Cinnamon Burst Cheerios

 

Ooh la la, a new flavor of Cheerios!  Since I'm a fan of cinnamon-flavored treats, I saw these in the grocery store and was excited to try them out. 

 

I have to say that I was expecting these to taste like Cheerio'd Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  In that sense, these are significantly lower on the "sweet" scale compared to Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  However these do have a lot of flavor from the ample amounts of cinnamon.  I would like to try these in a cereal bar recipe, since I think the flavor lends itself well to those types of snacks.  If you're a fan of cinnamon, definitely try these out!  But don't expect them to be cinnamon-sugar flavored, like I initially did :o)

Lunchtime Links for April 14th, 2011

• The Budget Babe: 5 under $50 purple dresses.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Cinnamon sugar donut muffins.
• Sephora Blog: Benefit's new b.right radiant skincare.
• Top Chef All-Stars: Recap from TVGasm. 
• The Kitchn: Sweet potato biscuits and maple butter.

Whole Foods Rockville Pre-Opening Blogger Tour, Part 2

Continuing on from yesterday, we have Part 2 of my pre-opening tour (here's Part 1)...lots of yummy treats!!

Tower o' Chocolate - how could I *not* photograph this?  I especially liked the little tubs of chocolate pearls (bottom left in the photo) - I think these would be really cute as cupcake decorations!

Over in the Coffee section, they have lots of different coffee brands to choose from, including a wide selection of local coffees.  Holla Mayorga Coffee! (I used to work there part-time a long time ago, haha).  Always nice to show some local pride and support local vendors!

In the Restaurant Row section, which includes a pizza oven, smokehouse, burger bar, as well as an all-organic salad bar, there is also an Arepa station.  Yum, crispy grilled cornmeal cakes with lots of tasty fillings- I'm definitely going to try one soon!

And saving the best for last: the Bakery section, ooh la la!  SO many different treats to choose from, it was so overwhelming to take it all in - and they hadn't even finished putting everything out yet, haha.

It was nice to see Sticky Fingers, a local DC bakery, displayed in the Bakery section!  Hopefully this will entice people that haven't been to the bakery yet to try their products out. 

See anything interesting - besides the cupcakes obviously?

1- Whoopie pies!  A few different flavors along the bottom shelf.  That strawberry one was definitely calling out to me, I can't wait to try it out!

2- Cake Pops!  To be honest these looked pretty much like cakes on sticks- much larger than other one-bite cake pops I've seen, haha.  But hey, not complaining!  I think this would be a cute option for customers that need some party treats, especially in a pinch.

The Bakery department graciously offered us samples of their tea cakes - these were really good, and a cute little size to boot.  At the time they had four flavors: Earl Grey, Chinese Black, Pomegranate, and Lavender.  I will definitely be picking up some of these for a snack!

 

At the end of the tour, we were offered fresh fruit, cheese, and desserts, as well as a stuffed gift bag full of goodies (above).  Lots of things I already like and new things for me to try!

Thanks again to Whole Foods for providing bloggers a chance to check out the new store before it opened-  I seriously can't wait to start shopping here soon!

Lunchtime Links for April 13th, 2011

• The Pioneer Woman: Chicken tacos.
• The Kitchn: Biscuit-filled royal wedding cake.
• Serious Eats: Earl grey and lemon cookie dough ice cream.
• Confections of a Foodie Bride: Grapefruit margaritas.
• A Passion For Food: Lady Mendl's afternoon tea.

Whole Foods Rockville Blogger Pre-Opening Tour, Part 1

Some of you might recall my posts (Part 1 and Part 2) about the then-new Whole Foods in Friendship Heights, DC; it was such a great way to check out the store right before it was officially open! 

Well, earlier this week, I had a similar opportunity- this time it was for the new Whole Foods in Rockville, MD.  I was very excited to check out the inside of the huge store!

I won't go into a ton of detail about the store (I'm assuming most of you have been inside a Whole Foods/supermarket before, haha), but I did want to post about some of the highlights of my tour:

Lots and lots of different flowers greet shoppers when they walk in the front entrance.  I loved this big display of bright colored flowers!

On our first stop at the coffee bar, we sampled a mini cup of coffee.  Not just any old cup of coffee, but a $70/lb cup of coffee.  I don't even like hot coffee but obviously I couldn't pass up this opportunity, haha.  By no means am I any sort of expert, but this coffee, even with nothing added, tasted very smooth and without that bitterness that I typically associate with coffee. 

The produce section was laid out very nicely with lots of clear signage and labeling for organic and local items.  I especially like this tropical fruits section, with hanging b-a-n-a-n-a-s! Haha.

Over in the friendly Seafood department, they have lowered the partitions so that there is more interaction between the employees and the customers.  Also, I'm sure most supermarkets do provide cleaning and preparation services, but it was nice to see the options all laid out clearly for the customers. 

Over in the Bulk section is also the Cooking Rockville section.  According to the Whole Foods info sheet we were provided, "Shoppers at the new location will be the first to experience Whole Foods Market's new Cooking Rockville department and program, which combines designated workspaces, cookbooks, cooking tools, demonstrations, and themed, seasonal menus to engage, inspire, and educate shoppers about the joy of cooking.  The Cooking area will be an inviting, warm space featuring butcher block workspaces, chalkboards, and touch-screen technology, where Cooking Coaches - Whole Foods Market team members with in-depth culinary knowledge- will help shoppers bring the passion back into cooking seasonal meals at home."

It's an interesting concept, and I'm looking forward to seeing what sort of demonstrations and events they might be having around this Cooking Rockville idea.  Also, I am finding myself more and more interested in the Bulk section, considering I am normally cooking small amounts of food, and wouldn't always want to buy a full bag/container of grains or beans just for one recipe.  

One notable feature in the Dairy section are these doors that are energy efficient and keep the cases cool without distributing all the cold air throughout the rest of the store. 

Over in the Cheese and Specialty Foods section, there's lots and lots of cheeses to choose from, yum.  I also thought this sign featuring all of the local farms and vendors was interesting- always nice to know where your food is coming from!

"Where's the Bakery???" you might be wondering.  OBVIOUSLY I would not miss out on posting about it- the rest of the store tour will be posted tomorrow! :o)


Whole Foods Rockville
11355 Woodglen Drive
Rockville, MD 20852
301.984.4880

Lunchtime Links for April 12th, 2011

• Real Housewives of Miami: Recap from TVGasm.
• Serious Eats: New Oreo flavors.
• Top Chef All-Stars: Recap from The Kitchn.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Bacon popovers.
• Top Chef All-Stars: Recap from Serious Eats.

Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's

It's that time of year again- free cone day at Ben & Jerry's!  I hope you all are able to get out to your nearby Ben & Jerry's and pick up a free scoop :o)

My personal recommendations would be Milk & Cookies (omgggahhhhsooooooooooogood) or the new Late Night Snack (mmmmm potato chips!).  Or, just try out a new flavor you've been wondering about- might as well, it's FREE!