Banana Caramel Cheerios

Name: Banana Caramel Cheerios
Variation: Cheerios
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: Cheerios is getting really good at banana flavoring - I ate a handful of these, and it gave me that genuine flavor sensation of eating sliced bananas in my cereal (even better is adding actual sliced bananas to this cereal!). The caramel flavor is not super strong, but it's a good complement to the banana flavor, so it doesn't just taste like straight banana. I'd be intrigued to see a Chocolate - or better yet, Peanut Butter! - Banana Cheerios in the future (General Mills, take note). I don't know if I'd pick this cereal over Strawberry Banana Cheerios, but I do like it. It sounds like a weird flavor, but it's good. I happened to note that it vanished off the shelves pretty quickly last fall (whereas Honey Vanilla Cheerios, which I didn't like as much, is hanging around), so I'm glad I grabbed a box while it was available.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Seems you can always count on Cheerios, these days, to leave you with some interestingly-flavored milk at the end of your bowl of cereal.

Honey Vanilla Cheerios

Name: Honey Vanilla Cheerios
Variation: Cheerios
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: The number of different types of Cheerios you can find on the shelves these days is simply daunting. Maybe someday I'll get through them all, but for now, I'm satisfied with grabbing the more interesting new flavors as they become available. On that note, "honey vanilla" sounds like an odd combination, but it makes more sense if you think of it as a vanilla version of Honey Nut Cheerios. That said, I'm not a huge fan of vanilla, and the fact is, I'd rather be eating regular Honey Nut Cheerios. Or better yet, Medley Crunch!

Rating: 🥣
Leftover Milk: Tastes of honey and vanilla, but so what?

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Lucky Charms MIX!

Name: Cinnamon Toast Crunch Lucky Charms MIX!
Variation: Cinnamon Toast Crunch/Lucky Charms
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: Two cereals that I already love, together in one box? Obviously, the flavors of each individual cereal will be appreciated, but how well do they go together? You can't just throw any two flavors together and expect them to mesh. My verdict? I think it works, but it's not inventing any new, unforgettable combination. The Cinnamon Toast Crunch pieces add some variety to the plainness of Lucky Charms' non-marshmallow pieces, and the marshmallows add some variety to the sameness of the Cinnamon Toast Crunch pieces. I think the predominant flavor is Lucky Charms, with a hint of cinnamon here and there, but the texture of the toast pieces definitely makes it feel like a different cereal than Lucky Charms. I like it. I'd eat it again. But I don't think I'll be mixing these two cereals together myself at home any time soon. Love to try some other mixes, though. I know they're out there.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Cinna-marshmallowy.

Froot Loops Color Mix-Ups

Name: Froot Loops Color Mix-Ups
Variation: Froot Loops
Manufacturer: Kellogg's

Review: Here's a cosmetic variation on your standard Froot Loops - I would compare this to finding a box of Trix with the swirled puffs. It's a fun concept, but I have some issues with its execution. The box boasts the "classic Froot Loops taste", but I feel that the usual fruitiness is somewhat subdued. The same can be said for the colors - ironically, this cereal looks less colorful than usual. Six colors have been reduced to four (albeit with some color bleed), and doubled up so that there are really only two kinds of loops (green/purple and red/yellow; they couldn't throw in blue/orange to complete the color wheel?). The box is very pretty, though, with a nice fading color gradient. I feel like there is potential here for a rainbow-oriented theme, perhaps even a tie-in with Pride. But that's not what this is. This is just swirled Froot Loops.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Almost sweeter than the cereal itself.

Red & White Krispies

Name: Rice Krispies Red & White Color Mix
Variation: Rice Krispies
Manufacturer: Kellogg's

Review: Not to be confused with Red & Blue Krispies. I would have liked to have seen pink Krispies in this, in addition to the red. But I guess that would throw off the balance of using different combinations of red, blue, and green Krispies for the different holiday varieties (except Halloween, which is special for some reason). I was actually surprised to find a Valentine's Day version of Rice Krispies on the shelves - and a little annoyed, because I thought Easter was going to be the last holiday I'd have to endure another box of this dreck. It looks nice, though!

Rating: 🥣
Leftover Milk: Pink, and plain.

Oops! All Red Berries

Name: Oops! All Red Berries
Variation: Cap'n Crunch
Manufacturer: Quaker Oats

Review: These days, Crunch Berries come in four colors: red, green, blue, and purple. But legend has it that when Crunch Berries debuted in 1967, all the berries were red. So this would be like if Oops! All Berries came out in the seventies. It's actually a pretty clever marketing idea for Valentine's Day (albeit without explicitly mentioning the holiday) - and the box is gorgeous. You already know my opinion on Oops! All Berries, and I find that the red is pretty enough that the reduction in colors doesn't bother me much. It's probably just a psychological trick, because they're all red, but I feel like I can taste the strawberry flavor better than usual. And the milk at the end is the reddest milk I've ever seen! I'd say this is another successful addition to Cap'n Crunch's holiday lineup.

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Dark, vibrant pink!

Oops! All Berries

Name: Oops! All Berries
Variation: Cap'n Crunch
Manufacturer: Quaker Oats

Review: I realize this is neither a new or limited edition cereal, but it must have been quite the novelty when it first came out. Anyway, I found myself in possession of a box, so I figured I'd give it a proper space on this blog.

Oops! All Berries is exactly what it says on the tin - Cap'n Crunch with Crunch Berries, and nothing but Crunch Berries. It's like if Lucky Charms were nothing but marshmallows, or Honey Nut Cheerios were nothing but nuts dipped in honey.

Actually, it's very good. I'm not sure if it's better than regular Crunch Berries - because even though the berries are better than the plain yellow pieces that come in regular Cap'n Crunch, like with Lucky Charms, there's a balance to be found. A virtue in moderation. Like how a beautiful gem can be set off by a contrasting, plain background.

That said, I'm not gonna lie and say there isn't any joy in finding a treasure chest filled with nothing but glittering jewels. But I feel like the appeal would wear off if that's what you woke up to every day. Still, this is a fun cereal, and it tastes good, too!

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Sweet and fruity!

Peanut Butter Crunch

Name: Peanut Butter Crunch
Variation: Cap'n Crunch
Manufacturer: Quaker Oats

Review: Although I featured this cereal already for my Chocolatey Peanut Butter Crunch experiment, I felt like it deserved a proper entry. I wish I could do the same for Chocolatey Crunch, but amazingly, it seems to have been discontinued. Though there are plenty of other chocolate cereals on the market. Peanut butter cereals are (surprisingly) few and far between - this is one you can usually count on finding at the store. It's a great idea for a variation on Cap'n Crunch, and it has a great peanut butter flavor. It also has lots of potential as a peanut butter mix-in for other cereal experiments, as we've already seen, and as we're going to see more of in the future. I love it!

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Peanut buttery.