REVIEW: Kellogg’s Strawberry Rice Krispies Treats

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Kellogg s Strawberry Rice Krispies Treats Box

What are Kellogg’s Strawberry Rice Krispies Treats?

Rice cereal and marshmallow treats are a lunchbox classic, but to recall the prevailing wisdom of Alice Cooper, school’s out for summer. The time is right to freshen up a classic with the flavor of sweet summer strawberries.

How are they?

If you have ever felt sorry for the lonely strawberry ice cream stripe that seems to get overlooked in a container of Neapolitan ice cream, you will be happy to unwrap this pretty pink Rice Krispies Treat and know it is strawberry’s time to shine. If you are normal, still consider giving these simple new treats a try, because they are very good.

Kellogg s Strawberry Rice Krispies Treats Whole

The treats are straightforward as can be: rectangular bars of crisp rice cereal bound together with a chewy, strawberry-flavored marshmallow mixture. Although Kellogg’s produces Strawberry Krispies cereal, the original variety of Rice Krispies were utilized to create these treats, allowing the strawberry flavor to come from the sticky pink marshmallow that coats every cereal grain.

Even the pink shade is no-fuss, more like the color of rosé in gentle lighting and not like the strawberry Kool-Aid stain on the carpet that your mom grounded you for making.

Although strawberries do not appear in the list of ingredients, the “naturally flavored with other natural flavors” treats smell and taste remarkably like freeze-dried strawberries. The result is a realistic, not-too-sweet strawberry flavor that is very easy to eat. The sweet cereal and strawberry combination reminded me slightly of the discontinued and much-missed Special K with Red Berries cereal bars.

Kellogg s Strawberry Rice Krispies Treats Pull

Are the treats too simple? If you enjoy the Rice Krispies Treats varieties that boast drizzles, mix-ins, or chocolate-coated bases, you might be bored with humble strawberry, but I didn’t miss the extra frills.

Anything else you need to know?

Also available is a Rice Krispies Treats Mini Squares variety pack that includes the Strawberry treats alongside Chocolate and Original varieties. There are 64 mini squares in the variety pack, so if anyone is planning to buy one and smush together all three varieties to make Neapolitan Rice Krispies Treats, please invite me.

Conclusion:

Strawberry Rice Krispies Treats are successful in their simplicity and deliver a more realistic berry flavor than you might expect.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free product sample. Doing so did not influence my review in any way.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 6.2 oz box (8 bars)
Purchased at: Received from Kellogg’s
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (per bar) 90 calories, 2 grams of fat, .5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 105 milligrams of sodium, 17 grams of carbohydrates, 0 gram of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and less than 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: KIND Frozen Pints

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KIND Frozen Pints Containers

KIND, the purveyor of various fruit & nut bars and other snacks, has released its new Frozen Pints. These frozen non-dairy desserts seem to emulate the flavors of the other products made by KIND.

I snagged three flavors: Dark Chocolate Almond Sea Salt, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter, and Caramel Almond Sea Salt. Though I couldn’t find them, there are four other flavors available, including Cherry Cashew and Strawberry.

Before digging in, I examined the ingredients labels and found a surprise. The primary ingredient in all three is pear juice, which I thought was curious. Beyond that, all three employ nuts to establish their non-dairy bases. Eager to see how they fared, I dug right in.

Caramel Almond Sea Salt

KIND Frozen Pints Caramel Almond Top

The color of this one was lighter than expected, and I could smell the caramel upon opening it. My spoon glided effortlessly through the almond-based frozen dessert. Most non-dairy ice creams that I’ve had were all quite icy, so this creaminess was a pleasant surprise.

KIND Frozen Pints Caramel Almond Spoon

As I took my first bite, the smoothness was further reinforced. The caramel immediately walloped me in the taste buds. It seemed to be mostly integrated into the base, but there were some faint caramel ribbons throughout as well. As I acclimated to the caramel, I could sense the saltiness, but it was not overbearing. The almond pieces rounded out the flavor profile and added a nice contrasting crunch. Overall, this is an enjoyable, but slightly unexciting, take on salted caramel.

Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup) 290 calories, 15 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 230 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 19 grams of sugar and 6 grams of protein.

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter

KIND Frozen Pints Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Top

The Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter’s carton says it’s a “creamy chocolate frozen dessert made from peanuts, with dark chocolate chunks and a peanut butter swirl.” The base looked chocolatey, but also overly grainy.

KIND Frozen Pints Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Top

Upon trying to insert my spoon, I was met with a much fiercer resistance than that of the Caramel Almond Sea Salt. It was quite icy, as is typical of many non-dairy frozen desserts. It tasted primarily like peanut butter, with just a hint of chocolate. The dark chocolate chunks add complexity and crunch while bringing more chocolate flavor to the forefront. The grittiness is noticeable when eating it as well. I prefer the taste of this one over the caramel, but its texture is a bit of a deal-breaker.

Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup) 280 calories, 16 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 170 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 19 grams of sugar, and 6 grams of protein.

