REVIEW: A Cola With More Fiber Than Most Fiber One Products

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Fiber One products used to enthrall me. I mean, not the products themselves, but the attempts to cram fiber into them. The boxes used to proudly show off how much of your daily fiber you’re getting per serving. For a lot of them, mainly the snack bars, it was 20 percent. But with others it fluctuates.

There’s 35 percent, 40 percent, 43 percent, and 28 percent.

Whenever I saw a new Fiber One product, I hoped that somehow the food scientists at General Mills could cram 50 to 100 percent of our daily fiber into a snack bar or something, but they couldn’t deliver. I guess they can only do so much with chicory root extract and soluble corn fiber without it tasting like it has chicory root extract and soluble corn fiber.

Now, I’m sure some of you are going to point out that you can get 65 percent of your daily recommended amount from eating a serving of Fiber One’s Original Bran Breakfast Cereal. But that’s not something I want to eat.

Thankfully, I found a product that’s better tasting than a bowl of Fiber One bran cereal AND gives me more fiber per serving — Kirin Mets Tokuho Cola. Yes, it’s a Japanese cola that many of you will not be able to get your hands on, but it’s such a fascinating product that I had to write about it.

It has 25 grams of fiber per 16-ounce bottle, which comes out to 89% of the daily recommended amount, and that’s possible because the second ingredient listed is dietary fiber. “Tokuho” is a label that can be put on food and drinks in Japan that have health benefits, and those health claims must be scientifically proven though testing and trials before it can be approved by the Japanese government to receive the “Tokuho” label.

As for the fiber-dense cola, its flavor reminds me of cola gummies, but sugar free and with a noticeable artificial sweetener aftertaste, thanks to the aspartame, sucralose, and acesulfame potassium. It’s better tasting than a bowl of bran, but slightly less satisfying to my taste buds than a Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi.

I’ve purchased this Kirin Mets Tokuho Cola three times so far ($2.50) from a grocery store chain here that imports products from Japan, and it would’ve been more, if not for the fact that it sold out a couple of times. I guess I keep wanting to buy it because it tickles me that it has almost an entire day’s worth of fiber. As for gastrointestinal problems for drinking something with so much fiber, it wasn’t an issue because I didn’t chug the whole thing in one sitting. (Nope, not going to try it. Don’t ask.)

Would I buy a diet cola from Pepsi or Coke that has 89% of my daily fiber? If it tasted like Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi, I would. Would you, if you’re a diet cola drinker?

Purchased Price: $2.50
Size: 480 ml
Purchased at: Times Supermarket
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 bottle) 0 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 0 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 25 grams of fiber, 6 grams of sugar (including 1 gram of added sugar), and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: McDonald’s Peanut Butter Crunch McFlurry

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After years of having an occasional new McFlurry offering, there’s been a flurry of limited time McFlurry varieties over the past few years. There have been at least two annually since 2019. McDonald’s new Peanut Butter Crunch McFlurry is the second new blended treat this year from the Golden Arches. It follows the Strawberry Shortcake one that came out in the spring. So there’s a good chance we’ll have to wait until 2024 for a new variety.

The Peanut Butter Crunch McFlurry is described on the McDonald’s site as a crispy cereal mix and chocolatey peanut butter cookie pieces in vanilla soft serve. While that sounds delicious, if you look through the mix-ins’ ingredients list, there are “peanut butter creme cookies,” “fudge coated peanut brittle,” “chocolate peanut butter yummy chow” (no, fo’ reals), and “peanut butter cereal squares” listed, which makes it even more enticing.

And it’s not just appealing on paper. Looking at it from above, the dessert looks inviting, with a generous helping of cereal, cookies, and yummy chow floating on the white soft serve. If the image above doesn’t make you want to instantly dive in with a spoon, I don’t know if we can have a relationship. However, I will be the Snack Grinch here and say, as good as this looks in my photos and as intriguing as the ingredients list reads, this McFlurry is okay.

The cereal and cookie pieces were crunchy, but unfortunately, it’s not very chocolatey or peanut butter-y, even with a decent amount of mix-ins on my spoon. That’s fine if you want a treat that’s not too cloying, but I want a little indulgence here. I want something as enjoyable as a McDonald’s Hot Fudge Sundae, and I’m not quite getting that with this. Though, there were a couple of moments when the cereal, cookies, yummy chow, or a combination of the three sort of tasted like a waffle cone. Also, one last thing about the mix-ins. Like a good cereal, they maintained their crunch in the quickly melting soft serve after I took pictures.

