Tag: Cereal

REVIEW: Cheerios Oat Crunch Oats ‘N Honey Cereal

Meghan 4 Comments

Cheerios Oat Crunch Oats N Honey Cereal

What is Cheerios Oat Crunch Oats ‘N Honey?

Debuting as the second member of the brand’s Oat Crunch family of cereals, Cheerios Oat Crunch Oats ‘N Honey features honey-sweetened clusters of multigrain Cheerios and whole-grain oats.

How is it?

One thing’s for sure – General Mills really nailed the crunch factor here! I personally have never found regular Cheerios to be particularly lacking in the texture department, but this variation definitely has an edge in terms of crunchiness. It’s not quite on the level of Cap’n Crunch, but it’s certainly got enough heft to it that holds up well in milk.

Cheerios Oat Crunch Oats N Honey Cereal Dry

The oats are bound to the Cheerios themselves using a delicious coating of sugar and honey. This causes the formation of little cereal and oat clusters that have a striking similarity to granola, making this perfect for topping yogurt.

Cheerios Oat Crunch Oats N Honey Cereal Milk

Taste-wise, Cheerios Oat Crunch Oats ‘N Honey isn’t much to write home about. It’s much more muted than its cinnamon sister cereal, but still not bad in its own right. It comes across as notably less sweet than Honey Nut Cheerios, which I found rather odd considering both variations have about as much sugar as one another on a gram-per-gram basis. But that’s part of what makes it a great option if you’re in the market for a hardier breakfast that’s not going to cause a 10 a.m. sugar crash.

Is there anything else you need to know?

Calorie counters should remain conscious of their portion size here since this cereal’s similarities with granola don’t end with its consistency. A single serving of this has more than twice the calories and fat than most other members of the Cheerios family, and it’s way too easy to power through two or three servings in a single bowl.

Conclusion:

If you’re in the market for a cereal to hold you over until lunch, or if you’re looking for something a little more wholesome to top off parfaits, I’d say to give Cheerios Oat Crunch Oats ‘N Honey a shot. If nothing else, you can always use it as an excellent base for homemade trail mix.

Purchased Price: $3.99
Size: 15.2 oz box
Purchased at: Food Lion
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup) 230 calories, 5 grams of total fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 230 milligrams of sodium, 42 grams of total carbohydrates, 4 grams of dietary fiber, 15 grams of total sugars, 15 grams of added sugars, and 4 grams of protein.

REVIEW: General Mills Jolly Rancher Cereal

Mike 2 Comments

General Mills Jolly Rancher Cereal

What is Jolly Rancher Cereal?

Regular readers of The Impulsive Buy will have noticed in recent years the bounty of breakfast cereals based on other sweet confections. Whether it be Twinkies, Pop-Tarts, or Dippin’ Dots, there seems to be no limit to manufactures’ desire to rebrand known properties into something that will fit in a bowl.

The latest is General Mills’ Jolly Rancher Cereal. A hard candy doesn’t seem like a natural candidate to convert to breakfast time (we get these before Ding Dong or Ho Hos cereal?), but let’s see if The Big G can move these from the office candy bowl to the kitchen cereal bowl.

How is it?

General Mills Jolly Rancher Cereal Dry

Upon opening, I can tell these are going to be more than a rebranded Trix. There’s a tangy scent that I’ve never encountered in a cereal before. I pour a measured 36 gram portion into my bowl and am once again disappointed at how small a suggested serving of cereal is.

General Mills Jolly Rancher Cereal Wet

As I pour in the milk, I notice that the cereal pieces are more pillow-shaped than the spherical pieces on the front of the box. The flavor has some of the tang I detected, and that really works to remind me of the cereal’s candy namesake. Each different fruit piece has a distinct flavor, though you can’t really tell in a mixed spoon. The green apple has an especially nice green apple flavor.

Is there anything else you need to know?

I have to admit I’ve never really cared for the original Jolly Rancher candy. It’s amazing how they manage to take an ordinary flavory like “cherry” and make it taste just a little bit weird, like the manufacture gave free rein to the guy who designed the artificial watermelon flavor.

