Well, well, well. Time for frozen burritos again.

Truthfully, I’ve been trying to avoid buying these things and just make my own burritos. I try to keep some flour tortillas handy at all times. Cans of refried beans are usually in the pantry, and there’s always some ground beef in the fridge. Then it’s just roll up whatever produce is handy into the mix – lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, cilantro, etc.

But I have to admit there’s still times when you might want a faster snack. I picked up this Las Campanas Red Hot Burrito the other day at the market. It’s actually not a frozen burrito, it’s one of those that are sitting in the prepared food section next to the meats.

However, the shelf life seems to be rather long for a prepared burrito – it was nearly two months! Must be all the yummy preservatives in it…

This is actually a much longer burrito than the usual frozen variety. In fact, because it wasn’t frozen, I nearly broke one in half by picking it up by the end (like a lightsaber, of course). It measures about 11 inches and weighs in at 10 ounces.

Interestingly, the serving size portion is 1/2 burrito. Who eats only half a frozen burrito? I have to admit that this was at least twice the size of the normal 33 cent frozen ones. But in that case, it’s not really a nuke ‘n run type of snack you eat in the car then. It’s a two-hander you have to sit down with. So in the back of my mind I was thinking, why wouldn’t I just make this if I’m going to eat it at home anyway?

Actually, maybe the other reason they suggest 1/2 burrito per person is that it lets them halve the sodium and saturated fat in the nutrition facts on the back. Eating the ENTIRE burrito will give you 1080mg sodium (46% DV) and 9g (50% DV) saturated fat. But then, I’m not hear to talk nutrition I guess.

Continue reading “Las Campanas Burrito” …

Trips to Big Lots inevitably end badly for your friendly neighborhood Cheap Eats Editor. I usually tend to come home with tons of tins – little fishies packed in tomato sauce, strangely potted meat and smoked oysters galore. But I also cave in to other snackies that are a little “healthier” like this 4 pack of Pop Weaver Popcorn.

I’d never heard of Pop Weaver Popcorn before, even though according to their website they are “a leading national brand of microwave popcorn in the United States and is distributed to more than 90 countries worldwide.” The box actually says “more people around the world eat more Pop Weaver popcorn than any other kind.”

I guess maybe it’s more popular in other countries than the U.S. Either that, or in the microwave popcorn scheme of things, I’ve been living in a cave in Antarctica for several years. Which also isn’t too far of a stretch.

I got the standard butter version, but they have other “flavors” like Extra Butter, Light Butter, Kettle Corn and Natural. No cheese or caramel flavors. There’s 4 standard size packs in one box, so it comes out to about a quarter each. In general, I like popcorn and think it’s a great snack for Cheap Eaters – but I’m constantly seduced by the flashier and unhealthier Doritos and Cheetos products of the world. So maybe there’s something to it then when Pop Weaver says that the reason their microwave popcorn can be so cheap is that they spend a whole lot less on advertising, packaging and even ink on the bags.

The box looks rather plain – their logo is the smallest thing on the box. The largest thing on it is the words “4 Bags”. A big sticker also proclaims “NO DIACETYL FLAVORINGS” which I suppose is a good thing? I haven’t been keeping up with that stuff, but I’m guessing Diacetyl is something bad. I was wondering if it’s the same concern as with the Teflon in non-stick cookware, or something different.

Incidentally, why is it that every box of microwave popcorn seems to be associated with a friendly old geezer with glasses?

Sure, I know you can buy your own corn kernels and pop them yourself on the stove for cheaper. But I don’t know, I just like popping it in a bag in the microwave once in awhile. My brain cells and neurons, already taxed to their limit by trying to decide whether or not $2 is a good price for Low Salt Spam, are loathe to take on yet more decisions. (She can’t take much more captain!)

