Tag: Cereal

REVIEW: Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Lucky Charms Soft Baked Bars

Marvo 2 Comments

Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Lucky Charms Soft Baked Bars Boxes

What are Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Lucky Charms Soft Baked Bars?

They feature the flavors of General Mills’ most popular cereals, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Lucky Charms (sorry, Raisin Nut Bran), but in soft baked bar form. The CTC one features a cinnamon swirl, while the Lucky Charms one is a marshmallow chip blondie.

How are they?

How I feel about the Cinnamon Toast Crunch bars can be explained by looking at the anthropomorphic cereal piece on the box. No, not the one sticking out its tongue, which would make it seem like I think they’re gross. I’m talking about the one with a smile on its face. Although, my face is less euphoric.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Soft Baked Bars Closeup

The cinnamon swirl is more like cinnamon sections planted generously throughout the bar. They have a mild, sweet flavor and a streusel-like crunch. Oh, and if you were wondering, the icing doesn’t taste like milk. But even though there’s a pleasant flavor and a bit of a crunch, the bars don’t remind me of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. Don’t get me wrong, they have a nice flavor, but they also taste like other pastries that use the warm spice.

As for the Lucky Charms version, its flavor tastes like the cereal’s marshmallows because there are actual Lucky Charms marbits baked into them.

Lucky Charms Soft Baked Bars Closeup

Unfortunately, because they’re baked, the shaped marbits’ have melted into color blobs, and their usual crunchy texture has turned into something much softer. I mean, they’re not soggy as if they were sitting in milk for half an hour, but they’re soft enough that they end up being the same texture as the cake that surrounds them. Thankfully, there’s no oat cereal flavor.

According to the ingredients, the bars also contain confectionary chips, but they’re soft and unrecognizable like the marshmallows.

Anything else you need to know?

I can’t get the image of Fiber One bars out of my head when I look at these because they have the same shape and icing pattern as Fiber One Brownies and Soft-Baked Bars. Of course, the similarities make sense since they’re also made by General Mills.

If you’re wondering, these don’t contain much fiber. But maybe there’s a Big G Cereals and Fiber One mashup in our fiber futures.

Conclusion:

Both Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Lucky Charms Soft Baked Bars are pleasant treats that I’d eat again. But I wish the CTC variety reminded me of the cereal as much as the Lucky Charms one did. And I wish the Lucky Charms bars had a bit of crunch like the CTC bars did.

DISCLOSURE: I received free samples of the products. Thanks, General Mills! Doing so did not influence my thoughts about them.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 4.92 oz box/6 bars
Purchased at: Received from General Mills
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Cinnamon Toast Crunch), 7 out of 10 (Lucky Charms)
Nutrition Facts: (1 bar) Cinnamon Toast Crunch – 90 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 75 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and less than 1 gram of protein. Lucky Charms – 100 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 75 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and less than 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops Cereal Bars (2020)

Marvo 9 Comments

Kellogg s Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops Cereal Bars Boxes

What are Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops Cereal Bars?

They’re not the Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops Cereal & Milk Bars that were available years ago that I thought were still around. But if you’re not familiar with cereal bars, the concept has been the same throughout the years. Cereal pieces are coated in corn syrup (or some other sticky ingredient) that allows them to stick together. Then their bottoms are dipped in a sweet confection.

According to Kellogg’s, the amount of cereal in each bar equals a half serving of cereal (by weight).

How are they?

Kellogg s Frosted Flakes Cereal Bar

The Frosted Flakes one, oddly, doesn’t instantly remind me of Frosted Flakes. Although, the original Frosted Flakes Cereal & Milk Bars also apparently didn’t taste like the cereal. My first bite reminded me of a sugar cone, but I couldn’t replicate that flavor with subsequent tastes.

The combination of the frosting on the corn flakes, corn syrup, and the white confection at the bottom of every bar make these taste sugar-heavy. I imagine it’s what Xtreme Frosted Flakes would taste like. It’s hard for the corn flakes’ flavor to come through. Occasionally it does, and when that happens, the bar tastes more like Frosted Flakes. But for the most part, it’s hard to pinpoint these as Frosted Flakes bars.

Kellogg s Froot Loops Cereal Bar

Fortunately, that’s not the case with the Froot Loops version. When I opened the wrapper, I expected a toucan to land on my shoulder and say, “I followed my nose” because the aroma of eau de parfroot filled my nostrils. And, with every bite, there’s no mistaking these are made with the iconic fruity cereal.

But the bars are a bit more fragile than the Frosted Flakes one. I imagine that’s the case because they’re made with loops instead of flakes, which means less surface area to allow the corn syrup to its job. Speaking of the corn syrup coating, it might’ve also softened the cereal loops ever so slightly, which didn’t happen with the corn flakes.

