Tag: Frozen Food

Since Kellogg’s new Simply Original Eggo Waffles boast they have no preservatives, artificial flavors, or artificial colors, I shall brag about how this review has no semicolons, onomatopoeias, or eponymous puns involving Jeremy Lin.

Now here’s the part where I bore all of you with ingredients and chemical compounds. Well, maybe not those of you who are into chemical compounds, like chemists and meth makers.

Here are the ingredients for Original Simply Eggo Waffles: Enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate [vitamin B1], riboflavin [vitamin B2], folic acid), water, vegetable oil (soybean, palm, and/or canola oil), eggs, sugar, leavening (sodium acid pyrophosphate, baking soda), salt, buttermilk, and soy lecithin.

And, here are the ingredients for regular Homestyle Eggo Waffles: Enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate [vitamin B1], riboflavin [vitamin B2], folic acid), water, vegetable oil (soybean and palm oil), eggs, leavening (baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate), sugar, calcium carbonate, salt, whey, soy lecithin, yellow #5, and yellow #6.

For those of you who skimmed over or bypassed the previous two paragraphs, and I wouldn’t blame you because they’re like visual Ambien, the Simple Eggo Waffles lack calcium carbonate, which is a food preservative, and the food dyes, yellow #5 and yellow #6.

If you’re a regular reader of this semipopular product review blog, you might be thinking the photo above is from our review of Kellogg’s Eggo Low Fat Homestyle Waffles. And you would be absosmurfly correct. To be honest, I reused the picture because toasted Simple Eggo Waffles look exactly like the waffles in the photo above. Also, I reused it out of pure laziness.

As for Simply Eggo’s flavor, it’s missing what makes Eggo Waffles taste like Eggo Waffles, which I’m guessing is the artificial flavor it brags it doesn’t have. Because of it, Simply Eggo Waffles were a little blander than regular Eggo Waffles, which was kind of surprising since I thought the buttermilk added would help with the flavor. But, topping it with butter and drowning it in syrup helped cover up the flavor difference.

In terms of flavor, Kellogg’s Simply Eggo Waffles are simply unimpressive. However, if you’re one of those people who really care about things like preservatives, food dyes, and artificial flavors, Kellogg’s Simply Eggo Waffles are simply uncomplicated.

(Nutrition Facts – 2 waffles – 210 calories, 70 calories from fat, 8 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 20 milligrams of cholesterol, 450 milligrams of sodium, 55 milligrams of potassium, 30 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, 4 grams of protein, and a bunch of vitamins and minerals.)

Item: Kellogg’s Original Simply Eggo Waffles
Price: $3.00 (on sale)
Size: 12.3 ounces/10 waffles
Purchased at: Safeway
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: Looks like regular Eggo. Toasts like regular Eggo. No preservatives, No artificial flavors or colors. Fortified with vitamins and minerals.
Cons: Blander than regular Eggo Waffles. More calories, fat, sodium, and sugar than regular Eggo Waffles. Without calcium carbonate, Simple Eggo Waffles provide no calcium.

Let’s say we lived in a place where the mild and inoffensive ruled. Let’s call it Bland Town.

This is a place where the ellipsis is favored over the exclamation point… Where UFC championship fights have been replaced by Bob Ross reruns… Where people camp out for days in front of stadiums to see Bon Iver instead of Bon Jovi… Where Tabasco sauce is rare and unfathomable, shrouded in mystery and thought of only as an urban legend. In this innocuous little village, Eggo Low Fat Homestyle Waffles are King of Breakfast Foods.

I suppose that the Eggo branch of Kellogg’s has been given some kind of kick in the pants recently because the division has unleashed a cascade of new products within the past few months. One of these is the low-fat version of their Homestyle frozen waffles, already a pretty tasty product. It wasn’t a bad idea to make a more healthful and nutritious Homestyle waffle, especially since the only other low-fat Eggo waffle options were the positively ancient Low Fat Nutri-Grain waffles. It’s just that “healthier” shouldn’t mean “less delicious” or “boring.”

Like most other Eggo frozen waffles, Low Fat Homestyle Waffles come in serving sizes of two. After toasting, they come out a lovely golden brown, smell great, and have a nice, crisp exterior upon first bite. But here’s where things go south. The texture of the Low Fat Homestyle waffle is rather chewy… much different than the full-fat version. It’s also not very flavorful, which is puzzling considering the aroma encourages visions of buttery, delicious homemade batter being poured into a waffle iron. Not so. These were some of the most uninspiring waffles I’ve ever eaten. And that means a lot coming from someone who’s frequently motivated to break into dance moves whenever she eats something delicious.

