Breyers 2in1 coming soon -- BLASTS no more!

[Post Updated] Wow, I've been doing this freezer aisle analysis way too long because I've been thinking for awhile now about how it was time that Breyers BLASTS! disappears and something new and "crazy" comes along. Well, time for Breyers to mix things up a bit.

The 2018 Breyers 2in1 Lineup

(images courtesy of Breyers website)

I'm not 100% sure what current competing product inspired this, but I do find it amusing. Turkey Hill did the same thing a long time ago with their Dynamic Duos lineup (2009 reviews here & here).

Oreo & Chips Ahoy! -- vanilla Breyers with Oreos, swirled together with caramel Breyers and Chips Ahoy! (review here)
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups & Reese's Piece's --  peanut butter Breyers with REESE'S Peanut Butter Cups, swirled together with chocolate Breyers and mini REESE'S PIECES
SNICKERS & M&M Minis -- caramel Breyers with SNICKERS, swirled together with chocolate Breyers and M&M's MINIS
HEATH & Waffle Cone -- vanilla Breyers with HEATH, swirled together with chocolate Breyers and fudge-covered waffle cone pieces

Notice none of the description mention "ice cream" so they must still be frozen dairy dessert. I say still because these are basically just shoving two BLASTS flavors together in to one container. The only thing really new here is the mini Reese's Pieces though we haven't seen Chips Ahoy in a blast in a long time.

So, do you like this idea? While the BLASTS idea has always been a good idea (just remember Edy's LOADED), the base ice cream always held it back. I think this concept might (should) be fun at least to some degree, but it's weird to look back at 20 Blasts reviews and not be strangely sad to see them go. I am hoping that the swirling of the two flavors adds a bit of magic here, but I won't hold my breath.

Update Note: Despite Breyers website saying the two flavors are "swirled" together, people who are finding these are showing that it's one flavor on one side and the other flavor on the other side. Dear Breyers, this is why so many of us hate you.

Update Note #2: Many Blasts flavors live on but in new non-blast packaging.

Still Searching....

The good news is that I am still searching for new stuff when I can manage to not be working (things are better but not back to normal yet), but the bad news is that I'm still not finding anything besides the new Magnum pints and new low cal Talenti stuff.

When I do finally find something new, the most popular question will definitely be "where did you find that?". Since it's been awhile, let me recap where I go and maybe it will inspire you to track down that store you don't normally check out. In general, I've got Market Basket, Price Chopper and Stop & Shop (Giant), with secondary stops of Hannaford (Food Lion), Shaws, and Roche Bros. Occasionally I go to Whole Foods but I try to avoid it. There's also Walmart and Target ofcourse. In general, I have access to two or three of each of these stores, but I'm not hitting each of these stores multiple times a day. I do what I can with visits ranging from a couple times a week to a visit every couple of weeks, it just depends on access and timing.

Oh, side note, I've lost access to Baskin-Robbins but I do still have a DQ nearby, as well as several local places like the beloved Uhlman's (which I haven't covered in forever).

images courtesy of haagendazs.us

Ok, back in to the frozen trenches I guess. What will I find first? I'm hoping to find the new Haagen-Dazs ice cream cookie squares or maybe one of the new crispy Trio flavors that adds a layer of sauce in to the Trio concept. How is your ice cream hunting going?

Magnum Dark Chocolate Raspberry Tub

[New for early 2018] Hello ice cream people! I was going to yell that in caps but I prefer not to scream, especially when trying to do my first review in a few weeks. 18 days of work straight may not seem like a lot, but when it's basically all you think about from wake up to bedtime, it's a little hard for me to turn it off and settle down. That said, I finally had my lunch break to myself yesterday so I headed over to Stop & Shop (Giant) and grabbed another of the new Magnum pints.

