REVIEW: Powerade Sports Freezer Bars

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Powerade Sports Freezer Bars Box

What are Powerade Sports Freezer Bars?

Jel Sert, the company that makes Otter Pops and Fla-Vor-Ice, has teamed up with Powerade to make freezer bars in two of the sports drink’s classic flavors: Mountain Berry Blast and Fruit Punch.

But it’s not just the flavors. These are sports freezer bars, meaning they have electrolytes in them.

How are they?

Powerade Sports Freezer Bars Bars

Now, I have a hard time describing what they taste like. The Fruit Punch has a nondescript fruity flavor. Mountain Berry Blast has more of a noticeable berry flavor; it’s probably raspberry, but since they didn’t specifically call it raspberry, it could be anything.

But even though I can’t really describe them, I quite enjoy them! Both the flavor and the texture are as good as any freezer bar I’ve had. They have a little bit of sports drink flavor, but I wouldn’t detect it if I didn’t know.

Powerade Sports Freezer Bars Fruit Punch

Powerade Sports Freezer Bars Mountain Berry Blast

I compared the bars, both frozen and refrigerated, with their respective Powerade flavors to see how true they are. I think Jel Sert used the same flavoring, but they’re not exactly the same: the freezer bars are better! They taste less watery and less medicinal. (I’ve never thought of Powerade as tasting medicinal until I tried it next to the bars.)

Anything else you need to know?

I compared the nutrition facts of these with regular Powerade. Serving for serving, they are roughly the same, except that the bars have half of the sodium (I’m guessing because salt affects the freezing point). The bars are like a concentrated version of Powerade. For your convenience, I have included the nutrition facts for both the freezer bars and regular Powerade below, including the vitamins and minerals.

Conclusion:

If you are going to be nibbling on freezer bars this summer and want some electrolytes to go with them, Powerade Sports Freezer Bars are a perfect option.

Purchased Price: $2.00
Size: 24 oz. box (16 bars)
Purchased at: Dollar General
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (Freezer bars – 4 bars, 170 grams) 80 calories, 0 grams of fat, 75 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbs, 19 grams of sugar including 19 grams of added sugars, 0 grams of protein, 18 milligrams of potassium, 2 milligrams of calcium, 4 milligrams of magnesium, 15% DV of niacin, 35% DV of vitamin B6, and 70% DV of vitamin B12.

(Powerade – 12 fl. oz.) 80 calories, 0 grams of fat, 150 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbs, 21 grams of sugar including 21 grams of added sugars, 0 grams of protein, 35 milligrams of potassium, 15% DV of niacin, 15% DV of vitamin B6, 35% DV of vitamin B12, and less than 2% DV of magnesium.

REVIEW: DiGiorno Gluten Free Pepperoni Pizza

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Gluten Free Pepperoni DiGiorno Pizza Box

I’ve had enough DiGiorno Pepperoni Pizzas to know that if you stuck one in a generic pizza box and told me it was delivery from some local restaurant, I’d take out the pizza, look to see if there were any grease stains on the box and if there weren’t any, I’d put it in the recycling bin. And if there were grease stains, I’d scold you for wasting a perfectly good pizza box on a poorly planned prank.

My internal prank detector would also quickly notice an attempt to swap a regular DiGiorno pepperoni pizza with DiGiorno’s new Gluten Free Pepperoni Pizza. Unlike Gluten Free Oreo Cookies, DiGiorno’s gluten free offering doesn’t look, smell, or taste exactly like the gluten-ful version.

Gluten Free Pepperoni DiGiorno Pizza Whole

The burnt cheese may say otherwise, but I did follow the instructions. As I pulled the pizza from the oven, I knew the crust’s rigidness meant it would be crispy or crunchy. While regular DiGiorno crust has some crispiness, this gluten free crust was noticeably crunchier and drier. It even looked like it would be with its too long at the tanning salon looks.

According to DiGiorno, its gluten free pizzas are the only ones in the frozen aisle that feature a thick hand-tossed crust.

Gluten Free Pepperoni DiGiorno Pizza Toppings

Of course, crust only is part of the pizza equation. The sauce, cheese, and pepperoni seem to taste like what’s on a regular DiGiorno offering. While they’re the same toppings, the crust really affects how everything tastes. It’s noticeably blander than the standard stuff, and not even the toppings can help hide that fact.

It’s not a bad pizza, but it’s also not a great one. It’s a good enough pizza, and if I was late to a frozen pizza party and this was all that was left, I would gladly eat it. But more importantly, for those of you who have gluten sensitivities, you now have another option. Or do you?

