News: McDonald's Testing New Petite Pastries

McDonald's is testing new Petite Pastries at participating locations in San Diego County as part of their McCafe line.

The new pastries are available all day and come in two varieties: raspberry and cinnamon cream cheese. They're made with real butter and feature a layered, flaky pastry dough. Apparently, they're freshly baked through the day in each restaurant.

Around the World: Pizza Hut Adds Yeast Spread to Stuffed Crust Pizza in New Zealand

Pizza Hut New Zealand is adding a local favorite, Marmite yeast spread, to their Stuffed Crust pizza with the new, limited-time Chee-Zee Marmite Stuffed Crust Pizza. Alongside with the standard pipping of mozzarella cheese is a layer of Marmite. The Stuffed Crust is paired with their Cheese Extreme pizza which is a plain cheese pizza with three times the normal amount of mozzarella.

News: Nabisco - New Wheat Thins Popped

A puffed/popped version of Wheat Thins are set to arrive this month in new Wheat Thins Popped.

According to the company, the new product will be the first popped whole grain snack/chips with wheat as the "first ingredient." Basically, they're like Popchips but made with wheat.

Review: Nabisco - Mocha Chunk Chewy Chips Ahoy Cookies

Mocha Chunk Chewy Chips Ahoy cookies are one of four new Ice Cream Creations flavors for the popular chocolate chip cookie brand. It features a chewy chocolate chip cookie with the addition of mocha-flavored chunks.

I bought a 9.5-ounce package for $2.50 on sale.

Fast Food Items You Might Not Expect to Have Artificial Sweeteners

Unlike some allergens like nuts and gluten, it isn't common for food manufacturers and, by extension, fast food chains to warn of artificial sweeteners in their products (it is however listed in the ingredients if you know what to look for).

So, for your reference, I went through the ingredients list (where available online) of some of the biggest fast-food chains to come up with this list of fast-food menu items containing artificial sugar that you might not expect.

News: Frito-Lay - New Buffalo Wild Wings Flavored Deep Ridged Ruffles

Frito-Lay is offering new Ruffles Deep Ridged potato chips boasting ridges two times as deep as regular Ruffles with a new, co-branded flavor: Classic Hot Wings inspired by Buffalo Wild Wings. The flavor features notes of tangy vinegar, chicken, and hot sauce.

Not sure how this squares with their existing Ruffles Ultimate line of -potato chips, which also has really big ridges (that seem at least two times as deep). It sometimes feels like Frito-Lay is out to become the General Motors ((before they got rid of overlapping brands like Pontiac and Saturn)  of snack foods.

News: Starbucks - New Grocery-Store-Only Bright Sky Blend

Starbucks is offering a new Bright Sky Blend packaged coffee that's only available in grocery stores (you won't find it in Starbucks stores or their online store).

The coffee was spotted in early February on Starbucks superfan blog Starbucks Melody.

Frozen Friday: Lean Cuisine vs. Smart Ones - Santa Fe Style Rice and Beans

I decided to pit Lean Cuisine's and Smart Ones' Santa Fe Style Rice and Beans against one another to see which one came out on top. Lean Cuisine's version comes in a sour cream and mild green chile sauce and is topped with a bit of cheddar cheese. Smart Ones' version also comes with a sour cream and green chile sauce but is topped with mozzarella.

News: Dunkin' Donuts - Mint Oreo Donuts and Irish Creme Coffee for St. Patrick's Day

Dunkin' Donuts is offering two new Mint Oreo donuts in celebration of St. Patrick's Day. In addition to the donuts, they're also offering some seasonal drinks including Irish Creme coffees and various mint-flavor drinks.

The new donuts are the Mint Oreo Donut and the Mint Oreo Creme Donut.

Neat! Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Available Fresh from the Factory

I didn't know this but Reese's occasionally offers "Fresh from the Factory" Reese's Peanut Butter cups that ship directly from the factory to your home.

The cups are currently available for pre-ordering from the Hershey's online store and will ship the week of March 24, 2014.

News: Arby's - 2014 St. Patrick's Day Deal on Reuben Sandwich

Arby's tends to promote their Reuben Sandwich around St. Patty's Day and this year is no different. On St. Patrick's Day weekend from Saturday, March 15 through Monday, March 17, Arby's will be offering a "buy one, get one free" deal (via coupon) on their Reuben sandwich at participating locations.

Review: Starbucks - Vanilla Macchiato

Starbucks' new Vanilla Macchiato features steamed milk mixed with vanilla syrup and topped off with a shot of espresso and a cross-hatch of vanilla-caramel sauce (they describe it as "a drizzle of Madagascar Bourbon vanilla mixed with brown sugar, butter and a dash of salt").

I paid $3.75 for a 12-oz Tall (I opted for whole milk over the standard 2%).