Magnum Dark Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream

raspberry ice cream and dark chocolate shards
in a cracking dark chocolate shell

11 New Ben & Jerry's flavors...

[Post Updated] Before someone goes "have you heard about the new Ben & Jerry's stuff?" in the comments somewhere, yes, I have heard and no, Ben & Jerry's never sends me anything (except once a long time ago) so I have no official pics for you yet. For now, visit (or follow) Junk Banter, Fun Size Reviews or some other lucky* instagrammers for the hands on pictures.

all images courtesy of Ben & Jerry's

3 Truffles Flavors: Chocolate Shake It, Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake and Chillin' the Roast

3 New Pint Slices: Cherry Garcia, The Tonight Dough, and Coffee, Coffee, BuzzBuzzBuzz

2 New Non-Dairy Flavors: Peanut Butter Half Baked and Cinnamon Buns

*Yes I am bitter that I never get free Ben & Jerry's stuff (though I do appreciate that they've had both Nick and I up to their headquarters). At least I know what to look for now. Happy Hunting!

Update: Ok, I feel better that there was only a two day delay between instagram pics and updated website pictures. That said, they haven't removed any discontinued flavors yet. I have no solid proof, but I suspect that the new Truffles line up is at least partially supplanting the Core line up. I've seen discontinued tags on Coconuts for Caramel Core, Spectacular Speculoos Cookie Core, and Peanut Buttah Cookie Core. Now core flavors do come and go, and now that I look back, I am reminded that we didn't get any new cores in 2017. They wouldn't (eventually) ditch the core lineup again would they? Why not make at least one new core to keep it relevant?

Update #2: Bne & Jerry's has one more thing for us: Moo-phoria Light Ice Cream. The flavors are chocolate milk & cookies, caramel cookie fix, and P.B. dough. They are billed as "Light on calories and fat, heavy on the flavor, chunks & swirls", I'm sure a lot of people won't be excited by the fact that it's just light ice cream, but I like this line in particular: "We stayed away from sugar substitutes and sugar alcohols so you could enjoy our flavors without an aftertaste". I'll take light ice cream over erythritol 10 times out of 10. You can find more info here.

I forgot to eat ice cream yesterday

Hey everyone! Sorry for no new posts but work has been crazy... like crazy crazy. You know how every profession has it's rough time of the year? Well, I'm wrapping up that time and hopefully today is the last day of a 12 day work streak that has averaged 11 hours a day for the last 7 days (not including commute time). I know this is probably normal for some of you and I don't know how you do it because I'm am so very very very very tired right now. My morning soda is the only thing getting me started right now. I even cheated and had half a Rock Star PUNCHED the other day (something I have vowed not to drink anymore despite it's deliciousness). Hopefully there will be a post tomorrow (if I can ever get myself out of bed). Be well everyone!

Spotted: Spiked Bananas Foster Ice Cream

[Spotted in January 2018] There will always be things that catch my attention without necessarily earning my hard earned dollars. Case in point is the latest limited edition flavor from an Ahold owned grocery store (Giant, Stop&Shop, Hannaford, Food Lion, etc).

Spiked Bananas Foster Inspired Ice Cream

banana ice cream with banana foster swirl

Hood Purple Panda Ice Cream

[New for 2018] Hood is pretty good about spitting out a limited edition flavor right at the beginning of the year and 2018 is no exception. Based on the name and general setup, I'd say this is at least a vague shot at Friendly's Purple Potamus ice cream.

Hood Purple Panda Ice Cream

artificially flavored black raspberry reduced fat ice cream
with a thick fudge swirl, chocolate chips and white confections

Halo Top Pancakes & Waffles Light Ice Cream

[By Nick] Welcome to 2018, everyone! Are you planning on cutting back on your ice cream intake this year? For better or (more than likely) for worse, there’s a scary amount of low calorie options on the market right now. It seems like “good for you” ice creams have become all the rage with Talenti recently jumping on board. It’s been awhile however since we’ve taken a look at the brand that pretty much started this trend.

Halo Top Pancakes & Waffles Light Ice Cream

Pancake flavored light ice cream, waffle cone crunch
and a maple syrup swirl (Educated guess)