Reviews – Page 355 – The Impulsive Buy

REVIEW: Fillows Creme Filled Cereal (Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme and Pillsbury Cinnamon Roll)

Adam / May 27, 2019 / Reviews / 3 Comments

Can I say that of all the cereal types here-to-now discovered by humanity, stuff-filled cereals by far have the most potential? Yes, I know corn loops, toasted oat rings, whole wheat squares, and (maybe) even sweet seasoned crisped rice all have roles to play in a complete breakfast, but the flavor-stuffed cavities of cereals like Kellogg’s Krave are structurally in another dimension.

Think of them as the chocolate eclairs of the cereal world. Don’t like eclairs? Fine, a creme-filled donut. And thanks to General Mills’ new Fillows cereal, we now have a competitor to Kellogg’s Krave.

Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme

Call me an overly visual taster, but the appearance of chocolate squares with the promise of a creme filling inside made me expect the taste of Oreo cookies. However, I was massively disappointed when, on the first bite, the cloying taste of nothing but vanilla and sugar assaulted my taste buds. With the oh-so-slightest hint of cocoa on the backend, each square felt like a façade, as if I’d been served a veggie burger instead of a bleeding disc of cow. This marked the high point of my cereal disillusionment for the day.

To be fair, Hershey’s do not make Oreo cookies; they make Cookies ‘n’ Crème candy bars. And with that as a baseline, I tried the cereal again and appreciated it more for its unabashed vanilla sweetness. Still, there are some off flavors going on — notably, an artificial marshmallow taste that really seems to come out in milk. They don’t help the cereal stay true to either cookies ‘n’ creme the bar or the flavor.

That, to be honest, might be part of the problem. Cookies ‘n’ Creme Fillows are too sweet to be enjoyed with milk, and probably on the verge of being too sweet for most people as a snack (full disclosure: I’m not like most people). But at least when eaten dry the cocoa becomes a little more rounded, with a mild but enjoyable Cocoa Puffs flavor. It’s lost in milk, though, which makes the cereal a slight disappointment.

Purchased Price: $3.64
Size: 22 oz. box
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (3/4 cup) 230 calories, 6 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 200 milligrams of sodium, 40 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 19 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

Pillsbury Cinnamon Roll

The legacy of bakery-inspired cereals is a mixed bag. While there are some great ones — such as Kellogg’s bygone Cinnabon cereal — more often than not even the good ones don’t really taste like donuts or french toast or cinnamon rolls.

Let me be real with y’all: Pillsbury Cinnamon Roll Fillows legitimately tastes like a cinnamon roll. What’s more, they might even be better than an actual Pillsbury cinnamon roll.

Like the Cookies ‘n’ Creme Fillows, these are overwhelmingly sweet at 19 grams of sugar per 52 grams of cereal. However, the sweetness feels like a match with the concentrated cinnamon flavor. Even eaten dry, there’s a certain richness in each square, mimicking the gooey buttery interior of a cinnamon roll. This flavor heightened in milk, where the squares take on an indulgent churros appeal.

Granted, when you review cereal you learn to write a lot of vague crap, but let me state this unequivocally: This is the best Cinnamon Roll cereal I’ve had in 30 years of eating processed sugar for breakfast. Buy this.

Purchased Price: $3.64
Size: 22 oz. box
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 10 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (3/4 cup) 230 calories, 6 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 210 milligrams of sodium, 40 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 19 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

Overall, it’s good to see General Mills partner with Hershey’s and Pillsbury to join the filled cereal market. While the Cookies ‘n’ Creme flavor doesn’t seem to work in a cereal, they’ve definitely found a winner with the Pillsbury Doughboy. Let’s hope it sticks around.

REVIEW: Talenti Gelato Layers Mint Fudge Cookie and Salted Caramel Truffle

Tiffany / May 24, 2019 / Reviews / 3 Comments

Summer is right around the corner, and the new Talenti Gelato Layers is the perfect sweet treat to celebrate after a brutal winter – goodbye polar vortex! – and a moody spring that has included snow.

This innovation is basically a sundae with the visual appeal of a parfait. Each pint has five layers consisting of signature gelato, toppings, and sauces. It’s all perfectly packaged in the usual transparent, recyclable plastic jar.

