Tag: product review (Page 3 of 4)

Product review: Wheat Thins Stix

Wheat Thins have always been an under-the-radar, good snack–at least in my opinion….with a salty, slighty nutty and sweet taste that makes it hard not to eat half the box. So when I was approached about two new flavors of Wheat Thins Crunch Stix, I happily obliged. I’d never had the Honey Wheat or Fire Roasted Tomato flavors before, which came first, so I was trying these two new flavors first.

Before I talk about these flavors themselves, first let me say that I was pleasantly surprised that whole grain wheat is the first ingredient, something you don’t see often in snack foods (and there are a whopping 11 grams of whole grains per serving). There is also no high fructose corn syrup, another thing you don’t see often in snack foods these days. It also comes in a cool shaped box that you can open like a tub of popcorn. And now for the taste test…..

Chipotle Pepper--A mildly spicy and smoky taste, with a nice balance to the slightly nutty and sweet flavor reminiscent of Wheat Thins crackers. There is a faint tomato taste as well and since tomato powder is one of the ingredients, my taste buds did not deceive me. However, if you’re looking for these to knock your spice socks off, that isn’t going to happen. But that means more people in your family will enjoy them.

Cinnamon Kick–Amazingly, these might be even spicier than the Chipotle flavor, courtesy of jalapeno extract. But the combination of salty, sweet, spicy and of course cinnamon are a really pleasant flavor explosion. Imagine having a cinnamon roll with a hint of cayenne, and that’s these snack stix in a nutshell (well, not literally).

Anyway, if you’re a snack food junkie (and that I DO mean literally!), you should check these out.

Product review: Brisk iced green tea with mango dragonfruit

Chef JimIn conjunction with the movie The Green Lantern, which hit theaters on June 17, Brisk Iced Tea has developed a new flavor of tea which they are calling a “new flavor-forward product,” and that flavor is Mango Dragonfruit Green Tea.

I don’t exactly drink a lot of iced tea, but new products like this always intrigue me. And this one is extremely refreshing, particularly as I drink some on the seventh straight day of 90+ degree heat in Wisconsin. Admittedly, the flavor is a bit different. Mango is different to begin with, and you throw in the green aspect and you’ve got something quite unique. And the more you drink, the more it grows on you. The bottle also features art from The Green Lantern.

Brisk is also running a promotion at www.anyonecanbechosen.com for the film in conjunction with parent company Frito-Lay in which consumers can enter a game code from specially marked Brisk and also bags of Doritos, Cheetos and Ruffles to win prizes. The promotion continues through July 31.

Product review: Emerald Breakfast on the Go!

I didn’t quite get the robot analogy that came with a package from the PR firm who sent samples of the new Emerald Nuts Breakfast on the Go! Nut & Granola mixes. Their message was that robots can turn out ordinary granola bars, but these Emerald “deconstructed” granola packets “humanize your morning.” Um, okay. But we’re not here to poke holes in the PR campaign. No, we are here to test out the food and let you know how it is. And in this case, the food is really good. They sent a sample of all three flavors, so let’s go over each one, shall we?

Berry Nut Blend–this one has granola clusters, glazed walnuts, yogurt raisins, peanuts, and of course–dried berries. It’s a nice, sweet blend without being overtly sweet, and the glazed walnuts take it up a notch.

Breakfast Nut Blend–very similar to the Berry Nut Blend, but with dried apples instead of dried berries. It also has the awesome glazed walnuts, but I will say that I like the dried berries better than the hard-to-chew dried apples.

S’mores Nut Blend–A bit different than the other two, this one features cocoa roasted almonds and has bits of dark chocolate, tiny graham cracker cookies, and also dried marshmallows to created the s’mores effect. Nuts and berries are good, but let’s face it, chocolate anything is better. This was easily my favorite of the three.

The only drawback to these bagged snacks is that they are a tad more difficult to eat than a granola bar, at least if you are driving or doing something else at the time. But it sure is a nice alternative. That was probably the message all along, but robots? I still don’t get it. Anyway, give these a try and let me know how you liked them.

Product review: Slim Jim Dare

Chef JimSeems like products are getting spicier these days. Last year, Doritos came out with those 1st, 2nd and 3rd Degree Burn flavors. We also recently reviewed some spicy Planter’s peanuts. Now, in Walgreens, of all places, I came across Slim Jim “Dare”–a new line of spicy meat snacks, featuring two flavors–“Freakin’ Hot Jalapeno” and “Really Freakin’ Hot Habanero.”

I grew up on beef sticks like these–at least as I sort of out-grew candy, I remember my grandfather taking me to the deli and buying me beef sticks, and how I came to love the flavor. Well, the texture of these Slim Jim’s is similar to those that I remember from my childhood–though let’s face it, who knows what kind of mystery meat I’m eating.

Anyway, the “Freakin’ Hot” is very hot, and takes 5-10 seconds to creep up on you. It is also tasty with a nice, slightly lingering burn. Meanwhile, the “Really Freakin’ Hot” were slightly more tender, but that could be the lot of Slim Jims and not the flavor. These took a good 10 seconds for the heat to kick in, and it was a much stronger burn. Well, duh. But it was really nice for someone that likes spicy food as I do.

So if you do like spicy food and if you like Slim Jim’s or meat snacks, go grab some of these and as the late “Macho Man” Randy Savage used to say, “Snap into a Slim Jim!”

Product review: Blue Diamond Nut-Thins

Chef JimIf you haven’t tried Blue Diamond’s new Nut-Thins, you are in for a treat–especially if you are allergic to wheat products (although there is a disclaimer on the box about that). The fine folks of Blue Diamond have figured out a way to make a cracker out of almonds, even if the main ingredient is rice flour. The second ingredient is pure almonds, and you can surely taste the delcious nutty flavor in each bite.

The company sent us two flavors–original and smokehouse. The original tastes very much like a flattened rice cake, but a bit more dense from the almonds. The smokehouse has that signature flavor we’ve all come to love from the company’s signature Smokehouse Almonds. And I can attest to one thing that Mrs. Mikey and I both noticed–you absolutely can’t stop eating them, especially the highly addictive smokehouse flavor.

And the good thing about not being able to put the box down, is that each 16-cracker serving is only 130 calories, 2.5 grams of fat but with a whopping 3 grams of protein. They are baked, not fried, and yet are light and crispy.

In addition to the flavors we tried, there is also a cheddar flavor almond cracker, as well as hazelnut and pecan versions.

For more information, go to www.bluediamond.com or just go pluck a box or three off your grocery store shelf.

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