Review: Oscar Mayer - Lunchables Chicken Dunks

Oscar Mayer's Lunchables Chicken Dunks is a kid-themed on-the-go lunch option featuring 5 pre-cooked chicken nuggets, ketchup, a pouch of 100% fruit juice, and an Airheads Blue Raspberry taffy candy.

They're normally about $2.49 for a 3.8-ounce box (plus 6 fluid ounces for the juice) but can be found as low as $1.00 on sale.

Review: Poore Brothers - Salt & Cracked Pepper Kettle Cooked Potato Chips

Poore Brothers Salt & Cracked Pepper Kettle Cooked Potato Chips are of a brand I've never heard of but they were on sale at 99 cent for a 5-ounce bag (normally $1.99).

Frozen Friday: Haagen-Daz - Snack Size Coffee Almond Crunch Bars

Haagen-Daz recently started offering their premium ice cream bars in portion-controlled snack sizes so you could get your ice cream fix without over indulging in calories if you so chose.

Haagen-Daz Snack Size Coffee Armond Crunch Bars feature coffee ice cream dipped in milk chocolate, toffee, and almonds.

They come six 1.85-ounce bars to a box for a regular price of $5.79 or about $3.00 to $4.00 on sale.

Review: Burger King - Bacon Cheddar Ranch Tendercrisp

Available for a limited-time, Burger King's Bacon Cheddar Ranch Tendercrisp ups the flavor (and the salt) on BK's Tendercrisp Chicken Sandwich with the addition of bacon, onions, cheddar cheese, and a cheddar ranch sauce.

The price on the "BCR" Tendercrisp at my local Burger King was $4.59.

News: Hershey's - New Air Delight Chocolate

Hershey's is out with a new chocolate bar, Hershey's Air Delight Chocolate. Its special feature is that it's an aerated milk chocolate bar; something that is popular abroad in some countries but isn't so commonplace here in the States.

So what is aerated chocolate? It's basically chocolate with lots of tiny air bubbles blown in before it sets resulting in the same taste but a different texture due to the honeycomb-like structure within the chocolate.

Hershey's Air Delight Chocolate is available in 1.44-ounce bars as well as in 9.4-ounce bags of Hershey's Kisses.

News: Papa John's - New Double Layered Premium Pepperoni Pizza for $10

Papa John's latest limited-time pizza is the new Double Layered Premium Pepperoni Pizza which features traditional pizza sauce, topped with sliced pepperoni, then covered with mozzarella cheese, and finished with a layer of premium deli-style pepperoni and Italian herb seasonings.

A large Double Layered Premium Pepperoni Pizza is available for a limited-time for $10.

In addition to the promotion, Papa John's is currently offering, for a limited-time, any large pizza (up to 7 toppings), including specialties, for $11.

News: Subway - Bread Now with Vitamin D and Calcium

In an effort to improve the health content of their bread and their healthy options in general, Subway is now fortifying its bread with calcium and Vitamin D.

To be specific, each 6-inch serving of bread now provides 30% of the daily recommended value of calcium and 20% of the daily recommended value of Vitamin D which is equivalent to what's contained in a glass of milk.

Review: Taco Bell - Sausage and Egg Burrito

Another item off of Taco Bell's limited breakfast test, the Sausage and Egg Burrito is almost exactly that: it has bits of sausage, scrambled eggs, and melted, shredded cheese.

The price of the burrito is an easy-on-the-wallet 99 cents.

News: McDonald's - New, Healthier Happy Meals

As part of an ongoing initiative to offer improved nutritional choices, McDonald's will start rolling out a new Happy Meal this September with the goal of having them available in all McDonald's Restaurants in early 2012.

The new Happy Meal will offer, by default, a half serving of apples and a smaller serving of French Fries (1.1 ounces) along with the typical choice of a Hamburger, Cheeseburger, of 4-piece order of Chicken McNuggets and any beverage (including the healthier choices of new fat-free chocolate milk and 1% low fat milk). For those forgoing fries altogether, two bags of apples slices are available.

Review: Pepperidge Farm - Chocolate Dark Classic Creme Milano Melts

Pepperidge Farm's Milano Melts are a recent innovation for Pepperidge Farm with a rich chocolate creme baked inside a crispy Milano shaped cookie.

Chocolate Dark Classic Creme Milano Melts feature a chocolate cookie with a dark chocolate creme center. A 5.75-ounce package generally sells for around $4.00 or about $2.00 to $3.00 on sale.