Dark Chocolate Almond Sea Salt

KIND Frozen Pints Dark Chocolate Almond Top

Like the caramel flavor, the Dark Chocolate Almond Sea Salt is almond-based. Chunks of dark chocolate and almond pieces peeked out of the top. I hesitantly inserted my spoon into the pint and was relieved to find out this one is creamy also. Upon tasting, I was instantly able to tell that almond was the predominant flavor.

KIND Frozen Pints Dark Chocolate Almond Spoon

The almond pieces and dark chocolate chunks added a rewarding crunch, but there isn’t enough chocolate. This tastes too much like almond-on-almond, which could be remedied by a more generous helping of chocolate. The salt was barely noticeable. The flavor was pleasant enough, but it left me somewhat unsatisfied. The creaminess is the saving grace here.

Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup) 290 calories, 16 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 240 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 19 grams of sugar and 6 grams of protein.

Final Observations

The KIND Frozen Pints are certainly in the same spirit as the rest of their products. Their subtle sweetness satisfied on a level akin to KIND’s other offerings. The Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter was the standout flavor for me, by far, but its dreadful consistency significantly lowers its standing. This could be related to the use of peanuts in the base rather than almonds. The Caramel Almond Sea Salt was the sweetest, but none of them are particularly sugary. If you are in the market for a non-dairy ice cream, these may be worth a shot, especially if you are fond of nuts.

Purchased Price: $5.49
Size: 1 pint
Purchased at: Fry’s

REVIEW: Cocoa Puffs Oatmeal

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Cocoa Puffs Oatmeal Box

What is Cocoa Puffs Oatmeal?

I can picture it now: General Mills executives sitting around a long mahogany conference table saying, “Well, we already have a solid breakfast product with Cocoa Puffs cereal… let’s make ANOTHER breakfast product and turn it into oatmeal!” So that’s what we have here — Cocoa Puffs Oatmeal. It’s an instant oatmeal with a chocolatey flavored crunchy topping.

How is it?

I’m a big oatmeal fan – it’s my breakfast food of choice. So I was really excited to try this one, especially since I also love chocolate. The directions say you can use either water or milk (like any traditional instant oatmeal). I typically use water, so that’s what I went with. After the recommended time in the microwave, I had a warm bowl of chocolate oatmeal.

Cocoa Puffs Oatmeal Packets

But wait! Before you dig in, don’t forget to add the chocolatey flavored crunch topping. This comes in a separate pouch (the pouches in the box are two different colors and labeled appropriately, either oatmeal or topping). At first glance, you could almost mistake the packets for Swiss Miss hot chocolate packets! The topping looks like small espresso beans and didn’t melt when added.

Cocoa Puffs Oatmeal Cooked

Let’s talk flavor. This does, indeed, taste like Cocoa Puffs. A mellow, chocolate taste that’s not overly sweet. The only thing I wish is that it had an even stronger chocolate flavor. If I’m having chocolate for breakfast, I want it to be very prevalent. The topping helped with that, adding a nice crunch. I was also pleased with the amount of topping – I had enough to have some with each bite. The benefit to the mellow chocolate was that it did feel like I was having breakfast versus dessert, which is the goal.

Anything else you need to know?

Cocoa Puffs Oatmeal Dry

It’s been a while since I had instant oatmeal in packets (I usually go for old-fashioned oats), so I forgot how small of a serving one of these packets can be. If you’re someone who needs a large breakfast to fuel your day, you might want to consider supplementing with something else.

Conclusion:

Looking forward to having this again. Next time, I’m going to add some peanut butter to make it even more fun!

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

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 8.4 oz box (6 servings)
Purchased at: Received from General Mills
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (per 1 pouch oatmeal + 1 pouch topping) 150 calories, 2.5 grams of total fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 115 milligrams of sodium, 29 grams of total carbohydrates, 3 grams of dietary fiber, 12 grams of total sugars, and 3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: White Cheddar Chex Mix

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White Cheddar Chex Mix Bag

As the world’s preeminent Chex Mix connoisseur*, I won’t pretend I was blown away by the prospect of a White Cheddar flavor.

Cheddar Chex Mix exists. White Cheddar just felt redundant. We only get a new Chex Mix flavor every few months, and nothing about it felt innovative.

Why do we need White Cheddar? Who at General Mills ate Cheddar Chex Mix and said, “Yeah, it’s good, but can we make it whiter?”

Actually, let’s not theorize about who would say that.

Nevertheless, it is my sworn duty to try every single Chex Mix flavor, so I acquired a bag – a bag that instantly bugged me because it looked exactly like one of my all-time favorite flavors, Honey Nut.

White Cheddar Chex Mix PIeces
White Cheddar Chex Mix (top) Cheddar Chex Mix (bottom)

As I inspected the pieces of the mix itself, I couldn’t help but feel like White Cheddar Chex Mix was missing something big – the cheese cracker. That is, without a doubt, my favorite Cheddar mix piece, so I was bummed Chex instead opted to go with the generic, teeth-shattering rye chips.

That being said, most people love that piece way more than I do, so I understand.

They say you eat with your eyes first, so if I ended the review there, we’d be looking at a 4 out of 10. Luckily, I fulfilled my oath and tasted it.

Chex Mix, you’ve done it again!

