Quick Reviews on 4 Not so Great Frozen/Boxed Foods

I have been getting tired of eating the same old things over and over again so I was on the hunt to find a few new quick and easy foods to make Anthony and I (this was before I decided to take the 18 week challenge). I bought quite a bit and tasted a few of them all ready, guess Anthony will have to try the rest by himself lol. Anyways here is what I thought of the ones I did try.

1. Frozen Asian Meal - I can not find a pic of this so at this time I do not know the name but it was a frozen Lo Mein with veggies and chicken. This meal was not good. The sauce tasted weird, I think it needed to be sweeter, and the chicken was soggy. Anthony did not like it either, he ate what I put on his plate but he said it tasted weird. I ate what was on my plate too but the leftovers made it to the trash. Not something either of us want to eat again and we will not be buying it again ever. 

Bottom Line - I would give it a 3 out of 10

2.  Velveeta Shells and Cheese with Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies -

This was ok. The macaroni and cheese itself was good. I liked how it only needed water to cook the pasta, and did not need butter or milk to cook it (because sometimes I run out at the last minute). It is not my favorite but I would say it is my 2nd favorite. As for the diced tomatoes and chiles... the concept was good and it did taste good BUT it was simply canned diced tomatoes and chiles in a little packet. There was nothing special about it. I could have popped open a can of diced tomatoes and green chiles and put it in a normal box of Velveeta and gotten the same (if not better) results. In my opinion they should have provided more tomatoes and chilies, as there really was not that much in there. 

Bottom Line: This was ok I would give it a 6 out of 10, 

It was good but nothing to rave about. I will not be buying it again but I may buy normal Velveeta or other varieties if they have them.

3.  Del Monte French Style Green Beans with Onions, Red Pepper, and Garlic -

This tasted like normal green beans with a little garlic added to it. Nothing special. Every now and then you get a red pepper but really, this was a waste of money in my opinion I will not be buying this again. It just taste too close to normal green beans and cost more.
Bottom Line: I give this a 4 out of 10

4. Stouffer's Cordon Bleu Pasta -

OK what to say about this?! This took almost 2 hours to cook! Very inconvenient if you ask me. It was just ok tasting too. The chicken tasted odd and it was chewy. The ham was chewy too. The pasta and Swiss sauce were okay though and the bread crumbs added a nice touch. Anthony did not care for it and made a very good point, that I could make the same thing from scratch and it would probably taste a million times better. He's right. It is just pasta, white sauce, Swiss cheese, cut up ham and chicken, and peas. It would not cost that much to make at all. I will not be buying this again either.

Bottom Line: I give this a 5 out of 10

Guess all of these turned out bad! I have about 4 or 5 more things that Anthony is going to be trying himself (because my diet). I really hope he likes those better than he liked these! I feel bad for buying him bad stuff, poor guy lol.

Maruchan Yakisoba Roasted Chicken Japanese Instant Noddles Review

I know you have all tried Ramen noodle soup before! Maruchan Yakisoba Roasted Chicken Japanese Instant Noddles is just that (but slightly different). Unlike the instant noodles you cook on the stove, these can be cooked in the microwave and also contain "vegetables" that you toss in there as well.

These noodles come in a square box that is about the size of an average bowl, rather than a little plastic package that the stove top noodles come in.

I have seen these in quite a few flavors including beef and some spicy ones as well. This particular one I am reviewing is roasted chicken flavor. I think roasted chicken is rotisserie chicken... right?

When you open up these noodles and peel back the paper cover inside you will find the noodles (comes in the traditional block that the stove top noodles do), packet 1 which contains "vegetables", and packet 2 which contains the seasoning.

The first packet, the vegetables, contains an assortment of what looks to be tiny little dehydrated pieces of chopped up veggies. I think they are peas, corn, carrots, cabbage, and red peppers. To be honest I have no clue if that is what they really are. They are hard and plasticity feeling and do not look appetizing in the least. Kinda looks like something you would feed a bunny.