News: Burger King - New BK Minis

After doing away with their (relatively) short-lived Burger Shots, Burger King is returning to the mini-burger game with their new BK Minis which are mini-burgers that come with either flame-grilled beef or white-meat chicken mini-patties.

BK minis are available in 4-, 8- and 12-packs at a suggested retail price of $2.99, $5.99 and $7.99, respectively, at participating restaurants nationwide.

News: Panda Express - New Garlic Lover's Chicken Breast

For the garlic lover in you, Panda Express has wok-tossed up their new Garlic Lover's Chicken Breast entree which features tender white-meat chicken breast with broccoli, baby corn, red bell peppers, a black bean sauce, and lots of garlic.

Garlic Lover's Chicken Breast is available as a single entree for $2.99, in a bowl for $4.99 or as part of a 2-entree plate for $5.99 (prices will vary).

Review: Starbucks - Berry Hibiscus Refresher

Starbucks' Berry Hibiscus Refresher features the taste of black berries (with actual black berries in the drink) and hibiscus flowers along with green (unroasted) coffee beans to give you that coffee caffeine kick without the coffee flavor.

It's $2.95 for a 12-ounce Tall and 50 cent more for each size up.

News: Chick-fil-A - New Multigrain Oatmeal

Chick-fil-A has added new, slow-cooked Multigrain Oatmeal to their breakfast menu. The new morning dish comes in an 8-ounce bowl and features a mix of steel-cut oats, rolled oats, flax, buckwheat flour and whole wheat flour and one of three toppings: cinnamon brown sugar, roasted mixed nuts (almonds, pecans and walnuts) or a dried fruit blend (cranberries, blueberries, golden raisins and cherries).

Multigrain Oatmeal is available starting at $2.49 for an 8-ounce bowl or can be ordered as part of a breakfast combo with a small coffee and medium fruit cup starting at $5.65.

News: Popeyes - New Rip'n Chick'n

If you like string cheese, and Popeyes is betting that you do, you'll probably take a liking to Popeyes' new, limited-time Rip'n Chick'n (i.e. Ripping Chicken).

Basically like Popeyes Louisiana Tenders but instead of being cut into strips, a whole chicken breast cut into only partially into strips and left intact at the base so that you can rip them off.

News: Hostess - New Frosted Devil's Food Donettes

Hostess's line of mini-donuts, Donettes, have a new addition with Frosted Devil's Food Donettes.

The new Frosted Devil's Food Donettes feature a mini chocolate cake donut covered in a chocolaty coating.

The new Frosted Devil's Food Donettes are, like all Donettes, available in four sizes: 10.5oz Dunkie Bags, 11.25oz Dunkie Bags, 12.2oz Sweet Sixteen Dunkie Bags, and 3oz Single Serve sleeves and are available in grocery stores and convenience stores nationwide.

Review: Doritos - Taco Flavor

Doritos original Taco Flavor has had its own following since it went away long, long ago but now it's back permanently and features the taste of tacos on a typical Doritos corn tortilla chip.

You can pick up an 11.5-ounce bag for a retail of about $3.99 or around $2.50 on sale.

International Weekend: Goteborg's - Singoalla Lemon Cookies

Goteborg's Singoalla lemon cookies come from Sweden and are available at Ikea for three 6.7-ounce (190g) roll of cookies for $4.

Frozen Friday: Banquet - Beef Pot Pie

Banquet's Pot Pies are pretty much the cheapest pot pie option in my neck of the woods. They sell at a regular price of about 99 cents and sometimes go on sale for as low as 50 cents.

The Beef Pot Pie has chunks of beef, peas, carrots, and potatoes in a brown gravy.

News: Taco Bell - New Triple Steak Burrito

A slightly less meaty version of the previously available Quad Steak Burrito, Taco Bell's new Triple Steak Burrito boasts three times the amount steak in a Steak Burrito Supreme plus seasoned rice, fire-roasted salsa, reduced-fat sour cream, and shredded Cheddar cheese.

A lone Triple Steak Burrito will cost you $3.99 (may vary) which is the same price as the Double Steak Burrito when it was offered.

You can check out my previous review of the Quad Steak Burrito for my thoughts. I suspect it'll be a similar experience.

News: Starbucks - Starbucks Treat Receipt Returns

Starbucks is returning their Treat Receipt promotion where until September 5, 2011, customers who get their Starbucks fix in the morning can return with their receipt in the afternoon (after 2pm) of the same day and pick up any 16-ounce Grande cold beverage for $2 at participating Starbucks locations in the U.S.

