REVIEW: Nestle Sensations Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cinnamilk

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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)

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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

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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

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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.

REVIEW: General Mills Dunkaroos Cereal

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General Mills Dunkaroos Cereal 1

What is Dunkaroos Cereal?

Remember Dunkaroos – the 90s-era Lunchables, Dessert Edition? Yeah, yeah, they’re back – we know. And they’re cookie dough. Now they’re cereal – for those who weren’t already eating them for breakfast.

Dunkaroos cereal is a slight twist on Cookie Crisp cereal – the same form factor and around the same size – which makes sense since they’re both made by General Mills.

General Mills Dunkaroos Cereal 2

How is it?

The aroma in the bag was pure vanilla. Strong. They looked similar to the Birthday Cake Cookie Crisp limited edition cereal, but sprinklier. The colors of the Dunkaroos sprinkles were more intense and the pieces were absolutely doused in them. We were headed in the right direction!

General Mills Dunkaroos Cereal 3

I nibbled it dry – my favorite way. The biggest flavor was FROSTING! It captured that deeply sugary vanilla-with-a-hint-of-cream-cheese Dunkaroos frosting. I didn’t get any shortbread cookie flavor, which was disappointing, but I got over it. A sprinklific frosting cereal is a win – I won’t split hairs.

General Mills Dunkaroos Cereal 4

The flavor was maintained and the cereal physically held up well in milk, which I appreciated. I can’t abide breakfast foods that go bland and fall apart before making it to my mouth. I can barely function in the mornings and one of us has to hold it together. It’s gotta be you, cereal. Dunkaroos also scored well on the post-game milk analysis. It was a festive confetti-bomb in my bowl, and the milk had a tinge of light blue.

General Mills Dunkaroos Cereal 5

Anything else you need to know?

Kids can get a pop culture history lesson on the back of the box! Adults can feel like a history lesson! Yeah, we used disposable cameras in 1992. We had patience. It took weeks, or months, to use all that film and get it developed. By then, you had no memory of taking the photos at the top of the roll. The 90s slang quiz is depressing if you, like me, didn’t realize these phrases had gone out of fashion. There are few situations in life that “all that and a bag of chips” won’t work in.

General Mills Dunkaroos Cereal 6

Conclusion:

If you were in the Dunkaroos game for the shortbread, you might not like this cereal. But who was in it for the shortbread?? This cereal was all frosting and sprinkles – it cut to the chase. If you love/loved Dunkaroos, give it a try. Make the youngsters learn about rewinding video tapes – it’s a metaphor for common decency.

Purchased Price: $3.64
Size: 20.6oz Family-Size box
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup, cereal only) 150 calories, 1 gram of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 160 milligrams of sodium, 35 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 14 grams of sugar, including 14 grams of added sugars, and 2 grams of protein.