Review of Meijer Honey Wheat Braid Pretzels

An occasional late night of television or sports usually goes over best when accompanied by a cold refreshing beverage and a small salty snack be it peanuts, popcorn or pretzels. I am a huge fan of pretzels whether served in form of being dutch, stix, rods, or braids. It appears my affinity for salty food has increased with age, though that is probably not the healthiest snack items to pursue; alas that is a post for another time. The latest review on brand x food reviews involves my critique of the Meijer honey wheat braid pretzels.

Description

The Meijer line of pretzels comes in a bright orange bag with see through window that allows one to see   these small honey braided rods look like. The bag is a tad smaller than the usual bag of pretzels as it boasts approximately 10 ounces of pretzels in one package. I would imagine a decent size family or three adults could easily knock down a bag of this snack over a sporting event or movie without any problems.

Taste

For those that crave the heavenly combination of sweet and salt, the Meijer honey braided pretzel is for you. The pretzels are extremely delicious and not overly hard or delicately brittle. Because these small braids have a hearty flavor, it is an exercise of self-discipline not to exceed about twenty to thirty of these in one sitting.  For this reason alone, I frequently opt for a bag of popcorn instead to keep calorie counts down as I might crack the calorie ceiling eating the honey braids.

Price

The allure of this product was a cost decision as the regular cost hovers around $1.49 per bag. Fortunately Meijer frequently advertises this item in the ten for ten dollars promotion. I usually snag about five bags for the pantry.

Overall Satisfaction

This purchase is a strong buy.  The gold and glossy braided pretzels are a sure fire hit after a stressful day at a very reasonable price.

Review of Meijer Cranberry Juice Cocktail

During the holidays and remainder of the winter I like to keep a container of cranberry juice cocktail readily available for myself as well as guests. This juice tastes refreshing on its own merit and packs a punch full of much needed vitamin c. The drink also makes a splendid evening cocktail when mixed with the right amount of vodka and ice and served in a tall glass. The last couple of years I have purchased the Meijer Cranberry Juice Cocktail and it has been a winner. I usually buy the 64 ounce portion size which goes for $1.99. That is about fifty cents cheaper than the competing Ocean Spray brand.  The Meijer cranberry product line not only sells original cranberry, but other cran juice blends that are mixed with such flavors as raspberry and grape. 

The taste of the cranberry cocktail is light and refreshing and is as good if not better than the Ocean Spray juice. I like the fact that I can get a comparable product for much cheaper. I also have tried the cranberry raspberry blend and have enjoyed even more. Another great drink option using the Meijer cranberry juice is to mix it with a lemon lime soda such as Sierra Mist or Sprite. This is a nice alcohol free alternative for those that prefer a light cool drink with a little fizz.

I rate this product a very strong buy as it serves as a good morning juice on its own or a great standby for mixing with other items.

Review of Nabisco Golden Chocolate Oreos

 My appreciation of the original Oreo cookies peaked my interest in the Golden Oreos product line as they were on sale this past week. I picked up a package of the Golden chocolate Oreos and the results are in. This review does not offer description or analysis of the nutritional value.

Description

The yellow plastic package of golden Oreos contains 15.5 ounces (VERIFY) of cookies. The outside sandwich layers or actual cookies are golden or yellow color and with a vanilla flavor. The cream is chocolate and the exact same thickness of the traditional Oreo cookie filling. The package is pretty nifty as there is a peel back tag on the top of the package allows access to the cookies and peels back on or re-attaches to the package to reseal the cookies and keep them fresh.  Good thinking Nabisco.

 Taste

I somewhat had my doubts purchasing this cookie as I made the purchase decision based on sale price and I was looking for something interesting to put in the kids school lunches for dessert. The first taste of the cookie was a winner. The chocolate cream is decent enough though it appears to get somewhat lost in the delicious flavor of the vanilla cookie outside layers. When I eat these sandwich type cookies , I do not  peel them apart so I captured the chocolate flavor at the very end which was pretty mild.  