The ingredients list says it contains wheat starch. Yes, wheat contains gluten. But wheat starch is followed by an asterisk that leads to the following statement, “The wheat has been processed to allow this food to meet the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements for gluten-free foods.”

What does that mean? Research for me.

According to the FDA website, a product that contains an ingredient that’s been processed to have less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten can carry a label of “gluten-free.” So, what I take from that is that this may contain a trace amount of gluten or no gluten. But, if there is, it’s below or meets the FDA requirement. Um, yeah, that doesn’t make things clear. So if you have Celiac disease or are very sensitive to gluten, you may want to skip this pizza.

Gluten Free Pepperoni DiGiorno Pizza Stretch

Look, I’m not someone who would typically eat gluten-free food. I’m a gluten-free food hobbyist. I like to try them and compare them with the original version of the product if there is one. I brought up Gluten Free Oreo because it did wonderfully at replicating what a regular Oreo tastes like. But this Gluten Free DiGiorno Pizza wasn’t able to accomplish the same.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free product sample. Doing so did not influence my review. Also, my sample was sent in a plain white box, so the image at the beginning of the review was provided by DiGiorno.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 26.1 oz.
Purchased at: Received from DiGiorno
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1/5 pizza) 320 calories, 12 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 25 milligrams of cholesterol, 970 milligrams of sodium, 44 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, 2 grams of added sugar, and 10 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Sonic Twisted Texan Cheeseburger

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Sonic Twisted Texan Cheeseburger

I am always on board when an American fast food chain in a non-US location unveils its version of regional American fare.

Take, for instance, McDonald’s “Big America Burgers” in Japan. The most recent iteration of this popular offering gave Japanese consumers the Texas 2, the Idaho, the Miami, and the Manhattan burgers. Some of these have very reasonable — and dare I say interesting — inclusions. A hash brown on the Idaho burger, for example, is a particularly fetching choice. And then sometimes, something seems to get lost in translation. While I applaud the pastrami topping on the Manhattan, I’m a little perplexed by the mozzarella and “sour cream sauce.”

Ditto, McDonald’s “Great Taste of America” burgers, which have popped up multiple times in the UK, the most recent being 2019. While I am impressed that the “Alabama Chicken” has a white BBQ sauce, the “New York Stack” is all over the road by serving it on a sesame and poppy seed bagel (nice!), but topping it with “bacon, cheese, creamy coleslaw, ketchup, mustard, lettuce, and pickles.” Because nothing says “New York” like mixing up your coleslaw with ketchup, mustard, and cheese, right?

Sonic Twisted Texan Cheeseburger 1

Sonic’s “Twisted Texan” Burger (or footlong, quarter-pound hot dog, if you’d rather) doesn’t really come close to some of those weird combinations, to be sure, but it also isn’t very inspired. It is a regular quarter-pound beef patty on a regular bun, topped with its regular chili, a cheese slice, and “crispy onion strings.” Do these things work well together? Sure, I suppose so.

I’m on record as being a fan of Sonic’s patties, and I usually have good luck with its buns, too. Its chili — which is almost like a Coney-style chili-sauce, if you’ve never had it — is great on its dogs and tots, and it’s fine here. The single slice of cheese got lost in the mix, which ultimately made it inessential; a second slice might’ve added more oomph.

Sonic Twisted Texan Cheeseburger 2

Now that brings us to the onion strings.

While the first bite or two of the burger noticeably benefited from them, the “crispy” exterior of the strings quickly turned to mush, making the veggie indistinguishable in consistency and taste from the chili. I’m not sure how you combat this unless you use whole onion rings. (Which, you know, could’ve been done; I’m not sure that onion strings are any more or less “Texan” than onion rings.)

In the end, this is just an okay burger, but I’m not sure what screams “TEXAS!” about it, other than the red chili. Which, I mean, is sort of Texas-y? But it’s also something that you can get a really good bowl of just about anywhere. How could have Sonic made this more of a Texas thing? Oh, I don’t know… by putting it on Texas toast, perhaps? Or maybe adding brisket. Or a tiny little, sandwich-sized cowboy hat. Anything more than just “chili and onion strings.”

Purchased Price: $3.99
Size: N/A
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 1030 calories, 68 grams of fat, 17 gram of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 110 milligrams of cholesterol, 1940 milligrams of sodium, 68 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 11 grams of sugar, and 33 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Post Birthday Cake Pebbles Cereal

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Post Birthday Cake Pebbles Box

What is Post Birthday Cake Pebbles?

