REVIEW: Limited Edition Cap’n Crunch Arctic Crunch Vanilla Frost Cereal

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With arctic air blasting through the Midwest, it felt fitting to consume the new Limited Edition Cap’n Crunch Arctic Crunch Vanilla Frost Cereal. Unlike the real feel of a -20°F wind chill, this cereal was actually quite pleasant!

The box graphics took me back to childhood—sitting at the table, reading the box with interesting facts while munching away. I ate a lot of Cap’n Crunch as a kid because, for some reason, it was the only cereal my parents allowed. I remember getting so sick of it, but since my parents never threw anything out, I had to finish the stale boxes. And yet, I still have the fondest memories of the Cap’n!

After opening the box, I realized it was all Crunch Berries—just blue and cream-colored spheres. A sweet deal, since that’s the best part, amirite?!

The texture was as I remembered: slightly rough, with some slight roof-of-the-mouth scraping. It was as satisfying as I remember, like a harder Cheetos puff—a crunch leading to a slight squish and gumminess that gets stuck to your molars.

One thing that surprised me: I remember Crunchberries Cereal getting uber soggy as a kid, but this held up well. The milk did intensify the blue color, but that was about it.

Flavor-wise, it was straightforward vanilla. Nothing fancy—no Madagascar or Tahitian vanilla, just plain ol’ vanilla. For some reason, I wanted the blue pieces to taste different. It’s like when people think each color in Froot Loops has a unique flavor, but nope—it’s all the same. No surprise blueberry twist here!

I was slightly disappointed that my milk didn’t turn blue—though I guess this isn’t called “Star Wars Blue Milk Cereal.” It did impart a mild vanilla flavor to the milk, at least.

Overall, it was tasty, but honestly very safe and boring. If Quaker really wanted to lean into the “arctic” theme, it should have taken inspiration from Kellogg’s Elf on the Shelf and ICEE cereals and added a cooling effect.

Purchased Price: $4.93
Size: 15.5 oz (Family Size)
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 ¼ cup (38g) – 150 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 160 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 15 grams of sugar (includes 15 grams of added sugar, 1 gram of sugar alcohol), and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Quaker Hot Cocoa Life Cereal

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One of the popular wintertime flavors right now is hot cocoa. The warm drink is a classic, but the “hot cocoa” flavored things seem awfully lazy. They’re just chocolate, sometimes with marshmallows. And Quaker Life Cereal has joined the hot cocoa party with its latest offering.

The front of the box of this new seasonal flavor says, “Nothing like hot cocoa.”

It’s right. This cereal is nothing like hot cocoa.

My all-time favorite cereal is Cinnamon Life: it’s filling, it’s oaty, and it’s sweet, but gram for gram, it has less sugar than lots of other options in the cereal aisle.

Hot Cocoa Life has those same elements, so I will be happy to finish the box. But it doesn’t have much of a flavor on its own to make me pick it over Cinnamon Life.

There is a mild cocoa flavor, but it’s not strong enough to remind me of hot chocolate. I guess it vaguely reminds me of powdered hot chocolate mix, but only if I really stretch. And unlike all the classic chocolate cereals, Hot Cocoa Life doesn’t turn the milk chocolatey either.

We’ve seen Chocolate Life Cereal before, but I don’t remember it well enough to know what makes this new version different, except that it has more sugar.

I’m a sucker for seasonal cereals, so I will probably buy it again just for the novelty. (Those are some fun blue trees on the box!) But this one just feels like a cash grab.

If Quaker wants to come back next year with a peppermint chocolate cereal, I would be all over it. But so far, I’ve been unimpressed with the other seasonal Life flavors (pumpkin spice and gingerbread), and this one is also disappointing.

Purchased Price: $4.98
Size: 22.3 oz box
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup/42 grams) 160 calories, 2 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 0.5 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 170 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of dietary fiber, 9 grams of sugar (including 9 grams of added sugar), and 4 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Cap’n Crunch’s Birthday Crunch Cereal

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What is it?

Despite looking older than his age for several decades now, Cap’n Crunch is turning 60 this year, and as such, he has made himself a celebratory birthday cake-flavored cereal. What, you don’t make your own birthday dessert? Well, LOOK AT YOU, Mr. I-Actually-Have-Friends-and-Family-Who-Love-Me.

How are they?

Distinctly birthday cake-y. What is “birthday cake” flavor, anyway? Generic vanilla sugar cake? Anyway, the Cap’n manages to capture the flavor admirably with his multi-colored misshaped balls. If I had one complaint, it would be that the flavor is a bit muted; if a full-on grade school birthday party cake is a 10, these were about a 5. Depending on your love for birthday cake flavor, this is either a good or bad thing.

Anything else you need to know?

As mentioned above, this cereal is entirely composed of multi-colored, oddly shaped balls. There are no yellow pillows (barrels?) or brightly and solidly colored “berries.” File this under “mildly interesting.”

