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Teens give Eggo Swirlz three stars

Lorie Hutson

Back-to-school season for some families means back to breakfast on the run.

Eggo’s new breakfast pastries might be worth adding to the freezer – but only for emergencies. The Eggo BakeShop Swirlz received a three-star rating from teens during tasting panels at the journalism camps held at The Spokesman-Review this summer. The pastries were prepared according to the package instructions and the product name and price were not revealed until after they were finished tasting.

A few people gushed about the Swirlz, which have cinnamon or strawberry filling and icing baked inside. The pastries cook in the toaster.

“Amazing!” wrote Chloe Rambo, of Oaksdale High School. “It’s like the baby of a cinnamon roll and a waffle.”

Ksienya Langlois, of Mary Walker High School in Springdale, agreed. “Very good. Seriously, it’s like … an explosion of tastiness in your mouth. Yum.”

Lucas Brown, a Lewis and Clark High School student, had to get past the plate presentation. “Yummy and sweet. Does not look the most appealing, but it tastes good. It is not too rich.”

Others complained that the pastries were too sweet, too stuffed with filling, too artificial tasting and too packed with calories (among other things). One taster said, “If you cross a Pop Tart with a pancake, you can’t expect something good.”

Mead High School student Jackson Marchant covered most of those concerns in his comments about the pastries.

“What is the white stuff? Tastes mediocre. Too sweet and sugary. Not very healthy,” he wrote.

Emily Stephens, also a Mead student, said the pastries were too sweet for morning fare. “Too much filling. Also, it tastes very artificial. It would be disgusting first thing in the morning.”

Elizabeth Noonan, a third Mead taster, agreed, “Sweet inside, crust tastes as bland as cardboard. Not very filling as a breakfast meal…Too many calories.”

Many didn’t like the strawberry filling, saying it tasted artificial and too sweet. Kate Gibson of the Oaks Classical Christian Academy had a suggestion, “Make your own pancake and put strawberries on it.”

Eggo BakeShop Swirlz, Cinnamon

Price: $2.99 for 13.3 ounces, 6 pastries

Nutrition per serving, 1 pastry: 150 calories, 3 grams fat (1 gram saturated, 18 percent fat calories), 2 grams protein, 27 grams carbohydrate, 10 milligrams cholesterol, less than 1 gram dietary fiber, 270 milligrams sodium.

Taste: • • •

Value: • • •

Comments: “Toasty on the outside, but gooey in the middle. Not very good.” – Laura Arpin

“This has a cinnamon-ish taste. It was good, but I doubt I would eat it all the time. I would only eat it every so often.” – Rachel Perrier

“It looks like a flattened version of a cinnamon roll, with less cinnamon. It’s not my favorite breakfast though.” – Erica Mundell-McGilvray

Eggo BakeShop Swirlz, Strawberry

Price: $2.99 for 13.3 ounces, 6 pastries

Nutrition per serving, 1 pastry: 140 calories, 3 grams fat (1 gram saturated, 19 percent fat calories), 3 grams protein, 27 grams carbohydrate, 10 milligrams cholesterol, less than 1 gram dietary fiber, 270 milligrams sodium.

Taste: • • •

Value: • • •

Comments: “A little too much filling. Great, besides the first wave of overwhelming flavor.” –Sydney Weber

“Pretty sweet. Tastes like dessert.” – Natalie Pilgeram

“It tastes like someone put some gushers in the microwave and then put it in their French toast. Not a big fan.” – Clancy Magnuson

Products sampled by The Spokesman-Review’s reader food panel are prepared according to package directions. Panelists are not aware of a product’s brand name or price until after they have tasted it. Products are rated from one to five stars for taste and for value, based on quality compared to price.