Review of Red’s All Natural Chicken Burrito

It feels like it has been forever and a day since I posted here. Well it has been about that same length of time since I have had the impulse to purchase a burrito in the frozen food section. The other evening, my supermarket short list was very short. My list only included a bag of dog food for my golden retriever and an onion. The sweet onion is for making a pasta sauce. While cutting through the freezer section I spied the usual frozen burrito brands as Monterrey and Patio. I then saw a new bold packaged brand known as Red’s. There were three to four varieties (Chicken, Steak, and Black Bean). I chose the chicken variety for my lunch the next day.

The burrito is much bigger than the competing brands and also has a much larger price at $3.49 at the local Meijer. The burrito is approximately eleven ounces and can be cooked via conventional oven, microwave oven, or even a Panini press (if you own one).  My method of cooking defaulted to the microwave as this was a next day lunch at the office. The microwave time is three minutes per side.

Now let’s see how this burrito measured up.  Thumbs up to Red’s for finally providing a decent size burrito that other brands always fall short. The down side of this large burrito is the rubbery hard flour tortilla exterior and the high amount of liquid produced from microwaving from a frozen to ready to eat state. The end of the cooking stage produced stiff yet pliable ends of the burrito and a small burrito soup at the base of my cooking plate. The burrito did contain decent size pieces of chicken and there were additional ingredients such as corn, rice, peppers. The flavor was average. I think it would be above average without the cumin overkill that so many burritos seem guilty of.  I did like the fact that Red’s touted its product as using chicken free of antibiotics and that there are no artificial ingredients. I will give this purchase an average buy grade. I will consider purchasing the steak or black bean variety, but under the pretense of preparing it in the conventional oven at home and also having a small portion of sour cream and shredded cheese on standby.

Review of Lipton Unsweetened Iced Tea

My guilty pleasure used to be sweetened carbonated beverages such as coca cola and fruit flavored sodas. I found these drinks a satisfying and tasty treat, but at the expense of gaining weight. One of the ways to drop pounds quickly was abandoning the sodas. It wasn’t long before I replaced my soda drinking with iced tea.  I prefer the unsweetened tea varieties such as Lipton, Tradewinds, or Snapple brands. I drink all three of these brands, but felt a review of Lipton Unsweetened tea was overdue as this brand is most commonly sold.

Description

The Lipton bottled tea is sold as six or twelve packs containing sixteen ounce glass bottles. The unsweetened selection is recognizable by the dark green wrap around the bottle. The tea has a golden honey brown color and is not too dark or heavy as some house brewed teas tend to get in a sit down restaurant. The tea is unsweetened so there are no carbs, sugars, and calories. The true benefit is the healthy dose of anti-oxidants in each serving.  

 Taste

The tea tastes really good and comparable to a homebrewed Luzianne brew. The trick for a tasty tea is to make sure the bottle is chilled and poured over a glass full of good quality ice. The slice of lemon adds a nice touch. The tea is light enough and refreshing and will pair off nicely with lemonade for a decent Arnie Palmer.  

Price

The cost of a six pack of this beverage is $5.99. That comes out to a buck a bottle. That price is pretty steep considering we are talking about water steeped in black tea leaves, then bottled.  The competition from Snapple does not fare much better. The cheaper routes are the Tradewinds brand which tastes as good as Lipton which runs about $3.29 per gallon.

Overall Satisfaction

I will defer to home brewed iced tea or purchase a gallon of Tradewinds tea instead of opting for Lipton Unsweetened iced tea.  The bottled iced tea market has very little competition as there are only a small group of players. This is especially the case when it comes to shopping for unsweetened teas. Needless to say I rate the Lipton brand and poor buy unless there is a serious discount or sale.

Aunt Millie's White Hamburger Buns - A Review

This past weekend was a blur with kids’ soccer games and birthday parties to attend to. Little room was left for meal planning so I stuck with one the quickest meals I could think of; burgers on the grill. On the way home from the game on Sunday I stopped at Meijer to pick up my usual ingredients of ground chuck, cheese, ketchup and buns. I decided to go with the Aunt Millie’s brand of hamburger buns. We usually purchase the Meijer brand buns when serving everything from burgers to bbq pulled pork. However, the quality seems to have trended downwards. We have found the Meijer buns to be extremely dry so a change was in order. I considered the Aunt Millie’s brand without question as we have had great luck with some of the other products such as sandwich bread and English muffins.

The buns are eight to a package and we purchased them at the low sale price of $1.25. Upon opening the package, the buns were extremely soft and fluffy which was a real good sign.  The buns even had a glossy golden shine on the tops as one would expect in a quaint little bakery! After I pulled the burgers off the grill we quickly knocked down our dinner and quickly realized how delicious the Aunt Millie’s white hamburger buns tasted. I do not recall what the regular price of the buns is, but I will certainly consider purchasing them again. I would rate this purchase a very strong buy.

Review of Baileys Toffee Almond Coffee Cream

I can’t seem to start a day off without a satisfying cup of coffee. I usually brew various brands of coffee. My first preference of morning coffee beans is the Dunkin Donuts regular roast which I usually choose the giant size bag at Costco that gets our family through for about five to six weeks.  I have also recently really enjoyed the Meijer Gold Kona blend that is pretty darn tasty (see previous review). I usually compliment the brew with a small amount of cream or flavored cream. The selection for coffee creams in the dairy case is pretty overwhelming. For example, I can always spy about four to five different brands that carry the common hazelnut and French vanilla flavored coffee creams.  Sometimes the purchase decision comes down to basically which brand is throwing out an eye catching sales price.

This past week I picked up a small bottle of Bailey’s Toffee Almond Cream coffee creamer. Yes, that is the same Bailey’s brand that produces that very tasty Irish cream that goes great in evening cocktails and coffee cordials.  The Bailey’s coffee creamers are void of any alcohol, but taste extremely good when added to the everyday coffee brew. We picked this sixteen ounce bottle of coffee creamer at a ridiculously low sales price of $1.49; though the regular price hovers slightly above two dollars. I choose this flavor because I really enjoy the flavors of toffee and almond and was getting a tad burned out with hazelnut.

Now it came down to the test. I made my standard large sixteen ounce cup of coffee and added a tablespoon of this creamer after I had to remove the foil safety top under the lid and gave the bottle a good shake. The first sip was a winner as I instantly picked up the almond flavor (more so than the toffee flavor). Tasters beware that this creamer does contain 5 grams of sugar per serving of one tablespoon. Sugar is actually the first ingredient listed!  Those that normally add cream and sugar to their everyday brew can actually skip the step of reaching for the sugar bowl; the sweetness is already there.  I would definitely buy this Bailey’s brand again as I enjoy the taste and would even consider some of the other flavors at the higher price. This cream would be good to have on hand when hosting a party or get together with friends.

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.