McDonald’s Peanut Butter Crunch McFlurry is a nice change of pace if your usual After Mac treat is an Oreo or M&M’s McFlurry. It’s not going to knock your socks off. But if you’re wearing crew socks, it might make them slide down your calves slightly.

Purchased Price: $4.59
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 510 calories, 16 grams of fat, 10 gram of saturated fat, 0 gram of trans fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 220 milligrams of sodium, 78 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 47 grams of sugar (including 47 grams of added sugar), and 12 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Brach’s Fall Favorites Candy Corn

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Between 2020 and 2022, Brach’s brought us some, um, interesting collections of candy corn based on autumnal meals: Turkey Dinner and Tailgate.

But now it’s 2023, and Brach’s has decided to spare us the meat-flavored candy, instead giving us a new theme: Fall Festival! (Truth be told, most of these flavors sound more like summer than fall. But there’s no green bean flavor, so I’m not going to complain.)

There are six flavors.

Kettle Corn (yellowish) reminds me of Buttered Popcorn Jelly Belly. It has that slightly savory flavor but with a good dose of sweetness. I dig it! 8/10.

Caramel Apple (brown and red) has been a candy corn flavor for a long time, and it’s the same as it’s always been. The red is an artificial apple, and the brown has a caramel flavor that tames the fruitiness. 7/10.

Cotton Candy (pink and blue) doesn’t have much flavor, but neither does actual cotton candy. It’s very sweet, just as you would expect. A little boring, but still pleasant. 7/10.

Lemonade Shake-Up (red and yellow) has a citrus flavor. I can’t tell if the red and the yellow parts are different flavors. It’s not as good as an actual lemonade, but I still like it in candy corn form. 7/10.

Strawberry Funnel Cake (pink and tan) tastes like those hard candies with the soft filling that come in the shiny red and green wrappers. But there’s also an element that tastes like something fried. It’s my least favorite of the batch, but it’s not bad. 6/10.

And finally, Lemon-Lime Snowcone really does taste like its namesake, Sprite, or any other lemon-lime thing you might enjoy. I can easily imagine myself dipping a spoon into icy goodness instead of biting off a soft candy corn tip. It’s my favorite. 8/10.

Now, this should go without saying, but you have to like candy corn to like this mix. Brach’s is the best brand of candy corn I have had. This mix wouldn’t be as good if it were executed by one of those inferior companies. (\*gives the side-eye to Zachary Confections\*)

In the space of three days, I have eaten nearly the entire bag. Usually, I get sick of regular candy corn much more quickly. And, of course, I dreaded eating certain flavors of the Turkey Dinner and Tailgate varieties, but not so here.

Brach’s has seen the error of its ways and given us a candy corn mix that is both fun and tasty! I approve.

Purchased Price: $3.00
Size: 8 oz bag
Purchased at: Lee’s MarketPlace
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (15 pieces) 110 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 60 milligrams of sodium, 28 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 22 grams of sugar including 22 grams of added sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Papa Johns Garlic Epic Stuffed Crust Pizza

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Papa Johns Garlic Epic Stuffed Crust Pizza Whole

When Papa Johns showed up fashionably late to the stuffed crust pizza party in December of 2020, it may not have been timely, but it certainly arrived with a splash. The somewhat silly-titled “Epic Stuffed Crust” was no different than what Pizza Hut innovated in 1995, and yet, in my humble but experienced opinion, the Papa beat the Hut at its own game.

As a child of the 90s, the stuffed crust is an ever-shining beacon of culinary genius and one that will keep Pizza Hut in my heart forever. But its quality has gone so downhill in recent years that I never go there unless it’s to try a new unique item, unlike Papa Johns, which I keep on speed dial. For its third iteration of the Epic Stuffed Crust, Papa makes the pizza even more Papa-ified by incorporating the signature garlic sauce that makes it stand out amongst the other chains. It’s an Epic Stuffed Crust Pizza with a garlic parmesan seasoned and drizzled crust, original pizza sauce, melty cheese, and your choice of one topping, which comes standard as pepperoni.

Papa Johns Garlic Epic Stuffed Crust Pizza Crust

This review is pretty straightforward – if you like Papa John’s Stuffed Crust and its Special Garlic Dipping Sauce, you’ll like this pie. In fact, I only have two gripes with this pizza.

  1. I just moved to a denser and crazier part of the city where, for some reason, the one topping promotion is $20.99 instead of $13.99, so it cost more than I expected.
  2. I wish there was more garlic.

