Random Food Products That Are A Little Too Convenient (17 items)

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  (#1) Batter Blaster

  Spray whipped cream, spray cheese, and now spray... pancakes? Meet Batter Blaster - a convenient spray can of pancake and waffle batter. Batter Blaster is the brainchild of Sean O'Connor, who realized there must be a better way to put breakfast food together after he wrecked the kitchen making a waffle for his wife.

  Odd as it is, Batter Blaster captured the attention of foodies everywhere. Although the batter was undeniably convenient, the food produced by the canned mixture wasn't quite up to par with the real thing. Some critics claim the batter doesn't rise or brown like the non-canned variety, and the resulting breakfast foods are spongy and rubbery. Some compare them to the quality of frozen pancakes, though most concede that they are entirely edible. 

  Although the product spoke strongly to sweet dads who wanted to make the perfect meal for their kids, Batter Blaster went under in 2012. For better or worse, the easy pancake mix is no more. 
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  (#2) DiGiorno Pizza & Cookies

  What pairs well with frozen pizza? According to DiGiorno, an entire tray of cookies. To make your evening in even easier, DiGiorno created a combo box that included a full frozen pizza and a batch of Toll House chocolate chip cookie dough. 

  Although frozen pizza and frozen chocolate chip cookie dough are often steps away from each other at the grocery store anyway, DiGiorno felt that combining these products would result in major sales. Unfortunately, buying pizza and cookies in the same box is weirdly unappetizing, especially if you're trying to feel even a little healthy.

  The product lived a short life and is no longer available for purchase. 
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  (#3) Smucker's Uncrustables

  In order to remedy the problem of the outside of the bread, Smucker's created Uncrustables. This circular sandwich cuts out the crust and pinches the bread together at the side to create a closed pocket with filling inside. The most popular filling is peanut butter and jelly, but other Uncrustables concoctions include peanut butter and honey and a chocolate-filled hazelnut spread. 

  Uncrustables are a favorite meal for picky kids who refuse to expand their limited taste buds. It's silly, but in terms of eliminating that pesky crust, Uncrustables actually does a pretty good job.

  They're still available for purchase and are quite popular, especially for busy moms and picky kids.
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  (#4) Kellogg's Breakfast Mates

  Cereal is perhaps the easiest breakfast to whip together. You simply pour your brand of choice into a bowl, add some milk, and dig in. It doesn't get much simpler than that. However, Kellogg's decided that there was, in fact, a way to make breakfast better.

  Rather than combining separate cereal and milk, Kellogg's created a single-serving package that included cereal, milk, a plastic spoon, and a bowl that it dubbed Breakfast Mates. It was touted as a breakfast with no preparation and no cleanup. By eliminating the tiresome task of walking to the cupboard, grabbing your own bowl, and washing your dishes afterward, Kellogg's expected to create the next big thing in breakfast. 

  Unfortunately, Breakfast Mates were a flop. Since you have to individually unwrap every element of the Breakfast Mate, you don't actually save yourself any time. Most disturbing, however, was the inclusion of warm, pre-packaged milk in the cereal. The lack of fresh milk was a major turnoff for most cereal-lovers, and Breakfast Mates were discontinued only a year after they were released. 
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  (#5) Smucker's Goober Peanut Butter & Jelly Stripes

  Each jar of Smucker's Goober Grape PB&J Stripes houses both peanut butter and jelly in separate stripes that can then be used to create the perfect sandwich. 

  That's the sales pitch, but is it really so difficult to get separate jars of peanut butter and jelly? And is the convenience of a single jar worth the goopy mess the peanut-butter-jelly mixture will inevitably become?

  It must be, since this product is thriving and readily available on your local grocery store shelves. 
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  (#6) Sweet Sue Canned Whole Chicken

  Chicken in a can? That's fine. It may have an odd texture and be lacking in flavor, but if you're in a hurry, a little canned chicken will go a long way. But a whole chicken in a can? That's taking it too far. 

  In order to make your dinner as easy as possible, Sweet Sue introduced a fully cooked chicken that just so happened to slide out of a can in all its gooey glory. The ingredients are simple: chicken, water, and salt. Despite the simplicity of the meat and the receptacle it comes in, the can promises again and again that the chicken will result in a delicious meal. Sadly, anyone who has ever tasted this chicken would disagree. Not only does the chicken often amount to a very non-chicken-like blob of congealed goop when released from the can, but it also lacks any flavor or substance that might result in a genuinely delicious meal. 

