Cheez-its Mozzarella

Laura says:


I think someone with a more discerning palate may be able to tell the difference between specific cheese-type flavor varieties of Cheez-its, but to me these taste a lot like other white Cheez-its I've tried before (I think Five-Cheese?). I'm not sure if I like them more than original Cheez-its, but I do find it hard to not eat a whole boxful! The powdery cheese flavoring is something the flavored-varieites of Cheez-it offer that I really enjoy and they're less salty than regular Cheez-its. I don't know if they're necessarily as creamy & mild as the box describes, but they're pretty delicious cheese crackers. 7/10

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Treats Bar

Laura says:

I was really surprised that something like this has only wheat, milk and soy allergens in it. I used to eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch Milk & Cereal bars as a snack but they were always too big even though they tasted good. This bar was smaller so it was a better snack-portion. The bar is really smushy and tastes a lot like Cinnamon Toast Crunch. There's an icing swirl and the cinnamon-sugar top is strong in a good way. I'd eat these again if I were in the mood for something sweet and cereal-y but less dry than regular cereal. 6/10

Stouffer's Macaroni and Cheese with Broccoli

This is a classic frozen meal. It's not very healthy I recently learned. The broccoli goes well with the macaroni but I wish there were more of it. Maybe I should just buy some broccoli! Anyway, this has a good flavor and I like how the edges get crusty sometimes (ha).

Overall
Cost: 8/10
Taste: 7/10

Knorr Pasta Sides - Smokehouse Bacon Flavor Parmesan

It's a little ridiculous how much I love and am dedicated to Knorr's Pasta Sides (although I loved them more as Lipton sides, of course) so it was obvious that I would buy and try this new flavor, despite not liking the sound of it. Basically this is their Alfredo side with weird smoked bacon pieces in it. Bad call, Knorr! OK, I hate smoky flavoring and bacon bits, so obviously this wasn't for me. The alfredo base is fine, but the rest I don't love. I definitely won't get this again; it's my least favorite Pasta Side!


Overall
Cost: 7/10
Taste: 4/10

Lean Cuisine Traditional Pepperoni Pizza

Laura says:


To be fair, I like most microwaveable pizzas more than other people seem to like them. The flavor's pretty good and the pizza isn't too tiny. I like that the crust is fluffier than it is crispy so it feels bigger than most frozen personal pizzas. The pepperoni is kind of lacking in flavor, but the sauce of the pizza is what I think I really like, flavor-wise. 7/10

Lean Cuisine Meatloaf and Whipped Potatoes

Laura says:

I really like this frozen meal, actually. The meatloaf tastes very vegetable-y in a way that's actually good, like it's more related to spaghetti sauce than a traditional meatloaf. The potatoes are just alright but since the meatloaf taste is good enough you can kind of eat it all together and it all tastes better as a result. I'm not sure the difference between potatoes being whipped or mashed so these potatoes just tasted like standard frozen-meal mashed potatoes. It's one of the more filling Lean Cuisines since usually they leave me kind of hungry afterward, so if you're looking for more of a meal this meatloaf one is at the top of my list. 7/10

Marie Callender's Roasted Garlic Chicken Steamer

This is a decent meal, and for MarieC's it isn't even terribly bad for you! Huh. It's cool that it comes in a nice little bowl you can eat of and everything. This is chicken, penne, garlicy sauce, and a lot of artichokes. I don't love artichokes but they're OK. The chicken is very nice and the rest is OK. I'll be honest, I don't really like this meal, but it seems like a good quality meal at a decent size. I just don't fancy artichokes I guess.



Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 5/10

Quaker Raisins and Spice Oatmeal

Breakfast of champions! This is my favorite oatmeal, and one of my favorite breakfast foods. There's a solid number of raisins in there so you don't get bored, and the spice is nice too. With a little margarine it's like a dessert! The trick is in adding the right amount of water -- usually 3/4cup or a tiiiny bit more for 2 packages works great for me (yes I eat 2 packages, what about it!?)! It's better to have runny oatmeal than chunky oatmeal, in my opinion.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 8/10

Smart Ones Lasagna Bake With Meat Sauce

Ah, another case of Smart Ones being vastly inferior to other brands. This is definitely the worst Lasagna Bake of all time!!! However, it isn't terrible. Just not very good. The noodles and sauce are fine, and there isn't too much cheese, but the existing cheese is fine. The little balls of meat are sausagey and gross and made me a little itchy, so that was the worst part of the meal. But there wasn't anything good to balance that out -- therefore, not recommended.

