new

I love bagels in all their chewy, bready goodness.  Plain bagels, flavored bagels, with or without cream cheese, I love them all.  So, I was excited when I saw an ad (and, even better coupons!) for Einstein Bros Bagels new Bagel Poppers – cute little bagel bites that you can dip, pop in your mouth, and enjoy on the go.  Or so I thought.

I stopped by a local Einstein’s franchise this weekend and split two order of bagel poppers with my husband – blueberry and cinnamon sugar.  (We skipped the third flavor, an unappetizing sweet cream cheese).  I expected them to taste like, well, bagels.  We were sorely disappointed to find the bagel poppers tasted more like donut holes than bagel holes.  The blueberry variety had a sticky glaze on the outside that stuck to my fingers and made the poppers cloyingly sweet (and I love my sweets).  The cinnamon sugar flavor tasted more like fried dough dipped in cinnamon sugar.  Neither variety would be a good option for food on the go.  Despite being served in a plastic travel cup with a lid, the bagel poppers are too sticky and messy to enjoy without a napkin, or preferably a sink nearby.  If you don’t want to start your day with dessert, you’d do best to stick with your traditional bagel. And if you do want a sugary jolt to start your day, I’d recommend sticking to a classic donut.  If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

Of course, you’ve heard of white sugar and brown sugar, but black sugar?

Apparently it’s a new trendy ingredient being used in both savory and sweet dishes.  Black sugar, more specifically, Okinawa black sugar, comes from cane juice and is purchased as a brick-like block that looks a bit like a dark chocolate bar.  After grating or chopping it, you can cook or bake with it.  I have yet to try it, but it is described as being deeper in flavor than brown sugar (like molasses in a solid form).  Black sugar appears to be a common ingredient in Japanese candies.  It can also be used in cakes or cookies, for roasting or in bbq sauces…my interest is piqued!

Black sugar can be purchased from Amazon.

Haagen-Dazs is one of those gluttonous treats that I can’t have around all of the time – too dangerous!  But when I heard that they had a new line, Haagen-Dazs Five, I was intrigued and felt it was my obligation as a food blogger to review it (really, that’s the only reason I bought some… ).  This new line of ice cream features several flavors, each with only five ingredients each – sugar, cream, eggs, milk, and a natural flavor.  The flavors currently available are mint, vanilla bean, milk chocolate, brown sugar, ginger, coffee, and passion fruit.  Besides being all-natural, Haagen-Dazs is marketing this ice cream as being lower in fat than their regular ice cream.

I don’t like the idea of chemical additives in my food, and many of my favorite ice cream stands haven’t opened for the season, so the Five line is a great opportunity to indulge – naturally.  I bought the Brown Sugar flavor and it seems creamier than a typical pint of store-bought ice cream.  In addition, it has a rich flavor that tastes like molasses and caramelized sugar.  You’ll need a sweet tooth to enjoy this flavor as it is very sweet, but it is delectable and the next best thing to my favorite ice cream stand’s home-made offerings.  You’ll scream for this ice cream!