Shiny New Product Review: Dulce de Leche Cheerios and Peanut Butter Cheerios

I'm a bit of a cereal nut.  Growing up, we were limited to healthy cereals (and when we were really, really good, an occasional box of Peanut Butter Crunch).  This meant we ate regular ol' Cheerios quite regularly.  And after a short phase of sugar cereal binges during my freshman year of college, I returned to my love of plain Cheerios with milk or a sprinkling of sliced banana mixed throughout.

I get excited when I see new cereals.  But I got really excited when I saw both of these new cereals in particular - Dulce de Leche Cheerios and Peanut Butter Cheerios.  Why?  Let's see.  We mix my love of Cheerios with my love of dulce de leche (which I originally experienced in Argentina) and peanut butter, and you get a terrible bit of excitement.  And cereal is just one of those awesome things - eat it any time of day, no cooking required, and the crunching is a stress reliever : ).

I love the original Multi-Grain Cheerios.  They have the perfect hit of sweetness that accentuates the grains.  No, really. Those be curvy grains.  I wonder why Cheerios didn't start with a blank slate of plain Cheerios?  I want to like the peanut butter flavor but there is no real punch of flavor to set them apart from anything else.  Better in a cereal bowl than as a snack, the Cheerios don't have quite enough "oomph" in the peanut butter department.  Honestly, if you're jonesing for some peanut butter cereal - just go have a bowl of Peanut Butter Crunch.  The one advantage that these have over PBC is that they will not wreck the roof of your mouth.

Lackluster Dulce de Leche Cheerios

And the Dulce de Leche?  Frankly, my first bowl left me quite disappointed.  The flavor seemed overly artificial (which is funny as they are "naturally flavored").  I don't even want a second bowl and cereal is a regular part of this gal's diet.  I suppose I expected with both flavors, that rather than having the new additions mixed into the actual cereal batter, that they would instead have a light coating on the outside - like a glaze.  I found both (although DdL especially) to not be dense enough in the texture.  I wanted to hear and feel a more audible "crunch" when biting down.  There seemed to be more aeration in each cute little circle than I am accustomed to in my other favorite flavored Cheerio (Honey Nut).  My positive discovery after the fact was that while I did not enjoy these with milk, they were far better as a straight snack, no milk necessary.

But this brings me to what I would recommend to my friends.  If given the choice to take 'em or leave 'em, I'd leave 'em.  No ifs, ands or buts.  

Shiny New Product Review: Taco Bell's Beefy Crunch Burrito - An Epic Fail

It breaks my heart to say this.  Taco Bell, you have really failed this time.

It all started with my bi-weekly visit to Taco Bell to pick up my usual, a Crunchwrap Supreme and a Grilled Chicken Burrito (and don't forget the all important Baja Blast).  I noticed there was a new item on the menu - a Beefy Crunch Burrito.  It looked and sounded delicious.  When I pulled up to order, I asked what happened to be in this appealing new item.  Most importantly, what made it crunch?  The answer?  "Layers of seasoned ground beef, rice, warm nacho cheese sauce, reduced fat sour cream and Flamin’ Hot (R) Fritos(R) wrapped in a warm, flour tortilla."  

I'll be honest, the Hot Fritos threw me.  What had initially sounded so amazing suddenly sounded a little not so amazing.  I love Fritos.  The thing that was bothering me more than anything was the scary bright orange color - Frito deliciousness this was not.  

Curiosity got the best of me and a few weeks later I made the giant leap.  Here's the real failure.  Taco Bell began their failure path years ago when they got rid of my beloved Chilito.  If you're not familiar with the Chilito, it was only Taco Bell's greatest creation.  Now here comes another one.

The Beefy Crunch Burrito?  Not crunchy.  Either the worker bee totally forgot to put the crazy orange Fritos in my burrito or by the time I got home (a matter of minutes) the crunchy had turned into the same soft texture as the rest of my burrito.  I kept taking bites searching for some crunch, but alas, no crunchy peep from my burrito.

Fail Taco Bell.  Have you had any Taco Bell failures that hurt your heart a little?

Shiny New Product Review: New Oreo Fudge Cremes

Curse you impulse buying!  I've done it yet again.  Well, truth be told, this was my husband, yet again.  He's a sucker for Oreos.

I fortunately am not as obsessive as I once was with my sweets eating.  I used to go through a full 1/2 gallon carton of ice cream in one sitting.  On a regular basis.  But age has seemingly toned down my sweet tooth.  However, I was willing to revisit my old haunting grounds in order to try a "new" product.

They weren't quite as expected.

Don't ask me why.  I apparently just don't pay attention.  But why am I paying more per box and per Oreo for half of an Oreo?

Here's your after bite shot:

They are horrible.  The chocolate is waxy, even by American standards.  And regardless of whether you are an Oreo creme lover or cookie lover of the Oreo you will be disappointed.  The box has sat around our house uneaten for the last two weeks.  I finally threw it away.  And in my house where we are cheap and engage in mindless eating - that is saying something.  So save yourself a couple bucks and buy something quality - like a lovely Cup o'Noodles.