REVIEW: Clif Bar Coffee Collection Minis

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Clif Bar Coffee Collection Minis

What are Clif Bar Coffee Collection Minis?

These are new flavors of Clif Bar’s Coffee Collection, but smaller than the original members. They weigh less than half the regular bars (0.99 ounces vs. 2.4 ounces). While the full-size bars are available in Dark Chocolate Mocha, Caramel Macchiato, and Vanilla Almond Latte, the Minis come in Espresso and Cappuccino. There are 20 bars in a box.

According to Clif Bar’s website, the Espresso Minis have crunchy pieces of chocolate-covered coffee beans and a hint of sweet cocoa. The Cappuccino Minis have rich roasted coffee, white chocolate-flavored chunks, and crunchy pieces of chocolate-covered coffee beans.

How are they?

Clif Bar Coffee Collection Minis Espresso

If you’ve had chocolate-covered espresso beans, you’ll know what the espresso ones taste like, although the flavor isn’t as bold as what you’d get with the choco-coated beans. As for the Cappuccino version, the coffee flavor is a bit muted, and, overall, the bars are sweeter than the Espresso variety. With both, I occasionally get the crunch of the java beans, which are sustainably sourced from Colombia, if you were wondering.

Clif Bar Coffee Collection Minis Cappuccino

Beyond the coffee, there are the other ingredients that make up all Clif Bars, which always seem to make them look like construction material to me. While they’re all there to keep the bars together and give them their chewy and crispy textures, they don’t play too much of a role with both flavors. If anything, they perhaps lower the coffee-ness a little.

Overall, I enjoyed both, but prefer the more robust flavor of the Espresso Minis.

Anything else you need to know?

These do contain a good level of caffeine. According to the box, one has about the same amount that’s in an espresso shot. What does that mean? The side of the packaging explains that each bar has 60-70 milligrams of the stimulant.

I’ve been replacing my daily early afternoon iced coffee with one of these Clif Bars, and they seem to give me the same energy boost that gets me through the rest of my workday.

Conclusion:

While I like the flavor, convenience, and caffeine content of these Clif Bar Coffee Collection Minis, it’s the last two that stand out to me. It’s nice to consume a pick me up without having to walk over to the kitchen (or Starbucks) to get a caffeinated beverage.

Purchased Price: $10.43 (on sale)
Size: 19.80 oz. box/20 pack
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 8 out of 10 (Espresso), 7 out of 10 (Cappuccino)
Nutrition Facts: (1 bar) Espresso – 100 calories, 2 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 90 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein. Cappuccino – 100 calories, 2 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 95 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Lucky Charms Frozen Dairy Dessert

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Lucky Charms Frozen Dairy Dessert

What is Lucky Charms Frozen Dairy Dessert?

It’s vanilla frozen dairy dessert, a cereal swirl, and Lucky Charms marshmallows from the folks at Dreyer’s. It made its debut with a Cinnamon Toast Crunch Ice Cream. Yes, the CTC one is ice cream, although light ice cream, and this is frozen dairy dessert. Sometimes life isn’t fair.

How is it?

It tastes better than it looks.

Lucky Charms Frozen Dairy Dessert Top

I mean that the vanilla base looks like dirty snow to me, and since most of what I see is that base, it’s slightly unappealing. The bright colors from the Lucky Charms marshmallows are definitely a visual contrast to the frozen dairy dessert base. However, most of them in my container had melted into shapeless color globs, making the view from above look like a canvas drop cloth under a first grader’s painting or the Care Bears not taking care of Care-a-lot.

As for the cereal swirl, I don’t know if it exists because it’s not noticeable visually or texturally. Is the dirty snow base actually a fusion of the vanilla base AND cereal swirl?

This frozen dairy dessert does a great job of incorporating all the flavors in a bowl of Lucky Charms. ALL. THE. FLAVORS. The marshmallows, the milk, AND the sweetened oat cereal are all there with every frozen spoonful. And because Lucky Charms is one of my all-time favorite cereals, this 1.5 quart-sized treat tastes delightful. But, after eating one-fifth of the tub, its flavor also makes me think of ice cream in a crunchy sugar cone.

Anything else you need to know?

Lucky Charms Frozen Dairy Dessert Marbits

Because it’s frozen dairy dessert, it’s super easy to scoop out. Also, I’m disappointed the marbits lack that freeze-dried mouthfeel. Instead, they’re just soft melted sugar globs.