  Unsurprisingly, this product was a massive failure. It's no longer sold on the Bumble Bee Foods website, though you can find your own canned chicken on Amazon, either with giblets or without. 
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  (#7) Frozen Square Scrambled Egg Patties

  As far as convenient foods go, frozen scrambled egg patties are one of the most common. It's not the most outlandish idea; eggs are a common breakfast food, so creating frozen patties that you can throw in the microwave and eat for breakfast is fairly logical.

  The problem is, to maintain their signature patty shape, the eggs need other, extra ingredients. Purchasing these frozen eggs is basically the equivalent of running through the McDonald's drive-thru in the morning. It's not the worst thing you've ever eaten, but it's far from the tastiest. They're convenient - there's no doubt about that - but is the convenience worth the rubbery texture? 
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  (#8) Candwich

  The Candwich is described as a "go anywhere, anytime" meal. It comes in a receptacle that looks like a soda can, and when you pop off the top, you can indulge in one of three fully formed sandwiches: PB&J, Chocolate Filled French Toast, or Honey BBQ.

  Surprisingly enough, the brave people who have actually tried Candwich don't have terrible things to say. To sum it all up, it's not the best sandwich in the world, but it's not as bad as you'd imagine.

  Apparently, Candwich is still chugging along, trying to make the dream of canned sandwiches a reality. However, issues with funding and the fact that no one wants to eat a sandwich from a can has resulted in quite a few road bumps that have stopped Candwich from becoming a mainstream success. 
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  (#9) Lunchables Pizza Kabobbles

  Lunchables isn't known for its gourmet meals. The brand's easy-to-use products are designed to make eating fun. They require assembly and they're oddly satisfying, especially if you're a child struggling to make your way through the school day. That being said, Lunchables took its "some assembly required" meals just a little too far with Pizza Kabobbles.

  This interesting meal features pieces of Kraft American cheese, pepperoni, and pretzel sticks. As the name implies, the diner is supposed to assemble all the ingredients into a kabob-like meal by skewering the pepperoni and cheese on a pretzel stick. There's just one problem: Pretzel sticks are not nearly durable enough to act as a lunchtime skewer, particularly if you're a hungry child lacking motor skills. The entire thing just ends in a smashed disaster of pretzels and ripped up pepperoni and cheese, none of which can possibly be that satisfying (or offer an authentic pizza taste). 

  Even though the idea behind Kabobbles is inherently flawed, they're still for sale.
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  (#10) Pizza Cones

  Pizza lovers, rejoice! You can now eat pizza anytime and anywhere through the convenience of a pizza cone. This nifty invention features a cone-shaped pizza dough that's stuffed with all kind of typical pizza ingredients. Sauce, mozzarella, and pizza crust are the staple elements, but different cones feature different flavors. 

  While the pizza cone delivers on its promise of pizza on the go, the follow through is suspect. Dripping sauce and oil are likely par for the course, and it's difficult to believe the cone won't fall apart the second you take a bite. 

  Still, despite the potential problems, this product is pretty popular. It's on sale from numerous brands, and many people swear by the simple grab-and-go technique.
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  (#11) Heinz Mayochup, Mayomust, And Mayocue

  Why use two sauces when you can simply use one? Without any kind of public demand, Heinz decided to solve the problem of individual sauces by releasing an entire line of combined sauces that will make your next sandwich-making experience even easier. 

  If you want a simple, uncomplicated combo sauce, you can stock your fridge with Mayomust, a zesty combination of mayonnaise and mustard. If mustard isn't your thing, never fear! You can also search for the ever-popular Mayochup, a combo of mayonnaise and ketchup. Lastly, Heinz released its most interesting concoction, Mayocue, which combines mayonnaise and barbecue sauce. 

  Heinz claimed it was "taking out the guesswork" in combining condiments, which can indeed be a delicate procedure, but did anyone actually ask for this? What if the proportions aren't correct? What if you like a lot of ketchup on your sandwich and only a little mayonnaise? What if you just want to combine your own ingredients? Where is the freedom of choice, Heinz?

