Tag: Cereal

REVIEW: Kellogg’s Little Debbie Cosmic Brownie Cereal

Heather 3 Comments

Kellogg s Little Debbie Cosmic Brownie Cereal Box

What is Kellogg’s Little Debbie Cosmic Brownie Cereal?

It seems like everything is getting a reboot these days. Maybe it’s your favorite old movie, maybe it’s a nostalgic toy… or maybe, just maybe, it’s a beloved childhood treat. If you’re excited for option three, then we have news for you. Little Debbie, maker of the classic Cosmic Brownies, is teaming up with Kellogg’s on a new Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies cereal. It’s mini brownie squares complete with rainbow pieces to look like the original.

How is it?

Kellogg s Little Debbie Cosmic Brownie Cereal Brownie

As I opened the bag, I first noted this: If you were conducting a blind sniff test, I’d think this was a bag of Cocoa Puffs. It’s a strong whiff of chocolate. Now, obviously, I had to buy a box of the original Cosmic Brownies for true comparison. (I was surprised to find out that my husband had NEVER tried the brownies, which makes me wonder how sad his sack lunches were growing up…) I tried the brownie and immediately followed it with the cereal.

While the texture of the actual brownie is very fudgy and soft, what you’re getting here is a standard, crunchy cereal that feels like anything else you find on grocery shelves. You might as well close your eyes and play eeny, meeny, miny, mo with a handful of chocolate-based cereals, and you wouldn’t know this was supposed to mimic the brownie.

Kellogg s Little Debbie Cosmic Brownie Cereal Closeup

I noticed a strong cocoa taste that is sweet without being TOO sweet, which I liked. The nutrition facts back it up – only 14 grams of sugar in a serving. Sadly, the rainbow pieces are so small that they added no impact or flavor to the cereal.

In terms of rating – while it doesn’t taste exactly like the original brownie, it still tasted pretty good for a fun cereal. I knocked points off for the comparison, but not for the taste alone when you separate that concept.

Anything else you need to know?

Kellogg s Little Debbie Cosmic Brownie Cereal Spoon

Definitely add milk if you do want it to have any semblance to the brownie. A splash of milk helps soften the cereal and bring out the fudgier taste I was desiring. Unfortunately, the flavor stayed mostly with the cereal, so the milk at the bottom of the bowl ended up being not very chocolatey.

Conclusion:

If you like chocolate cereal, Kellogg’s Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies is worth a try. But if you’re coming for a replica of the original, you might be disappointed.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free product sample from Kellogg’s. Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 8.2 oz box
Purchased at: Received from Kellogg’s
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (per 1 1/3 cup) 150 calories, 2 grams of total fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 140 milligrams of sodium, 31 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 14 grams of total sugars, and 3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Nestle Sensations Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cinnamilk

Dustin 16 Comments

Nestle Sensations Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cinnamilk Bottle

As a Cinnamon Toast Crunch fan, I feel a personal obligation to try new foods that utilize its flavor. I have previously reviewed two Cinnamon Toast Crunch-themed items here. The ice cream was spot-on, but the creamer was a major let-down.

With the release of the new Nestle Sensations Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cinnamilk, I wondered which end of the spectrum it would land on. The concept seems straightforward: a drink that should taste like the milk from a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Nestle Sensations Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cinnamilk Out of Bottle

I poured some of it into a glass and was immediately disheartened. It seemed quite thick. There are no visible cinnamon specks in the drink. I gave it a quick whiff and was able to detect faint traces of the spice.

I took a swig of it and found the consistency to be immediately off-putting. It was considerably thicker than expected. It is akin to the texture of nutritional drinks, like Ensure. If you have ever been lucky enough to try one of those, you know that it is not the most pleasant experience.

Nestle Sensations Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cinnamilk Top

The cinnamon flavoring is quite underwhelming. It was much milder than the milk from a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. There was another underlying flavor that I could not quite put my finger on. Nestle may have been going for a “cereal” taste in the milk. Unfortunately, because I thought of nutritional drinks, I kept perceiving that flavor. It is not necessarily offensive, but it screams artificiality.

