Today is National Eggnog Day (12/24)

With today being National Eggnog Day, I thought it would be fitting to point out a wonderful local farm making some of the most incredible milk products around.  If you haven't heard of Danzeisen Dairy, then you are missing out.  They make a wide variety of flavors: 2%, 1%, skim, chocolate, strawberry, orange, root beer, and cold brew coffee.  They recently made their last batch of seasonal eggnog for the season so supplies are surely limited.

P.S. If you are wondering whether to buy the Orange Cream milk...

Find a store near you that carries their products:  http://www.danzeisendairy.com/#stores

Burger King Introduces 10 New Menu Items

Since officially falling behind Wendy's for the first time and becoming the nation's #3 burger chain, Burger King is hoping stem the tide and reverse course.  In what's described as the chain's biggest expansion since it began in 1953, Burger King is now offering 10 new menu items.  The new items include the following:

• Garden Fresh Salads: BLT, Apple and Cranberry or classic Caesar Salad varieties are made fresh to-order, premium ingredients and topped with a choice of TENDERCRISP^® or TENDERGRILL^® chicken (suggested retail price starts at $4.99).
• Chicken Snack Wraps: Honey Mustard Crispy Chicken Snack Wrap and the Ranch Crispy Chicken Snack Wrap are flavorful snack options with less than 400 calories each (suggested retail price of $1.59).
• Real Fruit Smoothies: Tropical Mango and Strawberry Banana smoothies are made with low-fat yogurt, real fruit and juices, providing a full serving of fruit (suggested retail price of $2.29).
• Frappés: Mocha and Caramel flavors are made-to-order with a hint of coffee and ice, topped with whipped topping and a swirl of fudge or caramel (suggested retail price of $2.29).
• Crispy Chicken Strips: Premium Crispy Chicken Strips are made with white meat tenderloin chicken, marinated and lightly battered in seasoned home-style breading, served in three- or five-piece servings and perfect for dipping in one of our classic or bold new sauces, such as new Kung Pao and Roasted Jalapeño Barbecue sauces (suggested retail price starts at $2.99).

Many of you are probably thinking a lot of the new items above sound very similar to offerings at McDonald's, but Burger King has addressed that:

"Burger King doesn’t deny that its new chicken strips, caramel frappe coffees, Caesar salads and strawberry-banana smoothies sound pretty close to those on McDonald’s popular menu. But executives say the company came up with them through its research...'Consumers wanted more choices,' said Steve Wiborg, president of Burger King’s North America operations. 'Not just healthy choices, but choices they could get at the competition.'"

The AZFoodDude's only question is, did Burger King's research go a little something like this?

Cold Stone & Baskin-Robbins Roll Out New Items

Locally headquartered in Scottsdale, Cold Stone Creamery is now offering five new yogurt based items for a limited time.  The first three are part of the Yogurt Creations line and the last two are Yogurt Shakes:

• Strawberry Crumble- Dreamy Vanilla Yogurt mixed with juicy Strawberries and Graham Cracker Pie Crust
• Chocolate Banana Indulgence- Gratifying Chocolate Yogurt mixed with fresh Bananas and rich Fudge
• Berries Upon Berries- Luscious Raspberry Yogurt mixed with sweet Strawberries and Blueberries
• Shake Them Berries- Divine Vanilla Yogurt blended with sweet, juicy Strawberries, Raspberries and Blueberries
• Powered By Chocolate- Enticing Chocolate Yogurt blended with rich Fudge

Meanwhile, Baskin-Robbins is celebrating March Madness with their 3-Point Chocolate Ice Cream which is made of "chocolate flavored ice cream with a salty caramel ribbon and orange-colored caramel pretzel balls."  Only around until the end of the month, the 3-Point Chocolate can be ordered in sundae form:

The 3-Point Chocolate Sundae is also available all month long as a decadent combination of 3-Point Chocolate ice cream, hot fudge, Reese’s® Peanut Butter Sauce, crushed Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and whipped cream.

Check the links for nutritional information at Cold Stone Creamery and Baskin-Robbins.

Dairy Queen's Orange Julius Opens in Peoria

Coming on the heels of their opening in Tempe, Orange Julius has opened another location at 10100 W. Lake Pleasant Parkway #1320, Peoria, AZ 85383.  If you've never been to an Orange Julius, you can check out the menu focusing on fruit beverages and smoothies here, but also of note, from the press release: 

The DQ Orange Julius store in Peoria features DQ favorites, such as the iconic Blizzard Treats, MooLatte frozen coffee-flavored beverages, Blizzard Cakes and a wide variety of other soft-serve items, as well as the full line of Orange Julius premium fruit smoothies and fruit-blended beverages.

While known for their original Orange Julius, currently, the smoothie of the month is the Strawberry Delight Light Smoothie, which is made of strawberry and banana, a nonfat dairy blend and Splenda brand sweetener.

The location is open Sunday - Thursday from 10:30am to 10:30pm and 10:30am to 11:30pm on Fridays and Saturdays.