As for the popcorn itself, I have to say at a quarter for a bag it’s very good. I followed the directions and went by the PPS metric (number of Pops Per Second) instead of a flat cooking time. I think microwave popcorn must have one of the greatest ranges of cooking times I’ve ever seen for food. It’s 2-5 minutes. That’s a huge difference, so it’s definitely best to listen for popping. My corn timed out at about 3.5 minutes.

The popped kernels weren’t extraordinarily large, but they were about average sized for cheap microwave popcorn. They definitely weren’t the fluffy gourmet kind, or the kettle corn sized kernels. Still, they tasted pretty good. The amount of salt and “butter flavoring” was a little on the light side, which was fine by me. You can always slather on more butter later.

I was surprised that most of the kernels actually popped. There were only about 4-5 unpopped which is something I constantly have problems with in microwave popcorn. (I know some people actually like the unpopped kernels but I have a hard time eating them.) So on that front, Pop Weaver did really well.

Pricewise they were excellent – I’m not complaining at a quarter for one package. Tastewise, they were satisfactory. But chances are if you eat this, you’re probably not going to care as you sit spellbound munching away in front of the TV while watching re-runs of Quantum Leap. Oh, boy!

Price:$1 for 4 Pack Box
Found At:Big Lots
Cheap Eats Score: 7/10

In this time of Eekonomic Recession, Allowance Busting Gas Prices and Global Toasting (and Dimming) sometimes you just need to get away from it all. No, not on Southwest Airlines. This is much cheaper – just head on over to Krispy Kreme to pick up a dozen doughnuts. And forget all your troubles for a few minutes.

Apologies for the candid shots, these were actually taken in the car. One dozen original glazed morsels of deliciousness. I haven’t had Krispy Kremes in ages, probably 3 or 4 years. I guess for people eating on the cheap (and also for those looking to lose weight), this probably isn’t such a necessary item. In fact, by Cheap Eats standards it almost qualifies as a luxury item.

But actually, the purpose of this post is to remind everyone that even when the chips are down, sometimes you just have to treat yourself. I hate to sound like a sappy life coach or something (I can’t believe that actually exists as a profession), but this goes not just for food. Whether it’s eating out at a fancy shmancy restaurant or splurging on a dozen doughnuts, don’t overlook treating yourself as a huge morale booster that will help get through the Days of Ramen and Canned Spaghetti Sauce.

Back to Krispy Kreme – they are a bit more “compact” than I remember. Compared to normal doughnuts, the center holes also seem a bit large. I shouldn’t complain though, they are such a treat. Anyhow, the small size is probably good for weight watchers. I’m a bit unusual in that I have the willpower to only eat one at a time, so they’re probably going to last for a whole week. I like to put them in the toaster to get them nice and hot so they taste just like they came off the assembly line. When we picked them up, the “Hot Light” wasn’t on, so we got them cold in the box. They’re still pretty amazing that way.

I had a coupon for a free dozen, but even if you buy them, I think they go around $6-7 for a dozen original glazed. One or two dollars more for a dozen assorted.

Worse comes to worse, you can go out and spend some of your Tax Refund on doughnuts. Stimulate that economy with doughnuts, baby.

Price: Free (normally ~ $6-7 / doz.)
Found At: Coupon, sent for review
Cheap Eats Score: 7/10

I was originally going to make this review a Food Battle between Lays Sour Cream ‘n Onion Chips and these Thin & Crispy Sweet Maui Onion ChipsI found at the dollar store. I had big plans for the “battles” – they were going to become the signature review on Cheap Eats. But somehow, after having just the Pringles one, I lost interest. It’s just difficult (and contrary to the whole Cheap Eats manifesto) to keep buying similar products just to review them.

Also, like most people, I’ve been trying to cut out the unnecessary snacks. Getting a whole bag of Lays just to compare them would not be a good thing. Because I would be tempted to sit in front of the TeeVee and watch re-runs of MythBusters while eating the entire bag. Watching Adam and Jamie bust those myths is just so spellbinding that the motion of chip-to-mouth becomes dangerously automatic…

So anyhow, it’s just the one bag of potato chips up for review. I looked in vain on the packaging for another brand name besides Thin & Crispy. Nope – it’s like those generic blue and white brand items that just say “canned corn” or something. It was also difficult to find out who makes these – at the bottom corner of the bag it says “Snack Alliance Inc.” which sounds sort of sketchy. Er, I guess they’re not so proud of them?