Post Consumer Brands has released Birthday Cake Pebbles, a new version of the Flintstones’ favorite breakfast cereal in honor of its 50(million?)th birthday. Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles have stood the test of time, but will these live up to the legacy?

How is it?

Post Birthday Cake Pebbles Bowl

I pour the multi-colored flakes into my stoneware bowl and add a splash of whole milk. I’ve had many birthday-flavored snacks over the years, but I’m still not any closer to knowing what birthdays actually taste like.

Some are bright and lemony, some are a buttery vanilla, and others just have confetti sprinkles thrown on them. Classic Pebbles have a vivid fruity flavor, whereas this Birthday variant is more subdued. I’m reminded of the toasted flavor of Rice Krispies, though these are much sweeter and have that ineffable essence of birthday.

Post Birthday Cake Pebbles Spoon

With that said, they’re so easy to eat! The “Bliss Point” (look it up) of this cereal was perfectly calculated by food scientists because I couldn’t stop shoveling them into my mouth. My carefully measured suggested serving-sized 39-gram bowl was gone in about 30 seconds, and my second free pour serving didn’t last much longer.

One drawback of all the Pebbles family of cereals is that they get soggy almost immediately upon contact with milk, though these didn’t last long enough for that to be a problem.

Anything else you need to know?

I was one of those weird kids who liked “grown up” cereals, so I was more likely to have Basic 4 in my bowl than Fruity Pebbles. This has only gotten worse as I’ve grown older; I mostly eat Original Fiber One these days. And I like it. At this rate, I expect I’ll be eating literal pebbles during my old age for the mineral content.

Conclusion:

I normally don’t like super sweet sugar bomb cereals, so the slightly muted birthday cake flavor, while still being plenty sweet for kids, was perfect for my bran-eating self.

Purchased Price: $2.89
Size: 10 oz box
Purchased at: Woodman’s Market
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 150 calories, 1 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 190 milligrams of sodium, 34 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 15 grams of sugar including 15 grams of added sugars, and 2 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Xxtra Flamin’ Hot Nacho Doritos

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Xxtra Flamin Hot Nacho Doritos Bag

What are Xxtra Flamin’ Hot Nacho Doritos?

Once you go hot, you can only go up. After the successful sting of 2019’s Flamin’ Hot Nacho Doritos, Frito-Lay has unleashed the only logical progression, just one “X” away from forbidden adult entertainment: Xxtra Flamin’ Hot Nacho Doritos.

How are they?

These chips are instantly and unabashedly HOT.

Ya know how when you’re eating Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and the first 3-4 are just tasty and cheesy with a little spicy zing, and then all of a sudden your mouth is tingling? There’s none of that here. The heat is immediate, one chip in.

Xxtra Flamin Hot Nacho Doritos Closeup

As usual, the chips vary from SO RED to mostly red, and the seasoning level (can we call this cheetle since it originated with Chester, or is it deetle?) will ultimately determine your tongue’s fate, but even the lesser seasoned ones pack a punch.

It’s hard to describe the specific heat as anything other than “Flamin’ Hot,” but since you’re on this website, you probably have an idea of what that tastes like. It’s just kicked up on the hot chili and toned down on the cooling cheesy. The signature Nacho Cheese Doritos flavor takes a major backseat to the flames, just barely poking its head through the fire. Surprisingly the nacho aroma from the bag is pretty strong, but the taste gets swept away when eating.

Anything else you need to know?

Xxtra Flamin’ Hot Doritos not only bring instant heat, the fire lingers too. When I eat 3-5 in a row, the burn stacks in a way that causes my saliva to thicken up and pool as a defense mechanism against a potential runny nose and/or explosion. If you’re sensitive to heat, I’d steer clear away from these. Even if you aren’t, I’d have some milk or peanut butter on hand if you want to indulge in more than a serving.

Conclusion:

I like heat. I like Doritos. And these chips delivered on their promise, but they might be a little too hot. Not that they’re too spicy to eat, but I think I prefer the 2019 version without the two X’s when it comes to scratching that Nacho Cheese Doritos itch. Growing up, I loved the Spicier Nacho variety, and there’s no denying those aren’t actually hot at all, but these Doritos are a bit too fiery for repeated snacking.

Purchased Price: $1.99
Size: 2 3/4 oz bag
Purchased at: 7-Eleven
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (12 chips, 28g) 150 calories, 8 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 190 milligrams of sodium, 17 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 0 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein.

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