Dairy Queen's Orange Julius Opens in Tempe

Yesterday at the Arizona Mills Mall at 5000 S. Arizona Mills Cir. Tempe, AZ 85282, Dairy Queen's Orange Julius opened their 14th location in the state.  If you've never been to an Orange Julius, you can check out the menu focusing on fruit beverages and smoothies here, but also of note, from the press release:

The location offers all of the amazing Dairy Queen soft-serve treats and cakes as well as Orange Julius products including an array of fruit beverages and smoothies. In addition, the store also will serve Dairy Queen signature Iron Grilled Sandwiches as well as hot dogs.

While known for their original Orange Julius, currently, the smoothie of the month is the Strawberry Delight Light Smoothie, which is made of strawberry and banana, a nonfat dairy blend and Splenda brand sweetener.

The location is open Monday - Saturday from 10am to 9:30pm and 11am to 7pm on Sundays.

Dairy Queen's January Blizzard of the Month - Strawberry CheeseQuake

In December, Dairy Queen gave us the very appropriate Candy Cane Chill Blizzard, for January however, Dairy Queen is offering the Strawberry CheeseQuake as the Blizzard of the Month.  The Strawberry CheeseQuake Blizzard is composed of "Real chunks of rich cheesecake and strawberries blended with creamy vanilla soft serve."

If you are wondering, a medium size Strawberry CheeseQuake Blizzard has 690 calories, 28 grams of fat, 15 grams of protein and 72 grams of sugar.

Carl's Jr. Tests Hardee's Made From Scratch Biscuits in Tucson

This press release from Carl's Jr. went out at the beginning of the month, but it has just come to the AZFoodDude's attention that the folks of Tucson have been part of a test by Carl's Jr.  Carl's Jr. is offering Hardee's Made From Scratch Biscuits starting at $1.69, including:

...the Sausage, Egg & Cheese Biscuit, the Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit and the Ham, Egg & Cheese Biscuit. Guests can order any biscuit in a combo with Hash Brown Nuggets and Coffee, Orange Juice or a soft drink starting at $2.99. For diners who can’t make up their minds, there is the aptly named Monster Biscuit, featuring egg, sausage, bacon, ham and two pieces of cheese between a fluffy buttermilk biscuit. A Southern favorite, Biscuit ’N’ Gravy is also offered, as is a sweet Strawberry Biscuit. Prices may vary by location. Biscuits are only available during breakfast hours.

Since Carl's Jr. is only in the testing phase of this roll out, no nutritional information is yet available on their website.  However, three of the six items are listed on the Hardee's menu:

Monster Biscuit - 640 calories, 44 grams of fat and 30 grams of protein
Bacon, Egg & Cheese - 400 calories, 25 grams of fat and 15 grams of protein
Biscuit 'N' Gravy - 410 calories, 23 grams of fat and 9 grams of protein

McDonald's Introduces Mango Pineapple Smoothie

Today was the nationwide debut of the Mango Pineapple Smoothie at McDonald's. This comes just weeks after the Frozen Strawberry Lemonade was added to the beverage lineup. According to CNBC:

The move is part of McDonald's efforts to remake itself as a hip, healthy place to eat, aiming to draw in customers who might otherwise go to Starbucks. The world's largest burger chain first introduced smoothies last summer, offering strawberry banana and wild berry.

If you want to try one, maybe a buy one get free coupon would interest you? The coupon is good for any size Frozen Strawberry Lemonade, Frappe or Real Fruit Smoothie.

UPDATE (6-28-11): Much like the Frozen Strawberry Lemonade samples, McDonald's will be giving away free 5 oz. samples of the Mango Pineapple Smoothie from Thursday, June 30 to Sunday, July 3.

Dunkin' Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Roll Out Captain America Treats

On Monday, June 27, Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins will begin offering multiple new Captain America themed treats. Let's start with Dunkin' Donuts, which has four new items:

Dunkin’ Donuts has expanded its popular line of icy cool Coolatta beverages with the introduction of a new Captain America Coolatta drink, a cherry-flavored frozen beverage. The new Coolatta drink will be available in a special limited-edition collectible First Avenger Tri-Cup, an innovative three-chamber cup featuring images of Captain America that allows guests to enjoy three different Coolatta flavors (8 oz. each) within the same cup. Joining Dunkin’ Donuts’ famous lineup of donut varieties is the brand’s first-ever star-shaped donut, the Captain America Donut, filled with jelly, frosted with vanilla icing, and topped with patriotic red, white and blue sprinkles, as well as the Stars & Stripes Donut, frosted with red icing and topped with patriotic red, white and blue sprinkles.

Next, Baskin-Robbins will also have four new items:

Baskin-Robbins...is featuring an assortment of ice cream refreshments including July Flavor of the Month Super-Soldier Swirl, vanilla ice cream swirled with a combo of blue chocolate chips and a cherry flavored ribbon. Guests can also succumb to the power of chocolate with a Hydra Force Sundae, Chocolate Mousse Royale ice cream that is chock full of brownies, hot fudge, and whipped cream topped off with chocolate sprinkles and a cherry, or dive into the Super-Soldier Sundae, Super-Soldier Swirl ice cream topped with moist white cake, and a rich strawberry topping (add whipped cream, a cherry, and star-spangled sprinkles for a flavorful patriotic salute). Lastly, the Captain America Ice Cream Cake, inspired by Captain America’s signature shield, is classic sheet cake customized with your favorite ice cream and cake flavors along with a collectable Captain America Cake Topper.