Papa Johns Garlic Epic Stuffed Crust Pizza Cheese

This is a cheesy, indulgent, downright delicious, and addictive pizza that very well might be my favorite iteration of Papa John’s best-in-class stuffed crust, but it isn’t all that garlicky. The seasoning on the crust is excellent and does very well to elevate the epic-ness of having tons of perfectly ooey gooey cheese in the crust, but it leans much more into the parmesan than the garlic for a nice crunchy umami bite that’s wonderful, but not garlicky.

Papa Johns Garlic Epic Stuffed Crust Pizza Slice

The toppings at Papa Johns have always seemed like the freshest and most abundant of all the mainstream chains, which is why it has been my favorite for over a decade. The sauce is sweet yet robust, the cheese has a nice dense flavor, and the pepperoni brings a nice crispiness and a hint of spice. Speaking of which, any time you’re ordering a pizza from a chain like this, make sure to get it well done. You’re very rarely, if ever, going to get a burnt pie, but these places crank out so many pizzas at such a fast rate they may pull it when it’s a touch underdone, and requesting well done, like I did, will ensure you get a properly cooked and delicious pizza.

While this could use some actual diced garlic like you’d find on garlic knots to really bring the concept home, it’s still an absolutely delicious pie that’s, without a doubt, my favorite new fast food item this year. Plus, if you’re getting this for $14 instead of $21 like my unfortunate metropolitan-dwelling self, it’s a helluva deal, and I’d grab it while you can.

Purchased Price: $20.99 (but should be $13.99 in your area)
Size: Large 1 Topping
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 slice) 420 calories, 16 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 990 milligrams of sodium, 39 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, and 16 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Taco Bell Shredded Beef Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco

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Have you heard about this new lawsuit against Taco Bell?

Some dude is suing the company because he says it deceives customers, stating the product is nothing like the advertising. I just wanna go on record right now that I am NOT the dude suing Taco Bell… despite the photos that will follow.

Look, I adore Taco Bell. When I wake up in the morning, my first thought is, “¡Yo quiero Taco Bell,” so I was obviously gonna try its new birria-inspired Shredded Beef Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco no matter what.

On the surface, the SBGCDT sounds great – a hard-shelled taco with a three-cheese blend of cheddar, mozzarella, and pepper jack baked on the outside. Inside you get braised shredded beef, a creamy jalapeño sauce, and more cheese for good measure. And if that’s not enough, it comes with two dipping sauces — nacho cheese and “red sauce.” How could you go wrong?

Well, I won’t mince words; my taco was an absolute crime scene. It was the messiest thing I’ve ever had at Taco Bell, and I’ve eaten the horrendously overrated Mexican Pizza.

There was only cheese on one side of the shell, and about five tacos worth of sauce blasted inside, which completely ruined the integrity of the entire thing. For something called a “dipping taco,” I had a really hard time picking it up, let alone dipping it.

I’m not one to complain (lol), and the (very nice) employees had a lunch rush to deal with, so I just soldiered on. I figured it looks bad, but I bet it still tastes good… and ya know what? It did, for the most part. You can literally see the lowlights, so I’ll focus on the highlights.

The birria-style shredded beef was excellent. It was seasoned well, super tender, and not even a little bit stringy. If it becomes a menu staple, I’m customizing all my meals going forward with shredded beef. The half-cheesed shell was limp, but I dig the general idea. It’s like a Cheesy Gordita Crunch without the outer soft tortilla.

There’s an epidemic in our society with over-saucing everything, and this jalapeño cream sauce went way beyond that. While it has a nice, slightly spicy kick, it needed to just be a dollop. Better yet, it should have been the dipper in place of nacho cheese, which is completely redundant.

The red sauce is really just a vague taco sauce, but I liked the consistency, which was similar to a thin spiced-up tomato bisque. It was actually a good “dip.”

I’m a little baffled by the concept in the sense that even if mine was clean and compact, it’s just a taco. That doesn’t seem like the right delivery system for a “dipper.” I get dipping taquitos, but an entire taco?

Assuming I got a properly constructed taco, I’d still toss this overall concept in the upper “mid” category. The grilled cheese taco shell and the pulled beef were both winning ideas. This isn’t the first time Taco Bell has done either of those things, but it should become a standard… just take it easy with the sauce.

I decided to rate this on taste and ignore the presentation. It was an absolute disaster to look at and a huge pain to eat, but I’d still rank it a “Hot” on the Taco Bell sauce chart. Sue me.

Purchased Price: $3.99
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 300 calories, 19 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 580 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and 13 grams of protein.

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