Kellogg s Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops Cereal Bars Bottom

Anything else you need to know?

Along with these 6-count boxes, the bars are also available in 18- and 36-count offerings.

Conclusion:

Both bars are sweet, tasty, portable, and convenient ways to consume these iconic parts of a complete breakfast. But because it’s hard to tell the Frosted Flakes version is made with Tony’s cereal with all the sugar components, I have to say I enjoy the Froot Loops one more. That’s a bit odd for me to say since I prefer Frosted Flakes over Froot Loops when it comes to breakfast cereal.

DISCLOSURE: I received free samples of the products. (Thanks, Kellogg’s!) Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 6 bars
Purchased at: Received from Kellogg’s (available now at retailers nationwide)
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Frosted Flakes), 7 out of 10 (Froot Loops)
Nutrition Facts: (1 bar) Frosted Flakes – 100 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 90 milligrams of sodium, 17 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and less than 1 gram of protein. Froot Loops – 90 calories, 3 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 50 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and less than 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Multi Grain Cheerios with Real Strawberries Cereal

Holly 6 Comments

Multi Grain Cheerios with Real Strawberries Cereal Box

What is Multi Grain Cheerios with Real Strawberries Cereal?

As we gear up for New Year Resolution season, General Mills is coming in hot with a new version of the popular Multi Grain Cheerios. This variety of the 5 grain, lightly sweetened cereal includes bits of real (freeze-dried) strawberries.

Multi Grain Cheerios with Real Strawberries Cereal Back of Box

How is it?

As a larger person who grew up in the 90s, I am no stranger to the boom that happened in the category of “diet cereal.” I vaguely remember when General Mills introduced Multi Grain Cheerios, but we weren’t a cereal family, so I don’t recall ever having it. That being said, I was interested in trying this variety. I’m a fan of Special K with Red Berries (strawberries) and was curious how this would stand up to that.

Multi Grain Cheerios with Real Strawberries Cereal Bowl

Upon the first sniff, it smelled like…well, really nothing. However, the overall taste was quite good. The oat and grain flavor of the cereal itself is perfectly serviceable (albeit a little bland), but the added fruity sweetness of the strawberry pieces made the flavor far less boring.

Multi Grain Cheerios with Real Strawberries Cereal Pieces

Speaking of the strawberry pieces, they were small enough to blend well with the familiar O-shaped cereal that allowed for an even distribution of flavor in each spoonful. Oftentimes with cereals that have extra elements, the ratio tends to be off. But in this case, they were perfectly balanced; just enough strawberry in every bite.

Multi Grain Cheerios with Real Strawberries Cereal Milk

My only real complaint would be that, by the time the strawberries rehydrated, the cereal itself was far soggier than I personally care for. Letting the strawberries rehydrate in the milk certainly makes their flavor much more pronounced, so it was almost worth the trade-off.

Anything else you need to know?

According to the General Mills website, these are a permanent addition to the Multi Grain Cheerios line. The nutritional stats of this and the original Multi Grain Cheerios are almost exactly the same.

Conclusion:

Multi Grain Cheerios with Real Strawberries Cereal Spoon

If you are looking for a new cereal to add to your morning rotation or possibly to get a kick start on those resolutions, this feels like a good option. It’s nice to see a little variety with this line. If this sells well, it could potentially lead to more Multi Grain Cheerios flavors. Fingers crossed for the return of the Berry Burst Triple Berry Cheerios under the Multi Grain brand.

Purchased Price: $4.99
Size: 11.5 oz box
Purchased at: Winn-Dixie
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 1/3 cup) 140 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 110 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Kellogg’s Eggo Chocolate Waffle Cereal

Vin 3 Comments

Kellogg s Eggo Chocolate Waffle Cereal Box

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve had a waffle-flavored cereal.

Ok, it’s actually been a couple lukewarm-at-best decades.

If you don’t count French Toast Crunch, which had a similar flavor profile, I’m positive I haven’t had a waffle cereal since the very first iteration of Waffle Crisp way back in 1996, aka “the Before Times.”

While I’ve wanted to give Eggo Cereals (and that insane Post Chicken & Waffles abomination) a try, I never got around to it. When I heard Kellogg was releasing a chocolate version, I had to put an end to my 24-year waffle cereal drought.

Kellogg s Eggo Chocolate Waffle Cereal Back

I approached Chocolate Eggo Waffle Cereal with the hopes it would maybe blend the promised chocolate with something like a maple syrup accent. I like most chocolate cereals enough, but they usually leave me feeling like I just had another bowl of Cocoa Puffs. I think a good chocolate cereal needs a co-star.

