food reviews

REVIEW: Pepperidge Farm Mint Brussels

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Although Milano’s get all the love as the Pepperidge Farm poster child, I am of the opinion that the the lesser loved Brussels are the true GOAT of their cookie lineup.  Sure, the Milano is classic and definitely delicious with its fluffy yet crumbly exterior, but nothing can top the crunchy caramelized sugar cookies nuzzling a snappy layer of dark chocolate that is the Brussel.  Fortunately for Brussel-lovers like myself, this year they got a holiday makeover with the limited edition Mint Brussels.

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In good taste Pepperidge Farm have decided not to mess too much with a winning combo and have simply added a layer of mint on top of the already present dark chocolate.  The mint has a nearly identical firm but smooth texture as the dark layer, and comes across like a mint flavored white chocolate, which helps to maintain the already successful and delightful crunch of the original cookie.  Biting in you get that wonderful sugar crunch a la the top of a creme brûlée that is sweet but not cloying at all.  Pairing perfectly with a cup of coffee or black tea, these cookies live up the the reputation Pepperidge Farm have for delivering the most sophisticated and “adult” tasting treats you can find in the grocery store.

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Chocolate and mint are a classic combo that works extremely well but is surprisingly easy to mess up.  Oftentimes the mint can be too strong and overpower and other flavors battling for your tastebuds, but these Brussels have managed to hit the balance almost perfectly, with just a touch to be desired.  If I can fault these cookies in any way I would want just a hint more mint from them.  It feels like splitting hairs because one of my biggest pet peeves is a mint cookie or dessert that leaves my mouth with a toothpaste tingle, but the Pepperidge Farm folks could have put a touch more mint into the mix and they would have really sung flawlessly.

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Apparently Mint Brussels used to exist with some form of regularity and were discontinued around 2009, but for me these are brand new and I hope they won’t be disappearing as a limited release anytime soon.  Fingers crossed these cookies sell well and 2017 will bring us new limited flavors like the Milano’s get, who have everything from Lemon to Dulce De Leche available year round.

Rating: 8.5/10

REVIEW: Baskin Robbin’s Peppermint Bark in the Dark

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Although still technically autumn, the flavor gods have officially decided it’s time to be immersed in a wintery mintery wonderland as crisp and cool as the air outside.  For the last week or so it feels like the air may as well be peppermint flavored as that has been the dominant taste every time I’ve opened my mouth.  Baskin Robbins have decided to fittingly join the party with their December flavor of the month Peppermint Bark in the Dark.

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Originally released in December of 2013, the flavor is as straight forward as it sounds – peppermint bark in chocolate ice cream.  The pairing of chocolate and mint is one of the most classic holiday flavors around, so classic that unlike eggnog or pecan pie it can be found year round in everything from York Peppermint Patties to BR’s own Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream.  It’s this common-place profile that makes this flavor a little bit of a letdown as the headliner of a year that brought both a new spin on a Halloween flavor (Trick Oreo Treat Dark) and cookies and cream mashed up with Frosted Flakes (Oreo Milk ’N Cereal).

The ice cream is good – a rich chocolate base that carries the essence of peppermint in every bite, with the occasional bursts of very strong peppermint and crunch from the bark – it’s just not anything particularly new or exciting.  The pieces of bark hold their own and deliver cool bursts that fill your mouth with Christmas cheer, floating along in a chocolate river with glassy-smooth texture.  The scoop that I got did not have nearly as many, or as big, chunks of peppermint bark in it as the promotional picture which is a bit of a rare letdown for Baskin Robbins.  The picture on their site and ingredients also imply some kind of ribbon which I didn’t have any of.  Again, the ice cream is solid and of high quality, just not as good as the previous two years’ December Flavors of the Month – York Peppermint Pattie and Oreo Cool Mint Chocolate – both of which had more elements to keep them exciting.

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Searching for them chunks and swirl – not so much

What would make this a more successful flavor?  One more component – a ribbon or swirl or additional mix-in (maybe it was supposed to be there, Baskin HR were of no help trying to figure this out), and maybe something less predictable.  Toss a marshmallow swirl in to highlight the white chocolate and call it “Santa’s Rocky Sleigh” or some spiced cookies and caramel and call it “Peppermint Stocking Stuffer” – something along those lines.  A perfectly suitable flavor for the holiday’s, just a tad bit boring and not anything you should rush to the scoop shop to try ahead of any other chocolate mint mash ups from other brands in grocery or otherwise.