The flavor packet contains a powder that is I would say light tan. It is much larger than the packet that comes with the stove top Ramen. Maybe this means more flavor?

Sorry about the bad pics, I took these on my phone at work.

There are 6 steps to the instructions.

1. Open the lid halfway, only to remove the two packets.
2. Open packet #1 and sprinkle packet contents; gently shake container.
3. Add 1 cup of water to fill line.
4. Close lid and cook in microwave on high for 4 minutes.
5. Grab the corners and carefully remove from microwave.
6. Remove lid. Pour in packet  #2. Mix in the powdered flavoring... Enjoy! 

 After completing all these steps your meal will look something like this:

The package does clearly state that you should let the noodles sit for one minute after cooking them. After my noodles had sat for one minute, they were not longer watery. They were not soup at all. So I do not think that this product is really much like Ramen Noodle Soup, but rather a different form a more dry form. If you want soup, don't buy this!

The smell of theses noodles is VERY strong! it actually filled my whole office, and lingered for quite sometime even after I had eaten the whole meal. It smells like well... instant noodle spices. Kinda like a veggies a little too or maybe even soup. But nothing like chicken. Or roasted chicken for that matter either.

After cooking these noodles four 4 minutes in the microwave just like the package instructed. The texture was pretty good. They were not soggy but not hard either. I did find the noodles kinda rubbery at some points and dry at others almost as if they did not cook evenly. Ultimately they were not bad though, especially for 99 cents!

The vegetables were no longer hard or rubbery, they were now soft. I wouldn't say they were "good" but they were not icky by any means. The corn was okay but the cabbage was quiet limp, it resembled old lettuce. They didn't really taste like anything either. I do not think that they added anything to the meal, other than maybe color?

The flavor of the noodles themselves, was not bad. I would say it was kinda of sweet at first and then I tasted notes of red bell pepper. I don't think it tasted like chicken one bit. That's kinda odd seeing as mostly everything tastes like chicken! The flavor was very different from Ramen Noodle Soup, it was much stronger (I assume because less water and more flavoring). I would say it is a lot more bold than Ramen Soup.

If you like Ramen but don't like the soup part of it and wish it had more flavor, I would say definitely go out and get some Maruchan Yakisoba Instant Noodles!

I have actually had these cold before, and I am not a fan. This is just one of those things that you eat hot.

The nutritional value of this meal is deplorable BTW. Look at that sodium content! Yikes! :O

This is a hefty meal and if did fill me up, unlike those tiny cup noodles they sell in the white foam cups. (You know the ones).

Over all I would say this is an acceptable mean for a quick lunch when you have nothing else on hand. Would I buy it again? Absolutely. Do I prefer if over the traditional Ramen Soup? You bet!

Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: nice size, strong flavor, not too watery, actually has a smell, texture, cooks in 4 minutes
Cons: kinda rubbery in spots, made my whole office smell, plastic veggies?

Manchuran Ramen Noodle Soup Picante Chicken Flavor - Review

Just when I thought I had tasted all the Ramen Noodle flavors under the sun... BAM! I find this beauty.

Manchuran Ramen Picante Chicken flavor. I think this is supposed to be a spicy version of the chicken flavor.

It smelled like... every other ramen noodle soup I had before. I am not sure how to describe the smell but I am sure 90% of everyone knows what every other ramen on the planet smells like.

When making this I did notice the flavor packet contained red flecks of dried pepper I think they were chili flakes. I haven't seen this before in the other soups at all.

Once it cooled down, I had my first taste. First I tasted the broth alone and it tasted exactly like the chicken flavor! But after a few minutes I got the spicy after taste. I do say it was extremely weak though.

After eating a bunch of the noodles, I started to feel the burn right in the bottom of my throat and not to mention on my chapped lips as well.

I think honestly that if it was any hotter it might be a little too hot for some people.

All and all this is RAMEN SOUP! it's like all the other flavors bland, boring, quick, easy, and cheap! It is pretty good for ramen soup though I do like the flavor and I would buy it again. I am glad I have a new flavor to add to my list.

