Tag: Kellogg’s

Update: We also tried the Cinnamon French Toast version! Click here to read our review.

Unlike breakfast staple brethren Cheerios — which seems to infuse itself with five or six new flavors each year (fingers crossed that “Bubble Gum” is somewhere on its to-do list!) — Frosted Flakes tends to keep to itself. Oh sure, it’s not immune to jazzing things up from time to time — who could forget Birthday Confetti Frosted Flakes in 1997? — but for the most part, they’re content just being sugared up Corn Flakes.

And this is a bit surprising, really, given that a plain, nondescript cereal such as the Frosted Flake is a choice vehicle for experimentation. I mean, why can’t I get a Tropical Mango, Apple Cinnamon, or Blastin’ Berry variety? Because those all sound terrible, you say? Okay, sure. But can I interest you in a Strawberry Milkshake Frosted Flakes? Because Kellogg’s is actually doing that one.

The Kellogg’s website says, “with ripe, juicy strawberry flavor coupled with rich, creamy notes, this cereal turns the milk in your bowl a fun, vibrant pink!” There is a lot wrong with these bold assertions, so I’d like to take this opportunity to address some of the errors.

First of all, these flakes do not possess a “ripe, juicy” strawberry flavor. Sure, they have a strawberry flavor, but it is a passive and light one, maybe the level of a diluted pink Starburst. Like, 30% of a pink Starburst, I’d say.

Second, there are no “rich, creamy notes.” Nothing about this cereal made me think “rich” or “creamy.” And really, I feel like that was the biggest missed opportunity with this offering. Because it is a strawberry MILKSHAKE flavor, and not just strawberry, I was hoping for something reminiscent of a milkshake taste. Some creaminess or even some maltiness might’ve evoked the right emotion. Instead, I was left with some standalone artificial strawberry flavoring on your everyday F. Flakes.

And finally, they say, “this cereal turns the milk in your bowl a fun, vibrant pink!” Okay, now “fun” is subjective, obviously, but this cereal did turn my milk pink. Would I call it a vibrant pink? No. It wasn’t as vibrant as calamine lotion or Pepto-Bismol. But sure, it was pink. The box proclaims “makes delicious STRAWBERRY flavored milk!” making this claim one of the key selling points. And on this account, I’d say yes, mission accomplished. Though it’s been a while since I’ve intentionally had strawberry milk, the light pink leftover milk is definitely similar to what I recall. Does it make me feel like I’m drinking a melted strawberry milkshake, maybe? Well, still no.

Getting a cereal to taste like a milkshake is a pretty tall order, and Kellogg’s didn’t do it with this offering. It did, however, make an okay strawberry-flavored cereal.

Purchased Price: $4.29
Size: 23 oz box (“Family Size”)
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup – cereal only) 140 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 190 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 11 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

Update: We also tried the Strawberry Milkshake version! Click here to read our review.

There’s something so important about this new Cinnamon French Toast flavor of Frosted Flakes that I have to establish it right off the bat: it smells unbelievably good. I would usually try to come up with an analogy to explain how this cereal is so magical that it’s probably what unicorns eat for brunch or something like that, but honestly, this scent doesn’t need a fantastical comparison. The smell is simply so extravagantly syrupy and sweet that I briefly forgot that I was just sitting in my kitchen with my face buried in a cardboard box. I felt like I ought to be tapping a maple tree in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory (fine, I guess that’s a little fantastical). Suffice to say, the cereal’s taste had some big shoes to fill -— and it did.

Like your everyday Frosted Flakes, the Cinnamon French Toast variety has that satisfyingly malty corn base… which is, who am I kidding, almost completely obscured by a blanket of way more important, intense, and absolutely-not-dentist-friendly sweetness. While the smell struck me as undeniably maple-like, the taste really delivered the cinnamon. These are probably just as sweet as normal Frosted Flakes, but the warm, zippy twist from the cinnamon made that sweetness feel more nuanced. I usually leave my bowl of Frosted Flakes feeling, guiltily, like a sugar-crazed kid, but this flavor seemed mellower—cozier.

Of course, no bowl of cereal is complete without adding milk (and I will fight anyone who says otherwise!). I was impressed by how well these flakes held up, remaining admirably crispy for long enough that I could savor their experience-enhancing crunch. Perhaps controversially, I actually do love soggy cereal, so I wasn’t too disappointed when I ended up accidentally spending so long trying to come up with another way to say “crispy” that the word no longer applied, but there is still just something special about a firm Frosted Flake. Interestingly, dampening the cereal seemed to make it taste more like it smelled, maybe because that cinnamon-y complexity was washed away in the river of milk, which of course, was then transformed into a delicious dessert drink unsurprisingly reminiscent of Cinnamon Toast Crunch’s “cinnamilk.”

The one thing that didn’t feel quite right about this cereal was the French toast moniker. After an intense bout of thinking and an ensuing Google rabbit hole (I look forward to regaling future breakfast companions with the knowledge that French toast can also be known as “poor knights” and “eggy bread”), I realized that that’s probably because, to me at least, French toast is such a textural sensation. A spongy bread square that’s crunchy on the outside yet moist and fluffy on the inside is not exactly an experience that translates to a bunch of thin, jagged shards of sugar-blasted corn, even if they do share some ingredients.

But you know what? It doesn’t really matter. I’d argue that the components in the name “Frosted Flakes Cinnamon French Toast” are listed in order of importance, and this flavor definitely delivers on the “frosted,” the “flakes,” and the “cinnamon.” Even if it doesn’t exactly bring “French toast” to the front of my mind, I highly recommend tearing yourself away from its delectable smell long enough to pour a bowl.

Purchased Price: $4.29
Size: 22 oz box (“Family Size”)
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup – cereal only) 140 calories (200 with ¾ cup skim milk), 1 gram of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 180 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 12 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.