Lucky Charms Huntrix (Peach Mango)

Name: KPop Demon Hunters Lucky Charms Huntrix Peach Mango
Variation: Lucky Charms
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: KPop Demon Hunters are everywhere these days - even in your breakfast cereal! The Saja Boys have taken over Cinnamon Toast Crunch (stay tuned for that), and Huntrix has transformed Lucky Charms into an intriguing peach mango treat. It's got to be one of the more creative flavors of Lucky Charms I've tried.

I feel like the marshmallows are either faded, or they picked out the contrasting colors, because it contributes to a somewhat paler, almost pastel visual presentation, that matches the pinkish purple box. There's an unmistakable hint of peach mango flavor, but after a bite or two, it tends to get lost in the oats - which is the same problem I had with Cotton Candy Lucky Charms. The flavor is there, it's just not vivid enough.

I like these new flavors Lucky Charms has been coming up with (and the KPop Demon Hunters branding is a lot of fun) - they're a lot more creative than just adding a new marshmallow we'll never see again. But I've yet to find one that I absolutely love.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Marshmallow, with only a suggestion of peach mango.

[Experiments] Cinnamon Toast Crunch Strawberry Applesauce and Peanut Butter Apple

Description: Cinnamon Toast Crunch has been throwing so many flavors at us lately, it's hard not to want to mix some of them together. When Apple came out, it wasn't a far cry, knowing that Strawberry and Peanut Butter were both still on the shelves, for me to imagine them each together with this newest version of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Strawberry and apple together in a cinnamon cereal? That's a perfect formula for strawberry applesauce! So, how is it? The flavors are complementary. The buttery flavor of Cinnamon Toast Crunch kind of precludes it from giving you the full impression of eating applesauce, and I'm not sure it's enough of an improvement over each flavor alone to justify the effort of mixing them together. But it sure was fun to try!

Rating: 🥣🥣

Description: Now, Peanut Butter and Apple is more of a stretch for me - I put peanut butter on my bananas, not my apples. But in honor of Stephen Colbert, whose award-winning late night show was canceled this year under political pressure from a fascist federal administration, I wanted to give it a try.

The toasties don't distinguish themselves as much from each other, yet the flavors don't blend as well as strawberry and apple. The sweetness of the apple is subdued, and there's that impression of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth, but without the full flavor of peanut butter. It's an odd combination. I feel that these flavors detract from each other more than reinforce one another. I'm not crazy about it. Sorry, Stephen...

Rating: 🥣

Addendum: On a whim, I tried mixing equal parts of Apple, Strawberry, and Peanut Butter all together in one bowl (because of course I did). And it was really good! The sweetness of the fruit flavors stood out, and there was still that occasional savory peanut butter flavor. Maybe I just needed to tweak the ratio (2:1) in favor of the fruit all this time!

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Apple

Name: Cinnamon Toast Crunch Apple
Variation: Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: Without having them side-by-side, I can't say how this cereal differs from Cinnamon Toast Crunch's seasonal fall variety, Apple Pie Toast Crunch. What does apple pie have, other than apples? I know it's not caramel, because you have to add Dulce de Leche Toast Crunch to get the Caramel Apple flavor. Regardless, if Apple Jacks is any indication (and it is, although I would pick Apple Cinnamon Cheerios, myself), this is a great flavor idea for a cinnamon cereal. I mean, some cereal novelties are pretty out there, while others are obvious. This one's a no-brainer.

I could smell the pleasant aroma of apples as soon as I opened the box. And it's a pretty box - in a complementary shade of green. The cereal is good. It's sweet, and the apple flavor blends with the cinnamon really well. I still don't know how it differs from Apple Pie Toast Crunch, but this version is more universal. I notice the box doesn't say "new" (I could believe this flavor has been floated before), or even "limited". Will it stick around? It's about the most logical choice of alternate for a cinnamon cereal as I could think of (even more so than chocolate, although I do like Chocolate Toast Crunch). Kellogg's (which manufactures Apple Jacks) better beware.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: It's the applesauce-flavored milkshake you never knew you wanted!

Frosted Flakes Chocolate Peanut

Name: Frosted Flakes Chocolate Peanut
Variation: Frosted Flakes
Manufacturer: Kellogg's

Review: Although admittedly a novel idea for a cereal, this new variety of Frosted Flakes stops just short of one of my favorite flavor combinations. Why did they choose peanuts over peanut butter? Who knows. Maybe because it sounds vaguely more nutritious, for a brand that markets itself to school athletes. Then again, peanut butter is a popular flavor for protein shakes...