Rating (for ramen soup): 7 out of 10

Frosted Confetti Cake Pop-Tarts Review

A while back, (I'm not sure how far maybe in September?) Publix had a sale on Pop-Tarts they were 3 for $5.00! I got 3 boxes, two of which my roommates ate (stupid roommates). The third box, they didn't touch, I was actually least exited about this box as well.

It was a box of Limited Edition Spider-Man Yum-Azing Vanilla.

I will admit, the only reason I bought those Pop-Tarts is because they had Spider-Man on them ;p I am a sucker for anything and everything Spider-Man themed. Vanilla Pop-Tarts? To be honest they sounded kinda gross to me and I put off eating them for a LONG time about a month and a half. Were they good? ABSOLUTELY! These turned out to be my all time favorite Pop-Tarts and still are. I loved the sweet vanilla flavor. It reminded me of the Cookie Dough Pop-Tarts with out the chocolate chips in the middle or the chocolate frosting.

Unfortunately, by the time I got around to realizing how good these were, the short amount of time they were in production was already over. So I went in search for something similar, I did not find any vanilla flavored Pop-Tarts but I did find these:

Frosted Confetti Cake Pop-Tarts (My box said "New Flavor" not Limed Edition)

Confetti Cake is supposed to taste like vanilla... right? :D For all of you who haven't had Confetti Cake before, it is basically a white cake with rainbow sprinkles in the dry batter mix. When you bake the cake, the sprinkles melt making the white cake spotted with rainbow dots. There is also matching frosting you can buy that is white and comes with rainbow sprinkles for the top.

Looks like this:

(You can see the resemblance of the two products by looking at the boxes)

As for the Pop-Tarts themselves? Do the look like the picture? Eh? Kinda. I would say Kellogg's did a pretty good job making the product look like the picture on the box, but they typically do.

The only thing that I noticed that was kind of off, was the fact that in the picture, the Pop-Tarts filling also has rainbow dots. I could only find one dot in my Pop-Tart even after digging for a bit. Maybe I got a dud, or I didn't dig enough...

You can see the one lonely dot I found after dissecting the Pop-Tart.

I expected these to smell like cake. Instead, they smelled like frosting. Close enough I guess, although it would have been pretty cool if they actually smelled like a fresh cake pulled from the oven (maybe that's not realistic for a toaster pastry).

The first flavor I noticed when I took a bite was SWEET. Is sweet even a flavor? Who knows. After the sweetness the second flavor I tasted was vanilla. A lot like the Spider-Man vanilla. I do not think it was exactly the same as the Spider-Man vanilla but it was definitely close.

If you eat the edges, so that you are only tasting the crust and not the filling, you can also taste that the crust has a more buttery flavor than the normal Pop-Tart crust used in the fruit flavors (and the Spider-Man ones too). I think this was supposed to be the cake part of the Pop-Tart and the filling was supposed to be the frosting.

The texture was the same as any other frosted Pop-Tart that has sprinkles. Chewy outside with a gooey inside. The filling in this Pop-Tart was sticky, unlike the fruit flavors. This makes sense seeing as it is supposed to resemble frosting.

I ate my Pop-Tart raw. I have not tried it frozen or toasted. I think that it may be *different* not necessarily better, if frozen. I do not think these would be appetizing if they were toasted. I am just not a fan of toasted Pop-Tarts in the bakery flavors. I think toasting works better on the fruit flavors and freezing works better on the bakery flavors. These are just assumptions though, there is really no way of knowing without trying it.

So the big question. Does it taste like cake? Nope, not at all. I think it tastes a tiny bit like cupcakes, but that is only because cupcakes have a lot of frosting and are very sweet.

Is it yummy? Indeed it is. Is it as good as the Spider-Man Pop-Tarts? Nope, but I think it is the closest I am going to get to them for the time being.

Overall I would say this is one of the better flavored Pop-Tarts but because of the sweetness, I am only able to eat one per sitting. (Maybe this is a good thing).