 Captain America: The First Avenger will come to theaters on Friday, July 22.

Cinnabon's New Summer Treats

Until September 3rd, you will be able to get the new Creamy ReTreat at Cinnabon. The Creamy ReTreat is composed of "Oreo cookies, a hint of vanilla and ribbons of Ghirardelli chocolate sauce." The Creamy ReTreat is also being described as a "cream-based vanilla drink with the lighter texture of a shake...more like a smoothie."

Along with this, new at Cinnabon are three flavors of cream cheese frosting. The flavors are raspberry, orange and strawberry and they are recommended for many of Cinnabon's snack options.

The Creamy ReTreat and frosting flavors come in addition to Cinnabon's Tangy ReTreats and Fruity ReTreats which are described by NRN this way:

The Tangy ReTreat is a low-fat, dairy-free frozen blended lemonade, which is available in lemon, raspberry and orange-mango flavors and served with Cinnabon-flavored syrup swirls. The Fruity ReTreat is an existing line of fruit-puree blended beverages in strawberry, strawberry-banana and tropical blast flavors.

You can find your nearest Cinnabon here.

IHOP at HOME Now in Stores

Last month, IHOP delivered the first installments of their brand new line of IHOP at HOME frozen meals to Walmart stores across the nation. Among the items you can buy:

"Omelet Crispers: featuring scrambled eggs, potatoes and a choice of cheddar cheese, cheddar cheese and sausage or cheddar cheese and bacon in a crispy coating. 

French Toast Stuffed Pastries include golden, fluffy French toast pastries filled with either strawberry, sweet cream cheese, apple and cinnamon or strawberry cream cheese filling. 

The Griddle n' Sausage Wrap boasts a breakfast sausage covered in buttermilk pancake batter with a hint of maple syrup."

If you're interested, IHOP has put together a site for the new line where you can search for the nearest Walmart Supercenter carrying the items.

Jamba Juice Launches Three New Beverages

Last week, Jamba Juice rolled out three new drinks using coconut water. Jamba Juice describes the three new drinks this way:

"Purely Pineapple is a thirst quenching blend of pineapple juice, pineapple sherbet, coconut water, peaches and ice. Strawberry Lemonade is a tart and fruity blend of strawberries, lemonade, coconut water, lime sherbet, sorbet and ice. Tropical Mango is an icy-cold, refreshing blend of mangos, passion-mango juice, coconut water, pineapple sherbet, orange sherbet and ice."  Jamba Juice will provide a special trial offer on Sixteen size Fruit Refreshers for just $2 at participating Jamba Juice locations (coupon required)

Also of note, through Wednesday, June 8th, Jamba Juice will be offering any of the above mentioned Fruit Refreshers in their Sixteen size for $2 with this printable coupon. To find your nearest Jamba Juice, check here.

New Strawberry Banana Shake at Fatburger

Beginning this weekend (5/27), Fatburger is bringing out a new Strawberry Banana Shake. The only announcement of the new shake came from Fatburger's Twitter page where they released this photo. Made with real ice cream and whipped cream on top, the shake will only be around for a limited time. Check here to see the locations of the six Fatburger restaurants operating in Arizona.

Wendy's New Berry Almond Chicken Salad

With a wide variety of 11 different greens, the new Berry Almond Chicken Salad is described this way in the Wendy's press release:

"The Berry Almond Chicken Salad features fresh, tangy, plump blueberries; fresh California strawberries; California almonds roasted with sea salt; shaved Asiago cheese; and a warm grilled chicken breast. Topping it off is delicious yet fat-free raspberry vinaigrette dressing, including the nutrient-rich juice of the acai berry." 

Coming in at 450 calories, including the 100 calories from the dressing, the Berry Almond Chicken Salad, with all of its fruit and grilled chicken, looks to be one of the more healthy items you can find on fast food menus.

Free McCafe Frozen Strawberry Lemonade 5/12-5/15

Previously talked about here by the AZFoodDude, starting Thursday, May 12th to Sunday, May 15th, local Arizona McDonald's will be giving out free samples of their new McCafe Frozen Strawberry Lemonade.  Supposedly the free samples are 5-ounces. Local television advertising does not stipulate any hours for this promotion so I am led to believe it is an all day event through and until Sunday.

New: McCafe Frozen Strawberry Lemonade

Sometimes the AZFoodDude forgets he's the AZFoodDude.  Here is an example. You might have seen McDonald's has a new item, the McCafe Frozen Strawberry Lemonade.  I tried this a little over a week ago and enjoyed it quite a bit. I must have enjoyed it so much I subconsciously wanted to keep it all to myself.  Being that as the case, here is my quick review, just for you. It was good...really good. I'd recommend it to a friend. I'd even tell a friend about the $1 off coupon you can print out at the McDonald's website for it.