QUICK REVIEW: Yoplait Original Limited Edition Peppermint Bark Yogurt

Yoplait Original Limited Edition Peppermint Bark Yogurt

Purchased Price: $3.99
Size: 4 pack
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: Has a sweet and pleasant vanilla mint flavor with a hint of chocolate. Its flavor reminds me of an Andes Chocolate Mint. I didn’t think it would work, but it does. Container doesn’t have that lip regular Yoplait yogurt has that makes it hard to get every bit of yogurt out. 99 percent fat free and contains live and active cultures. Much better than that dreck known as Yoplait Light Limited Edition Pumpkin Pie Yogurt.
Cons: Four ounce containers are smaller than regular Yoplait containers; it’s gone in no time. Doesn’t contain crunchy peppermint bits. Some might think it contains too much sugar. I liked them enough that I’m a little disappointed I have to wait until September-October before I can eat them again (If Yoplait decides to bring them back).

Yoplait Original Limited Edition Peppermint Bark Yogurt Closeup

Nutrition Facts: 110 calories, 10 calories from fat, 1 grams of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 60 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 17 grams of sugar, 3 grams of protein, 10% vitamin A, 15% calcium, 15% vitamin D, and 10% phosphorus.

SPOTTED ON SHELVES – Breyers Gelato Indulgences

Breyer's Gelato Indulgences 3

Breyer's Gelato Indulgences 2

Breyer's Gelato Indulgences 1

Mmm…Triple Chocolate. Mmm…Raspberry Cheesecake. Mmm…Vanilla Caramel. Mmm…Tiramisu. Mmm…Two things: 1) I hope the container doesn’t say in fine print, “Frozen Italian Dairy Dessert” 2) I think it’s a safe bet Dreyer’s/Edy’s will come out with their own gelato this year. (Spotted by Aaron at Safeway.)

If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new or limited edition product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email (theimpulsivebuy@gmail.com) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. If you do so, you might see your picture in our next Spotted on Shelves post.

QUICK REVIEW: Jack in the Box Southern Style Biscuits (Bacon, Egg & Cheese and Sausage, Egg & Cheese)

Jack in the Box Southern Style Biscuits (Bacon, Egg & Cheese and Sausage, Egg & Cheese)

Purchased Price: 2 for $4.00*
Size: N/A
Purchased at: Jack in the Box
Rating: 4 out of 10 (Bacon, Egg & Cheese)
Rating: 5 out of 10 (Sausage, Egg & Cheese)
Pros: Reasonably priced at 2 for $3 (or $4, if you live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean). The biscuits are tasty and have a nice, mild buttermilk flavor. It’s available all day. The Sausage, Egg & Cheese is better than the Bacon, Egg & Cheese because the sausage does a better job of trying to get its flavor past the biscuit. Biscuit doesn’t have a lot of trans fat like a particular fast food chain’s does.
Cons: I understand the biscuit is the highlight, but it shouldn’t overwhelm the other ingredients, especially the sausage and bacon. Jack in the Box bacon is subpar and wasn’t spread evenly on my sandwich. Egg flavor and it’s butteriness isn’t there thanks to the biscuit. Biscuit falls apart a bit too easily.

*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.

Jack in the Box Southern Style Biscuits Sausage, Egg & Cheese

Jack in the Box Southern Style Biscuits Bacon, Egg & Cheese

Nutrition Facts: Bacon, Egg & Cheese – 410 calories, 227 calories from fat, 25 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 242 milligrams of cholesterol, 1176 milligrams of sodium, 188 milligrams of potassium, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 3 grams of sugar, and 16 grams of protein. Sausage, Egg & Cheese – 534 calories, 340 calories from fat, 38 grams of fat, 16 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 264 milligrams of cholesterol, 1240 milligrams of sodium, 228 milligrams of potassium, 27 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 3 grams of sugar, 18 grams of protein.)

SPOTTED ON SHELVES – General Mills Fiber One Protein Cereal

General Mills Fiber One Protein Cereal

Fiber AND protein! Mmm…the protein I need to build a gluteus maximus strong enough to hold in the farts from the fiber. (Spotted by Marvo at Target.)

If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new or limited edition product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email (theimpulsivebuy@gmail.com) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. If you do so, you might see your picture in our next Spotted on Shelves post.

REVIEW: General Mills Chocolate Toast Crunch Cereal

General Mills Chocolate Toast Crunch Cereal

Hear that? That’s the dead echo of all the New Year’s resolutions I’ve fulfilled.

Indeed, aside from taking a multi-vitamin, my plans for non-stop, full-throttle self-improvement don’t seem to always follow through, and what starts in January as, “I’m going to plant a window garden and read Plato’s The Republic and stop a forest fire with my mind!” translates in May to, “Maybe I’ll take out the trash. But it’s raining. So I’ll do it later. Maybe.” What is it that gets my bedraggled mind so trampled in this mellifluous maelstrom of mediocrity?

