Junk Food Nation, I didn’t really get a chance to talk about it yesterday, but I was in FULL SPORTS GEEKOUT MODE ALL WEEKEND.  I mean, I really was insufferable.  The Junk Food Gal definitely saw an even more extreme sports side of me than ever before.  Let’s recap:

1. KC vs. INDY: I mean, c’mon.  I left Kisling’s Tavern in Baltimore, home of the best wings in the area, with the Chief’s leading by a billion points, only to see Andrew Luck mount the greatest comeback in playoff history when I got back to my room?? Head explosion level: 7 out of 10.
2. NO vs. PHI: Two finesse teams just hammering at each other in an ugly game.  Just a brutal game to watch.  Marching down the field for a last second FG to win? Head explosion level: 5 out of 10.
3. SD vs. INDY CINCY: GOOD LORD, turnover city.  As my buddy Mike texted, not a good day for gingers.  BTW, at this point, I had picked all three playoff games wrong.  Head explosion level: 3 out of 10 (starting to become numb to the defeat of it all).
4. SF vs. GB: My most amped up game.  I was determined to not go 0-4, even though I had no control over anything I was watching.  The Junk Food Gal stared at my quizzically as I shouted “RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN” at Colin K. on that 3rd-and-7.   Last minute FG meant head explosion level: 8 out of 10 (afterwards, I was like, “my heart…my heart!”)
5. Last night, FSU vs. Auburn.  Not ONLY was it an effing LONG game (finished past midnight??) and I was freezing my nuts off trying to watch this thing (C’MON RADIATORS…WORK!), but ESPN had AMAZING coverage from three-four different channels and online.  If I wanted, I could hear the separate school radio feeds online. The icing was the megacast on ESPN News where I just listened and watched OTHER coaches watch the game and comment on it during (SPORTS GEEKINESS TO THE HIGHEST LEVEL I LOVED IT OMG).  Oh yeah, and there was also a 100-yd kickoff return and two additional TDs in the last 4:30 minutes of the game.  HOLY EFF.

The past 72 hours were sports nirvana…and we’ll do it all over again, come Saturday.

C’mon, I can’t be the ONLY sports fan out there who just GEEKED. OUT. all weekend?  Tell me how you survived in the comments below, or how your predictions fared.

Today’s junk food: New Cheez-It Zesty Cheddar Ranch Grooves!

New Cheez-It Zesty Cheddar Ranch Grooves: The Money Shot

New Cheez-It Zesty Cheddar Ranch Grooves were purchased the same time I got the White Cheddar variety, reviewed yesterday.  Zesty Cheddar Ranch, huh?  I dunno – I’m sometimes wary of the combo of cheese and ranch…I feel like they throwing each other off sometimes.  Especially the sharpness of cheddar and the tanginess of ranch?  Sometimes those get muddled.  But, I’m not one to turn down a new flavor, so let’s dig in.

New Cheez-It Zesty Cheddar Ranch Grooves: Chips and Crackers, living together!

New Cheez-It Zesty Cheddar Ranch Grooves has a green speckled look – presumably those represent the herbs you find in ranch dressing.  As I mentioned yesterday, this appears to be Cheez-Its foray into the cracker chip arena.

I don’t know why I get weirded out by cheese and ranch.  I’m clearly fine with cheese and sour cream…hmmm.  Dunno.

New Cheez-It Zesty Cheddar Ranch Grooves: 130 cal per serving

New Cheez-It Zesty Cheddar Ranch Grooves: chedda chedda chedda

New Cheez-It Zesty Cheddar Ranch Grooves: speckled in green

This box of New Cheez-It Zesty Cheddar Ranch Grooves didn’t smell like much.  As shown on the box, the cracker chips were orange, thin, and speckled with green flakes of…something.  Also, again almost NO crackers were broken – almost all of them were pristine, flat squares with a nice ripple to them.  They were THINNER than normal Cheez-Its.

New Cheez-It Zesty Cheddar Ranch Grooves: visible herbage

When I licked one of these New Cheez-It Zesty Cheddar Ranch Grooves, I got a really tasty flavor, but I’m not sure it was quite ranch.  It was creamy and tangy, but I didn’t get that classic buttermilk ranch flavor I was used to.  I mainly tasted creamy tanginess in addition to onion powder and garlic powder.

The crackers themselves were nice and crispy, but they also didn’t taste as cheesy as I would’ve liked.  Because the cracker was thinner, it felt like less cheese was baked into the cracker itself, as compared to a normal Cheez-It.  Yesterday’s White Cheddar variety compensated for this by upping the cheese powder, and maybe that’s where this one went wrong.  The powder had to be both cheddar AND ranch, and like I suspected, the flavors got a little muddled.

What I tasted when I chewed these was a thin crispy/crunchy cracker that was slightly cheesy in flavor and had a slight tangy creamy taste.  It tasted fine, it tasted good, but packed no real punch for me, and didn’t live up to what I thought a “Zesty Cheddar Ranch” would taste like.  Good savory taste.  Nice creaminess. Good crunch.  That’s it.

Sure, I’d eat these again – but I’ll buy the White Cheddar ones 10 out of 10 times, if presented the option.

PURCHASED AT: Walmart

COST: $2.88 on sale

Thoughts? Please comment below or hit me up on Twitter @junkfoodguy or LIKE my Facebook Page and message me there. I also have Google+!! Let’s hang out.

Sincerely,

Junk Food Guy