  However, if you have no desire to choose your own flavors, all these concoctions are still available for purchase. Mayochup was released in 2018, and Mayomust and Mayocue followed just a year later.
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  (#12) Jimmy Dean's Pancakes And Sausage On A Stick

  Pancakes and sausages are both staple breakfast foods. But why would you eat them separately, as designed, when you could eat them together? Jimmy Dean's Pancakes & Sausage on a Stick meld these two foods together into one corn dog-like concoction. The sausage sits on the inside, where it's speared by a stick and wrapped in fluffy pancake batter. You can purchase the original combo or a blueberry pancake version if you want an extra dose of sweetness. 

  While it seems like these two flavors would contradict one another - the sweet and syrupy pancake versus the oily and savory sausage - Jimmy Dean avoids this problem by cooking maple syrup into the actual sausage. Is the sweet and savory combination truly a match made in heaven, or is the taste irrelevant compared to its convenience? 

  You can find out for yourself, as these corn dog-adjacent breakfast treats are still on sale.
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  (#13) Chicken Breast Rings

  Chicken breast rings actually exist. Rather than chicken tenders or nuggets, chicken breast rings turn breaded chicken into a circular form, much like that of an onion ring. 

  As far as transforming foods goes, the chicken breast rings are nothing like the original form of the chicken. They're also no more convenient than normal tenders or nuggets. They're cooked and eaten the same way, but look nothing like the natural form of the food. 

  It seems the market just couldn't support O-shaped "chicken breast patty fritters with rib meat," and these rings are no longer available for purchase.
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  (#14) Kraft Bagel-fuls

  A few years ago, Kraft did the unthinkable: The brand changed the structure of the bagel. In an effort to simplify the morning bagel routine, Kraft created bagel sticks stuffed with cream cheese. The company's tinkering resulted in a food that looks like a Hot Pocket but is supposedly perfect for an on-the-go breakfast. 

  Though convenient, the product gives consumers no control over the cream-cheese-to-bagel ratio, and also eliminates the satisfying process of spreading your topping of choice on your bagel. You can certainly eat a lot faster, but bagel-loving New Yorkers would scoff at the idea of this morning meal. 

  Although Bagel-fuls are no longer available in stores, many people swore they were the best thing they ever tasted - and even started a petition to bring them back.
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  (#15) B&M Brown Bread

  A New England favorite, B&M makes brown bread that's packaged and sold in a can. The sweet B&M Brown Bread is made from cornmeal, wheat and rye flours, and molasses. Inside its receptacle, the bread is fully cooked and ready to eat. It emerges from the can as a round loaf that can then be cut, topped with a spread of your choice, and eaten.

  As odd as bread in a can sounds, the product has quite a large following of people who eat it on a regular basis. You can probably find it at your local supermarket, right next to the B&M canned beans. 
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  (#16) Microwavable Shrink-Wrapped Potatoes

  Every lazy chef knows that cooking your baked potatoes in the microwave cuts down on the time it takes to dig into your meal. However, some brands have taken out the guesswork by selling individually shrink-wrapped potatoes at the supermarket. Sitting right next to their bare peers, the plastic-wrapped potatoes boast a slightly higher price tag and the promise of a shorter cooking time.

  However, the plastic wrap that covers the potato is not at all different than the plastic wrap you already have at home. You could easily buy regular potatoes and take an extra few seconds to wrap them yourself, saving money on the pre-wrapped spuds. You could also skip the shrink wrap altogether and simply put your potato in the microwave. It won't hold the steam as well, but it will cook thoroughly enough to be eaten. The shrink-wrapped potatoes are supposedly convenient - but are they really more convenient than wrapping the potato yourself? 

  Well, some people seem to think so, because you can still find various brands of plastic-wrapped potatoes at any grocery store. 
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  (#17) Simply Beyond Spray-On Pumpkin Spice

  Pumpkin spice isn't just for fall anymore. If you want to incorporate that flavor into your everyday life, Simply Beyond created a spray-on pumpkin spice that you can put on any food. 

  Simply Beyond already specializes in spray-on herbs and spices, and its non-aerosol can contains only natural ingredients, including canola oil, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. This can gives you the power to turn any food into a pumpkin spice masterpiece, without any cooking involved. 

  This convenient food apparently isn't too popular. It's currently out of stock on the Simply Beyond website. 

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