Frosted Bunches

Name: Honey Bunches of Oats - Frosted Bunches
Variation: Honey Bunches of Oats
Manufacturer: Post

Review: I spotted this cereal last year, but passed it over since I had no experience eating Honey Bunches of Oats. But now that I've started familiarizing myself with the lineup, I'm happy I was able to have another chance to give it a try. Given the presence of corn flakes in this cereal regularly, using frosted flakes instead is a great idea. From the first bite, the added sweetness is a welcome presence. It's still dense, and no competition for most of the cereals I like to eat, but it may just prove in the end to be one of the few versions of this cereal I can tolerate.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Sweet, and flecked with oats.

WinterFest Fruity Pebbles with Marshmallows!

Name: WinterFest Fruity Pebbles with Marshmallows!
Variation: Fruity Pebbles
Manufacturer: Post

Review: Just when I thought I was done with the holiday line of Fruity Pebbles cereals, Post has figured out the trick to get me to buy their WinterFest Fruity Pebbles again - they added marshmallows! It's basically Marshmallow Fruity Pebbles, just limited to the Christmas colors of red and green. Which is to say, not as pretty. In fact, the green is very dull - somewhat Grinch-like. I like that the marshmallows are simple, white, and round - they could be snowballs, and remind me of the marshmallows in Hot Cocoa Puffs. I'll begrudgingly give this cereal a two bowl rating, but I'm still waiting for Cocoa Pebbles to get the holiday treatment. Hot Cocoa Pebbles, anyone?

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Fruity, but looks an unappetizing dirty yellow.

Honey Bunches of Oats - Honey Roasted

Name: Honey Bunches of Oats - Honey Roasted
Variation: Honey Bunches of Oats
Manufacturer: Post

Review: I've never had Honey Bunches of Oats before. Judging from the box, the closest comparison I can pull from my immediate experience is Cheerios Oat Crunch Oats 'N Honey. It looks like corn flakes, but with oat and granola clusters. It has a sweet and nutty flavor - but not super sweet. It's very crunchy. Seems like a bit of a bridge between the "healthy" cereals and the "candy" cereals, but it's not really sweet enough to hold my interest. I'm not crazy about it. I'd sooner eat this than plain Cheerios, but it's no Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch.

What I will be interested in is trying the different flavors, especially almond and strawberry. There are cereals where you pour a big bowl, and you get to the end thinking, "it's not enough!" And then there are cereals where you get halfway through the bowl and you think, "why'd I pour so much?" This is the latter. I don't know if I fully understand it - because the cereal itself doesn't taste terrible. But it's very dense and requires a lot of chewing. Even the thought of having to work through another bowl fills me with dread. I'd say it's definitely more manageable in smaller quantities.

Rating: 🥣
Leftover Milk: Flaky, and only mildly flavored with oats 'n' honey.

Cheerios

Name: Cheerios
Variation: n/a
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: So, I've been contemplating trying some of the classic - basic - cereals I don't expect to like, so I can review them for my blog, just for the sake of completion. And I found a great way to try one without committing to a whole box - just buy a little pouch at the dollar store! That said, for a cereal like this, it's still too much. It tastes like cardboard! I think I might like it even less than plain Rice Krispies (at least they have a fun popping effect). I took inspiration from the box art and cut up fresh strawberries into it, to give it some semblance of flavor. It was still a slog getting through the bowl. It's not just that it's bland, the taste is actually off-putting. It's like the cereal version of drinking soda water. I know there are people out there who like soda water (as there are probably people who like plain Cheerios), but no thanks. Hard pass.

Rating: 🥣 (if that)
Leftover Milk: I was so eager to be done with the bowl once I finished the Cheerios, I didn't even take the time to taste the milk.

Lucky Charms

Name: Lucky Charms
Variation: n/a
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: As novelty variations of classic cereals go, there are a lot of versions of Lucky Charms that simply feature the superficial addition of a new marshmallow (few of which ever stick around) - so I've basically already reviewed this cereal many times over. To reiterate, it's fairly plain, but it's the best marshmallow-based cereal on the market, as the plain oat pieces allow the marshmallows to shine, instead just being an add-on. (It's like the difference between the cherry on top of a sundae, and a cherry pie). I was recently looking through my baby book, and I noted that my favorite food was listed as Lucky Charms. So it makes sense that this is one of my favorite cereals. After all, I've been eating it for a long time.

