News: Jamba Juice - New Green Fusion "At-Home" Smoothie Kit

Jamba Juice adds some green to the frozen food aisle with new Green Fusion fruit and veggie "at-home" smoothie kit, manufactured by license by Inventure Foods, Inc.

The new flavor features a mix of green apple, mango, pineapple, kiwi, banana, broccoli, spinach, and spirulina.

Frozen Friday: Fruttare Strawberry and Milk Frozen Dessert Bars

Fruttare Strawberry and Milk Frozen Dessert Bars are pretty self-explanatory. They're mostly milk, strawberries, sugar, and water frozen into a popsicle.

A box of four 2.7-fl oz bars typically costs about $3, but I received these courtesy of Unilever.

News: New Ruffles Steak-Flavored Chips

Frito Lay introduces new, limited-edition Flame-Grilled Steak-Flavored potato chips to their Ruffles Max line. The Ruffles Max line is aimed at the male demographic and features flavors like Beer Battered Onion Rings and Smokehouse Style BBQ.

The new Flame-Grilled Steak-Flavored potato chips are described by Frito Lay as "like a steakhouse in your mouth— minus the obnoxious maître d’, weird tiny salad forks and soft jazz."

News: Carl's Jr. Brings Back Cranberry Apple Walnut Grilled Chicken Salad

Carl's Jr. brings back the Cranberry Apple Walnut Grilled Chicken Salad and introduces a new BBQ Ranch Grilled Chicken Salad. When it was first introduced in 2009, Carl's Jr. tapped Kim Kardashian to appear in the Cranberry Apple Walnut Grilled Chicken Salad's television ad. This time around, it's up to Jenny McCarthy to sell some salad.

Review: McDonald's - Dulce De Leche Shake

McDonald's Dulce De Leche Shake is a new seasonal shake they're serving through September. It's essentially a caramel shake and features reduced fat vanilla ice cream blended with a "dulce de leche shake syrup", swirled with caramel sauce, and topped with whipped cream plus a maraschino cherry.

A 12-ounce small goes for $1.89 around here, but I received this one courtesy of McDonald's.

News: Pei Wei - BOGO Lettuce Wraps Deal

P.F. Chang's fast casual arm, Pei Wei Asian Diner, is offering a "buy one, get one" offer on their new Lettuce Wraps. You can take advantage of the offer by "liking" the Pei Wei Facebook page and voting on which of Pei Wei's Lettuce Wraps you prefer.

News: Pepperidge Farm - New Goldfish Mac & Cheese

Pepperidge Farm's Goldfish cracker brand is branching out into other carbs with new Goldfish Mac & Cheese. Made with Goldfish-shaped pastas, Goldfish Mac & Cheese comes in four varieties: Cheddar, Nacho Cheese, Cheesy Pizza, and Butter Parmesan. Each box is made with real cheese sauce and contains no artificial preservatives.

Local News: Papa John's - 50% Off Online Pizza in SoCal Area

Starting this Friday, Papa John's will be offering a "50% off any pizza" deal good online only, and valid at only at participating Papa John's locations in Southern California, including Los Angeles, Orange County, Ventura, San Bernardino, and Riverside Counties.

Review: McDonald's - Deluxe Quarter Pounder

McDonald's "new" Quarter Pounder Deluxe is the replacement for the departed Angus Deluxe and features the same American cheese (but only one slice instead of two), tomato, leaf lettuce, red onions, crinkle-cut pickles and mayo. Different are the bun which is the same bun as their premium chicken sandwiches and the patty, which is the same quarter pound of beef you'll find on the Quarter Pounder.

These cost $3.99 each in my area.

News: Taco Bell Continues Protein Menu Test

While some burger chains, notably In-N-Out, offer their burgers in a "low-carb" configuration, Taco Bell hasn't really explored the option until recently with the bowl option of their Power Fresco Menu test in a few Southern California location. The menu is part of Taco Bell's efforts to include more better-for-you options and features a lower calorie, more protein theme.

It looks like the test did well (or at least well enough) and they'll be doing a small market test out in Dayton, Ohio starting July 25, 2013.

Around the World: Krispy Kreme Japan - Limited Edition Matcha Red Bean Donut

Embracing the Japanese love of limited-time items, Krispy Kreme Japan offers the exclusive limited-edition Matcha Red Bean Donut, which is available at all of one Krispy Kreme location in Japan.

The donut features a Krispy Kreme Glazed Original Donut split in two, filled with matcha green tea cream and sweet red beans, and dusted with matcha green tea powder. It's only available through July 9th at the JR Takashimaya Krispy Kreme store in Nagoya.

Review: Pizza Hut - Firebaked Style Flatbread Pizzas

Pizza Hut's new Firebaked Style Flatbread Pizzas feature a "slightly crispy 'wood-fired style' crust and come six single-serve rectangular pizzas in a lengthy 2-feet-long box for $11.99. You can choose up to three different topping combinations of up to three toppings on the six pizzas.

I went with pepperoni; pepperoni and sausage; and chicken, green bell peppers, and onions. There's a good amount of pizza to fill the floor of the box, but they don't quite cover the length of box and leave a noticeable gap.