After decades of research, I have uncovered that its motion begins right here at the breakfast table. Yes, America, it is at this temple of Early Risers and Eager Minds, where caffeine, cholesterol, and morning cohesion come together to form a somewhat put-together portion of myself, and yet I’ve recently cast the breakfast table aside, trading it in for those five extra minutes of sleep before I hop out the door trying to put on my left shoe, looking as coordinated as an intoxicated platypus. But 2014’s a new year and I’m going fuel my brain with more than Nutri-Grain. Just in the nick of time, General Mills is handing out one more Big G cereal for 2013: Chocolate Toast Crunch.

General Mills Chocolate Toast Crunch Cereal The Chocolate Cereal Proposal

“Naturally flavored chocolate”? Hmmm… sounds shady. I can see we may be headed into precarious territory. We better put on our Danger Pants.

Danger Pants buckled and spoon in-hand, I burst open the bag and am met with a familiar scent. A scent of cocoa power and sugar and cereal-saturated chocolate milks of yore, whispering secrets of Cocoa Puffs into my nostalgia-seeking nose. While I’m a little freaked out that a cereal can whisper, I reach down shovel in the first spoonful.

Starting off on a solid foundation, I’m pleased to find that the texture of these 1/2-inch bites holds the same half-crispy, half-crunchy experience as its Crunch Toast counterparts. The surface of each 4-sided geometric shape is crosshatched with small ridges, allowing for an excellent play on texture while also making your bowl look like its filled with dollhouse-sized textured wallpaper samples.

General Mills Chocolate Toast Crunch Cereal Cocoa bits right out of the bag

Fortunately, these taste nothing of wallpaper. Living up to the old slogan, each shrunken bit of toast holds a thick, brown-tinged, sugary crust of “the taste you can see.” The pleasant grit from this cinnamon-cocoa sugar is like an edible hug: full of a cocoa burst and a slightly warm cinnamon end, it harkens back to memories of a cinnamon sugar doughnut, only thinner, crispier, and generously dunked in cocoa. The cocoa is of a lighter, alkali-processed sort. The bitterness from a darker, Dutch cocoa might have added a nice bitter, coffee-ish contrast to the sugar, but to nitpick over what could’ve been is about as useful as making a workout video for Santa Claus. (He has a “bowl full of jelly.” That’s just how it is. Says so in a poem.)

Not only do these crunchy wheat-and-rice bits prove themselves of high quality in their dry form, but they also hold up admirably when saturated with leche, the sugared cocoa generously dispersing itself as it colors the milk with its chocolatey, cerealy-ness while still leaving enough of the coating clinging to the cereal itself. The resulting milk brew has a cocoa level on par with Cocoa Puffs/Pebbles, yet the cereal’s shape is notably sturdier, allowing you to choose whether you want to slurp or spoon the last of your bowl. Either way, you’ll have cocoa to the final gulp.

And that reminds me: since the cocoa isn’t shy here, it has the power to play well with other flavors. Maybe try it with some almond milk, or, if you’re feeling zesty, reach for the strawberry milk or Espresso Gelato. It’s okay. Go wild. You have your Danger Pants on, remember?

General Mills Chocolate Toast Crunch Cereal The Taste You Can See!

On my list of things to improve in the world: diesel fuel, laptop speakers, standard-issue toilet paper. I never imagined cocoa cereal would or could be on this list, let alone that it may stand up against my all-time-favorite, discontinued-in-America Oreo O’s, and yet General Mills, being the daring lunatics they are, gave it their best heave-ho. While not surpassing the O’s, the risk paid off. It may not be the first time I’ve have cocoa for breakfast, but somehow the crunch of the wee little rectangles combined with the cinnamon-cocoa sugar reminds me of a churro and made this one of the more successful pairing of grains and chocolate I’ve had the fortune to scarf down. Some may call the General crazy for bringing out such a fantastic new Toast Crunch on the cusp of the New Year, but what is “crazy”?

Well, if these toasty squares have anything to do with it, it’s a different way to see ourselves, be ourselves, to go out and live in a new and exciting way, and these cocoa-cinnamon squares? They inspire me to do just that.

So, who’s crazy now?

(Nutrition Facts – 3/4 cup (31 g) – 130 calories, 35 calories from fat, 4 grams of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 130 milligrams of sodium, 85 milligrams of potassium, 24 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 13 grams of sugars, and 2 grams of protein.)

Item: General Mills Chocolate Toast Crunch Cereal
Purchased Price: $2.50
Size: 12.7 oz. box
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 8 out of 10
Pros: Crispy-crunchy. Nifty ridges. Crusty cocoa-cinnamon coating. Taste you can see. Churro in cereal form. Makes good chocolatey cereal milk. Encourages breakfast-related resolutions. Reason to eat more gelato. Brave lunatics. Danger Pants.
Cons: Reminds me how I miss Oreo O’s. Laptop speakers. Standard-issue toilet paper. Delusions of whispering cereal.