Tag: Cereal

REVIEW: Kellogg’s Vanilla Almond Raisin Bran Crunch Cereal

Vin 1 Comment

Kellogg s Vanilla Almond Raisin Bran Crunch Cereal

What is Kellogg’s Vanilla Almond Raisin Bran Crunch Cereal?

The ol’ vet Raisin Bran has introduced a new flavor to its far superior “Crunch” line – Vanilla Almond Raisin Bran Crunch.

How is it?

Literally any addition to Raisin Bran – a workman-like cereal base – is a good thing, so vanilla and almond certainly fit the bill.

Here’s the deal though, they’re not enough to truly separate this from regular Raisin Bran.

Kellogg s Vanilla Almond Raisin Bran Crunch Cereal Milk

I couldn’t even tell where the soft vanilla was being piped in, but I think the bran flakes had a sweet coating, which would be a good call. We’re talking about a bran flake here. It’s basically medicine to help old people [redacted].

This is a food review!

Giving the flakes a little more flavor was the right move. The clusters however were severely lacking. I guess I expected hearty Honey Bunches of Oats-type chunks but only got sporadic bits. They should’ve just attached the little wooden almond shavings to the clusters and make them seem bigger, because this was a real cluster[redacted].

This is a family site!

Kellogg s Vanilla Almond Raisin Bran Crunch Cereal Spoon

I wish the raisins had a coating, but Raisins are raisins. They’ve always been a nice textural counterbalance to the flakes, so expect no different.

Is there anything else you need to know?

They skimp on everything except flakes. Granted, the scoops of raisins probably sunk to the bottom of my box, but for this bowl I reviewed, I didn’t get a good ratio. I bet the last bowl will be 75% raisins.

I coulda used some artificial almond flavor if I’m being honest. A nice little “amaretto” punch would have improved this cereal a lot.

Conclusion:

Kellogg s Vanilla Almond Raisin Bran Crunch Cereal Bowl

Look, Raisin Bran is a decent start to the day. It’s fulfilling. It’s “healthy,” but it’s still just a step above oatmeal on the Boring Breakfast Scale™.

This is just ok, but probably a good alternative to the barrage of new cereals that seem like they were created by Pixie Stick-addled 6th graders.

Purchased Price: $3.99
Size: 15.8 oz.
Purchased at: Shop Rite
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup w/o milk) 190 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 170 milligrams of sodium, 44 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, 16 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Kellogg’s Limited Edition Froot Loops Birthday Cake Cereal

Meghan 2 Comments

Kellogg s Limited Edition Froot Loops Birthday Cake Cereal

What is Kellogg’s Froot Loops Birthday Cake Cereal?

Proudly serving as a fruity-smelling part of balanced breakfasts since 1963, Froot Loops has recently expanded beyond its usual selection of nonspecifically fruity breakfast cereals by releasing its new Strawberry Birthday Cake flavor, which, per the back of the box, promises to give the best that Kellogg’s has to offer in every bite.

How is it?

Kellogg s Limited Edition Froot Loops Birthday Cake Cereal 2

This certainly isn’t the best looking cereal Kellogg’s has to offer. Surprisingly pallid in comparison to the original, this cereal appears better suited for a funeral than any other celebration. Like many birthday cake-inspired cereals, each piece sports cute little sprinkles, but not nearly enough to stand out unless you examine them under a magnifying glass.

Kellogg s Limited Edition Froot Loops Birthday Cake Cereal 3

Similar to their depressing appearance, these Loops flop on the flavor front. In contrast to the nondescript yellow cake flavor often implemented by other cereals, this early morning sugar bomb attempted to remain true to its fruit-forward roots by utilizing strawberry cake as its inspiration. Since strawberry is a more definable flavor than “fruity” is, it’s too bad a negligible amount of strawberry flavor comes though here. It’s detectable, but not very strong, and certainly not distinct enough for someone to immediately think of strawberries while eating this.

Is there anything else you should know?

I take issue with these being specified to taste like Strawberry Birthday Cake. I may not be able to speak for everyone, but who considers strawberry as the flavor of choice for such celebratory cakes? Yellow cake is served at birthday parties. Save the strawberry cakes for summer barbeques.