Conclusion:

This treat captures Lucky Charms wonderfully, and I recommend it if you’re a fan of the cereal. I could be cliche and write Lucky Charms Frozen Dairy Dessert is, um, you know. But I won’t. But it is, um, you know.

Purchased Price: $2.80
Size: 1.5 quart tub
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup) 160 calories, 5 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 70 milligrams of sodium, 25 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 17 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Stouffer’s Classic Lasagna Bites and Chicken Pot Pie Bites

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Stouffer s Classic Lasagna Bites Right

SALISBURY STEAK BITES!!!

And that was the first thing that popped into my head after learning Stouffer’s was taking some of its classic dishes and turning them into snacks. Sadly, Salisbury steak and mac & cheese didn’t get snackified, but the popular frozen food brand is now offering Classic Lasagna Bites and Chicken Pot Pie Bites.

The Classic Lasagna Bites feature crispy breading stuffed with meat sauce and Italian style herbs, mozzarella cheese, and noodles. The chicken pot pie version has a flaky golden crust stuffed with white meat chicken, peas, carrots, and a creamy gravy.

Stouffer s Chicken Pot Pie Bites Right

There are multiple ways to prepare them — conventional oven, convection oven, air fryer, or an unconventional air fryer that involves a dragon breathing on them. Since I lack an air fryer, the patience to wait for a conventional oven, or a dragon, I went with the convection oven instructions that involves baking them at five minutes at 450 degrees, flipping them, and then having them sit in the oven for another four minutes (five minutes for the lasagna ones).

Stouffer s Chicken Pot Pie Bites Closeup

After my first bite of the Chicken Pot Pie Bites, my mind instantly thought, “This needs more gravy.” It’s not dry or anything, and it’s impressive that Stouffer’s was able to fit everything it did into a nugget that’s smaller than a Tamagotchi. Heck, there are whole frickin’ peas in them, plus everything else. Still, when I think of a chicken pot pie, I imagine a gravy pool with all the other ingredients wading in it.

But beyond that slightly nitpicky detail, these do remind me of the comfort food. Although with each bite I’ve had so far, I taste the peas, but not so much the carrots, and the crust doesn’t seem to be buttery or flaky to me. It’s similar in texture to what’s on the lasagna one.

Stouffer s Classic Lasagna Bites Closeup

As for the Classic Lasagna Bites, if it weren’t for the noodles, I’d mistake these for pizza rolls. The combination of herbs and meat reminds me of Italian sausage, but the cheese and sauce complete the pizza image in my mouth. They taste as if they have more sauce in them than the amount of gravy in the chicken pot pie ones. Look, I’m not going to complain about these tasting like pizza rolls, because I found myself enjoying these more than the other variety.

But I am going to grumble about the crust on both. They’re not what I’d consider crunchity crispy, but they’re definitely not soft. Although my choice of preparation might be the reason for their texture. I should really invest in a dragon oven. The crusts are also thick, which is understandable since what they hold could ooze out during the heating process (which surprisingly didn’t happen). But they also seem to tone down the flavors of the ingredients within them.

If you regularly heat up Stouffer’s Classic Lasagna or Chicken Pot Pie, these Bites are a unique way of experiencing those classic entrees, although they’re not as flavorful or filling.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free samples of the products. Thanks Stouffer’s! Doing so did not influence my review in any way. But I hope by doing this review, I’ve encouraged Stouffer’s to create Salisbury Steak Bites. Also, the box images used are from Stouffer’s.

Purchased Price: FREE (MSRP of $4.99 – $5.99)
Size: 12 oz. boxes
Purchased at: Received from Stouffer’s
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Chicken Pot Pie), 7 out of 10 (Classic Lasagna)
Nutrition Facts: Chicken Pot Pie Bites (4 pieces) 190 calories, 10 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 15 milligrams of cholesterol, 500 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and 6 grams of protein. Classic Lasagna Bites (5 pieces) 230 calories, 10 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 630 milligrams of sodium, 28 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, and 7 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Popcorn M&M’s

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Popcorn M M s Bag

When I tore open the share size bag of these new Popcorn M&M’s that have milk chocolate with a crisp rice center, I was immediately transported to a movie theater.

Or, if you look at Blue on the package, it is to the stands of a football game chowing down on a chocolatey popcorn treat. The scent of these is outstanding as they do nail the essence of a creamy, buttery milk chocolate concoction.