Overall
Cost: 6/10 [2.25]
Taste: 4/10

Smart Ones Home Style Beef Pot Roast

I'm not a big fan of Smart Ones meals, but this one was all right. It had a decent amount of beef in it (5 largeish chunks) and the beef tasted good and was a good tenderness. There are also carrots (meh), a few green beans (good) and potatoes (good), along with an oniony broth (ok). It seems like a decent quality meal, but nothing amazing.

Overall
Cost: 6/10 [2.25]
Taste: 6/10

Francesco Rinaldi Mushroom & Pepper Sauce

You know what, maybe I just don't like spaghetti sauce very much! Anyway, this is pretty good, I just get tired of it really quickly. It's definitely better than a lot of the sauces I've been trying though. It's a good consistency - not too watery, but it's not super thick either. The flavor is good; it tastes a lot like pepper and a little like mushroom. I could do with a few more big chunks, maybe a few tomatoes, but it's pretty tasty sauce.

Overall:
Cost: 7/10 [2.25]
Taste: 7/10

Dole Tropical Fruit

This is my favorite canned fruit -- I don't know if that says much, but sometimes I get in the mood for canned fruit and this is what I reach for. It's definitely convenient in case all your fresh fruit is rotten! Which does happen from time to time. This has pineapple, papaya, mango, and possibly  some other yellow-y cube of fruit in it. I don't really know what's in it, because they all end up tasting pretty much the same, but it's a good flavor. Not as sweet as regular fruit cocktail, and still a nice variety of textures (although there are no smushy grapes, which no one really likes anyway, right?). A good little snack or side dish.



Overall
Cost: 6/10 [1.00]
Taste: 7/10

Trading Company Sunburst Salsa - Habenero Lime

This salsa is very spicy, despite the label prose promising it not to be. It has an OK flavor, or at least it is more interesting than another boring jarred salsa, but it's almost painful to eat. I didn't enjoy it (maybe that's why this flavor was on clearance!).

Overall
Cost: 7/10 [1.39]
Taste: 3/10

Laura says: This is too spicy for my taste. But it's still not BAD and I would finish the jar. Also it's super cheap for salsa. Maybe I would like a different flavor of the same brand that isn't so spicy. 6/10

Smart Ones Ravioli Florentine

This meal contains approx. 5 raviolis that are a little crunchy or smushy (but not both at once). The sauce is OK, kind of a typical tomato sauce for a healthy frozen meal. It's not meat sauce, it's tomato sauce, so there are chunks of tomato in it. Apparently there is spinach too, but I didn't see much of that. The noodles themselves are average at best -- definitely the worst frozen ravioli I've had so far (but not horrendous; I guess it's hard to ruin ravioli).

Overall
Cost: 5/10 [2.00]
Taste: 5/10

Maruchan Instant Lunch - Beef

This ramen is alright. I can't eat the Nissin brand for allergy reasons, so I don't have much to compare with. This one has a seafood warning, but I am willing to risk that and so far it's been fine. This is just noodles in some beef broth, with a few carrots and corn and beef bits. It's a decent sized meal for the price, but as per ramen it's not that great. But it's OK.

Overall
Cost: 7/10 [1.00]
Taste: 6/10


Laura says: These are shockingly good for a noodle in a cup. I like the soupy part in the bottom that's just water the most. I would eat these if I needed a fast meal from a gas station anytime soon, but they're kind of inconvenient because you can't make them in the microwave that easily without another mug or something. 6/10

Lay's Classic BLT chips

These chips taste like a BLT sandwich. Like, literally, they taste like bacon and mayonnaise. Maybe a little toast in there. It's pretty impressive! Lay's is my least favorite brand of chips because I think the original ones taste like cat litter, so I was all the more impressed that these are pretty tasty in addition to being a novelty. I might buy them sometimes!



