Tuesday Review: Goldfish Flavor Blasted Grahams

   You all know the jingle, right? "The wholesome snack that smiles back until you bite their heads off." Fun! Sure, a bit disturbing, but FUN! My kids like the song. They like the snacks better. Since Goldfish crackers are made with whole grains and they are perfectly sized for little fingers, the decision to buy them was a no-brainer.

    OK, who am I kidding? It's not like I always go into the store, planning to buy Goldfish crackers for the reasons I just stated. The truth is, more often than not, the kids break me down. "Mom, pleeeease? They are so yummy!" Can't blame them when they're right...

   Now, we usually buy the Goldfish crackers, not the grahams.When I saw that the grocery store was having a sale on Goldfish, and I had a coupon for the Goldfish Grahams, I thought it was the perfect time to give them a try. Apparently, I wasn't alone with that plan. There were only a few packages of Goldfish left on the shelves. I managed to find a package of the Xtra Chocolatey grahams and one of the Vanilla Cupcake grahams.As soon as the kids saw me put them in the cart, they were excited to try them.

Goldfish Flavor Blasted Grahams- Vanilla Cupcake
While these have a good vanilla flavor, I don't really think "vanilla cupcake" when I bite into them. They taste more like vanilla wafer cookies. They are "flavor blasted" with something that looks like it is supposed to resemble cupcake sprinkles... if you look really close. It makes the grahams feel dusty. You know, like the last little bit of cereal in the cereal box. I would like them much more if they didn't have the dusty, messy flavor blast. Simply having them as vanilla grahams, in my opinion, would be better. They have a great flavor. Don't ruin it by trying to stick to the cupcake theme with the powdery sprinkles.
Overall Rating: ¢¢¢¢

Goldfish Flavor Blasted Grahams- Xtra Chocolatey
These taste like the outside of that famous chocolate sandwich cookie ... wait. No one is paying me for this review. That means I can say it, right?
These taste like the outside of an Oreo cookie! YUM! Unfortunately, though, they are also "flavor blasted". Maybe I just don't get it. But again, the dusty, powdery, messy bits are off-putting. Drop the flavor blast and I will buy a lot more.
Overall Rating: ¢¢¢¢

Fiber Cereal Comparison

    I thought that it might be fun, from time to time, to have a product comparison. The idea came to me as I was re-organizing the ten thousand boxes of cereal that I bought on one of my recent couponing trips. OK... so there aren't really ten thousand boxes, but you knew that! It sure seemed like it, though, when I was searching for a place to store them. As I looked through my haul and tried to match "like cereals" with other "like cereals"- basically separating the sugary ones from the healthy ones, I came up with the idea to have a cereal comparison. Now, the sugary cereals would just be too easy. I mean, Cookie Crisp... who doesn't like cookies for breakfast? And Lucky Charms... yeah, even my 10 month old knows to eat all of the marshmallows first! Hmmmm... how should I do this? Then it hit me. Fiber cereals! They are usually a little more expensive than the sugary cereals and, to be honest, I am sometimes afraid to buy them. I mean, who wants to buy a box of flavored cardboard? Really. Buying fiber cereal is hit and miss. How many boxes have you either suffered through or just ended up throwing away?

    So, here it goes. The cereals will be judged on amount of fiber per serving, taste, texture, and overall value.

Kashi GoLean Crunch!

Kashi Go Lean Crunch

I was optimistic about trying this cereal. I had read some good things about it online in the "fitness circles". When we saw it on sale a while back, we bought a few boxes.

Fiber: ¢¢¢¢ Each serving has 8 grams of fiber. 

Taste: ¢¢¢ The FLAVOR of this cereal was somewhat good. If I used my imagination a bit, it reminded me of caramel corn.... not the best caramel corn, mind you... but OK.

Texture: ¢ Bad. Sorry. There is no sugar-coating this one. It is like chewing on stale, crunchy Styrofoam packing peanuts. Not that I have ever done that, but close your eyes and imagine how it would be... got it? Not pleasant.  

Overall Value:  ¢¢ I guess I could have given it 3 ¢'s, but considering the fact that we ended up throwing a couple boxes away because we just couldn't get past the texture... it wasn't a good value for us. I would not by it again. Even with a coupon.

Fiber Plus Caramel Pecan Crunch

Fiber Plus Caramel Pecan Crunch
I love caramel, I love pecans, I had a coupon, and the store had a sale. Need I say more?

Fiber: ¢¢¢¢ Each serving has 9 grams of fiber.
Taste: ¢¢¢ Did I mention that I love caramel and pecans? So, why only 3 ¢'s then? A couple of reasons. First, the cereal was just too sweet. Keep in mind, I have quite the sweet tooth and it is a shocker for me to even HINT that something could possibly be too sweet.... but this was. The second reason is the "caramel" flavor. It tasted more like maple than caramel, which may have been ok, but when it's the artificial maple flavor that doesn't quite taste right and you are looking forward to caramel, it was a let-down.
Texture: ¢¢¢ "Cardboard, yes." The flakes, anyway. I don't think those suckers would get soggy in milk if you let them sit overnight! They were just too thick and slightly tough. The pecan clusters, on the other hand, were very good. Crunchy, as they should be, and not off-putting.
Overall Value: ¢¢¢ We did end up eating the whole box. I mostly ate a bowl as a dessert, when I craved something sweet (still too sweet, though). I don't think we will be buying this one again.