I don’t know why they wouldn’t be proud, because these will give any brand-name thin chip a run for their money. As far as the name goes, they deliver exactly that – thin, crispy potato chips. Granted they’re laden with salt, fat, oil – but so are other brands of chips.

Like I’ve said, I’ve never run into freshness problems with dollar store items. This bag was no exception. The chips were plenty crunchy. In appearance and texture, they’re a bit “rougher” and maybe more rustic than standard Lays chips. They’re sort of a cross between Lays and maybe a lightly cooked kettle chip. None of the chips are really burnt, but you can see some of the edges have a little skin, are a little toasted and are sometimes more crumpled.

As far as taste goes, I really liked these. I believe there were three other flavors, but I’ve only tried the onion one so far. And when they say “Maui Onion” they mean standard onion powder (as far as i can tell). It’s sort of a tangy flavor combination, but I think that also comes from the sour cream or cheese solids added in. There isn’t a thick coating on the chips, I think it may actually have less than Lays does.

Overall, I was pretty pleased with my dollar bag of chips. The chips are so thin that even with this enormous looking bag, you’re only getting 6 ounces. I haven’t bought Lays in awhile, so I don’t know how their chips compare in price per weight. Buying a large econo-bag of Lays will probably be cheaper, but I’ll stick with the smaller bags unless there’s a party on the horizon.

Price: 99 cents for 6 oz. bag
Found At: Dollar Store
Cheap Eats Score: 7/10

Mm.. Crunch ‘n Munch. To make a short story longwinded, I was casting about trying to think of something to review for Earth Day. Something that would really speak to the heart of the matter about Us destroying the ozone and whatnot. I was going to be a real Green Hero by calling attention to the plight of Mother Earth.

Instead, as usual I caved to the pressure of cheap, preprocessed food bought at the Dollar Store. Truth be told, awhile back I stocked up on a number of different Cheap Eats items at the Dollar Store to review (the people who work there must think I’m insane buying all that random food). I guess Earth Day can wait another week. Not that I don’t think about the state of the environment.

So, about the Crunchity ‘n Munchity… I was going to insert a joke here about people having the “munchies” after ingesting the afterburn from certain plants, but since this is a family friendly website I decided against it.

I’ve been eating Crunch ‘n Munch, since the 70s or so. Made by ConAgra (who bought the rights from Franklin Nut Company?), this is pretty much in a similar vein to Cracker Jack and Fiddle Faddle. I’m not sure what it going on with the rhyming in all three of those names.

Cracker Jack is probably the most traditional and popular of the three, and for some reason I don’t think I’ve reviewed it yet. I’ll probably try get a hold of some if I can find it for cheap. Fiddle Faddle – I know it’s similar and I used to eat it that back in the day as well . For the life of me, I can’t remember how it was different than Crunch ‘n Munch – I think maybe it didn’t have any peanuts?

The Crunch ‘n Munch formula is basically clusters of sugar syrup coated popcorn with peanuts embedded in them. I got the “Caramel” variety which is different than the original flavor of Buttery Toffee. They also have an almond version of it.

I have to say that I was pretty pleasantly surprised with the flavor and quality. A side note: everyone thinks that stuff at the Dollar Store is “past it’s prime” and that’s how they can sell it for cheap. But so far, I haven’t had too many instances where the product was not fresh. This box of Crunch ‘n Munch tasted pretty fresh to me.