Overall
Taste: 8/10
Cost: 6/10 [1.09]

Laura says: I really like these chips and I'm shocked that I like them so much. They taste a lot like a real BLT would taste, which is delicious. They don't have a fake smoky flavor that most things which are supposed to taste like meat have. 8/10.

Catherine Rooney's

This is a nice little restaurant in Newark (and wilmington) DE. We got to sit out on the patio, which made me feel like I was on a nice beach vacation! The waitress was very polite and friendly which is sometimes hard to come by for young girls at a restaurant. Anyway, the menu is fairly nut-free, except they do offer peanut butter and apples on the kids' menu, as well as salads with walnuts in them. I ordered a New Orleans Pasta, which was pretty tasty but not the most amazing pasta in the world. It was in a cream sauce with tomatoes, so basically your standard chicken alfredo but with a little bourbon and spice in it. Not the healthiest option, but it was pretty good and definitely a large portion size. They also have a nice drink menu!

Southwest Chicken Salad: A great salad, but not if they accidentally put salmon on it! Luckily after Drubz complained they took it back and took down my address...hopefully for good things.

Overall
Cost: 4/10 [~15.00]
Taste: 7/10

Laura says: Yum! I like this place a lot. Especially sitting on the patio. I had a BBQ chicken sandwich and it was great! Their fries are really good and they have a lot of drinks that I want to try. I'd go here again soon. 8/10

Turkey Hill Mint Cookies and Cream

This was really great and pretty allergy-friendly! It's frozen yogurt but it definitely tastes as good as ice cream, especially in a cone. The ice cream is light green mint with oreo type cookie pieces in it. They are soft but not mushy and there are a lot of them which is cool. I WOULD prefer mint chocolate chip fro yo, but I have found no such creature. Anyway, this is a great food!

Overall
Cost: 5/10 [4.00]
Taste: 8/10

Laura says: Tastes as good as ice cream to me! And I never had cookies and cream mint ice cream. It was a good combo, I think. 8/10

Snackwell's Devils Food Cookie Cakes

I don't like these cookies much. They taste just like a frozen-meal brownie or similar cheapo dessert (possibly diet). They are a fun texture though. Spongey.

Overall
Cost: 5/10 [3.00]
Taste: 5/10

Laura says: I love these cookies a lot. They're soft but with a harder shell of chocolate that makes them very satisfying to bite into. There's a tiny layer of marshmallow that you can't always taste but that is sticky and sweet. I think they're great because they're very chocolatey. I didn't actually know they were supposed to be diet cookies until really recently and have been eating them since I was a really little kid happily, so if you're worried they won't taste as good as a regular cookie I don't think that's a problem. The only downside is that it doesn't seem like there are that many per package, but maybe that's because I eat them so fast. 10/10

Pepperidge Farm Lemon 3-Layer Cake

I really like these Pepperidge farm cakes in general (especially vanilla!) but this one is one of my least favorites. At first it was pretty good, but I think it's too lemony for me. I realise that if it were in a fancy tart on a nice plate or something I'd probably rave about it, but the taste isn't enough for me to come back to it. It's decent but definitely my least favorite of this cake line.

Overall
Cost: 5/10 [2.50]
Taste: 5/10

Laura says: This was ok. I don't like cake that much or lemon-flavored things, but the frosting was nice? 6/10

Arby's

I love Arby's! I think it's my 2nd favorite fast food joint. (If you're curious, Yoshinoya, Burger King, KFC, and Quiznos fill out my top 5.)  [Edit for 2020: I live on the East Coast now and BK is nut-city, so I guess the rest of the top 5 is now: KFC, Taco Bell, Wendy's, and Jersey Mikes. But I love Yoshinoya still!] Plus, I don't think there are any peanuts in the restaurant. There are pecans in the chicken salad though, so watch out for that. Anyway, I really like all their food, including roast beef, chicken, market freshes, and subs. They recently got rid of a ham market fresh sandwich that I really liked though, so that sucks. Also my mom just told me the bread is super unhealthy. And I thought they were market fresh! Whatever. Anyway, I enjoy the #15 combo (market fresh turkey sandwich) with either curly or regular fries, both are nice. They also have a great pepsi/dr. pepper drink selection.

Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich: This DOESN'T have bleu cheese, it has normal fried chicken, swiss cheese, and (very nice) ham, but also a TOOOON of mayo which is so gross (and no veg!). Without mayo it'd be OK, but with it it's so bad. The ham is tasty though! 6/10

Turkey Gyro: I mean, I guess. In what world are we getting greek food at Arby's though? It's fine, if you don't overthink it. Good amount of meat, sauce is good, pita is good. Onions are a little weird as they're just burger onions. Maybe beef would be better. Or even better, a roast beef sandwich! 6/10

Crispy Chicken Farmhouse Salad: This was OK, I got it with Italian dressing though which turned out to be a bad choice (IDK what else they have though?). It was pretty boring overall, and I didn't really finish it but I was eating there so that might be why. The crispy chicken was fine and not itchy I think. Not amazing but it's a salad with chicken on it. 6/10

Roast Beef 'N Cheese Slider: Definitely tasty, although it might have made me feel a bit sick. 7/10

Fire-Roasted Philly Roast Beef: This tasted good, but made me feel bad inside. I also could have done without the garlic aoili, but it was OK. As in a regular roast beefer, the meat is the best part! 6/10

Buttermilk Chicken Bacon & Swiss: This was good, but not as good as I'd hoped. The bread is a bit sweet and thick for me, the chicken didn't make me itchy but had the texture/breading of a nugget-like chicken which would. The mustard was sweeter than I'd like as well. The cheese and baco and tomato were all good -- for some reason I ate this sandwich deconstructed. In all, it was filling and under 700 cals, so that's a plus! 6/10

Ham 'N Cheese Slider: This is good! A lil ham and white cheese. 8/10

Pizza Slider: This is not my usual preference - marinara and roni-esque meat. But it was solid (the tiny size helps). 7/10

Jalepeno Poppers: A rare fast-food option! These are fine, not super spicy and a bit much cream cheese. But the "bronco berry" sauce they come with was spicy and better than I thought it'd be! 7/10

Chicken 'N Cheese Slider: These were pretty good actually! I'm not a big chicken nugget/tender person, but the cheese is tasty and the bun is soft and the chicken has lots of nice buttery breading. Filling and good. 7/10

Roast Turkey Ranch and Bacon Market Fresh (sandwich): This is just like the normal turkey market fresh, except instead of yummy mustard or not great mayo, you get a double dose of "peppercorn ranch". A massive downgrade, even from mayo I think. It's filling and would actually be a solid sandwich without the ranch. I got as a combo and made it in to two meals, so it's decent as a deal, but the ranch is a no for me. Basically like watery ranch with spots in it that have no flavor. 5/10

Chopped Side Salad: This was decadent. I got it with Italian dressing which was decent here and just the right amount. I ate it all and was happy. Cheese, tiny tomato, lettuce, pretty basic but in quarantine life it's baller. 8/10

Coke Float: This was so good! I was craving sweets and ice creams I guess, but even so, this is legit great. And a small is only 1 dollar, which I wasn't expecting. Really tasty, like a coke shake. 8/10

Smokehouse Brisket Sandwich: What is brisket, anyway? It tasted like chewy bacon here, which I like. There wasn't that much meat, mostly bread, but it was still a little too filling for me! This was good, mainly tasted of bacon and BBQ sauce with some random extra bits (mayo, cheese, bread). OK, I ate it in pieces, like a dork. The crispy onion ring bits are good too. 7/10

Classic Roast Chicken Sandwich: Really not bad!! Especially for like 300 calories, this is a solid and tasty fast food chicken sandwich. Yes, there's a lot of mayo, but the tomato was nice to have here and the bun was good minus a few stray seeds. Chicken was just generic chicken, no itchiness or soy filler. 7/10

Root Beer Float: This was also good, but not quite as good as the Coke Float! Still quite tasty and for a dollar you can't go wrong. 7/10