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Marshmallow-y!

Froot Loops

Name: Froot Loops
Variation: n/a
Manufacturer: Kellogg's

Review: Froot Loops are a perennial favorite. With vibrant, rainbow colors, it's one of the most colorful cereals on the market (though not as colorful as Fruity Pebbles). As I've mentioned before, I was surprised when I learned that it's a lemon-flavored cereal, because I don't normally like lemon foods that much. But this is an exception. I even prefer it to General Mills' flagship fruity cereal, Trix. Critics could complain that it's a bit dry and chalky, but that doesn't bother me. It actually stays pretty crunchy in milk.

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Tastes like lemon frosting.

Cocoa Puffs

Name: Cocoa Puffs
Variation: n/a
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: As basic a chocolate cereal as you can get, this has always been one of my favorites. It's a shame I hardly ever get to eat it anymore, on account of all the novelty cereals I have to keep up with. And sadly, Cocoa Puffs doesn't indulge a lot of novelty variations (although the few I've seen - such as Hot Cocoa Puffs, Brownie Crunch, and even Ice Cream Scoops - are among my all-time favorites). My first bite into this cereal had me savoring that familiar cocoa flavor. And who wouldn't love being left with a bowl of chocolate milk? So simple, yet so effective. By the way, this cereal tastes really good with fresh strawberries cut up into it - I can't believe I never thought to try that before!

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Chocolate!

Fruity Pebbles

Name: Fruity Pebbles
Variation: n/a
Manufacturer: Post

Review: Given how many times Post has repackaged this cereal with the "same fruity taste!" - there's one for every season: fall, winter, spring, and summer - this review is just a formality at this point. I bear no ill will towards Fruity Pebbles, unlike Rice Krispies, which is unforgivably bland. It's a beautiful-looking cereal - in fact, that's one of the things that's diminished by the selective color approach of the seasonal varieties. I even think it smells great! But, as a fruity cereal, I could take it or leave it. Now, Cocoa Pebbles, on the other hand...

Rating: 🥣
Leftover Milk: Fruity, but crunchy.

Third Anniversary Post

Welcome to the third anniversary of this blog! It may not seem apparent from all the Sunday reviews I've been posting, but from the back-end, it's clear to me that the workload really is finally letting up. (Consider that I've been able to spend pretty much all of October reviewing the different Monster Cereals, insted of being drowned in an influx of holiday novelties).

I could have stuck to a single review-per-week schedule, and potentially had reviews queued up and ready six months into the next year, but though a regular and reliable posting schedule is good for audience retention (like I even have an audience), I really prefer to post the reviews I write within a relatively short time frame, instead of sitting on a mound of content (like a greedy dragon), doling it out a little bit at a time.

Year 3 Haul

What this means is that, going forward, there may be busy periods and dormant periods as the market fluctuates. However, I should have a chance to continue reviewing the classics, and maybe even try out some cereals I normally ignore - like, I dunno, Honey Smacks or Honey Ohs! or Honey Bunches of Oats (why are they all honey cereals?), or something like that. We'll see. It's been a great run, but I'm not ready to retire just yet.

Cereal For Breakfast (A Defense)

Breakfast cereal is a huge market - it can't be denied. After all, breakfast cereals take up a whole entire aisle in the supermarket! Yet still, people love to disparage the idea of eating cereal for breakfast. Especially if you're not a kid anymore. They say it's like eating candy, or drinking soda for breakfast.

Listen, I don't pretend cereal is a health food. But I also try not to go overboard with it. (Tip: pour your bowl then put away the box - when you get to the bottom, you won't be tempted to top it off). Some cereals are obviously better than others, but in reasonable quantities (which is to say, not too much but not too little, either - up to two posted servings daily), it's simply not comparable to eating a Snickers or drinking a Coke. Plus, they're fortified with vitamins!

So go ahead, eat your bacon and eggs, dripping with fat and cholesterol, and douse your pancakes in butter and sugary syrup. And go on feeling smug about that person sitting next to you with a bowl of cereal. It doesn't have to be the perfect breakfast. It just has to be no worse than the alternative.

