News: Nature Valley Introduces New Protein Bars

Nature Valley, best known for its granola bars, is extending its line with all-natural Nature Valley Protein Bars which feature 10 grams of protein, five grams of fiber, and less than 200 calories per bar.

The new bars come in two flavors: Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate and Peanut, Almond, and Dark Chocolate.

A box of 5 chewy bars carry a suggested retail of $3.89.

Review: Domino's - Parmesan Bread Bites

Domino's Parmesan Bread Bites are a new menu item largely overshadowed by the launch of Domino's Stuffed Cheesy Bread. Parmesan Bread Bites feature oven-baked, bite-size breadsticks lightly sprinkled with a blend of Parmesan and Asiago cheese, seasoned with garlic and more Parmesan.

I picked up 16 bite-sized pieces for $2.99.

News: Hardee's - New Country Fried Steak 'N' Gravy Platter

Hardee’s is out with its new Country Fried Steak ‘N’ Gravy Platter. The platter is one of those big breakfast options with a breaded, deep-fried beefsteak smothered in sausage gravy, Hash Rounds, a folded egg, and a house made buttermilk biscuit.

The new Country Fried Steak ‘N’ Gravy Breakfast Platter is available at participating Hardee’s restaurants starting at $2.79. Prices may vary by location.

News: Taco Bell Rolls Out First Meal i.e. Breakfast

Having touted its last night "Fourth Meal," for quite some time, after years of testing, Taco Bell is rolling out its "First Meal" breakfast menu (according to NRN) in 10 states and about 750 locations including California.

Apparently they tested "spicy" and "unique" items and customers want milder fare for breakfast so it's taco sauce for you if you want to liven up your breakfast.

The breakfast menu features 11 new items including 4 breakfast burritos (various combinations of breakfast meat and eggs), a sausage and egg wrap, hash browns, Cinnabon Delights, Seattle's Best coffee and Tropicana orange juice. I actually tried a few of the new breakfast items last year and you can check out some details and my thoughts here.

Breakfast hours vary by locations, but generally fall between 8am and 11am.

Taco Bell is looking to complete a chain-wide rollout by 2015.

Here's the complete menu with suggested prices (may vary):

Review: Taco Bell - Cheesy Gordita Crunch

Taco Bell's Cheesy Gordita Crunch is basically a Crunchy Taco with a pepper jack sauce wrapped in a soft Gordita shell and bound together with a melted blend of pepper jack, cheddar, and mozzarella.

It sells for $2.19 at my local Taco Bell or you can get one as part of a $5 Big Box Meal.

News: Cold Stone Creamery - New "Hot for Cookie" Dessert

For a limited-time, Cold Stone Creamery adds new "Hot for Cookie" to its line of plated desserts.

The treat features a blend of warm and cold by pairing a baked chocolate chip cookie and warm cookie dough topped with French vanilla ice cream, whipped topping, and chocolate shavings.

"Hot for Cookie" joins a line up of ice cream served with brownies, churros, chocolate cake, and funnel cake but only for a limited time.

News: Jamba Juice Giving Free Energy Drinks Today

Jamba Juice is giving away free cans of its Energy Drinks to the first 100 customers at each of over 500 participating Jamba locations today, Monday, January 23, 2012.

Jamba Juice Energy Drinks are available in three flavors: Strawberry Banana, Pomegranate Blueberry, and Crisp Apple.

You can check out the details of the promotion as well as participating locations on their website here.

News: Popeyes - Spicy Cajun Wings Return

For a limited-time, Popeyes is serving up Spicy Cajun Wings to meet your football eating needs.

Popeyes' Spicy Cajun Wings are marinated for 12-hours and then hand-battered and breaded before frying.

My local Popeyes has them at six for $3.99 and they come with your choice of Firecracker, Ranch, or Buffalo dipping sauce.

News: Chick-fil-A - New Grilled Chicken Nuggets for Better Kid's Meal Nutrition

Chick-fil-A is out with new Grilled Chicken Nuggets as a Kid's Meal entree option. The new nuggets are gluten-free and made with boneless, skinless chicken breast pieces tossed in a salt and pepper spice blend before grilling.

Amid concerns of obesity, many fast food chains have opted to offer healthier menu items especially for kids (such as McDonald's and Arby's) so in addition to the new Grilled Chicken Nuggets, Chick-fil-A is also offering Apple & Cinnamon flavored Buddy Fruits Pure Blended Fruit To Go apple sauce as a side option (in addition to the current options of a fruit cup or fries).

Frozen Friday: Hot Pocket Snackers - Potato Skin Bites

Hot Pocket Snackers Potato Skin Bites are mini-hot pockets that can be eaten in a bite or two and feature bacon, cheddar, potatoes, and green onions inside a potato crust.

Retail is about $3.69 for a 10-ounce bag of 12 pieces. On sale, you're looking at around $2.