Conclusion:

Kellogg s Limited Edition Froot Loops Birthday Cake Cereal 4

As an uglier, less flavorful take on a timeless classic, there’s no reason for Birthday Cake Froot Loops to exist. It’s only too bad this dud of a cereal didn’t sport a dodo as its mascot, because it’ll probably go the same way as them in a few months.

Purchased Price: $2.50
Purchased at: Food Lion
Size: 10.1 oz.
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts:: (1 1/3 cup) 150 calories, 1.5 grams of total fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 0 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 200 milligrams of sodium, 34 grams of total carbohydrates, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 13 grams of total sugars, 12 grams of added sugars, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Kellogg’s Krave Cereal Cinnamon Crunch and Strawberry Crunch

Adam 10 Comments

Kellogg s Cinnamon Crunch Krave Cereal

I give Kellogg’s a lot of credit with Krave. In an era when new cereal concepts barely last a year, the British import has stuck around with surprising popularity, much like The Office except without the musical exploits of Creed Bratton.

I credit this to a few things, one of which is the decision to add “more chocolate” to Krave. I’m old enough to remember when you’d bite into a cereal biscuit only to get—more biscuit. Today’s original and Double Chocolate Krave avoid the dreaded hollow biscuit, a trend that continues in the two newest additions to the Krave family -— Cinnamon Crunch and Strawberry Crunch.

Why the “Crunch” in their titles? I couldn’t tell you. The Krave Biscuits share the sub-optimal snacking qualities of their forbearers, each with a delicate, crumbly texture that sogs and saturates in milk.

Kellogg s Cinnamon Crunch Krave Cereal 3

When I was younger and less at risk for a whole host of health problems associated with excessive empty carbohydrate intake, I thought it was taboo to combine assertive flavors like cinnamon and chocolate in cereal. Turns out, the two are hardly fish and cheese, and Cinnamon Crunch Krave turns out the very best in the seemingly symbiotic relationship of cocoa and cassia.

Kellogg s Cinnamon Crunch Krave Cereal 4

A strong churros flavor coats each square, with a lickable, stick-to-your-beard sugary coating blooming into an admirable chocolate taste. In milk, this only gets better. What ensues is a flavor similar to Chocolate Toast Crunch but the chocolate is more concentrated. It is, unexpectedly, one of the better chocolate cereals I’ve had in recent memory.

Kellogg s Strawberry Crunch Krave Cereal

Strawberry Crunch Krave didn’t score as high. The strawberry powder tastes… interesting, which is about as cliché and proverbial as it gets but is nevertheless the most apt description. Overall, it has a kind of toasted sugar taste that doesn’t quite match the succulent and slightly tart sweetness of actual strawberries. It’s also noticeably artificial, much like the sticky granules that covered the short-lived Strawberry Tiny Toast cereal of a few years ago.

Kellogg s Strawberry Crunch Krave Cereal 4

Those hoping for some Neapolitan synergy sans vanilla will be disappointed; even in chilled Vitamin D fortified whole milk, the richness that makes strawberry and chocolate an actual thing is MIA. The chocolate competes with the strawberry powder, combining for two disjointed tastes that never come together in the classic Valentine’s Day combination. The cereal isn’t bad, but it’s a relative letdown.

As seems to be the case with many cereals released in pairs, Kellogg’s has at least one winner among its new Krave varieties. And, while Strawberry Crunch will probably win a few niche fans who were deprived actual fresh fruit as children, my gut feeling is that Cinnamon Crunch will take its rightful place on the shelves next to the other varieties. And, like an offbeat British sitcom, it might just stick around for more than a few years.

Purchased Price: $3.64 (each)
Size: 17.3 oz. box
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 8 out of 10 (Cinnamon Crunch)
Rating: 5 out of 10 (Strawberry Crunch)
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup w/o milk) 180 calories, 6 grams of fat, 1 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 160 milligrams of sodium, 30 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 14 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: General Mills Mermaid Cereal

Marvo 5 Comments

General Mills Mermaid Cereal

Last year, Kellogg’s trotted out a limited edition Unicorn Cereal. With unicorn off the board, the Big G didn’t want to be left out of the mythical creature cereal category, so here we are with Mermaid Cereal.

