April 18, 2010
Fruity Cheerios
Long ago, the word "Cheerios" was synonymous with healthy. That’s why it was just about the only breakfast cereal my mom would buy. Nowadays, moms don’t have it as easy because there are all kinds of Cheerios of questionable healthiness: Honey Nut, Frosted, Apple Cinnamon, Yogurt Burst, Chocolate, and maybe the most questionable of all, Fruity. Fruity Cheerios are obviously meant to be a Fruit Loop-like cereal, from the color scheme of the box to the flavor of the cereal. They taste very similar to Fruit Loops, the main differences being that the fruity taste and sweetness are not as pronounced. They’re tasty, but not as good as Fruit Loops. But, I’m eating a cereal that’s better for me than Fruit Loops, right? Not necessarily. I looked up the nutrition information for Fruit Loops and found that they had exactly the same amount of sugar as Fruity Cheerios. Huh? I thought Cheerios were supposed to be good for me! You mean I just finished a box of Fruity Cheerios and I could have eaten the much tastier Fruit Loops instead? Fruity Cheerios may seem like they have less sugar when you read the side of the box, but if you look carefully you’ll see that the serving size is ¾ cup. The serving size for Fruit Loops is one cup, and when you take the serving size into consideration, both cereals have 12 grams of sugar per one cup serving. There are some other minor differences in the nutritional content of the two cereals, and the question of which cereal is healthier could probably be debated. My recommendation is to go for the real thing – Fruit Loops – and don’t fool yourself by thinking that Fruity Cheerios are better for you.
Phoood rating: 
April 14, 2010
Taco Bell Salsa Roja Tortada
Taco Bell is a master of making up names for their products that don't exist in the real world. Big Enchilada? Enchirito! Tortilla wrapped around a tostada? Crunchwrap Supreme! Big nacho plate? Nachos Bellgrande! So it's no surprise that Taco Bell went this route when they introduced their new food item, the Tortada. This time Taco Bell decided to combine the words Torta (a traditional Mexican sandwich) and tostada (basically a flat crunchy taco). What's odd about this fusion is that there is no cruchy shell a la tostadas, and the final product is about as close to a Torta as a quesadilla. Nevertheless Taco Bell wants to promote this item as a pseudo-sandwich. The Tortada comes in two variations, the Salsa Roja, and the Bacon Ranch, both with "fire grilled marinated all white meat chicken" (though to be honest, this chicken didn't seem any different than the kind they put in their quesadillas). The basic setup for the Salsa Roja tortada is chicken, cheese, fiesta salsa, and it's namesake, salsa roja, all wrapped up in a tortilla that has been folded into a square and then grilled. So basically, Taco Bell has once again taken ingredients it already has and combined them to make a semi-new item, though in all honesty, this one really seems like the Taco Bell execs were running out of ideas, as this is basically a revamped crunchwrap supreme. I was really looking forward to the salsa roja, which is the only new ingredient in the Tortada, unfortunately, there was very little in the mix and the fiesta salsa definitely dominated the taste. Overall, this isn't a bad product by any means. It definitely lacks in originality, and I would appreciate another pass with the salsa roja bottle, but it was still tasty and worth a second chance.
Phoood rating: 