Drinks included in the promotion include handcrafted cold drinks, iced coffee, and iced tea drinks.

News: Starbucks - New Starbucks Refreshers

Starbucks has expanded their test of new Starbucks Refreshers to select stores in southern California and Arizona this summer.

The new iced drinks features natural ingredients, like real fruit and fruit juice with B Vitamins and ginseng with the extract of green (unroasted) coffee beans for a caffeine kick without any coffee flavor.

They're available in two flavors in Starbucks stores starting at $2.95 for a 12-ounce Tall:

Review: McDonald's - Baked Strawberry Pie

McDonald's has a Baked Strawberry Pie available this summer for a limited-time and with limited availability. Fortunately, "limited availability" included one of my local McDonald's which offered the pies for 69 cents each or two for $1.

Review: Subway - BBQ Pulled Pork Sub

Subway's BBQ Pulled Pork Sub had previously been available here and there but is now available nationally for a limited time.

The main feature is slow-cooked pork with a smoky barbecue sauce along with the typical choice of cheese, veggies, and bread. I went with the picture approach and got lettuce, pickles, and red onions on Italian.

A footlong was $7.50 at my local Subway.

News: Jamba Juice - 250 Calories or Less Menu

For those of you concerned about the caloric intake of your Jamba Juice habit, Jamba Juice is looking to help by highlighting their menu with a "Better-for-You" 250 Calories or Less drink menu.

The offerings include 3 Fruit & Veggie smoothies, 3 Fruit Refreshers, 3 Probiotic Fruit and Yogurt smoothies, and 5 All-Fruit smoothies.

The complete list of all 22 "250 Calories or Less" drinks are as follows:

News: Quiznos - New Harvest Chicken Sub

Following in the footsteps of Subway's Orchard Chicken Salad Sub and Arby's Chicken & Pecan Salad Wrap, Quiznos does their own take on the Chicken Salad Sub with their new Harvest Chicken Sub.

The Harvest Chicken Sub features Honey-Dijon chicken, grapes, apples, dried cranberries, cucumbers, pumpkin seeds, spring mix lettuce, and an Acai Vinaigrette on your choice of White, Wheat, Rosemary Parmesan, Chipotle Jack, or Whole Grain Flatbread.

Nutritonal info not yet available.

Review: Taco Bell - Hash Browns

Another one of the items I tried off of Taco Bell's current iteration of their breakfast test was the classic Hash Brown for 99 cents.

News: Krispy Kreme - New Lemon Donuts and Jolly Rancher Chillers

Krispy Kreme has Lemon Donuts and Jolly Rancher Chillers available for a limited time this summer.

There are two lemon donuts to choose form: the Lemon Cake Doughnut and the Lemon Kreme Pie Doughnut.

The Lemon Cake Doughnut features a moist, lemon-flavored cake donut with their original glaze and drizzle with icing.

The Lemon Kreme Pie Doughnut is a jelly donut with "Lemon Kreme" filling, and is dusted with powdered sugar and finished with a dollop of yellow icing on top.

Jolly Rancher Krispy Kreme Chillers are slushy ice beverages available in: Green Apple, Watermelon and, new for this summer, Cherry Orange.

News: Starbucks - New Bistro Boxes

Starbucks has a new, convenient option for lunch-on-the-go (or for picnicking!) with their new Bistro Boxes which come in entree or snack size (at $6.95 and $4.95 respectively).

The boxes come in resealable, clear compartmentalized packages that gives you a bit of flexibility for "now-and-later" eaters like myself.

The entrees are available in the following varieties and come with a small piece of dark chocolate for dessert:

Review: Arby's - 'Shroom & Swiss

New to the southern California market and with limited availability regionally, Arby's is serving up a 'Shroom & Swiss sandwich featuring their trademark very-thin-sliced roast beef with roast seasoning, Swiss cheese, crispy fried onions, sliced mushrooms, and a savory spread on a toasted specialty roll.

The sandwich is currently being offered at my local Arby's for $3.59.

News: Wendy's - New Wild Berry Shakes and Parfaits

Wendy's has expanded their frozen dessert menu with new Wild Berry Shakes and Parfaits. In addition, they're also serving up a new Caramel Apple Parfait and Caramel Shake.

The Wild Berry Frosty Shake takes the classic Vanilla Frosty and spins it with a blend of real strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries and tops it with whipped cream.