Chicken Tenders: Apparently they were out of coke floats even though they clearly have coke and vanilla shake mix. Woe. Anyway, chicken tenders (3pc) was still good. It was more filling than I thought for only 360calos, and the BBQ sauce that you can get is solid and they give you two of them. Soy in the breading but I think it was fine, no itching. This was fine but I do like the sandwiches better I think. 6/10

Classic French Dip & Swiss: This was a roast beef hoagie with swiss, and comes with a sizeable cup of "dip" to dip into. Really thin beef gravy basically. The bread is fluffy and so good for dippin', and the roast beef is Arby's usual tasty and foine product. Cheese is also good even if it doesn't "go" with the gravy in my opinion. I also got this as a combo which was highly decadent. Overall it was nice. 7/10

Buffalo Chicken Slider: This was tasty, even though I don't consider myself a buffalo fan (but maybe I should, it's basically just "hot sauce that looks orange" apparently). The chicken was spicier than I thought and I couldn't really taste the ranch sauce, so I guess it did its job of cooling things down. They were fresh and filling (I had one in the fridge a few hours later and it held up well)! 8/10

Roast Beef Gyro: Another tasty Arby food! This was filling and fun like a sub but with the usual tasty roast beef I love. Good food product. 7/10

Jalepeno Roast Beef Slider: All the sliders are pretty solid! This one too. Like a nice little roast beef sandwich with white cheese and a surprising kick to it. 7/10

 

Classic Roast Beef Sandwich: I didn't eat sesame seeds for a very long time before I ate this, so I was like "wait am I allergic to sesame seed bun?" but I know I love Arby's Roast Beef, so I ate it. I am not allergic to Arby sesame seed bun. Whew. This is a very classic sandwich, even if it gave me a stomach ache. 7/10

 

Iced Tea: Ew, I thought this would be refreshing but unfortunately it was real gross. Even though the website says 0 cals, they obviously poured a bunch of sugar (or something) in here. Never get this. Never ever. 4/10

 

Roast Chicken Bacon & Swiss Sandwich: Yum! This was quite nice. Juicy and filling. Not too spicy, or sweet, or oily. Moist meat. Gotta love Arbys. 7/10

 

Half Pound Roast Beef Sandwich: I regret to inform you that this is too much roast beef. The normal size is preferable! Still quality stuff though. 6/10

Roast Turkey Slider: This was my least favorite slider to date, although that might be because I was legitimately dealing with the cusp of heatstroke when I ordered it. It was really dry, bread and turkey both, and I think there was cheese on it, which is OK, and possibly a tiny bit of mayo, which was gross. Either goop it on or leave it off, Arby's! I panic ordered it which was clearly a mistake. Not terrible though, just not satisfying. 6/10

Hi-C Flashin' Fruit Punch: This isn't a drink I ever crave, but I was feeling sick and sad and this did end up cheering me up a bit! It's bright red and it tastes like Hawaiian Punch. The ice definitely made it more watery and therefore more drinkable. OK in moderation. 6/10

Overall
Cost: 5/10 [~$6]
Taste: 8/10

Laura says: I love the curly fries and Arby's sauce especially. Also the chicken strips are great. Arby's all around is wonderful. 9/10

Q says: I regret everything. 2/10

Oreo Heads or Tails Double Stuf

Oreos! Yum. I like all double 'stuf' oreos, and I even like regular oreos. The fact that I'm not allergic to them is great but I think I would like them a lot regardless. I like the fun of the vanilla and chocolate options, although I do like the chocolate side better, I'd rather have both than just chocolate because it keeps things interesting. These are great and I could probably eat a whole box!

Overall
Cost: 6/10 [2.50]
Taste: 9/10

Laura says: As far as cookies go, I don't like oreos that much to begin with. But these oreos have a vanilla side, and I like that. 7/10

Stouffer's Lasagna Bake with Meat Sauce

This was pretty good, especially compared to the "healthy" frozen meals by the Lean Cuisine line. It's basically lasagna but with individual noodles. There's a few meat chunks (no allergic reaction to these, unlike meatballs!) and some cheese along with the tomato sauce. It's a decent size and it's a little healthier than the full-on lasagna. I like it pretty well, especially if I'm in a frozen lasagna mood.