However, please don’t get your hopes up too too much as the smell doesn’t fully translate to the taste of them, unfortunately, but it does get pretty gosh darn close.

Now, if you had asked me how these were when I first stumbled upon them at a random gas station in central Pennsylvania, I would have given them a 10 out of 10 and told you to drop everything, seriously drop EVERYTHING, and do whatever you need to do to indulge in these. It’s been a few days, so I have had time to come back down to Earth from the high of finding them unexpectedly and experiencing their intense aroma.

Popcorn M M s Colors

These come in perfectly themed colors of dark brown, neon yellow, and off-white to mimic the product they are trying to emulate. These being M&M’s there is, of course, the glorious hard candy shell to bite into first. The main flavor of these is definitely chocolate, and you can tell it is prevalent throughout the bite. And, technically, if you look at the packaging, these are CHOCOLATE popcorn flavored treats.

There is a definite butter flavor with a hint of salt, at least as far as I can tell, but it is very light. As I ate more, the flavor seemed to diminish, and I could see potentially without the shell colors, bag, or smell someone could mistake these for regular crispy M&M’s, although a very creamy milk heavy version.

Popcorn M M s Split

One component that is a slam dunk, or field goal, I guess I should say based on the sponsorship is the crisp rice core. It adds another crunchy texture in addition to shell, and this being a lighter one definitely reminds me of the crunch that popcorn would give.

All in all, these are delicious M&M’s with a light popcorn flavor as I have already downed 2.5 share size bags singlehandedly. I also applaud Mars for thinking outside the box with this inventive flavor. I just wish the butter flavor (and maybe the salt) was dialed up a few more notches as it would have truly knocked these out of the park flavor-wise. (Eeek sorry, would have made the flavor make an amazing touchdown flavor-wise, keeping with the theme.)

P.S – I wish Blue would have been chilling in a movie theater auditorium seat instead of with a football and eye black. I get the sponsorship, and that popcorn is a snack at stadiums, but not having a movie theater connection seems wrong.

P.P.S. – Rather than Blue holding a bucket of chocolate popcorn, shouldn’t it be a mixture of M&M’s and popcorn since that is what I originally thought they were drawing inspiration from when hearing about this flavor. Although maybe that is too meta and also means Blue is a cannibal. Eeek.

P.P.P.S. – Let’s not end on thinking about cannibalism, these are milk chocolatey with a hint of butter goodness, try them!

Purchased Price: $1.75 (2 for $3.50)
Size: 2.83 oz. Share Size Bag
Purchased at: Sheetz
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 27 g (1/3 of bag) – 130 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 40 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of dietary fiber, 15 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Hostess Strawberry Cheesecake Donettes

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Hostess Strawberry Cheesecake Donettes Bag

What are Hostess Strawberry Cheesecake Donettes?

Lemon? Orange? Blueberry? Nah. This year’s quintessential summer flavor, at least according to Hostess, is a dense and creamy strawberry cheesecake. These mini donuts feature strawberry-flavored cake with a cheesecake-flavored glaze.

How are they?

They are hit or miss.

Hostess Strawberry Cheesecake Donettes Cake

The cake carries a pleasant and decently authentic strawberry flavor that I enjoy, but the moisture level is as unpredictable as a summer shower. While the sweetness level is solid, every other mini donut I try is offensively dry with a crumbly off-putting texture that kills the vibe.

Hostess Strawberry Cheesecake Donettes Glaze

The cheesecake component is relatively light, with a subtle tang that does just enough to differentiate itself from a standard glaze. While the flavor is decent, the coating lines the roof of my mouth like uncooked fat, and if that were ever served to me as a cheesecake, it would be sent back in a flash. The flavor balance is good, but like with the cake, the texture is off and takes away greatly from the snacking experience.

Anything else you need to know?

Cheesecake originated in Greece and was often served as a wedding cake. That’s pretty cool, right?

Conclusion:

When the Donettes aren’t dryer than a July night in the desert, they’re okay. But I don’t feel confident putting my hand into the bag and pulling out something that won’t disappoint. If you’re a sucker for all things cheesecake, these may be worth your time, but they miss the mark on delivering a snackable ode to a fine dessert.

Purchased Price: $2.49
Size: 10.5 oz bag
Purchased at: 7-Eleven
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (3 donuts) 210 calories, 10 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams trans fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 170 milligrams of sodium, 40 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 16 grams of total sugars, 2 grams of protein.

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