SPOTTED: Ghost Electric Limeade Energy Drink

Ghost Electric Limeade Energy Drink.

Despite passing them dozens of times in checkout lines, I have yet to try a Ghost Energy Drink. (Spotted by Justin G at Safeway.)

If you’re out shopping and see new products, snap a picture of them, and send them in via an email (theimpulsivebuy@gmail.com) with where you found them and “Spotted” in the subject line. Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something or if they’re new, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

BACK ON SHELVES: Doritos Tangy Pickle (2024)

Doritos Tangy Pickle (2024).

It’s back! Here’s our review from 2020. (Spotted by Benjamin S at Walmart.)

If you’re out shopping and see new products, snap a picture of them, and send them in via an email (theimpulsivebuy@gmail.com) with where you found them and “Spotted” in the subject line. Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something or if they’re new, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

REVIEW: Limited Edition Peach Mango Cheerios Cereal

Sometimes, I wonder if I should stick Cheerios flavors in my freezer to preserve them. Sure, they’re full of preservatives that make them last for months, but I want to keep flavors around for much longer so that I can hatch new fruity combinations like I’m a Jurassic Park scientist bringing dinosaurs back to life. My current chest freezer research on the Best Buy website is the result of my introduction to Limited Edition Peach Mango Cheerios Cereal.

Peach Cheerios has been done before, but mango is new in the Cheerios Extended Universe, and now I wish I could combine it with banana Cheerios. Also, why hasn’t there been a Chocolate Banana variety, General Mills? Anyhoo, before I start rattling off a bunch of Cheerios mashups I’d like to taste, I have to say that this limited edition summery cereal is awe-summer than other fruity varieties I’ve had.

Which ones are peach, and which ones are mango? Um, it’s definitely hard to tell by looking at them. They both look like the siblings of regular Cheerios that like to get occasional spray tans. It’s also difficult to tell by tasting them. I’ve been eating the pieces one by one to taste if there’s a difference, but my taste buds can’t detect whether some cereal pieces are peachy and others are mango-y. Are they both peach AND mango flavored? Or maybe they’re separate, but the flavors have fused because they’ve spent too much time in a sealed bag together, smashing into each other like participants in a heavy metal festival mosh pit.

The peach mango cereal is delicious and a great fruity combination, and my tongue can detect both when eating it, especially when I scoop it up with milk. However, it might be stronger when in milk because the orange coating on the cereal seems to run off into the liquid, making the milk quite fruity and tasty. However, I should mention that it’s not going to make you think of a sweet cereal like Froot Loops or Fruity Pebbles. It’s such a mild flavor that it’ll make eaters of the Cheerios Expanded Universe go, “Meh. Par for the course.” While those who are hoping for an intense blast of fruitiness will go, “Meh. Five over par for the course.”

Limited Edition Peach Mango Cheerios is a scrumptious summer cereal, and I’ll be a little sad when it fades away from shelves as the season comes to an end. Perhaps I should buy a box and preserve it in the chest freezer that’s currently sitting in my cart on the Best Buy website.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free product sample from General Mills. Doing so did not influence my review.?

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 10.8 oz box
Purchased at: Received from General Mills
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup w/o milk) 140 calories, 2 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 160 milligrams of sodium, 29 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 11 grams of sugar (including 11 grams of added sugar), and 3 grams of protein.

SPOTTED: Totino’s Breakfast Bites

Totino's Breakfast Sausage & Cheese Scramble.

Totino's Breakfast Bacon & Cheese Scramble.

Totino's Breakfast Cheesy Chorizo Bites.

I guess it would be weird for Totino’s to call these Breakfast Rolls, which would be confusing seeing as how there are all kinds of rolls one could eat for breakfast. Although, I have eaten Totino’s Pizza Rolls for breakfast. Ugh. I’ve spent too much time thinking about this. (Spotted by Jarred B at Publix. Chorizo one spotted by Phil at Redner’s.)

If you’re out shopping and see new products, snap a picture of them, and send them in via an email (theimpulsivebuy@gmail.com) with where you found them and “Spotted” in the subject line. Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something or if they’re new, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

REVIEW: Taco Bell Big Cheez-It Tostada

NOTE: We also reviewed the Taco Bell Big Cheez-It Crunchwrap

In June 2022, a Taco Bell store in Irvine, California, made news by being a test store for two items centered around a giant Cheez-It cracker. Initially slated for a two-week run, the location sold out in six days due to demand. Now, two years later, Taco Bell is doing a nationwide rollout of the Big Cheez-It in its stores. The Taco Bell Big Cheez-It Tostada starts with the titular cracker as its base and is topped with familiar Taco Bell items: seasoned beef, lettuce, diced tomatoes, shredded cheese, and sour cream. They also offer a Big Cheez-It Crunchwrap Supreme that substitutes the standard tostada with the giant cheese cracker.

The presentation was a lot nicer than I’ve come to expect from my Taco Bell; it looked almost like the ad! I wanted to get a good idea of the size of the thing, so I went to pick it up. This was where one of its fatal flaws showed: it broke as I started to lift the 16x-sized Cheez-It.

No matter; I had a nice piece with all the toppings. Unlike the Doritos Locos taco, there was not a strong cheese smell as I brought it towards my face. My first bite was underwhelming. The standard Taco Bell flavors were there (seasoned meat, crunchy lettuce, wet tomatoes, salty cheese, and creamy sour cream), but the Cheez-It was almost non-existent. There was a slight crisp to the cracker, but sitting in a box with toppings was already causing it to soften.

I scraped the toppings off to try the cracker on its own. By itself, it tasted like a standard Cheez-It but milder. The cheeseiness felt muted, which was odd. I wondered if it lost some of its oomph because of the increase in size. Sort of like a Hass avocado versus a green avocado: Hass are smaller, so the flavor is much more concentrated. Knowing what flavor my taste buds were looking for, I went back to grab the remaining cracker, only for it to (once again) break.

Tasting it again with everything, I still struggled to notice the Cheez-It. I could taste it if I really focused on it, but it was too easily overwhelmed by the other ingredients. As for the texture, any crispiness I had in the first bite (which wasn’t much) was almost non-existent by the end.

The Taco Bell Big Cheez-It Tostada is a fun concept with disappointing execution. While the presentation was surprisingly good, the massive cracker shatters easily and loses its already muted flavor against the familiar, strong Taco Bell ingredients. I still enjoyed the taste, as I love that standard Taco Bell flavor profile, but the novelty of the giant Cheez-It wore off pretty quickly. It’s worth a try to say you tried it, but I doubt I’d get it a second time.

Purchased Price: $3.99
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 tostada) 230 calories, 13 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 570 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 3 grams of sugar, and 10 grams of protein.