White Cheddar Chex Mix Mixed

The White Cheddar flavor had way more complexity than I wanted to give it credit for. On any given bite, I felt like I was eating everything from gourmet popcorn to garlic bread.

I bought a classic Cheddar Chex Mix bag, and while comparing, I noticed just how different regular cheddar and white cheddar really are. These had a more subtle flavor as if it was a light cheddar mixed with parmesan.

On the first handful, I got hit with a Wise Buttered Popcorn nostalgia wave. I haven’t ripped one of those yellow bags in ages, but that’s exactly what it tasted like. Once the mild cheddar cheese took over, it reminded me of another classic bagged popcorn – Smartfood White Cheddar.

I couldn’t shake that overall popcorn vibe and almost wish they included popcorn within the mix. It was like opening one of those tri-flavor Christmas tins and alternating bites between the cheese and the butter flavors.

But it didn’t stop there. The flavor kept slightly morphing as I crunched on, with some bites genuinely putting me in mind of a buttery garlic bread with a dash of cheese. I highly doubt these contain garlic powder, but the sample sent to me didn’t have ingredients listed, so I can’t confirm. Either way, I think I have an idea for a new Chex Mix flavor down the line.

All of my assumptions were wrong here. This is not just a lazy reboot of the Cheddar flavor. It’s a delicious new entry in Chex Mix’s elite snack lineup. I’d recommend grabbing a bag of Smartfood and creating a mega White Cheddar mix.

I still like Cheddar slightly more, but these are coming in just a tick below. Feel free to release any color cheddar you want moving forward.

(*2015-18, 2020. I won’t forget about 2019, Alex G. of Denmark. Hope you enjoyed your reign on top, you fraud.)

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

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: Not available
Purchased at: Received from Chex Mix
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: Not available on sample packaging.

REVIEW: Burger King Ch’King Sandwich

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Burger King Ch King Sandwich Whole

Burger King has a mixed record with chicken sandwiches. My previous experience was in the form of the Original Chicken Sandwich. That’s the hoagie-like version that can have some questionable quality chicken in the form of a pressed patty. I ended up throwing half of it away because it was just not good.

So naturally, when Burger King put its new Ch’King into the ever-growing field of fast food chicken sandwiches, I knew it was time to give BK an opportunity to redeem itself.

In 2019, Popeyes started a movement through the fast food industry that is still being felt two years later. It started serving a high quality, flavorful chicken sandwich that made the standard fast food fare pale in comparison. In my opinion, Popeyes’ offering has yet to be bested. However, I went into trying the Ch’King neutral and was curious how it would end up ranking.

Burger King Ch King Sandwich Wrapper Back

The options you have at the moment when ordering are either a Ch’King or Spicy Ch’King. Both come on toasted potato buns with a signature sauce and crisp pickles. The spicy variety is the same chicken as the original (no spicy seasoning in the breading), just tossed in a spicy glaze. BK also offers a “Deluxe” version of both that sees the pickles removed for lettuce and tomato. I opted for the standard Ch’King.

Burger King Ch King Sandwich Wrapper in Wrapper

It was interesting to see it packaged in a bag similar to Chick-fil-A and Popeyes. However, upon opening it, it was wrapped in the standard wrapper. I am not sure if it’s just my location that opted for this, but I have a feeling (based on some of the soggy bits) it may not be the correct way to serve it. The sandwich itself is decently sized — not quite as big as Popeyes’, but bigger than the standard Chick-fil-A.

Burger King Ch King Sandwich Top

Upon taking it apart, I notice the crispy pickles are certainly not the standard fast food pickles. I expected dill pickles, but found them to be more like bread & butter. Generally, I don’t care much for bread & butter pickles, but they worked very well with the overall flavor of the sandwich. The sauce, described as a “savory signature sauce,” was the weakest point. It was just a generic mayo-based sauce with no real strong flavors other than slightly sweet. I’d have preferred the standard mayo instead. The bread was a nice upgrade from the standard buns and helped sell the “premium” feeling of the sandwich.

Burger King Ch King Sandwich Split

It’s a good-sized chicken fillet, breaded in a crunchy coating we’ve come to expect from these new chicken sandwiches. However, by the time I got home, it had lost some crunch due to being double wrapped. This didn’t necessarily take away from my overall enjoyment, but I had looked forward to that TikTok-worthy CRUNCH and didn’t really get it. As for its taste, it was perfectly fine, but blander than Popeyes’. In fact, the closest comparison in flavor was Chick-fil-A. The meat itself was juicy and tender. It’s always nice to get a perfectly cooked chicken sandwich as I think we can all relate to that experience of biting into one, only to be greeted by dry or rubbery meat.

Burger King Ch King Sandwich Wrapper Front

Burger King is certainly coming out swinging with its new sandwich. It’s a solid attempt with a lot to like and also some opportunity for growth. While I personally don’t feel like it topples Popeyes for the top spot, it certainly has its place at the podium.

Purchased Price: $4.99
Size:N/A
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 800 calories, 36 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 90 milligrams of cholesterol, 710 milligrams of sodium, 69 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 9 grams of sugar, and 33 grams of protein.

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