But here's the thing. I don't have a huge appetite early in the morning. A bowl of cereal is all I need to tide me over until lunch. And then I have only a simple bowl and spoon to wash, which is a nice and easy way to start the day. But there's more.

I sometimes complain about how quickly these companies turn over new novelty cereals (mainly because I'm a completionist, and it's hard to keep up with it all), but the reality is, nearly every week for the past three years I've had something new to try. And that's exciting! It's good to have something to look forward to. Even if it's something as simple as a bowl of cereal.

So, you see, for me it is the perfect breakfast, after all!

Kelce Mix

Name: Kelce Mix
Variation: Reese's Puffs, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: I have no idea who "Kelce" is, or why he's important enough to have a cereal named after him. Frankly, I don't care. The less said about those two ugly mugs staring back at me from the front of the box, the better. Now, the cereal - this is a truly intriguing mix of three cereals I like, with very different flavors: cinnamon, marshmallow, and peanut butter & chocolate. The instant I saw it in the store, I wanted to see how it all tastes together. Notwithstanding my recent Monster Combos, I haven't had a good cereal mix since Cinnamon Toast Crunch Lucky Charms MIX! So let's dig in.

Right out of the box, this cereal presents a visual cohesion that belies the varied nature of its components. It's all shades of tan and light brown, with the marshmallows providing a nice pop of color. It's a surreal phenomenon, but I can identify the flavors of each of the individual cereals if I focus on them. Together, the taste is not unpleasant - though I feel like it could use more marshmallows. It's not as good as any of the cereals individually (I don't think it would satisfy a craving for any particular one), but the sheer audacity of combining them all together makes you feel like a bit of a maverick for eating it. I'm not going to say I love it, but I definitely like it. This has certainly been one of the more memorable cereal experiments I've tried this year.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Carries hints of the various flavors, but altogether relatively plain.

Sea Berry Crunch

Name: Sea Berry Crunch
Variation: Cap'n Crunch
Manufacturer: Quaker Oats

Review: I've been on the lookout for this cereal ever since the last box I bought (all the way back in January) was recalled (along with Cinnamon Crunch). So you can imagine my excitement - and relief - when I finally saw it back on the shelves late in the year. I thought it would just be like a blue version of Oops! All Red Berries. But then I read that it was "berry" flavored, so I've been eager to try it.

The "blue" is actually more of a turquoise, and it looks beautiful. Does it have more of a blueberry (as opposed to strawberry) flavor? Maybe. It's hard to tell; and you can't figure it out by looking at the ingredients, because all it says is "natural and artificial flavors". Regardless, it tastes great, as expected. I'm not sure I'd choose it over the regular version of Oops! All Berries, but I enjoyed having it as an alternative.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Sweet, and mildly fruity.

Monster Combos

Three years ago, the appearance of Monster Mash cereal inspired me to combine my own mix of the Monster Cereals together for a frightful concoction. The result was disappointing; there was just too much going on in the bowl. So I'd been thinking of trying out different combinations of these cereals, two at a time. And with last year's introduction of Carmella Creeper to the lineup - a caramel apple cereal - the possibilities show even more promise. Step into my kitchen laboratory, and we'll try some experiments!

Chocolate/Caramel Apple

I thought this sounded like a good combination - chocolate and caramel go well together, and it's in a similar vein to the classic fall treat, the candy apple. And it does taste good. Honestly, I think the chocolate draws out the caramel flavor better. I'm surprised General Mills hasn't done something like this yet, although Carmella Creeper is still pretty new. Maybe it'll be next year's version of Monster Mash. I'd like that.

Strawberry/Blueberry

Mixing the two berry cereals together seemed like a no-brainer, although their similarity means the combination lacks distinction. And though, as expected, the flavors complement each other well, it's not as fruity as I would have thought. It tastes mostly of corn. Even the milk is surprisingly plain. Once again, it's the marshmallows alone that carry this cereal.