Still, I have to admit this cereal somewhat won me over. Most fruit cereals only manage to be overly sweet and generically “fruity.” These manage to offer a more distinct fruit flavor, at least if you manage to get a spoonful of a single flavor. Which I did. Multiple times. Because I live a full and interesting life.

Conclusion:

I’m not going to wake up excited to have my bowl of Jolly Ranchers, but it’s a good option if you’re looking to change things up. I have a feeling that we’re at peak novelty cereal, so I don’t know how long these will last on store shelves. Give them a try.

Purchased Price: $3.64
Size: 18.7 oz. box
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (36 grams) 140 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 160 milligrams of sodium, 31 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Nestle Coffee-mate Cinnamon Toast Crunch Creamer

Dustin 3 Comments

Nestle Coffee mate Cinnamon Toast Crunch Creamer

Cinnamon Toast Crunch is, hands down, my favorite cereal. Enjoying a bowl of it can immediately transport me back to more carefree days. When I saw Nestle’s Coffee-mate had launched a new Cinnamon Toast Crunch coffee creamer, I could barely contain my excitement.

In the past, I’ve taken leftover milk from a bowl of CTC and poured it into my coffee. While it’s decent, it leaves a lot to be desired. I prefer cream in my coffee, so that little amalgam is a bit too thin for my taste.

I fantasized about how great it would taste in my cup of joe. I was hoping for a creamer that perfectly captured the essence of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. At the very least, I thought it would maybe taste like horchata (try it if you haven’t), which would be fantastic.

Nestle Coffee mate Cinnamon Toast Crunch Creamer Itself

I poured some of the creamer into a glass to try it straight-up first. There were no visible specs of cinnamon in it. “This is troubling,” I thought to myself. It smelled faintly of French toast. French toast typically has cinnamon, so I figured this was a good sign.

Alone, it tastes like a standard sweetened coffee creamer, but with a minuscule hint of cinnamon. There was no verifiable CTC flavor. It definitely didn’t have a horchata flavor either.

Nestle Coffee mate Cinnamon Toast Crunch Creamer Coffee

In coffee, it had the same effect. It made it creamier and sweeter, as is to be expected. But I could barely taste the cinnamon. If I had not known what I was drinking, there’s no way I could have guessed this was supposed to taste like Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I don’t think I could have even surmised that it was cinnamon flavored. I have had generic, store-brand cinnamon coffee creamers that taste more like my beloved cereal than this.

I feel like this would have been such an easy flavor to nail. I can’t figure out how they missed the mark so dramatically.

I’ll have to stick with pouring leftover cereal milk in my coffee for now. If I’m feeling particularly desperate, I suppose I could eat the cereal with half and half, so that the remnants make a real Cinnamon Toast Crunch creamer. I know that’s excessive, but it’s a better option than this liquid disappointment.

Purchased Price: $3.79
Size: 32 fl. oz. bottle
Purchased at: Fry’s
Rating: 4 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 tbsp) 35 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 5 milligrams of sodium, 5 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Yoplait Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Trix Smoothies

Ann 1 Comment

Yoplait Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Trix Smoothies

What are Yoplait Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Trix Smoothies?

More cereal-themed crossovers! This time, yogurt drinks! Actually, no, technically this time “cultured dairy beverage”! YUM!

With all these branded crossovers, 2020 has me wondering, are cereal brands and candy brands the consumer goods version of The Avengers? Is this the year we get so fully inundated by crossovers that the only remaining option is an Endgame-style product that contains them all? Did I just make such a weakly constructed comic reference that caused half of you to angry? POSSIBLY!??

How are they?

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Yoplait Trix Smoothies

The Trix smoothie is remarkably close in flavor to its cereal counterpart. I suppose we have the magic of modern flavor technology to thank for that. Although it LOOKS like a glass full of Pepto Bismol (maybe there’s a fun April Fools trick buried in there somewhere), the smoothie has a pleasant strawberry lemon fruity flavor and an enjoyable Trixmilk after taste.