Rating: 7/10

REVIEW: “Sweet Salty” Birthday Cake Popcorn

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I love popcorn. I also love cake (see earlier Nuts ‘N More post). When I saw this plainly labeled small red bag of popcorn that boldly read BIRTHDAY CAKE at Target I immediately took a step back and had a greater appreciation for food science. Yes, a lot of folks will say the birthday cake flavor trend is old news but I still get down with it and I am hooked on the crunch of the corn, so I grabbed a bag (or three) and went in with realistic expectations.

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Immediately the bag hits you with a soft vanilla aroma that floats with the springiness of spongecake. It isn’t extremely sharp and harsh like a vanilla extract nor is it too artificial or overly sweet. Although not as strong, the aroma isn’t too far off from marshmallows, but closer to the kind you would find in Lucky Charms than a big bag of Jet-Puffed. The popcorn looks mainly plain and white with occasional small specks of color that are probably supposed to give a nod to sprinkles.

Popcorn is naturally fluffy so the texture play here actually works really well. Initially the difference between popcorn and cake seems gigantic, but when you have them together the fluffiness of the kernels and the sweetness of the seasoning does actually register “cake” with my tastebuds. The cereal-esque marshmallow smell definitely comes to life in the flavor with a dominant sweet vanilla powderiness that is pleasant for repeated crunching.

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I’m sure something like this has been done before, but most likely in a higher sugar coated kind of popcorn, more like a caramel corn or “drizzle corn”. Those things are good but I like my popcorn as more of an abundance snack than rich hyper intense dessert. Although not the strongest birthday cake flavor, the subtle sweet powdered execution on Target’s “Sweet Salty” brand birthday cake popcorn is a win for me; something that works well on its own or mixed with a salty crunch buddy like Skinny Pop, Smartfood, or Boom Chicka Pop – my three faves.

Rating: 7/10

REVIEW: Nuts ‘N More Birthday Cake High Protein Peanut Spread

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One of the most triumphant moments in anyone’s proper birthday celebrations is the inevitable leftover birthday cake and the ensuing morning of really owning that birth crown and having cake for breakfast.  Thanks to the folks at Nuts ’N More, who are celebrating their fifth birthday, we have one more excuse to have cake for breakfast before our big day with the limited release of their Birthday Cake high protein and peanut spread.

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Visually it’s festive as hell, with sprinkles dotting every surface, and the cake flavor is pretty strong.  If I had to officially assign it a cake flavor it would probably be yellow cake, with its eggy density being more dominant than a vanilla or “white” kind of cake.  In fact, there really is no prominent vanilla flavor, which is impressive, as oftentimes companies will label something as cake when its taste is simply vanilla with some decorative flair.  It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what the flavor of “cake” is – sugar, butter, eggs, flour – but we all know it and love it and the essence is definitely triggering that part of the birthday brain.

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Of the eight ingredients sugar is the third and sprinkles are the sixth, so the Nuts ’N More folks were being real when they said it was time to celebrate.  This isn’t a low sugar affair like many other protein nut butters out there, which helped them be successful in not having to mask an abundant use of artificial sweeteners or skimp on the ‘sprinks.  The higher amount of sugar also helps keep the butter more solid, with a lot less oil separation than you usually find in Nuts ’N More products.  It required very little mixing when first opened and the initial texture is pretty much the texture the spread stays.

Speaking of texture, this butter is definitely on the grainier side, with a sugar crystal crunch in every bite.  The crunchiness goes beyond the sprinkles and feels like an un-cooked cake batter with its granulated sugar waiting to be baked into fluffy glory.  I can’t decide whether or not I like this textural play and whether or not it was intentional.  It doesn’t bother me but I also kind of wish it had the velvety smooth texture of one of D’s Natural’s peanut-based Fluffbutters.

The crunchy texture issues get greatly remedied when used as a spread on a warm piece of bread and not eaten straight out of the jar like a savage (my preferred method).  Putting the spread on a toasted english muffin and letting the cake melt into the yeasty crevices smoothed out the texture and gave it more velvety satisfaction – I can imagine this would be insanely good on a stack of warm pancakes or waffles.

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Overall this is a solid-tasting protein spread that would be a welcome addition to any breakfast, snack, or dessert, and is a fun way to switch it up from regular or flavored peanut butters.  For the extra sugar I’m not sure it’s different enough from their Salted Caramel or Toffee Crunch flavors to warrant ordering online for the average consumer but I will certainly be scraping my container clean and savoring every spoonful before my actual birthday in January when I will eat as much real cake as humanely possible.

