enjoyed this scoop with its great flavors and textures. It’s definitely worth a taste if you’re into pistachio ice cream. While it’s also not Dubai-gas-cheap, it’s about half the price of many Dubai chocolate offerings.

One last thing. While Baskin-Robbins Pistachio Chocolate Bar Ice Cream was extremely pleasing, I’m a little disappointed there wasn’t a Thanksgiving-themed flavor for this year’s November Flavor of the Month after last year’s Brie My Guest and 2023’s Turkey Day Fixin’s.

Purchased Price: $5.07*
Size: 4 oz scoop
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 330 calories, 21 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 130 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 22 grams of sugar (including 16 grams of added sugar), and 6 grams of protein.

*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did. Also, I purchased this at a Baskin-Robbins in a high-rent mall.

REVIEW: Arby’s Apple Pie Shake

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Arby’s Apple Pie Shake Cup

Just in time for Thanksgiving, Arby’s has brought back its deep-fried turkey sandwiches. Those sandwiches evoke the savory side of the festive meal, but the restaurant has a brand-new item inspired by one of the all-American desserts of the all-American holiday meal, the Apple Pie Shake.

Arby’s has The Meats, so it’s not the first place I think of if I want a milkshake. I haven’t tried every shake that Arby’s has offered. But of the ones I’ve tried, the Apple Pie Shake is the best!

It truly tastes like apple pie! There’s a subtle apple flavor, like what happens when you bake actual apples. I worried it would have an artificial apple flavor, but it’s authentic and not overpowering. There is also a cinnamon flavor, as you would expect in apple pie. And it even tastes like some kind of baked element, like a piecrust.

Arby’s Apple Pie Shake no mix-ins

However, since this is an Arby’s shake, there are no mix-ins, like apples or crust pieces. Unlike some other Arby’s shakes, there isn’t even a syrup swirl on the side of the cup. But it works so well that I don’t miss those elements. Sometimes less is more. Like other Arby’s shakes, it is soft and liquid enough to consume through a straw.

A dusting of cinnamon sugar on top of the whipped cream.

The shake comes with whipped topping and a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar, which reminds me of the dusting on churros or Taco Bell cinnamon twists. The treat is good enough on its own that it doesn’t need the topping, but it’s a nice touch.

Previous fall treats at Arby’s have included a pumpkin cheesecake shake and last year’s pumpkin turnovers. I didn’t much care for those. But I hope the Apple Pie Shake becomes a tradition.

Purchased Price: $3.69
Size: Regular
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 560 calories, 140 calories from fat, 16 grams of total fat, 10 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 50 milligrams of cholesterol, 290 milligrams of sodium, 94 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 82 grams of sugar, and 11 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Ortega Cheez-It Taco Shells

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Ortega Cheez-It Taco Shells box

When Taco Bell made folks blow their cheesy minds with its Cheez-It Crunchwrap Supreme and Tostada last year, I was saddened there wasn’t a Cheez-It cracker taco or chalupa shell. I guess physics, food science, or the Taco Gods couldn’t make that happen.

But I imagine the folks at Ortega saw what Taco Bell did, started stroking their chins, and thought, “Call up the folks at Kellogg, Kellogg’s, Kellanova, or whatever it’s calling itself nowadays and get a meeting.” And that’s how I like to think these new Ortega Cheez-It Taco Shells came to life. Because, let’s be honest, Taco Bell making Cheez-It shells might’ve made the Doritos Locos shells Flamin’ Hot mad.

Ortega Cheez-It Taco Shells ready to be baked

While Taco Bell’s offerings featured comically large crackers, these taco shells are just Cheez-It-flavored. There’s an orange tint to them that signals these could be cheesy, but no holes or crimped edges to hint at the popular snack. They definitely have a chip crunch, not a cracker crunch.

Like all taco shells, you need to warm them up in the oven for a few minutes. I thought about leaving the shells in my toaster oven for a few more minutes to make them Ortega Extra Toasty Cheez-It Taco Shells. However, I didn’t want the extra risk of my smoke detector going off again. After they came out, a hint of Cheez-It aroma wafted through the air. But when I went up close for a sniff, they smelled more like cheddar-seasoned corn chips.

These have an issue that plagues a lot of other taco shells — you need the dexterity of a surgeon to stuff them. I can’t even remember how many times in the past I’ve gently pried apart the two sides of a taco to put the filling in, only to suddenly turn into the Hulk and break the shell in half. With this box of ten shells, I accidentally broke four, which I turned into a taco salad topping. I’ll get back to that in a moment.

Ortega Cheez-It Taco Shells filled with seasoned chicken, cheese, lettuce, and taco sauce.