My initial plan for this review was to pour Cinnamilk over a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and double-up on the cinnamon-y goodness. It isn’t good enough to do that, though. I did not want to waste a bowl of cereal.

I am not a food scientist, clearly. However, I cannot understand why Nestle did not use real cinnamon in this beverage. This was the same problem that plagued the coffee creamer. If this had actual cinnamon or even a more prevalent cinnamon flavor, I could have overlooked the unpleasant consistency. For me, Cinnamilk completely missed the mark. Store-bought horchata tastes more like Cinnamon Toast Crunch milk, and that does not even contain dairy.

Purchased Price: $1.68
Size: 14 fl. oz. bottle
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 bottle) 260 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 20 milligrams of cholesterol, 190 milligrams of sodium, 41 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 39 grams of sugar, and 14 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Kellogg’s Special K Blueberry Cereal (2021)

Marvo 10 Comments

Kellogg s Special K Blueberry Cereal 2021 Box

If you’re a Special K cereal historian (there’s has to be one in the world), you’ve probably interjected while reading the title of this review with the declaration that there was a previous Special K Blueberry Cereal.

That was probably followed up with you saying how the older version had blueberry bits in the flakes with oat and blueberry clusters mixed in.

And you probably waved your spoon in the air angrily and uttered something about Special K Blueberry with Lemon Clusters. But we don’t have time for a long history lesson because I have to declare to everyone that THIS new Kellogg’s Special K Blueberry Cereal is my favorite Special K cereal ever, my special Special K cereal, okay.

The concept is simple, and it follows a lot of other current Special K varieties. It combines the brand’s not-so-special-looking crunchy wheat and rice flakes with freeze-dried fruit. I haven’t had EVERY Special K variety with fruit, but I’ve had most, and this one stands out in my mind.

Kellogg s Special K Blueberry Cereal 2021 Closeup

With real blueberries, the cereal has a natural fruity flavor. Although, it appears my box didn’t get a whole lot of them. But here’s a cool blue thing about this cereal — yeah, there could’ve been more freeze-dried berries, but even when there aren’t any on my spoon, what I put into my mouth has a noticeable berry flavor.

I imagine the Japanese train occupancy at rush hour closeness that the cereal experiences before it’s opened for consumption causes a lot of rubbing against each other, which allows a little bit of blueberry flavor to end up on every crispy flake. While Japanese trains at rush hour are unpleasant, this part of a complete breakfast isn’t.

I didn’t try the previous version of Special K Blueberry Cereal, so I can’t compare. But let’s not remember that past. Let’s think about the future, which involves me eating more of this.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free product sample from Kellogg’s. Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 11.6 oz box
Purchased at: Received from Kellogg’s
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup w/o milk) 150 calories, 0.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 230 milligrams of sodium, 36 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar (11 grams of added sugar), and 3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Kellogg’s Special Edition Krave Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cereal

Ann 4 Comments

Kellogg s Special Edition Krave Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cereal Box

What is Kellogg’s Krave Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cereal?

Well, it’s NOT Krave cereal stuffed full of cookie dough so, sigh that breath of disappointment now. You probably should have been able to figure that out from looking at the box, though, so I’m not going to let you mope about it for very long. This new special edition Krave cereal has a cookie dough flavored outside and the signature chocolate inside that Krave enthusiasts, uh, crave.

Kellogg s Special Edition Krave Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cereal 2

How is it?

For a cereal to attempt to be cookie dough in a world where there are literally cereals made of tiny little cookies is pretty brave, Krave. The sugar saturated air that escapes when you open the box is familiar, expected, and isn’t unlike cookie dough aroma. The little cereal pieces themselves have tiny chocolate freckles on the outside sugar coating, which is unique to this flavor and appreciated by this reviewer for the appetite appeal when trying to convince me that this tastes like cookie dough.

Kellogg s Special Edition Krave Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cereal 3

Trying the cereal plain, the crunchy pieces are definitely chocolatey, and the sweet sugar coating adds a different flavor, but it’s not overwhelmingly cookie dough-like. The biggest challenge is that the taste of cookie dough goes hand in hand with the texture of cookie dough. These cereal pieces are yummy, but I’m not getting very much of the raw flour, raw vanilla, gooey butter flavors of cookie dough.