Rating: 8/10

BAR BATTLE: Grenade Carb Killa Chocolate Cream vs. Chocolate Crunch

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After the insanely impressive success of the White Chocolate Cookie bar and the relative letdown of Caramel Chaos, it seemed only fitting to pit Grenade’s two U.S. available chocolate flavored bars – cream and crunch – in a completely irrelevant and awesome bar battle to the death.  In reality this is just two reviews crammed into one, but all that sounds pretty fun doesn’t it?

First up – Chocolate Cream.

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This bar has a chocolate cream center with a layer of caramel coated in milk chocolate, all revolving around a whey protein base.  Unfortunately, this bar was neither creamy or particularly chocolatey and resulted in immediate disappointment.

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The inside looked gorgeous, with a fluffy protein core topped by thin whispy caramel and was very similar to the Caramel Chaos without the elements that made that bar redeemable – the caramel flavor and crisp crunch.  The promised flavor fell completely flat and left me searching for more bite after bite.

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This bar is fine, as in passable, but it isn’t adding anything new to the protein bar game, which a truly creamy chocolate bar would.  When I hear chocolate cream I think of truffles or the center of a Cadbury egg, or at the very least a rich deep cocoa flavor, and none of those were present in this bar.  What’s good about this bar is the same thing that makes white cookie so great without any notable strong flavors or inventiveness.  Ultimately it’s perfectly edible and has solid macros but isn’t replacing any of the other established chocolate protein bars (Combat Crunch, Quest) that have been doing it for years.

Rating: 6/10

And the challenger – Chocolate Crunch.

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This bar comes in a golden wrapper – does that mean it’s actually the reigning champ and not the challenger?  Is this foreshadowing?  Yes.  This bar is solid.

The name “Chocolate Crunch” is a bit misleading because a prominent flavor in this bar is peanuts.  Listed in the description, peanuts, in both their taste and texture, play a bigger role in making this bar successful than the chocolate, which is present but greatly amplified by the nuts.  The half real, half artificial (you know the taste) flavor of peanuts is the first and last thing you taste, rounded out very nicely by the coating of chocolate.
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Speaking of successful, the caramel here is very different than the other three bars – it’s thick and solid with a chewy texture that is new and awesome.

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This bar, much like its white chocolate all star, is channeling a liquor store classic – SNICKERS.  The peanuty protein base becomes distinctly like the texture of nougat and the nuts and caramel work together to complete the package.  This isn’t as dead-on of a copy as the white cookie but it took me by pleasant surprise that this bar tasted nothing like I expected.  I didn’t anticipate the bar to taste bad I just had no idea it would take me back to the candy aisle and eager to reach for another.

Rating: 8/10

Chocolate Crunch absolutely destroys Chocolate Cream and will earn its slot in any Snickers-loving protein bar munchers’ rotation with ease.  A great nutritional profile with flavor to back it up, the gold wrapper is a fitting home for a bar that channels one of the greatest candies of all time.

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OOEY GOOEY CHAMPION!

REVIEW: flapJACKed Double Chocolate Mighty Muffin

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I have been cautiously eyeballing flapJACKed Mighty Muffin’s for quite awhile.  The “powder turned fluffy muffin” carton was intriguing, with very similar macros to the protein bars I enjoy on a daily basis, all happening with 35 magical seconds in the microwave.  Admittedly, I was skeptical of the ability to get a good muffin texture in such short time for only 21 grams of carbs, but the might of the muffin left me pleasantly surprised.

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FlapJACKed specializes in a protein fortified pancake mix, which they’ve cleverly branded and packaged into a portable muffin mixture with protein, fiber, and probiotics.  Opening the container it looks like a store bought cake mix, and smells like one minus all the tasty sugar crystals and plus some stevia and odd earthy notes.  Pour in 1/4 cup of water, mix it into a goop, pop it in the micro, and ta-da – you have yourself a muffin.

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Mixture before the micro-zap

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Ta-da! Waddup muffin man

This is where my expectations started to be exceeded.  The muffin came out like a fluffy chocolate brownie, with the very top slightly underdone and gooey in the best way.  Seeing a cup of wet mix turn into a gorgeous rounded muffin was impressive, and lived up to the name.  There is a little bit of a strange smell from the cooked product that reminded me of dry cat food, but it wouldn’t hold me back from digging in.

The taste is dominated by a deep bitter cocoa that finishes with the flavor of the primary sweetener stevia, which I find more cloying and distracting than the Sucralose finish.  For a product with 7 grams of sugar I think the artificial tail on the flavor is a bit of a letdown, but is still a good tradeoff to the 30 or more grams of sugar you would find in a traditional muffin.  Every three or so bites you’ll come across a bittersweet chocolate chip which adds to the dark cocoa taste and helps earn its Double Chocolate name.  The good, but not great, flavor of the muffin gets greatly improved with the addition of some sliced banana and/or peanut butter, but then again, what doesn’t?