When I ate the shell on its own, the initial taste didn’t remind me of Cheez-Its. But after a couple of chews in, the faint cheesiness and saltiness that reminded me of the baked snack crackers came through. And that was also the case when I filled them up with seasoned chicken, cheddar cheese, lettuce, and taco sauce. Despite all the other ingredients, I noticed a hint of Cheez-It after a few chews. However, I wish that the flavor were bolder to excite my taste buds.

But back to the taco salad I made with the broken shells. When I ate them this way, I could detect the flavor more. Granted, there were two taco shells’ worth of pieces in my salad.

I can’t say these Ortega Cheez-It Taco Shells are a failure because the crackers’ flavor does come through, despite everything in a taco that could prevent it. But, again, that taste needs to be amped up to blow my cheesy mind.

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary product sample. Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 4.6 oz box/10 taco shells
Purchased at: Received from Ortega
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2 shells) 120 calories, 6 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 410 milligrams of sodium, 13 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 0 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

4 Other Things I Consumed This Week: 10/31/2025

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Spylt Caffeinated Chocolate Milk

Spylt Caffeinated Chocolate Milk

Several folks recently sent me Spotted photos of this Spylt caffeinated milk that comes in several flavors, but it’s been around for a couple of years, so I didn’t post them. It seems only now has it seen a wider rollout.

I’m pretty sure somewhere in one of the thousands of posts on this site, I wished for a caffeinated chocolate milk, and the Caffeinated Chocolate Milk Fairy made my wish come true. But not only does this have 60 milligrams of caffeine, it also has 20 grams of protein, so it’s killing two birds with one Spylt for me. With that much protein, you might think you’re going to get protein shake vibes from this, but it tastes and has a creaminess like the chocolate milk I grew up drinking. It gets its protein from ultrafiltered milk, which is the same process used to make Fairlife milk.

But that’s not all with this chocolate milk. It also has no sugar and only 0.5 grams of fat, which is hard to believe given how good it tastes. Although, as it got warm, I could taste a hint of the sucralose and ace-K at the back end of a sip. Definitely worth a try, and I’ll probably give other flavors a taste.

Kirkland Signature Caramel Brownie Sundae

Kirkland Signature Caramel Brownie Sundae

I blame gravity for this sundae looking the way it does because when it was first handed to me, I could see the caramel syrup sticking to the sides of the cup. But stupid gravity did what stupid gravity does during the 15-minute drive home from Costco, and most of the syrup pooled at the bottom of the cup.

But that’s okay, gravity, because your involvement didn’t affect how much I liked this treat. First, it’s only $2.99 for ice cream, salted caramel sauce, and brownie chunks. That’s cheap. That’s cheaper than a mini Dairy Queen Blizzard, which is half the size of this sundae.

The salted caramel sauce wasn’t overly sweet, but it wasn’t salty or buttery either. The brownie pieces were chewy and chocolatey, but I wish there were more, since I felt like half the spoonfuls I took didn’t have a brownie in them. So I guess the Blizzard wins in the mix-ins department. However, despite those issues, this is a satisfying dessert, and I see myself picking it up again when I need something sweet to follow a salty slice of Costco pepperoni pizza.

Totino’s Buffalo-Style Chicken Pizza Ramen Noodles

Totino's Buffalo-Style Chicken Pizza Ramen Noodles

This wasn’t awful, but I didn’t even finish everything. Once I had eaten most of the noodles, I dumped whatever soup was left into the sink. The thought of drinking watered-down Buffalo sauce isn’t my cup of watered-down Buffalo sauce. There’s no mistaking the Buffalo flavor, and there’s a mild spicy kick, but I didn’t notice a chicken flavor.

The thought, “What should I expect for something that’s around a dollar?” popped into my head. But then again, I find 50-cent ramen packets better tasting and more enjoyable than this. Oh, I should mention that this was sent to me by General Mills, and receiving a complimentary sample did not affect my review. (Amber reviewed this earlier this year.)

Monster Bad Apple Energy Juice

Monster Bad Apple Energy Juice in a glass

We just posted Jenna’s review of this yesterday, but I also want to sing its praises. As I’ve mentioned above, I’ve wanted a caffeinated chocolate milk for a while now, but the thought of caffeinated apple juice has never crossed my mind. This drink isn’t 100% apple juice infused with caffeine and carbonation. It’s only 6 percent juice, but it tastes like apple juice. Actually, with the carbonation, I got more of a sparkling apple cider vibe from it.

Because there isn’t much juice, you aren’t getting the vitamins you’d get from apple juice.  Instead, you get the same B vitamins you’d get from any Monster Energy Drink. I do wish it were vitamin C-fortified, but the 160 milligrams of caffeine more than make up for it. I still haven’t had a bad Monster Juice flavor, and this Bad Apple continues that streak. 

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