So, those of us who may want a lighter waffle breakfast are stuck with the somewhat rubbery, less-tasty version of the original Eggo’s Homestyle waffles. It’s not a terrible breakfast option, just blah. When you dine on Kellogg’s Eggo Low Fat Homestyle waffles, you’re firmly planted in Bland Town. And Bland Town, while clean and filled with nice, inoffensive residents who smile casually when they see you, maybe even tip their hats (because hats are still in fashion), is not where it’s at. Bland Town is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there, if you catch my drift.

(Nutrition Facts – 2 waffles – 160 calories, 20 calories from fat, 2.5 grams of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 15 milligrams of cholesterol, 280 milligrams of sodium, 65 milligrams of potassium, 31 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.)

Other Kellogg’s Eggo Low Fat Homestyle Waffles reviews:
Option Pitch and Waffle Crisp

Item: Kellogg’s Eggo Low Fat Homestyle Waffles
Price: $3.99
Size: 12.3 oz/10 waffles
Purchased at: Pavilions
Rating: 5 out of 10 (The perfect “meh” rating.)
Pros: Mild and inoffensive. Low in fat. Crispy and golden brown. The dulcet tones of Bob Ross.
Cons: Living in Bland Town. Chewy, rubbery texture. Spicy urban legends. Beard music.

Eggo owns over 70 percent of the US frozen waffle market. Instead of sitting back and basking in their successes, the Eggo product development team has kept the pedal to the metal, releasing what feels like dozens of new varieties and seasonal flavors in recent years. The guy in charge of naming new items, however, has really gotten lazy. The latest product is called the Eggo Waffler, and I just can’t imagine how they settled on that name. Doing some vague political messaging in an election year would be stupid. Stealing the synonym for a waffle iron is just confusing. Maybe some additional one-letter-away product names are coming down the pipeline, and Kellogg’s is just preparing us for Wafflez for Tweens, the mutant comic book tie-in WaffleX, and Waffl’d, Ashton Kutcher’s new cooking/prank show.

In any case, it’s a shame this product is so poorly named, because the Waffler is the best thing to happen to Eggos this decade (well, second best – being name-dropped in a Childish Gambino rap last year certainly ups the brand’s cred). I tried the Brown Sugar Cinnamon Roll variety, and it was really tasty. The box promises “Packed with flavor – no syrup needed,” and I think Kellogg’s delivered pretty well.

The Wafflers come in sets of two which are connected by a perforated edge and, combined, are similar in size to a regular Eggo waffle. I suppose making them rectangular allows for easier holding and transporting, so if Kellogg’s is hoping to emphasize the added convenience of these Eggos, I guess the new shape helps.

The delicious scent of cinnamon rolls was very noticeable both pre- and post-toasting. Upon taking a bite, I found the Wafflers to be filled with cinnamon flavor (you can see specks all across the surface) as well as a solid amount of sweetness. It certainly wasn’t as sugary as an actual cinnamon roll, but I didn’t feel the need to add any syrup at all. Since my original tasting, I’ve had some Wafflers with strawberries and made McGriddle-style breakfast sandwiches. These Wafflers have clearly become my frozen waffles of choice, but if you have a major sweet tooth, I can imagine you finding them a little bit lacking in sweetness.

One wild card factor definitely worth mentioning: the sugar is cooked into these Eggos, but they’re not sticky in any noticeable way. The shape of the Wafflers might add relatively little convenience, but no syrup and a non-sticky product makes for a quick, mess-free eating experience. It’s perfect for serially tardy kids who always need to eat breakfast on the way to the bus stop, as well as for drunken adults who occasionally wake up with their half-eaten drunk food lying next to them in bed. In short, I could’ve used some Eggo Wafflers for the last twenty years of my life. Ignore the stupid name – go pick some up today!

(Nutrition Facts – 2 waffles/4 waffle bars – 250 calories, 80 calories from fat, 9 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 510 milligrams of sodium, 55 milligrams of potassium, 40 less than 1 gram of fiber, 16 grams of sugar, 4 grams of protein, and a bunch of vitamins and minerals)

Item: Kellogg’s Eggo Wafflers Brown Sugar Cinnamon Roll
Price: $3.29
Size: 16 Wafflers (8 waffles)
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 9 out of 10
Pros: Smells great. Lots of cinnamon flavor and just the right amount of sweetness (for me, at least). Not sticky + no need for syrup = mess-free eating. The new shape might add to the convenience. That waffle line by Childish Gambino is dope.
Cons: Probably not sweet enough for everyone. Stupid name. I would watch Waffl’d. Always being late as a kid. Always eating drunk food as an adult.