The line launched with seven different layer combinations, which made it incredibly hard to pick. So, I picked my favorite gelato bases and ended up with Mint Fudge Cookie (mint gelato, cookie crumbs, fudge sauce, mint gelato, chocolate cookies) and Salted Caramel Truffle (sea salt caramel gelato, chocolate cookies, dulce de leche, vanilla gelato, caramel truffle).

I started with the Mint Fudge Cookie with no rhyme or reason! Because I was worried it would be difficult to get through to all the layers, I began with a meek spoonful of the gelato. It’s surprising how fluffy and light it is; it almost didn’t seem gelato-like! In general, Talenti isn’t one of those hard-to-scoop frozen treats, but I didn’t expect it to be like butter. The flavor of the gelato itself was the Mediterranean Mint I knew and trusted.

It was just as easy to take my spoon and dig all the way down to get all the layers. Amazing! My only mistake was that I didn’t use a long spoon.

The mint was the perfect backdrop for all the layered goodness. What stood out to me was the delicious, rich fudge. I love me some good hot fudge, and this did not disappoint. I was also amazed that it wasn’t frozen solid. Magic. I enjoyed the added textural elements from the chocolate cookies and crumbs as well. Admittedly, they got a little soggy, but then it became almost like a chocolate cake texture which was I was not mad about.

When starting on the Salted Caramel Truffle, I grabbed a larger/longer spoon so I could get more of the good good. I did notice that there was a bit of freezer burn around the bottom-most layer, which was the caramel truffles.

This flavor was sweeter than the mint one, but it’s a caramel lover’s dream come true. It’s like caramel on caramel with the gelato and dulce de leche. I enjoy caramel, but the sweetness was a bit too much for me. Also, I only picked up on the “salted” part of the salted caramel from the truffles below. Although, like the mint version, I enjoyed the texture, particularly from the cubed-shaped chocolate truffles.

All in all, I’m kind of angry because this is SO good. The texture of everything is perfect, which I would think is incredibly difficult to mass produce and keep right on shelves and in freezers at home! But, Talenti has done it. It’s captured lightning in a bottle with the kind of deliciousness that gives me the excuse to eat the whole pint because I don’t want to ruin it by dumping it in a bowl.

Purchased Price: $5.29 each
Size: 1 Pint
Purchased at: Meijer
Rating: 9 out of 10 (Mint Fudge Cookie)
Rating: 8 out of 10 (Salted Caramel Truffle)
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup) Salted Caramel Truffle 320 calories, 15 grams of fat, 10 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 60 milligrams of cholesterol, 140 milligrams of sodium, 42 grams of total carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of dietary fiber, 34 total grams of sugar, 26 grams added sugar, and 5 grams of protein. Mint Fudge Cookie – 310 calories, 15 grams of fat, 10 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 85 milligrams of sodium, 40 grams of total carbohydrates, 2 gram of dietary fiber, 33 total grams of sugars, 28 grams added sugar, and 5 grams of protein.

Ice Cream Talenti

REVIEW: Mtn Dew Sweet Lightning

Louis / May 23, 2019 / Reviews / 14 Comments

What is Mtn Dew Sweet Lightning?

The marketing materials describe this latest Mountain Dew concoction as having a “sweet peach and smooth honey” flavor, a description which seemingly does its best to match the drink’s shockingly bright orange hue.

How is it?

Well, it definitely is sweet. It’s far more toothaching than any recent Dew flavors, at least since the holidays. As a plus, the Sweet Lightning doesn’t have the Robitussin DM-lite accents that those Christmas ones did.

While, admittedly, it’s a little difficult to pinpoint either the peach or honey flavors over the first couple of gulps, to be honest, at first I thought I was drinking some sort of European tangerine drink and walked over to the machine to double-check. Eventually, though, when you know what to feel around in the back of your mouth for, its shocking sweetness actually provides some much needed balm for those customers snacking on KFC’s salty poultry, or, God forbid, its moderately hot chicken items.

Is there anything else you need to know?

In case you couldn’t guess, Mtn Dew Sweet Lightning is available exclusively at Kentucky Fried Chicken and its soda fountains for — say it with me now — a limited time only. Additionally, did you know that KFC doesn’t offer a small size for its drinks? I just learned that as I forked over two bucks for a medium.

Conclusion:

Mtn Dew is doing its very best to appeal to those with a sweet tooth in the KFC audience that aren’t digging into the new Cinnabon Dessert Biscuits — oh boy, myself included — with this fun summertime flavor that manages to combine two disparate tastes into what, at first sip, tastes like neither.

