Honoring Those We've Lost

This Memorial Day weekend, I'm honoring the cereals I've had that have been lost, from an era just prior to my starting this blog, before I had the foresight to meticulously document each novel cereal variety I encountered. Without detailed notes, and sufficient photo evidence, I can't give these cereals a proper review. But I still want to remember them.

January 2019

Let's start with the cereals that (fortunately) made it into this picture of the top of my fridge (seven boxes? how quaint!). January of 2019 was apparently a good month for novelty cereals. Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios and Pumpkin Spice Cheerios, being the only two of these that are still around, have both been reviewed elsewhere. Fruity Lucky Charms is one that I've been looking for the past few years, to no avail. I don't remember much about it, except that the regular pieces (the ones that aren't marshmallows) are pink and fruity.

Hostess Donettes cereal was an interesting novelty; the loops had an unusual texture that effectively imitated the white powdered donuts they're modeled after. But the effect was somewhat off-putting for a cereal. The two cereals on top are two different flavors of Pop Tarts cereal. I thought they were only so-so, but Brown Sugar Cinnamon was a little bit better than Frosted Strawberry, if I recall correctly. As a fan of Sour Patch Kids, I was excited when I saw it in cereal form, but I remember the cereal not being very good.

The ad on the side of the box reveals a few more novelty cereals that have come and gone. To my knowledge, Oreo O's is the only one that's lasted (and it's not even my favorite of the bunch). Nutter Butter cereal is one that I miss, as it used to be one of the few straight peanut butter cereals you could get. I have proof that I owned Chips Ahoy cereal at one point - I'd love to try it again and compare it to Cookie Crisp. I don't remember Nilla Wafers Banana Pudding being a cereal, but I regret missing my chance to try it. Another cereal I've had, though my only proof is a blurry box in the background of a random selfie from June of 2018, is Peanut Butter & Cocoa Pebbles - which sounds like a Pebbles cereal right up my alley!

August 2019

On the subject of cereals I've had and then forgotten, here are two that I have proof I had at one point (specifically, in August of 2019). They must not have made much of an impression on me, but I love the pink-and-blue aesthetic of Cotton Candy Crunch. I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't like Froot Loops Birthday Cake, considering my general ambivalence towards birthday cake flavor.

February 2018

Here's Super Mario Cereal from February of 2018, at a point when I had started to document interesting cereal varieties, but before I was in the regular habit of photographing them poured into a bowl. The cereal calls itself mixed berry, and it has marshmallows, but I remember it being very bland - another cheap, pop-culture tie-in novelty that exploits name brand recognition.

February 2019

I remember seeing Chocolatey Winter Lucky Charms in stores, in February of 2019, and I've been looking for it (in vain) ever since. I don't recall if I actually tried it or not, but I'm sure it tastes just like Chocolate Lucky Charms, with the marshmallows shaped like snowballs and snowflakes. I'd love to see it again, but the Lucky Charms lineup is already pretty busy in the early months of the year, gearing up for their annual St. Patrick's Day haul of Lucky Charms Magic Clovers (seen on either side of this pic).

There are a few cereals I've had over the years that I unfortunately have no photo evidence of whatsoever, but were memorable for one reason or another. The best of these is Ice Cream Scoops, an intriguing variation of Cocoa Puffs featuring a neapolitan mix of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry puffs. It was good; I'm sad that it can't be found anymore. I also remember trying Toasted Coconut Cheerios once - I'm surprised I never got a picture of the box, because it was a beautiful teal color. I like coconut, but I didn't like the cereal; I'm pretty sure I tried it once then gave the box away.

Finally, I want to remember the Batman v Superman cereals that came out, probably in 2016, to promote the corresponding movie. I remember the Batman cereal being chocolate strawberry - which is a flavor combination that could honestly see more recognition in the cereal market. I don't remember the Superman cereal as much, but apparently it was caramel crunch. The more recent DC cereals (which were, sadly, not good at all) remind me of them.

And that will wrap up our reminiscences for now. Like most of the cereals I review for this blog, their time on the shelves is precious and short. But it is largely the purpose of this blog to serve as a memorial to them. Because even though many of them can't be with us today, their memory will live on, so that they will not be forgotten even long after they're gone.