Review: McDonald's - Crispy Ranch Snack Wrap

A longtime favorite of The Sister, McDonald's Crispy Ranch Snack Wrap have done quite well for themselves offering a lighter menu item for those with smaller appetites, as well as an alternative to burgers. They're promoted as food on the go and are a simple mix of a Chicken Selects Breast Strip, shredded Jack and Cheddar cheeses, shredded lettuce, and a Ranch sauce wrapped up in an open-ended tortilla.

The resultant Snack Wrap costs $1.49.

Review: Subway - Turkey Pesto Sub

Subway is trying out a basil pesto sauce in the southern California market with two limited-time subs, the Turkey Pesto and the Pesto Chicken Melt. While my new year is without resolutions, I still went for the healthier Fresh Fit option (7 grams of fat in the 6-inch version) in the Turkey Pesto which carries the price of $6 for a foot long.

Review: Fatburger - Fatburger

The namesake burger of Fatburger, the Fatburger is the chain's "medium"-sized burger and features a 5.3-ounce beef patty with mustard, relish, diced onions, crinkle-cut pickles, a slice of tomato, shredded lettuce, and mayo for $4.59. Cheese, bacon, egg, and/or chili are available as add-ons for 69 cents each. I considered the bacon but opted for just cheese.

It is also available in a combo with fries and a fountain drink for $8.69.

News: Burger King - New BK Stuffed Steakhouse

Burger King is really putting their new broilers to work: first, it was Fire Grilled Ribs and now, they're making Stuffed Steakhouse burgers. The new limited-time Jalapeno & Cheddar BK Stuffed Steakhouse burger features a beef patty with pieces of jalapenos and Cheddar cheese inside. The patty is joined by a creamy poblano (another pepper) sauce, tomatoes, and lettuce on BK's premium sandwich bakery bun.

Price of admission is a steady $3.99 which falls in line with previous Steakhouse burgers.

If the picture doesn't give you a good sense of the sandwich, you can catch the BK Stuffed Steakhouse via TV ad starting January 17, 2011.

Review: Subway - Turkey BLT

One of Subway's New Year's sandwiches, the Turkey BLT (i.e. the Turkey sub with bacon) features a base of turkey, bacon, lettuce, and tomato on your choice of bread with your choice of veggies, cheese, seasoning, and sauces. A footlong carries a premium price tag of $7.20 or 5 cents less than their "premium" sandwiches.

With the right build, it's a Subway Fresh Fit sub despite the bacon at 7 grams of fat (for a 6-inch).

Classic Review: Nabisco - Better Cheddars

Better Cheddars are part of Nabisco's Flavor Originals line of crackers. Along with Nabisco's Cheese Nips, Pepperidge Farm's Goldfish, Sunshine's Cheez-Its, Nabisco's Better Cheddars are the only cheese-flavored crackers I know of. I don't pretend to know why Nabisco saw fit to make two separate cheese-flavored cracker brands but a 7-ounce box carries a normal price of $3.59 though I got this particular box at two for $1.

Review: Trader Joe's - Chocolate Ganache Torte

Trader Joe's Handmade Chocolate Ganache Torte is a decadent feast featuring chocolate mousse sandwiched between two layers of rich, moist chocolate cake and finished with a semi-sweet chocolate ganache. I remember that it used to be around $6 to $7 a while back but these days it costs $7.99 for a pound and a half of cake.

Review: Disneyland - Tiger Tails

Not to be confused with the similarly named Tigger Tail from Pooh's Corner, the Tiger Tails are squiggly breadsticks toasted over a grill at Disneyland's Bengal Barbecue in Adventureland. An order of two Tiger Tails will cost you $3.69.

News: Hostess - New SmartBakes Streusel Cakes

More healthier products for the new year. Hostess unveils new SmartBakes Streusel Cakes. SmartBakes is Hostess's "better-for-you" line of baked breakfast products. The new SmartBakes Streusel Cakes come in three different flavors (cinnamon, raspberry and cream cheese) featuring whole grains, 3 grams of fiber, and 150 calories per serving.

A box of Hostess SmartBakes Streusel Cakes comes with 8 individually-wrapped cakes and costs $3.99 (may vary).

Frozen Friday: California Pizza Kitchen - Garlic Chicken Pizza

California Pizza Kitchen's frozen Garlic Chicken Pizza features a crispy, thin-crust pizza topped with a bordelaise butter sauce, white chicken cubes, mozzarella cheese, onions, roasted garlic, and parsley for $6.49.

News: Jamba Juice - New Probiotic Fruit and Yogurt Blends

With a long but descriptive name, Jamba Juice's new Probiotic Fruit and Yogurt Blends come in three flavors (Vibrant Blueberry, Strawberry Alive, and Thrivin' Mango) and feature smoothies made with nonfat yogurt, soymilk, whole fruit, and Jamba's specially formulated Probiotic Boost.

The main selling point is over 500 million active cultures per serving which will potentially improve immune system functioning and digestive health. Also, it's New Year's so people are looking to be and eat healthier.

To push you to try the new products, from 1/10 through 1/23 with a coupon printed from www.jambajuice.com, 12 size Probiotic Fruit and Yogurt Blends are just $1, 16 size Coldbuster Smoothies are just $2 and Steel Cut Oatmeal are also $1.

Review: Chick-fil-A - Spicy Chicken Biscuit

Chick-fil-A's Spicy Chicken Biscuit takes their normal Chicken Biscuit and kicks it up a notch with a spicy blend of peppers similar to the Spicy Chicken Sandwich launched last year.

They're giving them away all this week and I snagged one on the very first day because free is alway nice and there's a Chick-fil-A on my way to work. The menu price on one is just a bit more than the regular version at $2.35 (compared to $2.19).