News: Doritos - Sour Cream and Onion and Salsa Rios Back as Throwbacks

Just in time to grace your Super Bowl snack table, Frito Lay has brought back two throwback Doritos flavors: Doritos Sour Cream and Onion and Doritos Salsa Rios complete with old school packaging.

Ever helpful, Frito Lay has its handy dandy snack locator to find out if your local grocers are carrying these limited-time flavors.

Doritos Sour Cream and Doritos Salsa Rios will only be available through February.

Review: Carl's Jr. - Biscuit 'N' Gravy

Long a staple at sister chain, Hardee's, Carl's Jr.'s Biscuit 'N' Gravy is a simple affair: a made-from-scratch biscuit smothered in hot sausage gravy.

It's 99 cents per order.

Going to Krispy Kreme for Some Coffee and Donuts

The folks at Krispy Kreme have been kind enough to jet me across the country to their North Carolina headquarters for their blogger summit and a behind-the-scenes tour of their headquarters.

I'll be sure to let you guys know of any Willa-Wonka-type hi-jinks that ensue while I'm stuffing my face Augustus-Gloop-style on coffee and donuts.

So basically, I'm flying across the country tomorrow for coffee and donuts! Sweet!

Look forward to pictures and posts when I return!

News: McDonald's - New Caramel Hot Chocolate

Also new at McDonald's this month is Caramel Hot Chocolate.

It's basically a Caramel Mocha but without the espresso which is to say it's chocolate caramel syrup blended into steamed milk and topped with whipped cream and a bit of caramel.

Price ranges from $2.29 to $3.29 for varying sizes (may vary with loca
tion).

It's caramel for the chocolate-but-non-coffee-drinking set I suppose.

News: McDonald's - New Chicken McBites

New and for a limited time at McDonald's, Chicken McBites is McDonald's own Mc-take on popcorn chicken and feature seasoned and battered bite-sized chicken breast chunks.

They're available in three sizes: Snack (3 ounces), Regular (4.5 ounces), and Sharable (10 ounces).

You can expect Chicken McBites to be around for about 3 months so you can expect to find them until about early to mid April.

News: Post - New Honey Bunches of Oats Fruit Blends

Post is now offering a new take on their Honey Bunches of Oats cereal with new Honey Bunches of Oats Fruit Blends. Fruit Blends are available in two flavors: Peach Raspberry and Banana Blueberry.

The new cereals feature flavored crispy flakes (banana or peach) mixed with flavored oat (blueberry or raspberry) clusters.

While the brand already offers flavored clusters, what makes the new varieties different is the new varieties and the fact that the flakes themselves are flavored.

News: Arby's - New Jamocha Cream Pie

Fans of Arby's Jamocha Shake can now get their Jamocha fix in a new, limited-time Jamocha Cream Pie.
different form with

Each slice of pie comes with a layer of Jamocha (read: coffee) flavored cream topped with whipped cream (or topping, not sure which) and chocolate syrup.

It's a limited-time item so if you're hankering to try it, it won't be around forever.

Frozen Friday: T.G.I.Friday's - Grilled Chicken Mac & Cheese

T.G.I.Friday's brand Grilled Chicken Mac & Cheese frozen entree comes with white meat chicken and cavatappi pasta in an American cheese sauce topped with cheddar, Romano, parmesan and Monterey Jack cheeses.

A 12-ounce box retails for around $4.29, ranging about $2 to $3 on sale.

Review: Wendy's - The "W" Cheeseburger

Toeing the line between Wendy's value menu junior hamburgers and more premium Dave's Hot 'N Juicy Cheeseburgers, Wendy's offers a little bit of both with the "W" cheeseburger for $2.99.

The "W" features red onions, hand-leafed lettuce, crinkle-cut pickles,two 2.25-ounce beef patties, two slices of American cheese, and Wendy's signature sauce on a buttered, toasted bun.

News: Starbucks - New Blonde Roast Coffee Sampling Jan 12 - 14

Long known for its dark roast coffee, Starbucks is out with a lighter Blonde Roast of coffee to draw in coffee drinkers who prefer such (some 54 million coffee drinkers in the U.S. apparently, according to Starbucks research).

To figure out if you're one of those 54 million people, Starbucks is hosting “Find the Roast You Love Most” tasting events at participating Starbucks locations starting today, January 12 and running through January 14.

The events will be hosted for three hours each day (times vary by location so call first) and customers will be able to taste Starbucks Blonde Roast alongside its Medium Roast and Dark Roast. Those who participate in the taste test will receive a sticker declaring their roast preference, as well as a free sample of Blonde Roast to brew at home or a coupon for $1 off either their choice of a pound of any Starbucks coffee or their choice of any variety 8- or 12-pack of Starbucks VIA Ready Brew.

The new blend is available as a brewed option at Starbucks stores in the U.S. and as packaged coffee at Starbucks locations as well as grocery stores.