There’s no universal consensus to what unicorn products should taste like, but the same can’t be said about mermaid products. All brands that have come out with mermaid food products seem to agree that they should not taste fishy. According to the box, this cereal is naturally fruit flavored sweetened corn puffs with other natural flavors.

Two different pieces swim in the box — pink-colored stars and green-colored mermaid tails. I don’t know if I’ve watched The Little Mermaid, Splash, or the 18th episode of season two of Snorks, “The Littlest Mermaid,” too many times, but it’s a little unnerving to me to be eating mermaid tails. I can almost hear the underwater screams in my head with every chew.

General Mills Mermaid Cereal Closeup

The sizes of the pieces are a lot smaller than I thought they’d be. I know the image on the front of the box is enlarged to show detail, but it skewed my perception of how big they would be. They’re less puffier than most corn puff cereals that I’ve eaten before. I also thought, at first glance, the green pieces were marshmallows. As someone who loves cereal marshmallows, I’m a bit disappointed they’re not.

The flavor of the brightly colored pieces remind me of Trix, but more like Trix Lite, if that existed. So if you want to trick the Trix Rabbit, blindfold him, tell him you’re feeding him Trix, but feed him this. It’s fruity flavored, so he won’t know.

And if you’re super evil, when he takes off his blindfold, laugh like Kawhi Leonard in his face, show him it’s Mermaid Cereal, then say, “Silly rabbit! Trix are for kids!,” and then hand him a carrot.

Mermaid Cereal is an average fruity cereal. It tastes fine and stays crunchy in milk for a decent amount of time, but doesn’t leave behind a fruity milk. There’s nothing mythical, mysterious, or magical about it.

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

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 11.4 oz. box
Purchased at: Received from General Mills
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup w/o milk) 150 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 170 milligrams of sodium, 34 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Peanut Butter Chex Cereal

Marvo 4 Comments

Peanut Butter Chex Cereal

Almost all of my Chex Cereal consumption involves it being in a Chex mix, whether it’s homemade, prepackaged by the folks at General Mills, or purchased at a bake sale to support a school, club, church, or a club at a school that’s affiliated with a church.

Also, since I’m being honest about my Chex eating habits, I’m that guy who picks out the Chex cereal in mixes, leaving behind pretzel, nuts, bagel chips, and a mystery of who the hell ate all the Chex pieces.

It’s rare that I find myself buying a box of Chex to eat in a bowl with milk using a spoon. But here we are with my blood moon buy, Peanut Butter Chex Cereal, a flavor variety I thought General Mills already checked off, I mean, Chex-ed off.

Peanut Butter Chex Cereal Closeup

Its flavor isn’t close to being as bold as last year’s Nutter Butter Cereal, but it does smell like a peanut butter cookie. When eaten dry, it has a surprisingly striking peanut butter taste with a little saltiness, which is probably thanks to the fact there’s real peanut butter in it. But let me set your expectations by saying to think of it as a diet Nutter Butter Cereal. Also, some of the flavor is lost when eaten with milk, but not enough to make my taste buds do a double take and think they’re eating plain Corn Chex.

Like with most Chex cereal, it shouldn’t wade in milk for too long or else the soggies will get to it. But even if you do, don’t assume the milk will turn all peanut buttery. It doesn’t.

Post rocked my world with its Nutter Butter Cereal. I wrote in my review, “it’s the best peanut butter cereal I’ve ever had.” I also have an equally bold statement to say about Peanut Butter Chex — it’s the only Chex Cereal flavor I could see myself eating in a bowl with milk on a regular basis.

Mic drop.

DISCLOSURE: General Mills sent me a free sample to review (Thanks, Big G!). But I didn’t know Big G was sending one to me, so I bought a box before getting said sample. Getting a free box did not influence my review in any way.

Purchased Price: $3.89
Size: 12.2 oz. box
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup w/o milk) 170 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 270 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 9 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.