REVIEW: Fit Joy Iced Gingerbread Cookie

/ seansskillet / Leave a comment

This summer Fit Joy burst onto the protein scene, pecs-a-boomin, and have been relentless in their attempt to dominant the market ever since. I’m not sure who their connect is but based on their prominent displays and promotions at GNC, The Vitamin Shoppe, and others, they really truly have the plug. After launching with six flavors, Fit Joy followed up with a limited seasonal Homemade Pumpkin Pie bar (which was okay), and are now trying to tempt Kris Kringle with additional holiday offerings. The first of these winter collection bars is Iced Gingerbread Cookie.

ginger1

Visually the bar is the same as all other non-cookie dough and mint Fit Joy‘s – a whey protein rectangle dipped in yogurt and topped with a garnish. The topping on this bar looks like little pieces of gingerbread cookies with the mellow aroma of cinnamon. The overall smell of the bar isn’t much different from the pumpkin pie or cinnamon bun with a sweet and subdued spice.

Biting in, a slightly crunchy texture from little crispy balls hidden inside the protein base gives way to a yogurt-driven sweetness that turns into a wonderful sharp ginger flavor. The ginger tastes authentic and finishes with the perfect spicy tingle that leaves you wanting more. The sweetness is on par with other Fit Joy flavors – definitely a dominant role but not overpowering or fake tasting in any way. The cinnamon crisps on top of the bar do a good job of emulating some of the snap you would get from a ginger cookie while also adding more cinnamon flavor.
ginger2
What makes this bar successful is that “Organic Ginger” appears in the ingredient list ahead of Stevia, and the experience as a whole feels more like eating a gingerbread cookie and less like a stick of fake sugar, which can’t be said for all protein bars.  Other companies should take notice and try and use more real ingredients when emulating flavors – especially spices.  Fit Joy’s mission statement is to use no artificial preservatives or sweeteners and the resulting experience is clean and refreshing.

Overall this bar is more impressive than their Homemade Pumpkin Pie and ranks among the best of their initial launch line, in the same class as Chocolate Peanut Butter, French Vanilla Almond, and Chocolate Iced Brownie. Great to see a protein bar company tackle a slightly different flavor than what’s on the market and have lots of success.

Rating: 8/10

Quick Nutrition: 220 cals – 10mg Cholesterol – 190mg Sodium – 24g Carbs – 10g Fiber – 5g Sugar – 20g Protein

PROTEIN POST: Nuts ‘N More Salted Caramel

/ seansskillet / Leave a comment

Have you ever wished you could crush up a Butterfinger bar and spread it all over everything?  Drizzle it on ice cream?  Eat it with a spoon?  Put it on a sandwich?  Look no further – this Salted Caramel Nuts ‘N More protein butter tastes almost exactly like the distinct sweet nutty flavor of Butterfinger.

Butterfinger is that candy bar that I always found myself enjoying while trick or treating as a kid but rarely buying on a trip to the candy aisle.  Now in my adult years I don’t buy many candy bars but who can resist something packed with protein that sends you down a trip to nostalgia lane?

saltedcaramel-jar-nutsnmor_copy_1024x1024

Photo courtesy of Nuts ‘N More website

Nuts N More spreads combine whey protein isolate with nuts (in this case peanuts), flax seed, and a couple of binders and sugar alcohols to round out the flavor in their power packed butters.  The texture is a little bit whey-grainy but not too far off from a regular flavored nut butter, and with almost twice the amount of protein they’re definitely worth this minor change.

While I can’t say the spread tastes quite like salted caramel it is delicious and has a perfect creamy consistency that holds up well after a good mixing.  The product is a bit pricey ($12.99) but with 14 servings per container it should last quite awhile, unless you go on a crazy post-Halloween snack spiral and try it on top of everything in your cabinet.  Hey, at least you’d wake up hella buff.

saltedcaramel

Deliciously dreamy consistency

Serving Size: 2 TBSP – Servings: 14 – Calories: 188 – Total Fat: 12g – 2g saturated 0g trans fat – Cholesterol 2mg – Sodium 102g – Total Carbohydrate: 8g – Dietary Fiber: 3g – Sugars 1g – Protein: 12g

Note: This is not a new product, just something I’ve recently got into and felt the need to share!

REVIEW: Baskin Robbin’s First Class Camouflage

/ seansskillet / Leave a comment

At-tennnnnnTION!!!

Your regularly ignored neapolitan ice cream has been strip searched, reworked, and made relevant again. Goodbye strawberry and vanilla, hello cake and salted caramel. Keep the dark daddy chocolate to hold it all together and you’ve got Baskin Robbins’ First Class Camouflage.

Originally released in November 2014 to celebrate Veterans Day, this is the flavors’ second appearance alongside the limited edition camouflage colored waffle cone.

The ice cream itself is visually a spot on representation of American military camo. Swirled together in random quantities are brown (chocolate), tan (caramel), and a deep forest green (cake). Unfortunately the pale color palate is also representative of the way the flavors work together on the spoon and they miss the mark on the potential of this scoop.

camopic1

I was initially excited about this flavor because while I had read about Baskin’s “Salty Caramel” ice cream on their website I had never seen it available in stores. Being one of the main components of the camouflage it seemed finally my time to try it – but not quite. The caramel flavor in first class is completely devoid of any saltiness at all, likely due to the lack of “salty caramel ribbon” that is supposed to come in the flavor. What it does have, is a wonderful deep burnt caramel essence reminiscent of the crystallized sugar on top of a creme brûlée. I have never tasted a rich caramel flavor like this from BR before and that is this limited offering’s greatest success, even though its name is misleading.