The tangy cultured yogurt works really well with the fruit flavors, in my opinion. The texture is smooth, creamy, and very drinkable. My only qualm is that its so sweet you’d think you were gulping down Trix-flavored frosting.

Yoplait Cinnamon Toast Crunch Smoothie

The Cinnamon Toast Crunch beverage smells exactly like opening a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal and has delightful little visible specs of cinnamon. I’m also a sucker for the psycho/adorable cinnamon toast square cartoon characters the brand has adopted recently.

The flavor isn’t as strong in cinnamon as I would have expected, and because of that, I don’t think it matches the cereal flavor as well as the Trix version does. This one is sort of like a yogurt horchata. There’s a stronger, blander, vanilla yogurt taste.

Is there anything else you need to know?

SHOOGAARR!!!

Both smoothies are surprisingly tasty. However, each drink has nearly double the sugar as a serving of their cereal counterpart. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to sugar guilt anybody. I just think I’d rather have a double serving of either cereal than drink one of these smoothies again. Maybe if you like, can’t chew things and still want to taste your favorite cereals? Yeah, that works.

Conclusion:

These drinks were, for the most part, accurate in flavor, but incredibly sweet. They’re certain to give you a sugar rush, which might be what you’re looking for to propel you into 2020 and the inevitable cereal flavor mashups we have left ahead of us to taste.

Purchased Price: $4.99 each
Size: 4 – 7 fl oz bottles
Purchased at: Mariano’s (owned by Kroger)
Rating: 5 out of 10 (Trix), 4 out of 10 (Cinnamon Toast Crunch)
Nutrition Facts: (1 smoothie) Trix – 160 calories, 3 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 115 milligrams of sodium, 27 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 22 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein. Cinnamon Toast Crunch – 160 calories, 3 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 115 milligrams of sodium, 27 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 22 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein.

REVIEW: General Mills Cocoa Puffs with Lucky Charms Marshmallows Cereal

Mark

Cocoa Puffs with Lucky Charms Marshmallows Cereal

What is Cocoa Puffs with Lucky Charms Marshmallows Cereal?

If you are the kind of person who reads this blog, you know exactly what this cereal is. It’s standard Cocoa Puffs — chocolatey corn spheres — with colored marshmallow bits shaped like hearts, shooting stars, horseshoes, clover hats, moons, unicorns, and balloons.

How is it?

Cocoa Puffs with Lucky Charms Marshmallows Cereal Bowl

Not once when I ate Cocoa Puffs (or more commonly Coco Roos, the Malt-O-Meal knockoff) did I ever think to myself, “This would be better with marshmallows.” The oat cereal of regular Lucky Charms is a little bland and needs the extra sweetness and textural contrast, but Cocoa Puffs are sweet and enjoyable on their own. Also, we already have Chocolate Lucky Charms.

Luckily (ha!), the marshmallows don’t have any negative effect on Cocoa Puffs (except nutrition-wise).

Lucky Charms are the gold standard of cereal marbits: they aren’t too crunchy, and they get softer in milk. So they aren’t too distracting here. But they also don’t greatly enhance the experience.

I did a side-by-side comparison with Chocolate Lucky Charms, and I thought CLC was better. That might have been the texture more than anything, because the ingredients and nutrition facts are very similar.

Is there anything else you need to know?

Cocoa Puffs with Lucky Charms Marshmallows Cereal Milk

I must say, I can’t think of any cereal that leaves behind a better-tasting milk than Cocoa Puffs. It almost seems like drinking regular chocolate milk, and the leftover milk might be my favorite part of the whole bowl. It’s even better than what Chocolate Lucky Charms leave behind.

Conclusion:

Lucky the Leprechaun’s marshmallow charms are an acceptable, but unnecessary, addition to classic Cocoa Puffs. 

Purchased Price: $5.98
Size: 2 lb. 3 oz. bag
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup) 140 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 125 milligrams of sodium, 31 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 12 grams of sugar (including 12 grams of added sugar), and 2 grams of protein.