Kellogg s Special Edition Krave Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cereal 4

How is it with milk, though?

It’s a pretty remarkably different experience when you eat this with milk. The cereal buoys take on milk like a sponge, and the texture shift makes each bite so much closer to the texture of cookie dough. The flavor is still not spot on, but there are hints of eggy doughy notes that come through. Like most Krave cereals, it’s sort of a race to eat it before the whole bowl turns to one amalgam of soft, but who isn’t up for a speed challenge in the morning, right?

Kellogg s Special Edition Krave Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cereal 5

Kellogg s Special Edition Krave Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cereal 2

Anything else you need to know?

Upon reviewing a cross-section, I’m sure it’s no shock that the chocolate insides definitely don’t “ooze” out of the cereal the way the image on the box depicts. Maybe if you microwaved it? Don’t do that.

Conclusion:

All in all, I’m more convinced than ever that the taste profile of cookie dough is elusive and complex. This special edition Krave is grasping at straws trying to hit that flavor if you eat it dry. But try it with milk and I think most people will think to themselves, “Yeah, okay, sure,” while merrily gobbling down these sugar nuggets.

Purchased Price: $3.79
Size: 16.7 oz box
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 5 out of 10 (dry), 7 out of 10 (with milk)
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup dry) 170 Calories, 4 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 135 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 16 grams of sugar (includes 15 grams of added sugar), and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Kellogg’s Frosted Mini Wheats Cinnamon Roll Cereal

Marvo 2 Comments

Kellogg s Frosted Mini Wheats Cinnamon Roll Cereal Box

What is Kellogg’s Frosted Mini Wheats Cinnamon Roll Cereal?

It’s a cinnamon roll-flavored version of Kellogg’s Frosted Mini Wheats, which I’ve always thought looks like what children would use, frosting side down, in their dioramas to depict hay bales.

Kellogg s Frosted Mini Wheats Cinnamon Roll Cereal Flashback

This not Frosted Mini Wheats’ first cinnamon roll-deo when it comes to this flavor. There was Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats Cinnamon Roll Little Bites cereal back in 2012 when “Mini-Wheats” had a hyphen.

How is it?

Kellogg s Frosted Mini Wheats Cinnamon Roll Cereal Frosting

There’s real cinnamon baked into every cereal piece, but that one warm spice layer has to compete with ten crunchy, flavor-muting golden wheat layers. That ratio gives the cereal a mild cinnamon flavor.

Kellogg s Frosted Mini Wheats Cinnamon Roll Cereal Box Back

(Side note: I didn’t know Frosted Mini Wheats pieces have ten wheat layers until I read this box. An image on the box’s back shows the layers, but I couldn’t accurately determine the individual layers. So it’s the only back-of-the-cereal-box puzzle I’ve been unable to solve.)

Kellogg s Frosted Mini Wheats Cinnamon Roll Cereal Wet

While the cinnamon goodness is light when the cereal is eaten dry, it’s even more so after the wheat pillows get soaked with milk. The vanilla flavor from the Silk soy milk I use stands out more than the spice. As for the frosting, I was hoping it would have, perhaps, a slight cream cheese tang, but it tastes like the same stuff on all the other Frosted Mini Wheats.

Anything else you need to know?

A 25-biscuit serving has 47 grams of whole grain goodness and 7 grams of fiber. But you probably could’ve guessed that by looking at all ten whole grain layers.

Frosted Mini Wheats will NEVER be a beautiful cereal. Every single variety looks the same. Instagrammable? No. But, Instadigestable? Yes. Just kidding. It’s not at all Instadigestable because its fiber will slow down digestion.

Conclusion:

I loved the previously mentioned Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats Cinnamon Roll Little Bites, but I’m less enamored with this newer version. It’s an adequate dry snack, but not so much when eating it with milk.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free sample of the product. Doing so did not influence my review in any way.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 14.3 oz box
Purchased at: Received from Kellogg’s
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (25 biscuits w/o milk) 210 calories, 1 gram of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 10 milligrams of sodium, 50 grams of carbohydrates, 7 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar (including 12 grams of added sugar), and 5 grams of protein.