So, does this have a co-star in the form of maple?

No. No, it really doesn’t. This is pretty much just another Cocoa Puffs clone.

Which isn’t to say it’s bad. I’m not quite cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, but it’s still a classic breakfast cereal. I’m just bummed to say these really don’t break the waffled mold.

They exist in a taste range between Count Chocula’s cereal pieces and Cocoa Puffs. It’s not a super wide range, but there’s just slightly enough to separate each chocolate cereal from the other.

Kellogg s Eggo Chocolate Waffle Cereal Milked

The fun little waffle-shaped pieces are lightly dusted with a sugary coating that I kept trying to convince myself was maple, because it should be. I just don’t think it is.

I want to tell you they taste like genuine waffles, but when was the last time you even had a chocolate waffle? Chocolate chips, maybe, but straight chocolate? Even if these attempted to “taste” like a waffle, the chocolate was always gonna overpower that.

I will say the texture was perfect, but that’s probably because of it being fresh on shelves. Despite having a similar shape to Honeycomb, they aren’t quite as soft, but they also aren’t as pebbly as Cocoa Puffs can be. They maintained a nice outer ring of crunch as the center developed a manageable sog.

There’s a sweet chocolate milk afterburn as you’d expect, and they smell like brownie batter, so there are still plenty of positives. They also make a nice dry snack.

I’m still just mildly baffled about the choice to not include a maple-like flavor.

Kellogg s Eggo Chocolate Waffle Cereal Box Bowl

How many more straight chocolate cereals do we really need? There are already the tried-and-true classics, and we basically get a new one every couple of months. At least these aren’t as dreadful as the Hershey Kisses cereal I picked up a few months back. I thought those were pure trash.

I say pick these up if they’re on sale. Otherwise, I think they’re safe to “Leggo.” They’re good, but nothing revolutionary.

Purchased Price: $3.88
Size: 8.8 oz.
Purchased at: Shop Rite
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 1/4 Cup) 170 calories, 3 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 160 milligrams of sodium, 35 grams of total carbohydrates, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 15 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Kellogg’s Chex Green Onion Cereal (South Korea)

Rachel 4 Comments

Kellogg s Chex Green Onion 1

What is Kellogg’s Chex Green Onion Cereal?

Kellogg’s started cranking out a green-onion-flavored Chex cereal this summer and every snackochist (I’m trying to make this word a thing – pass it on) across the globe sat up and took notice. Why? Why? WHY?

Kellogg s Chex Green Onion 2

Blame it on 2004. Kellogg’s launched a cute marketing contest in South Korea to decide whether its next flavor would be the safe but predictable chocolate or the unimaginable yet intriguing green onion. It ended up producing the chocolate Chex, but circled back 16 years later to give green onion a shot.

It sounded horrific. I HAD to try it.

Kellogg s Chex Green Onion 3

How is it?

The aroma inside the box was like a sour cream & onion potato chip. The cereal pieces had a shiny glaze. I popped a few in my mouth for a dry run. They were…not bad! The onion was more subtle than I expected. The glaze was slightly sweet. It was a surprisingly good combo. It gave me hope. If we could, as a planet, make this work, we could do anything! I proceeded to gather milk and spoon for a real trial…

But, when the milk came in, everything went off the rails. I only managed to swallow four pieces of cereal. The combination of onion, sugar and milk was revolting. I have no idea what the science of this was, but somehow the milk amplified the onion and the flavors did NOT mesh. It was as disgusting as the Spicy Chicken Wing Oreo Cookies, but without the greasy mouth feel.

Kellogg s Chex Green Onion 4

I was shocked that I was shocked because this is the least shocking outcome, right? We all knew this would happen, yet here I was, looking like someone had just peed in my Green Onion Chex cereal.

Anything else you need to know?

Since these were pretty good when eaten dry, I ventured to make Chex Mix with it. Here, the Green Onion Chex was a welcome and rather unique addition. The onion flavor blended seamlessly and the hint of sweetness added a nice change of pace from the other savory notes.

Kellogg s Chex Green Onion 5

Conclusion:

Eat it dry. Make it into Chex Mix, but for the love of all that is good in the universe, do not eat this cereal in milk. This year has been bad enough, only one of us should have that experience.

Purchased Price: $25.19 (on sale) + free shipping
Size: 350 gram box
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 7 out of 10 (dry), 1 out of 10 (with milk)
Nutrition Facts: (30 gram serving) 115 calories, 0.81 grams of fat, 0.15 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 150 milligrams of sodium, 24.6 grams of carbohydrates, 8.7 grams of sugar, and 2.4 grams of protein.