Also, it appears from the picture on the box that the irregularly shaped pieces are supposed to be singularly colored; maybe the dye wasn’t set when my box was packed because what I ended up with looks like a hippie’s shirt closet.

Conclusion:

If you like birthday cake-flavored things and Cap’n Crunch, you will likely enjoy this version of the Quaker classic. Just try not to get hung up on the fact that the 60-year-old Cap’n has no one who cares enough to make him a cake.

Purchased Price: $4.78
Size: 14.8 oz
Purchased at: Hy-Vee
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (38 g) 150 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 200 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 14 grams of sugar (including 14 grams of added sugar), and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Quaker Chocolate Life Cereal

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Quaker Chocolate Life Cereal Box

What is Quaker Chocolate Life Cereal?

It’s the newest variety in the Quaker Life Cereal line that also includes (say it with me because I know you all know it by heart), original, cinnamon, vanilla, and strawberry. It gets its chocolatiness from cocoa that’s been processed with alkali and other natural flavors.

How is it?

First off, a disclosure. I’m not a regular Life Cereal eater. Oh wait, let me rephrase that. I’m not a Life Cereal Lifer. (That’s better, maybe.) I can count on two hands the number of times I’ve consumed any Life variety, and I had to look up what they were for the list above. With that said, I did enjoy eating Chocolate Life Cereal in milk or dry.

Quaker Chocolate Life Cereal Dry

Its flavor is mild, and there’s enough of it to recognize it’s chocolate. It’s not overly sweet and doesn’t reach the same cocoa level as Cocoa Puffs, Cocoa Pebbles, or any other choco-heavy cereal with a cartoon mascot. Also, the chocolatiness tastes darker than the others. I find it tasty enough that it’s got me thinking I should try the other varieties so that it’ll take three hands to count the number of times I’ve had Life Cereal.

Quaker Chocolate Life Cereal Wet

Unfortunately, unlike many of the cereals I mentioned above, it doesn’t make excellent cereal milk. Speaking of milk, this Life variety is okay at maintaining its crunchiness while sitting in the liquid.

Anything else you need to know?

Some of you might be wondering what those white crystal thingies are in the second photo above. I want to say cereal dandruff, but I’m absolutely sure that’s wrong and that Quaker doesn’t want me to describe them that way.

Quaker Chocolate Life Cereal Crystals

There was a bunch collected at the bag’s bottom of the, so I tried them. They look like salt but taste as if they’ve absorbed the cereal’s flavor. If you know what it is, let me know in the comments. If you don’t know what it is but have an absurd and incorrect idea of what it could be, share it in the comments.

A one-cup serving has 24 grams of whole grains, is an excellent source of five B vitamins, and is a good calcium source. Wait…is the cereal dandruff the source of the good source of calcium?

Conclusion:

Quaker Chocolate Life Cereal is a tasty addition to the Life Cereal line that also includes (say it with me again), original, cinnamon, vanilla, and strawberry.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free sample of the product. Thanks, Quaker! Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 13 oz box
Purchased at: Received from Quaker
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup) 160 calories, 2 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 190 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 10 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

QUICK REVIEW: Quaker Life Strawberry Cereal

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Quaker Life Strawberry Cereal

What is it?

Quaker has added a new member of the Life family, joining Original, Cinnamon, Vanilla, Pumpkin Spice, Gingerbread, and (discontinued?) Maple and Brown Sugar. Strawberry Life is the only fruit-flavored version out there currently. Cinnamon Life is my all-time favorite cereal, so I was interested to see how this variation would stack up.

How is it?

Quaker Life Strawberry Cereal 2

When I tried a piece dry, it reminded me of Berry Berry Kix, a cereal I haven’t had in decades. But who eats Life dry?

As I ate the cereal doused in milk, I got the true experience, but it’s not much of an experience. For some of the bites, I could hardly taste the strawberry. It was just like Original Life. On other bites, I could taste the berry, but it had an artificial, almost chemical flavor, which is odd since it only uses natural flavors.

Quaker Life Strawberry Cereal 3

I was happy to finish my bowl(s) of this cereal, but only because of the standard flavor and texture of Life. The strawberry doesn’t do anything for me.

Quaker Life Strawberry Cereal 4

I did try real strawberries in the cereal, but personally I didn’t care for the combination.

Is there anything else I need to know?

I have a few lingering questions. Why do they use yellow food coloring for a strawberry-inspired cereal that is drab anyway? Like, what’s the point? And why is this new product being marketed with a minor character from a threequel that I predict will be forgettable?

Conclusion:

I doubt I will ever buy this cereal again —- not because it’s terrible, but just because it doesn’t match its predecessors. When I go to the cereal aisle and see my beloved Cinnamon Life smiling at me, I have no need for Strawberry. Even Original is better than this version.

Purchased Price: $2.99
Size: 18 oz. box
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 3/4 cup (32 grams) – 120 calories, 15 calories from fat, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 160 milligrams of sodium, 85 milligrams of potassium, 25 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 6 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.