Continue reading “Crunch ‘n Munch” …

(Drum Roll…) And now Ladeez and Gentledudes, presenting the one and only… Ferrero Rondoir Dark Chocolates! Ta-dahh! (Cymbal Crash…)

You will have to exsqueeze me because I just spent 7.2 × 10¹² nanoseconds (two hours for the nanosecondly challenged out there) trying to come up with some sort of funny angle to talk about the nice little box of Ferrero chocolates I received in the mail.

I’ve had the normal Ferrero Rocher Chocolates before and They’re Great (a la Tony the Tiger), but I was just drawing a blank when it came to how to turn it into a Cheap Eats review.

I was going to try and work in a tennis match in there (Juan Carlos Ferrero) but I “served” up a bagel with that one. Haha. Pretty much after that I was done using my brain.

Man, I guess I’ll just present the boring facts: this is actually the new Ferrero Prestige confections assortment which comes in a handy easter egg shaped plastic case(4.8 oz of chocolates). This is rather nice for shipping as it seemed to protect the chocolate from getting damaged. The box contains three types including the newer Rondoir Dark chocolates (which they’re currently promoting on TV), the standard Rocher chocolates and the interesting white Garden Coco confections.

I was too lazy to cut them open, but if you’ve never had these Ferrero chocolates before they’re a bit different than your average chocolate truffle thingy. All of them are layer based: creamy chocolate filling holding a nut (or dark chocolate center) which is then encased in a crispy, egg shell – like wafer and coated in chocolate. The layers – it’s like a decadent Gobstopper or something.

The normal Rocher variety has a hazelnut center, chocolate cream, the wafer and then milk chocolate covered with chopped hazelnuts. The newer Rondoir has a “black pearl” of dark chocolate center surrounded by dark chocolate cream, then the wafer, topped off with dark chocolate bits. The Garden Coco has an almond center, coconut cream surrounded by the wafer and topped with a meringue and shredded coconut.

Continue reading “Ferrero Chocolates” …

Hello. Oh man, raise your hand if you had a hard time getting back into the swing of things last week. Yep. After overdosing on Free Family Eats and general holiday Eggnogging, I just didn’t get around to turning the blog back on. But here it is, and here’s the first review of the new year: Cheerios Snack Mix.

If you don’t believe that the “healthy breakfast and snack” market is insanely popular right now just take a look at the recent archives of the food sent in for review. It’s pretty much all cereal, health bars or healthy snacks. I guess there’s nothing wrong with going for the “turn over a new leaf” crowd.

I go back quite a long ways with my friend Cheerios – I guess their advertising got me back in the 70s. I also remember lots of parents making the homemade “Chex Mix” (not the kind you can buy pre-packaged nowadays). I’m trying to remember if the one my parents made had Cheerios in it. I think it did. I also believe it featured worcestershire sauce in it?

Anyhow, I was sent this new Cheerios Snack Mix in the Cheddar flavor the other day. First off, I want to say that I wish I was sent the “Original” flavor. Not that I don’t dig cheesy artificial goodness, but I usually like to try the basic flavor of a snack before kicking it up a notch with the cheese.

Still, this snack seemed promising. They tout it as a “balanced” snack because of the Cheerios, and like most snack manufacturers are sure to say it’s Baked and not Fried. I’m glad, because Fried Cheerios does not sound like a delicacy.

There’s 6 different kinds of snack pieces in the mix: standard multigrain Cheerios cereal, Wheat Chex, Corn Chex, triangular Cheese Crackers, “Bread Twists”, and Twist Pretzels. I’ll go through each of them in reverse order, but first let’s talk about the Cheddar powder: it tastes just like Doritos. Yep, that’s pretty much it – you’ve tasted one artificial cheese powder, you’ve pretty much got them all. Well, actually it reminded me more of the artificial cheese powder packet from Kraft Macaroni. But you know what I’m talking about.

I’m not against the taste of it, but I already thought Cheerios ‘n Cheez was going to be strange. The taste of the multigrain Cheerios with cheese powder is a little too weird for me. I think it’ll be an individual taste thing.

Continue reading “Cheerios Snack Mix” …