The Wild Berry Frosty Parfait takes the same mix but blended a little less and tops it with fresh-sliced strawberries, and blueberries.

The Caramel Frosty Shake is simple enough: just Vanilla Frosty blended with caramel syrup topped with whipped cream.

The Caramel Frosty Parfait is a little more complicated with a caramel swirl in Vanilla Frosty topped with all-natural brown sugar granola, fresh red and green apple slices, and real caramel.

Brand Eating Contest: Free Smoothie at McDonald's

I have coupons for "One FREE Small Real Fruit Smoothie" including the new Mango Pineapple Smoothie provided courtesy of McDonald's. 

Instead of the usual random drawing, I decided to do a little bit of a quiz contest for this one. So basically, there are five coupons to giveaway and five questions to answer. There's a free coupon to the first person to answer each question correctly but you can only answer one of the questions (i.e. you can only enter/win once).

Just comment below and jot down the question number you're answering with your answer.

Review: Tostitos - Artisan Recipes - Roasted Garlic & Black Bean

Tostitos Artisan Recipes tortilla chips are an "artisan" take on the common tortilla chip with various ingredients  mixed into the chip itself. The Roasted Garlic & Black Bean Artisan Recipe Tostitos Chips uses dried black beans and a 9-grain blend to create a fairly interesting tortilla chip.

A 9.75-ounce bag retails for about $3.99 with a sale price ranging from $2.00 to $3.00.

News: Taco Bell - 99 Cent Burrito Supreme Until August 6th

Looks like it's the summer of even cheaper at Taco Bell: After previously offering their Crunch Wrap Supreme for a limited promotion at 99 cents (and at 88 cents before that!), Taco Bell is now offering their Burrito Supreme for 99 cents from today until Saturday, August 6th.

The Burrito Supreme features a flour tortilla wrapped around seasoned beef, refried beans, a red sauce, shredded lettuce, cheddar cheese, diced onions, diced tomatoes, and reduced-fat sour cream.

International Weekend: Bergen - Nutty Cookies

Bergen's Nutty Cookies hail from Poland but only cost me $1.00 for a 100g package at Big Lot's International aisle. They're actually hazelnut cookies which is something I've never encountered before.

Frozen Friday: Healthy Choice - Pumpkin Squash Ravioli

An all-natural, vegetarian option for the health-minded frozen food types, Healthy Choice's Pumpkin Squash Ravioli frozen meal features pumpkin-filled ravioli with butter-sage sauce, asparagus and butternut squash.

Review: Taco Bell - Cinnabon Delights

One of the more interesting on Taco Bell's current breakfast menu test, Cinnabon Delights feature donut-hole-like balls filled with a sweet cream cheese frosting and dusted with cinnamon and sugar.

An order of four Cinnabon Delights costs $1.49 and are about 50 calories per ball.

Feature: Visting Taco Bell's Breakfast Test Restaurant

By far the nicest Taco Bell I've stepped foot in, the Taco Bell in Fountain Valley is one of Taco Bell's ongoing breakfast test restaurants. I stopped by recently one morning to try some stuff out. Keep an eye on this post over the next couple of days for reviews of the items I tried.

News: Starbucks - Buy Starbucks Via Iced Coffee and get a Free Tall Drink

Starting today until July 17, Starbucks is promoting its Via Iced Coffee by offering a free tall drink of your choice when you pick up a pack of Iced Via at your local Starbucks store.

Via Iced Coffee is the individually packaged Starbucks instant coffee that dissolves in cold water.

A pack of 5-servings goes for $5.95. The offer is valid at participating stores in the U.S. only.

Review: Carl's Jr. - Hand-Breaded Chicken Fillet Sandwich

The next evolution of Carl's Jr's Hand-Bread Chicken Tenders, the Hand-Breaded Chicken Fillet Sandwich is a premium chicken offering that features a chicken fillet that is freshly prepared, battered, and breaded by hand in each restaurant throughout the day as well as the standard lettuce, mayo, and tomatoes on a sesame seed bun.

The price is pretty standard as well at $4.29 (may vary).

News: Ben & Jerry's - New Flavors for July 2011

July is National Ice Cream Month so Ben & Jerry's is trotting out five new flavors for this summer:

Fair Goodness Cake - "Fair Trade Certified" chocolate ice cream, with pieces of German chocolate cake and a coconut caramel swirl.

Late Night Snack – inspired by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Late Night Snack features a salty-sweet combination to cover your late night snacking with a salted caramel swirl and fudge-covered potato chip clusters in a sea of "Fair Trade Certified" vanilla ice cream.