Price

The cost of one package on sale was $2.79 which is down from a heftier price of $3.19. The sale price still seems kind of high but then again these are Oreos and the manufacturer knows if you build it, they will come (regardless of price).   

Overall Satisfaction

This cookie is an easy treat to knock down. The golden cookie alone is delicious and makes me want to try just the plain golden Oreos with the vanilla cream. The chocolate filling was “meh” in my opinion. I don’t think it really added too much to this cookie. The price of golden chocolate Oreos is a little pricey and I would most likely buy just the regular Oreos if I want to spend this price for a package of cookies. I would rate this Oreo variety an average buy and may or may not purchase again in the future.

Review of Edwards Boston Cream Pie

When looking for a quick after dinner dessert treat, there is nothing more convenient than ice cream or pie. I recently picked up a thaw and serve pie by Edwards as we were craving a custard/chocolate/cake combination. To this day, I am still not sure why this dessert is even referred to as “pie” as there is no crust, but rather two rounds of yellow sponge cake. Should it not be a Boston Cream Cake? Enough of my muttering, I shall proceed with my review.

Description

The pie is sold in the frozen foods section and in a large paperboard box. Within the box, is a plastic snap lid container that does not snap on so easily once you want to put the remaining pie back in the refrigerator. The round dessert has a lovely rich topping of chocolate which covers two layers of golden sponge cake and a healthy layer of custard in between. The dessert requires the consumer to thaw in refrigerator for a few hours before serving. I skipped that step and went to thaw the dessert on my counter top for a few hours as my refrigerator is pretty cold and could not imagine the pie would thaw that quickly. The pie took about two and half hours from its frozen state to actually thaw to the point where the custard was no longer like ice cream.

 Taste

The first taste was pretty much what anyone would expect of a Boston cream flavor. The sponge cake had a surprisingly moist delicate consistency with the rich flavors of the custard and velvety chocolate giving it a delicious finish.  This cake was pretty solid but did not come compare to the homemade variety that I simply did not have time to prepare.  

Price

The cost of one 27 ounce Edwards Thaw and Serve Boston Cream Pie set me back eight dollars. I am sure I could nab this dessert on sale at some point which I think would make it a solid buy. At the eight dollar price, I think this a costly buy for just an average dessert. I bought this as a treat for our new years day dinner; though I wish I would have saved the money and made time to make the homemade version.

Overall Satisfaction

I have buyer’s remorse on this one. I like the flavor and texture but this dessert did not measure up to eight dollars of satisfaction.  I would pay no more than six to six fifty for this dessert and will most likely buy again only if there is a sale.

Review of Hormel Spiral Sliced Ham

I recently hosted a Christmas Eve dinner which included extended family that brought the meal count to over nineteen people. Our kitchen provided the meats, cheeses, appetizers, and beverages while our guests brought side dishes and desserts to pass. It was a total pot luck effort that took a lot of the cooking burden away from our household! The meat selection included ample deli meats consisting of oven roasted turkey breast and Genoa salami. The largest meat dish included a Hormel spiral sliced ham that I had baked and served warm.

I picked up this ham by Hormel as it was competitively priced at $1.49 per pound and weighed in at eight pounds; which has allowed for extras post holiday meals. The sale price was cheaper than the Cooks and Meijer brands, so this choice was a no brainer. The fact that it was pre-sliced made the decision even easier.

The ham was a good quality meat and tasted even better as I added some seasonings along with a healthy dose of brown sugar and ginger ale as the eight pounder baked for a couple of hours. The meat held the heat well as I wrapped it in foil for an hour as I went to Christmas Eve church service. I am not sure if one can really get a bad ham, but this one tasted delicious. When I had originally looked at this brand ham, I had considered going with the more expensive Cook’s brand as my previous experience with Hormel meats were associated to the high sodium “ready to eat” items such as canned stews and hash that look less than pleasing when revealed from the container.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the meal and I am still scrambling to find ways to serve this ham up besides the already tested breakfast sandwich, omelets, Stromboli sandwich, and addition to macaroni and cheese. Overall, the Hormel spiral sliced ham is considered a good buy.