Rating: 7 out of 10

Pros: yummy vanilla flavor, pretty rainbow colors, pretty close to Spider-Man Pop-Tarts

Cons: too sweet, weird butter taste, don't actually taste like cake

Ruffles Ultimate Smokehouse Bacon Dip Review

Let me just start off by saying that I LOVE LOVE LOVE to read food reviews on other peoples blogs! They inspire me to want to review everything I eat. My favorite food review site by far is Fat Guy Food Blog. They are a team of three men that review all sorts of new and crazy foods. They are super pro compared to me, so if you want to read some real good food reviews be sure to head on over there! They even reviewed the product that I am reviewing in this post, you can read about what they thought here.

Just so everyone knows, this is my first time reviewing anything ever :] I am confident that I will eventually get good at this, practice always makes perfect. 

I first heard about Ruffles Ultimate Smokehouse Bacon Dip on the Internet. I'm 100% sure it was on someones blog but I haven't a clue who's it was. Like a lot of people I am automatically attracted to anything and everything containing bacon and this dip was no exception. I knew I wanted to try it but I was not so intrigued as to go out of my way to buy it. Then... all of a sudden.... one day I was in Wal-Mart looking at one of those clearance shelves (you know the ones where they put tons of random crap and mark the price down with hopes that someone will buy it), and BAMO! I saw a jar of this stuff! I got so exited and even more exited when I saw that everything that was on clearance was an additional 50% off at the register, so I got this baby for just $1.50, can you say super shopping score?!?!

 When I first tried this dip out, I was not intending to write a review on it, because that was actually a few days before I started this blog. My initial thoughts were that I thought the jar that I had purchased was expired because it looked weird upon opening it. I wish I would have taken a picture, but the best way I could describe it: it looked much thicker then other dips, almost aerated. And it was pulled away from the sides of the jar at the top creating a hollow ring which honestly looked off to me. This jar was not expired all though it was old, it had dust on it and the expiration date was only two months away. I suppose that is why it was on the super clearance rack! :P I did still taste it and I ate the whole portion that I had put on my plate, but the next day I was sure to hop on over to FGFB to take a look at their pictures and see if their dip looked the same as mine (just to make sure it really hadn't gone bad). Sure enough the texture in their pictures matched what I had at my house perfectly so I am now sure it was not bad, but rather just had an odd texture.

This dip looks very chunky. It is white, and you can actually see the chunks of bacon in it along with some other stuff, looks to me like peppercorns maybe? I'm not really sure though, there are also some strands that resemble onion. Once you get it out of the jar it actually looks quite yummy and appealing.

Sorry about the crappy cell pics with no macro (I know shame on me) I still haven't gotten batteries for my camera yet.

It does smell like bacon, but honestly I think it smells closer to Slim Jims lol. But I think that Ruffles did a pretty good job with the bacon scent here because it is very close.

The first thing I taste is the tangyness. It reminds me of a sour cream and onion flavored dip. The base is definitely nice and creamy not thin at all. Once you hit the bacon chunks it completely transforms the taste, the flavor gets less tangy and more smokey. I think the bacon taste similar to tiny chucks of beef jerky, rather than bacon. I do not think that if I tasted this blind folded that I would be able to tell that it was a bacon flavored dip, but never the less, it still does taste yummy.

Look how giant the chunks of bacon are!

I tried this dip out with corn tortilla chips and it worked quite well. The flavors went nice together, I am curios to see how it would taste with the Ruffles Ultimates chips that it has been advertised to go with. I think that if eaten with a flavored chip it would probably enhance the bacon dip and make it even more yummy.

 So thick that it won't even slide off the chip when held upright :O

The first time I tried this, I was not a fan. By go around #2 I do say it has definitely grown on me. I am glad I bought it and I may even buy it again.

I would rate Ruffles Ultimate Smokehouse Bacon Dip a 3/5.
Pros: New and interesting turn to old dips, super chunky, big pieces of bacon, nice scent
Cons: odd texture, cant really tell its bacon flavored