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Where this product really succeeds, and what makes it unique, is its texture.  They nailed the muffin mouth feel, with not only high protein and low carbs but gluten free as well.  I’ve had many gluten free muffins that don’t compare to the texture of the Mighty Muffin and this is the element that will have me trying another flavor or two down the line.  Far from perfect, this is a fun take on portable protein to mix it up from bars or powders.

Rating: 7/10

Quick Nutrition: Calories: 220 – Fat cals: 80 – Total Fat: 8g – Cholesterol: 5mg – Sodium: 350mg – Total Carb: 21g – Fiber: 6g – Sugars: 7g – Protein: 20g

REVIEW: Grenade Carb Killa White Chocolate Cookie

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Grenade is a United Kingdom based protein supplement company founded in 2010, apparently dominating everyone’s post-workout fix world wide except me.  As someone who does most of his whey protein intake through bars I’m always looking for new flavors and textures to entice my palate.  When the Carb Killa bars popped up at my local GNC the packaging was interesting and I grabbed two of the available flavors.  The first one I tried, Caramel Chaos, had really great texture but was generally lacking in any notable flavors, despite the fact that it was the only protein bar I’ve had to actually have caramel.  The second bar – White Chocolate Cookie – changed everything.

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Carb Killa’s are triple-layered bars combining a whey protein base with gooey caramel and crunchy bits, then dipped in either a white or milk chocolate.  The White Chocolate Cookie bar has a milky white caramel beneath pieces of chocolate cookies and looks almost identical to the Hershey’s Cookies and Cream candy bar.  It is without a doubt one of the most uniquely flavored and well executed protein bars I have ever had.

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The three textures interact with each other to create a seamless snacking experience, leaving almost nothing to be desired.  White chocolate is the first ingredient, and the flavor is strong and pronounced with the use of cocoa butter and whole milk powder.  Many of the issues that plague protein bars – grainy bases, overly sweet fake sugars, or too much fake fiber, are all nonexistent here.  The bar is just sweet enough to emulate the candy bar it looks up to without becoming over the top or artificial.

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This might be one of the rare cases where a protein supplement trying to mimic an established junk food product actually surpasses the real thing.  The addition of the caramel offers a more complex mouth feel than the Hershey’s bar and with 22 grams of protein and only 2 grams of sugar I can’t imagine myself ever choosing the candy over the killa.

In the United States Carb Killa bars are available in four flavors – Caramel Chaos, Chocolate Cream, Chocolate Crunch, and the sensational White Chocolate Cookie.  I plan on trying the two chocolate flavors as soon as possible, and being on the lookout for some of the more obscure UK-available flavors like Banana Armour and White Chocolate Mocha to make a Stateside appearance soon.

Rating: 9.5/10

Quick Nutrition: Calories: 220 – Fat Cal: 70 – Fat: 8g – Sat Fat: 4g – Sodium: 150mg – Total Carb: 21g – Fiber: 6g – Sugars: 2g – Sugar Alcohol: 13g – Protein: 22g

REVIEW: Fit Joy Winter Peppermint Bark

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Ho ho ho!  Not content with leaving the biggest holiday of the year with only one cheat clean savior, Fit Joy have taken a stab at the mid-2000’s favorite chocolate fad with Winter Peppermint Bark.
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Immediately and unmistakably this bar screams Christmas. The aroma of white chocolate and peppermint twirl and whirl their way out of the wrapper like ballerinas in the Nutcracker while red mint flavored crisps line the top like lights on a tree. Unfortunately, after taking your first delicious bite you’re left wondering whether you just kissed the sugar plum fairy or took a secret swig off of some 100 proof peppermint schnapps – this thing is MINTY.

Much like Fit Joy‘s initial Mint Chocolate Crisp bar, the peppermint in the bark version is still too strong. Peppermint extract (“natural flavor”) is such a sharp flavor that it can be easily overdone, and this bar suffers in that regard. What works here, though, is that the yogurt dipped vanilla-y presence of the rest of the bar helps hold back some of the mint rush and is much more balanced than the brands first minty attempt. Whereas Mint Chocolate Crisp hit with the force of a York peppermint patty, this bar simply tastes like a peppermint bark where the chef got a little buzzed and heavy handed with the mint.

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Had Fit Joy rolled back about 20% of the mint flavor they would have had a second seasonal home run on their hands. Still gotta give them credit for tackling a white chocolate/vanilla/etc twist on peppermint and not just being content with a single limited release.

Rating: 7/10

PROTEIN POST: Nuts ‘N More Salted Caramel

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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?

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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