Purchased Price: $1.89
Size: Medium
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: Unavailable.

Click here for our previous reviews

Fast Food KFC Mtn Dew Soda

REVIEW: Rockstar Pure Zero TMGS Twist

Marvo / May 22, 2019 / Reviews / 1 Comment

What is Rockstar Pure Zero TMGS Twist?

Rockstar Pure Zero TMGS Twist is the latest Pure Zero variety from Rockstar Energy. It is the sequel to the delicious Pure Zero TMGS, whose flavor features four fruits — tangerine, mango, guava, and strawberry. This energy drink has all of that, but also a twist, which I will not spoil yet.

It’s lime.

How is it?

With the first sip, it has that wonderful tropical flavor that TMGS has. But then the lime quickly kicks in. No disrespect to the green citrus fruit because it makes tortilla chips and my McDonald’s Southwest Salad tasty, but it gets in the way of the fruits I really want to taste. The lime is not a backup singer in this energy drink. It’s also not part of a choir. It’s the Beyoncé of the beverage. It stands out and you can’t avoid it.

With that said, it’s a pleasant, refreshing, and heart rate-rising beverage, thanks to the 240 milligrams of sweet caffeine, but if you were to give me the option between original TMGS and TMGS Twist, I’d pick the former. But between TMGS Twist and other flavors in the Pure Zero line, I’d probably choose the one with Beyoncé most of the time.

If you’re not familiar with the Pure Zero line, they have no sugar and zero calories, but, like TMGS, this also doesn’t taste like a zero sugar, zero calorie energy drink. But if you drink it warm, then all the artificial sweeteners come into play.

Is there anything else you need to know?

While the original TMGS was pink in color, TMGS Twist is orange. I also wasted a few minutes of my life wondering what color pink and green (for lime) would make. It’s not orange. It turns out it’s gray. Yum.

As of publication, it’s an ampm (yup, that’s the correct spelling) exclusive, but I imagine it’ll end up in other stores later because it’s too good to keep it locked with one regional convenience store chain that seems to get exclusivity with Rockstar flavors regularly.

Conclusion:

Rockstar Pure Zero TMGS Twist is another great flavor from the energy drink company. While I do enjoy it, again, I like it ever so slightly less than the original TMGS.

Thanks to TIB reader Rene B for sending me a can.

Purchased Price: $2.79
Size: 16-ounce can
Purchased at: ampm
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (8 ounces) 0 calories, 0 grams of fat, 100 milligrams of sodium, 0 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

Energy Drink Rockstar Energy

REVIEW: Ben & Jerry’s Toffee Break, Caramel Crisp, and Nutty Caramel Swirl (Scoop Shop Exclusive Flavors)

Marvo / May 16, 2019 / Reviews

Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shops aren’t as prevalent as McDonald’s restaurants, Starbucks locations, or mattress stores. But if you happen to live within a reasonable driving distance from one, you can try three Scoop Shop-exclusive flavors this summer, all inspired by the candy aisle — Nutty Caramel Swirl, Toffee Break, and Caramel Crisp.

Nutty Caramel Swirl

As you can guess, since this flavor has nougat ice cream, peanuts, fudge flakes, and a salted caramel swirl, Nutty Caramel Swirl honors the iconic Snickers bar.

But it’s not a new variety. It made its debut back in 2013 as a 7-Eleven exclusive. We reviewed it back then, and you can read that review by clicking here. If you want an updated version, please read on.

Packed with peanuts, Nutty Caramel Swirl satisfies. Okay, not as much as an actual Snickers, but this flavor does a good job at paying homage to the candy bar. First off, that nougat-flavored base is spot on. If you want cold nougat in your mouth, you could freeze/refrigerate a Snickers or Milky Way bar, or you could buy a scoop of this ice cream.

The caramel added a gooey texture and a buttery and salty flavor. The peanuts were everywhere in the pint. It was as if Marcellus Gilmore Edson’s lab was in it. The legumes don’t have the same crunch as peanuts in a Snickers bar; they were slightly dull, which was a bummer.

As for the fudge flakes, they were the least impressive component. They didn’t make themselves known too often. With every spoonful, I thought to myself that it could’ve used a little more chocolate flavor to capture the spirit of a Snickers. Overall, I enjoyed it, but I feel as if it could’ve been better.

Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 scoop/85 grams) 230 calories, 13 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 50 milligrams of cholesterol, 75 milligrams of sodium, 25 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber 19 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

Toffee Break

~~If you want my recommendation for which of the three flavors you should try, which you might since this is a review site, go with Toffee Break.~~

When I first tried this and started jotting down my thoughts, that was my opening sentence. It’s now crossed out because after eating a second scoop (and a third), I don’t believe it anymore.

Toffee Break features buttery brown sugar ice cream with almond brittle and a toffee caramel swirl. It tries to capture a Heath Bar in ice cream form. What got me loving this at first was the combination of the buttery flavors with almond peeking out every so often and the super crunch of the brittle. But after dipping my spoon into the pint for a second time, those flavors didn’t seem to pop as much as they did when I first dug into it.

When that happened, I thought maybe it’s not the ice cream. Instead, it’s me. So I rinsed my mouth with water and scraped off whatever build up there was on my tongue. But I still couldn’t recreate the euphoria I had when I initially dug into this flavor.

The buttery brown sugar base tastes more like vanilla, while the caramel still brings the butteriness, but it’s not as intense as before. At times, spoonfuls with just the base and swirl remind me of birthday cake. The almond is still there whenever I bite into a piece of brittle, which has a jaw-shaking crunch that’ll appeal to ice chewers and helps those spoonfuls that have it taste somewhat like a Heath Bar.

Toffee Break is a fine ice cream, but it doesn’t stand out among the other two.

Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 scoop/85 grams) 220 calories, 12 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 55 milligrams of cholesterol, 135 milligrams of sodium, 24 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 20 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

Caramel Crisp

Finally, we have Caramel Crisp, a flavor that has milk chocolate and caramel ice creams with mini caramel-filled cups and crispy bits. The combination makes it sound as if the pint honors Nestle’s 100 Grand Bar, one of my favorite candy bars.

Like a 100 Grand Bar, my pint was loaded with crispy bits. Unless you have extreme precision with a spoon, there’s no way to NOT get at least one in a spoonful. They provide a crunch that’s slightly better than Rice Krispies. Although, I did get my pint within days of coming out of the factory, so that might contribute to their freshness.

While it’s hard to miss the crispy mix-in, there weren’t a lot of the caramel-filled cups in my pint. It took a lot of digging before I got my first one. It’s an issue because the gooey caramel inside each chocolatey cup is the key to making the flavor similar to my favorite candy bar. The caramel ice cream doesn’t do that for me. When I’m able to get all the ingredients together on one spoon, it’s grand.

There’s a part of me that wishes this came with a caramel swirl instead so that there’s an even distribution of the buttery confection, but I understand why it might not have one since the other two varieties do. So if you do try this flavor at a Scoop Shop, be THAT customer who asks for a scoop that has a lot of caramel cups.

Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 scoop/85 grams) 230 calories, 13 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 50 milligrams of cholesterol, 45 milligrams of sodium, 24 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 21 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

I know it might seem like I’m a little down on these, but I really enjoyed all three flavors. They all do a decent to good job at emulating the flavors of their respective candy bars. Which one you choose should really come down to which candy bar you prefer — Snickers, Heath, or 100 Grand.

Are these flavors worth the trip to a Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop?

Well, it’s getting warmer, which means you’re getting warmer, and ice cream is cold, so eating ice cream will make you less warm. That’s physics or thermodynamics or both. I don’t know. I barely passed every science class I took. But if you’re looking for a sweet treat to help you beat the heat for a brief moment, any of these three would be fine.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free sample of each flavor from Ben & Jerry’s (Thanks, Ben and Jerry). Doing so did not influence my review in any way.

Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream

REVIEW: Fillows Creme Filled Cereal (Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme and Pillsbury Cinnamon Roll)

Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme

Pillsbury Cinnamon Roll

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REVIEW: Talenti Gelato Layers Mint Fudge Cookie and Salted Caramel Truffle

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REVIEW: Mtn Dew Sweet Lightning

What is Mtn Dew Sweet Lightning?

How is it?

Is there anything else you need to know?

Conclusion:

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REVIEW: Rockstar Pure Zero TMGS Twist

What is Rockstar Pure Zero TMGS Twist?

How is it?

Is there anything else you need to know?

Conclusion:

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REVIEW: Ben & Jerry’s Toffee Break, Caramel Crisp, and Nutty Caramel Swirl (Scoop Shop Exclusive Flavors)

Nutty Caramel Swirl

Toffee Break

Caramel Crisp

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