Overall
Cost: 6/10 [2.50]
Taste: 7/10

Hershey's Simple Pleasures Milk Chocolate with Vanilla Creme

I was very excited when I saw this in the store because I'm not allergic to it! However, it was a little bit disappointing. These are individually wrapped chocolates with 'vanilla' filling inside. I wonder if it's the same filling as the kisses? Anyways, the chocolate is fine, tastes pretty much like standard Hershey's choco (but not extra creamy or anything). The filling is kind of weird. It's the consistency of a junior mint innard so I was expecting a mint flavor, which is maybe why I thought it was toothpastey. But it didn't actually taste like mint, it tasted like vanilla. . . I guess. It wasn't very creamy. It was almost gritty without the grit. Too thin. Tasted a lot like cake icing from a can, which made the whole thing taste like a cheap grocery store cake or something. Maybe not milky enough. Not sure, but I didn't love it. Here's hoping the chocolate filling is better!

Overall
Cost: 3/10   [3.00]
Taste: 6/10

Laura says: These are pretty good, I think. They're nothing terribly great, but if you can't get a ton of other cream candies at candy shops, they're a good alternative to things I've had in assorted boxed chocolates. The vanilla tasted like vanilla to me! 7/10

Bar-B-Q Fritos

I don't really like Fritos to begin with so, while the bar-b-q flavoring is an improvement over the regular version, these are still not to my taste. They taste like corn chips. The smell reminds me of a gym locker room so I just can't enjoy it.

Overall
Cost: 7/10
Taste: 4/10

Laura says: I love fritos a lot. A lot a lot. And bar-b-q are possibly my favorite. They're salty and crunchy and kind of spicy and it's really hard to not eat the whole bag in a rush. The bar-b-q is strong, so if you like very strong-flavored chips these are for you and if not, the regular ones are great for dipping. 9/10

Cap'n Crunch's Crunch Berries

This is one of my favorite kids' cereals even though I do get a little (irrationally) scared that I'm allergic to it. The non-berry parts are buttery and good and the berry parts are sweet and like kix berries. I enjoy it very much although I don't know if I could eat too many bowls in a row because it is very sweet and buttery, however it is good for a plain cereal bit especially compared to lucky charms or cheerios.

Overall
Cost: 4/10
Taste: 7/10

Laura says: I like it as a cereal goes. I could do without the berries, of all things, so I think a different Cap'n Crunch cereal would be better for me personally. 6/10

Ben and Jerry's Vanilla Heath Bar Crunch

This was better than I expected. It's really just vanilla ice cream with pieces of heath bar in it. Some of the pieces are big chocolate sheets and some are toffee sheets and some are almost almond-shaped pieces of toffee or almond. I don't really like toffee or heath bars that much, but in the context of vanilla ice cream it actually tastes better. So, in conclusion, this is a good ice cream, well-designed, and goes good in a cone. So.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 8/10

Laura says: I like it a lot! I love the big chunks of heath bar and the vanilla ice cream is good too! 8/10

Ben and Jerry's Cake Batter Ice Cream

I didn't really taste too much of this ice cream because my first bite was not what I wanted. The cake batter ice cream doesn't necessarily taste like cake but it definitely doesn't taste like ice cream. The chocolate frosting swirl doesn't taste like frosting. It tastes like chocolate ice cream. This is bad. I do not like it.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 4/10

Laura says: I liked it pretty well, actually. It just tastes like sweet, kind of generic ice cream. 5/10

Ben and Jerry's Boston Cream Pie Ice Cream

This ice cream was ok. But. Not great. The main flavor is supposed to be a custard ice cream which reminds me a lot of the cake batter ice cream in that it wasn't vanilla and it wasn't very good. Nevertheless, the "pastry-swirl" and the "vanilla cake bits" made the flavor bareable. In small bites it's even a treat!

Overall
Cost: 4/10
Taste: 6/10

Laura says: It's kind of weird-tasting, but not the worst. 4/10