You could be forgiven for missing this (as I initially did), but there are no actual peanuts in this cereal; as the small, faded script under the title reluctantly admits, the peanut flavor is artificial (and you can kinda tell). I guess that makes it safe for people with peanut allergies? Although it does beg the question, what's the point?

The design on the box shows a square of chocolate packed with nuts, and the inherent crunchiness of Frosted Flakes lends itself well to that impression. I just don't know that the artificial peanut flavor adds anything meaningful to the cereal (besides novelty). But the base is still Chocolate Frosted Flakes, so I can't rate it any lower than two bowls.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Anybody for some peanuts in their chocolate milk?

Tropical Trix

Name: Tropical Trix
Variation: Trix
Manufacturer: Kellogg's

Review: In conjunction with Disney's new live action adaptation of Moana, comes this new tropical version of Trix! One can't help thinking of that time that Froot Loops did a tropical version of their cereal; I only wish I'd liked it better. This isn't the first time we've seen a Moana cereal - about 10 years ago, when the original movie came out, Kellogg's had a whole line of Disney cereals out on the shelves. But I wasn't fully into my cereal obsession phase yet, and I only had eyes for Ariel (part of the Disney Princesses lineup) - another animated icon that has since gotten the live action treatment.

Also missed: Frozen, Finding Dory, and Despicable Me.

But, let's get back to the cereal at hand. I'm not super well-versed on my tropical fruits, so I'm having trouble identifying the flavor(s) at play here. The smell seems to suggest some sort of mixed drink. The colors look a little faded, but definitely favor the warm end of the spectrum, with a lot of oranges and yellows. It doesn't knock you over the head with its fruity flavor; I still predominantly taste corn. There's a hint of something acidic, maybe pineapple. It's not terribly refreshing, and it doesn't make me feel like I'm lounging on a tropical beach. I think I'll just stick to my Welch's Island Fruits fruit snacks, after all.

Rating: 🥣
Leftover Milk: A lingering hint of whatever flavor this cereal is.

Birthday Cake Cheerios

Name: Birthday Cake Cheerios
Variation: Cheerios
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: I almost missed this cereal, because I had it confused with Confetti Cheerios. How many different "celebration" varieties of Cheerios do we need in one year? Even then, it was with with some reluctance that I grabbed it - you should know my feelings on the "birthday cake" trend by now. Still, I've tried other birthday cake cereals (including Cap'n Crunch and Fruity Pebbles), so why not Cheerios? Besides, the dark blue box with the fireworks design (reminiscent of Trix Fireworks, or was it Trix Firecracker?) is a perfect companion to our nation's birthday, which is celebrating its 250th anniversary this year. (Although I've never been less proud to be an American; but I'm not going to get political in this breakfast cereal review :-p).

Anyway, the cereal smells kind of cardboard-y right out of the box. It looks like regular Cheerios, but with tiny red and blue sprinkles. Honestly, it could have a more impressive visual appearance - like Team Cheerios, which was released in conjunction with the Olympics two years back. That cereal was good; they should have just brought that one back. This cereal has only the faintest hint of a birthday cake flavor. It mostly just tastes of oats, and a little bit of frosting. It's pretty bland. But, in that way, it's a perfect metaphor for this year's Independence Day celebrations - what should have been an exciting, once-in-a-lifetime event... has turned out to be a huge disappointment.

Rating: 🥣
Leftover Milk: A disappointing finish to what started out as a bold experiment.

Froot Loops Wild-Berry

Name: Froot Loops Wild-Berry
Variation: Froot Loops
Manufacturer: Kellogg's

Review: Do you remember Froot Loops Tropical, from a few years back? I was surprised I didn't like it. Well, now there's a new fruity variation on a cereal that is normally citrus-flavored. I don't know why they chose to hyphenate the term "wild-berry"; I'm just surprised this is the first I've ever heard of a wild berry version of Froot Loops!

The cereal smells very fruity right out of the box. The color is kind of subdued - these red, orange, and purple loops give me the impression of a V8 smoothie. But they have a light, crunchy bite, and a good berry flavor that can't be denied. Try it with fresh strawberries and blueberries for a delightful treat!

I like how experimental Kellogg's has been with Froot Loops of late. I feel like this cereal rectifies the travesty that was Froot Loops Wonka (which should have been Cocoa Loops in the first place). I don't think I'd pick it over regular Froot Loops, but I would consider it a worthy alternative to join the brand. Alas; this "limited edition" probably won't last long...

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Actually berry-flavored!