On the flip side, its biggest weakness is a total lack of any cake flavor whatsoever. Cake is a much more delicate flavor than chocolate or caramel and as a result gets completely lost in the trenches of sugary warfare. The green “cake” doesn’t taste like cake nor does it taste like vanilla, it simply becomes a sweet creamy question mark being bullied by chocolate. To be fair, it’s hard to judge a flavor like this on one scoop, because like neapolitan and spumoni, every serving is a little different depending on the ratios of each component.

What would have really helped make this flavor more interesting is a ribbon or mix in of ANY KIND. Without little bits of cake to drive the green or a swirly salty caramel ribbon to punctuate the tan the flavor reluctantly becomes a poor mans version of the Baskin staple Gold Medal Ribbon.

camopic2
There is nothing wrong with this flavor but there is nothing particularly special about it either. The base is up to standard BR quality – creamy, rich, and velvety smooth, and the chocolate has a great prominent cocoa flavor. Good as far as quality ice cream is concerned but not worth a trip or forgoing your favorite flavor on your next visit.

Rating: 6/10

REVIEW: Quest Bar Rocky Road

/ seansskillet / 1 Comment

Earlier this year Quest announced that it would be rolling out three new flavors of cheat clean goodness over the course of four months and the big bad finale is finally upon us. Following the success of imitating a cookie with Oatmeal Chocolate Chip, and a muffin, with Blueberry Muffin, the Quest brand has chosen to take on imitating Rocky Road ice cream.  The classic flavors of chocolate, nuts, and sweet marshmallow lend themselves well to a portable protein bar, but how does it stack up against the others in the Quest-verse?

Rocky Road’s biggest strength is the same as the two that came before it, and that is in its chunky prominence.  Quest have quickly solidified themselves as the king of the chunk and while new competitors pop up seemingly every month, Quest has found a way to keep itself relevant and desirable in the vast field of protein bars.  Every bite of Rocky Road has ample pieces of crunchy almonds and sweet marshmallow; the bar has some of the most equal chunk distribution I’ve seen from Quest and that keeps the bar interesting from start to finish. The chocolate base, like most Quest bars, has a strong sucralose flavor that drives the sweetness of each bite. As long as you’re okay with the fake sweet taste the overall experience is pretty true to a good scoop of rocky road ice cream. Almond is the dominant flavor over marshmallow, which gets lost just a bit in the general sweetness of the bar as a whole, but you see them and their presence is at least felt texturally.

questpic

Rocky Road is essentially a nutty crunchy version of one of their best bars already on the market – Double Chocolate Chunk. While there are no pieces of dark chocolate lurking in the protein base, the ample amounts of almonds and marshmallows make this an intriguing bite on the go. Not as good as the two that came before it but still better than or equal to the other top Quest bars already available.

Rating: 7/10

REVIEW: Baskin Robbin’s Trick Oreo Treat Dark

/ seansskillet / Leave a comment

At Baskin Robbins the season of the spook remains the season of the scoop. From festive seasonal flavors like candy corn and the decadent pumpkin cheesecake, the 31 plus arsenal’s most consistent autumn offering highlights all kiddies’ favorite past time in October – trick or treating.  BR’s Trick Oreo Treat debuted in 2011 and for the first time, in 2016, the iconic flavor gets an upgrade.

Trick Oreo Treat Dark builds on the success of its predecessor, which combined vanilla ice cream with spooky orange creme Oreos, Baby Ruth bars, and Butterfinger pieces. The dark twist is the same mischievous concoction of goodies, only this time housed in rich dark chocolate and enrobed by a silky fudge ribbon. TOT version 2.0 – it WORKS.

While I am generally a bigger fan of lighter bases (vanilla, caramel, etc) the chocolate base in this ice cream absolutely blows away the flavor of the original. Its rich cocoa notes and velvety texture are taken to the next level by the ample fudge ribbon. Periodically making its way onto your spoon in gooey gobs, the ribbon helps the ice cream eat more like a sundae and adds a nice textural contrast to the chunks of candy you will inevitably run into as you continue to dig.

treat
What some folks may find challenging, and I actually love, are the candy pieces themselves. The Butterfinger generally gets dispersed evenly in thin little flakes of buttery goodness with an occasional big chunk, but the Baby Ruth pieces tend to be larger and as a result, harder. Apparently the combination of peanuts, caramel, and chocolate nougat doesn’t freeze well (even though it’s fine in the BR Snickers flavor) and at times you’ll encounter a candy piece your teeth can’t quite handle. Luckily, if you allow the Ruth to sit in your mouth for a couple of seconds and gently chew, the caramel will get soft again and the reward will be worth the risk. What’s the fun in a treat without a little trick anyway?

The only area where the dark version of this ice cream takes a step back from the original is the pop of the Oreo cookies themselves. The flavor of the wafer gets lost a bit in the sea of chocolate, but still adds a nice dusty texture and orange colorful contrast to the overall experience. The chocolate on chocolate onslaught reminds me of one of my favorite limited Baskin Robbins flavors in recent memory, last years’ Oreo Malt Madness, and I’ll take that homage over standard cookies and cream any day.

Rating: 8.5/10