 

Fiber One 80 Calories Honey Squares

Fiber One 80 Calories Honey Squares
I had a coupon for this and it was on sale, so I bought a couple of boxes. The fact that is is only 80 calories per serving is definitely a plus!

Fiber: ¢¢¢¢¢ There are 10 grams of fiber per serving!
Taste: ¢¢¢¢  The flavor is actually pretty good. I, personally, am not a huge fan of the honey square type of cereals, but I did like it. My husband didn't like it much at all though. Our oldest daughter was the only one of our kids to try it and most of the box went to her. She liked it a lot.
Texture: ¢¢¢¢ "Cardboard, no." Very true. It even held up ok in milk. I did find that there was an ever-so-slight grainy texture to it, though.
Overall Value: ¢¢¢¢  Good cereal, I guess I could give it another 1/2 ¢, but this being a new blog, I haven't figured that one out yet. Decent price if you can get it on sale and/or use a coupon, and I'd probably buy it again.


All-Bran Bran Buds

All-Bran Bran Buds
I have to admit my skepticism when my husband chose this cereal for the first time. I turned up my nose and made up my mind that I wouldn't even try it. Um... yeah... I was kinda wrong.

Fiber: ¢¢¢¢¢ This cereal has a whopping 13 grams of fiber per serving!
Taste: ¢¢¢¢¢ This cereal has a pleasant, slightly sweet, bran flavor. Even the kids like to snack on it. And when you can get kids to snack on something healthy as if it were a treat, that's a winner in my book!
Texture: ¢¢¢¢¢ Each little bud of bran has a nice crunch. They have a descent "milk-sit" time, yet they aren't too hard, so you're not going to break a tooth on one.
Overall Value: ¢¢¢¢¢ It was a bit obvious that I would give this the highest rating. But really, it deserves it. Bran Buds are so yummy and versitile, that we buy them over and over. And to tell the truth, we rarely even eat them as a bowl of cereal with milk. We like to sprinkle a few on top of applesauce or yogurt, or just snack on them as is. We even use them fer medicinal purposes. Have a tummy ache? Eat a handful of Bran Buds! Seriously. It WORKS!  (Oh, and I just learned a little secret from a friend- she sneaks Bran Buds into her taco meat to add fiber!) I would, and do, buy this cereal again... and again.



So there you have it! Have you tried any of these cereals? Leave a comment and let me know what you think of them. What other fiber cereals do you like?

Oh, and if you want coupons, check out these links:  Fiber One    Kellogg's    Kashi

Cuisinart SmartStick Hand Blender with Chopper Attachment

    I thought that it was only fitting to start my reviews off with one of my most favorite possessions. It just so happens that I got it as a gift from my most favorite people! Knowing how much I like to cook and how giddy I get when I get something new for the kitchen, my husband and kids surprised me with a brand new Cuisinart SmartStick Hand Blender with Chopper Attachment one Mother's Day.

I got this picture from the web,
but mine looks just like it.

    

    Now, I've had other hand blenders before... and I've had other choppers, but none as powerful and reliable as this one. They were the cheap, plastic, burn out the motor after three uses, can't chop anything firmer than overripe bananas kind.  While the cheaper hand blenders retail for around $20, you can pick up a Cuisinart SmartStick for about $50. And believe me, the extra $30 is well worth it. I've had mine for over three years and I use it all the time.

    The SmartStick is reliable, powerful, easy to use and easy to clean. It doesn't take up a lot of space, so it stores nicely, and it's pretty enough to leave out on the counter- which you may want to do, since it is sure to be used all the time.
     The SmartStick is great for pureeing almost anything. I've used it for milkshakes, soups, making baby food, and even homemade slushies for the kids... yes... you read right SLUSHIES. That sucker can blend through ice like nobody's business! Don't even get me started on all of the blended coffees you can make! Yum!
     The chopper attachment is great for jobs like mincing onions or garlic. And I know it isn't shown in the picture, but mine also came with a whisk attachment. It is perfect for whipping up some fresh whipped cream (to go on top of the delicious blended mocha that I am now craving).
    The possibilities are endless, the value is supreme, and I highly recommend this product.

   Pros: Powerful, Lightweight, Easy to clean, Multiple Uses, Reliable, Compact.
   Cons: I can't really think of any.
   Recommended: YES!
   Overall Rating: ¢¢¢¢¢



Do you have a Cuisinart SmartStick? How do you like it? What do you like to make with it? Feel free to share in Comments.