Red Velvet Cake – red velvet cake batter ice cream with red velvet cake pieces and a cream cheese frosting swirl.

News: Starbucks - New Caramel Iced Via

Available year-round in its hot version, Starbucks' new, limited-time Caramel Iced Via is specially designed to be mixed in cold water with a blend of instant and microground Arabica bean coffee, buttery caramel flavor, and cane sugar.

The tasting notes is listed as "buttery, velvety caramel" and the flavor intensity is "medium."

Caramel Iced Via is available at select U.S. supermarket at a suggested retail of $7.99 for a 6-pack and at Starbucks locations at $5.95 for a 5-pack for a limited time while supplies last.

Brand Eating Giveaway Drawing: $20 Arby's Gift Card

To help promote their new Angus Cool Deli Sandwich, Arby's has graciously provided a $20 Arby's Gift Card for one lucky reader so you can try the new sandwich yourself.

To enter, just drop a comment below with what you like to put in your favorite summer sandwich and I'll pull a name out of the virtual hat sometime this Saturday and contact the winner by email. The winner will have three days to respond to my email, after which time I will pick another winner.

Good luck guys! Be sure check back here on Saturday for the results.

Update: I put all your names in the virtual hat and pulled a number via Random.org and the winner is...

Adam from GrubGrade! Congrats, I'll send an email shortly to get your mailing address to get your gift card sent.

News: Wienerschnitzel - 61 Cent Dogs on July 17

Wienerschnitzel is celebrating their 50th Anniversary this Sunday, July 17, by offering Chili Dogs, Mustard Dogs, and Kraut Dogs for 61 cents each (cheese is extra) to coincide with their 1961 founding year.

In addition to snagging hot dogs for 61 cents, you can also:

-fill in a mail-in submission in hopes of winning a trip for two to Germany (roundtrip fare to Munich, 7 days, 6 nights hotel accommodations and $1000 spending cash) and;

-and try to win certificates for free food, "D/W" crest stickers, and other Wienerschnitzel merchandise via giveaways.

News: Subway - New BBQ Pulled Pork Sub

In the spirit of summer and barbecue, Subway is whipping out their new, limited-time BBQ Pulled Pork Sub features slow-cooked pork with a smoky barbecue sauce served with your choice of veggies, cheese, and fresh-baked bread.

If you want to go with the picture, you're looking at lettuce, onions, and pickles as far as I can tell.

Nutritional Info - Subway BBQ Pulled Pork Sub - 6 inch (318g)
Calories - 570 (from Fat - 150)
Fat - 17g (Saturated Fat - 6g)
Sodium - 1340mg
Carbs - 68g (Sugar - 11g)
Protein - 56g

Review: Arby's - Angus Cool Deli Sandwich

Arby's Angus Cool Deli Sandwich which is basically your classic cold deli sub and is filled with thin-sliced Angus beef, shredded lettuce, tomato, red onion, Swiss cheese, mayo, vinaigrette, banana peppers, and pickles on a toasted sub bun.

I picked up my Angus Cool Deli Sandwich for $4.99 (courtesy of an Arby's-provided gift card) but it can also be had as a whole grain wrap.

Review: Chipotle Secret Menu - Quesarito

Among one of the more interesting "secret"/"off-menu" items at Chipotle, the Quesarito takes another secret menu item, the Quesadilla, and wraps it into a burrito. Neat right?

I'm not sure if it's supposed to cost the price of a Quesadilla ($2.75) plus a Burrito ($6.10 for steak) but they only charged for the price of the burrito.

Review: Hostess - Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake

Hostess Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cakes come in a box of 8 individually-wrapped cakes each featuring a coffee cake with a cinnamon swirl topped with a sweet crumb or "streusel" topping.

The normal price on a box is around $3.99 but I picked this one up on sale for $2.50.

International Weekend: Nestle Milo

Nestle Milo chocolate malt drink found in either liquid in Red Bull-sized cans or powdered and ready-to-mix in jars. It's very popular in Malaysia and Singapore (but also available in other countries) and if you find it in a store here in the States, it is probably from Malaysia like this 8-ounce can that I bought for 79 cents.

Frozen Friday: Marie Callender's - Herb Roasted Chicken

Marie Callender's Herb Roasted Chicken frozen dinner features a leg and thigh of herb roasted chicken plus mashed potatoes and carrots and broccoli florets for about $3.99 normal price or around $2 on sale.