Caramel Apple/Strawberry

Visually, the green balances out that vibrant pink, and the marshmallows kind of fade into the background. When I eat Carmella Creeper alone, the flavors don't really stand out, but pairing it with something else seems to make the caramel pop. This is like plain Carmella Creeper, but with a slightly fruitier balance. I'd say it's an improvement over either cereal alone.

Caramel Apple/Blueberry

As far as I can tell, this is the combination they use for Monster Mash Remix - although they probably use a different mix of marshmallows, and who can be sure what flavors they might add without telegraphing it with the proper dyes? On that note, the colors complement each other well - bright green contrasted with dark purple. And the flavors do, too - better than you might think, pouring caramel over blueberries. This is pretty similar to caramel apple/strawberry, but I think Boo Berry has a slightly better flavor than Franken Berry, so this is a little bit better. It's not a bad choice for a Monster Mash; although I would still prefer chocolate/caramel apple.

Strawberry/Chocolate

Chocolate-covered strawberries, anyone? The brown and pink make a nice contrast. I feel like the fruity flavor is more front-and-center, but there's a nice chocolate undercurrent. It's not a bad combination - it certainly makes Franken Berry more palatable. I don't think I like it as much as chocolate/caramel apple, though. Every once in awhile, I get a bite that seems to clash, but I'm not sure why.

Blueberry/Chocolate

Although conceptually very similar to strawberry/chocolate, I think blueberries and chocolate is a somewhat less common combination. But still good. The purple Boo Berry pieces are so dark, you can hardly distinguish them from the brown Count Chocula pieces. It's a shame it doesn't make as good a visual impression (looks do matter), because I think it tastes better than the mix with Franken Berry. Which was to be expected.

Caramel Apple/Berry

I did this with Count Chocula way back when, so I thought it would only be fair to give Carmella Creeper a chance. And it's not bad. I used two parts caramel apple (1 cup) to each part strawberry and blueberry (half cup each) for a proper balance of flavors. It's really not that much different from using Franken Berry or Boo Berry alone. And the mix of colors looks much more lively. I have no idea why they don't use this as their Monster Mash; I think it's just as good.

Berry/Chocolate

Although I did this once before, with all the other combinations I was mixing together, I figured I could stand to give it a second chance. And this time, like with my caramel apple/berry concoction, I mixed the chocolate 2:1 with the strawberry and blueberry, so it's equal parts chocolate and fruity. The blending of the Count Chocula and Boo Berry pieces does dull the visual impression a little - on the other hand, it has more of a gradient look. I taste the chocolate more than the fruitiness. That said, the fruitiness kind of clashes with the chocolate for some reason. I honestly can't say why this combination doesn't work better, but the success of Monster Mash clearly relies on the presence of newcomer Carmella Creeper.

Monster Medley

I'm calling this "Monster Medley" because Monster Mash was already taken. You know I had to do it. But yeah, there's a lot going on in this cereal. The flavors aren't bad, but it doesn't really coalesce into a single flavor experience. Even if you take the time to mix it up evenly, you're bound to get a different concentration of pieces in every spoonful. It looks interesting, though - with all those colors. And now, I'm kinda sick of the Monster Cereals. I don't think I wanna eat them again for a whole year... :-p

Boo Berry

Notice: The year I started this blog, General Mills came out with Monster Mash. The following year, they brought back Frute Brute. And last year they introduced Carmella Creeper. I originally didn't review Count Chocula, Franken Berry, and Boo Berry because I considered them the regular cereals, and the others the limited edition novelties. But I've been waiting for a "fallow year" with a lighter load on Halloween so I could properly review the classics. And now that time has come!

Name: Boo Berry
Variation: Monster Cereals
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: I know a lot of people who love Boo Berry, so I might break a few hearts with this review. Honestly, it's not a bad cereal. It's more purple than blue, but I like the low-key trans-friendly marshmallow colors. If I have to eat a bowl or two, it's perfectly fine. I just get bored with it quickly. Other than being blueberry instead of strawberry (a less common flavor for cereals), it's really no different than Franken Berry. And I'd rather eat Frute Brute. I don't know why Fruity Yummy Mummy is such a dark horse, because this lineup could really benefit from a citrus counterpoint to all these berry cereals.

Rating: 🥣
Leftover Milk: Blue, berry, and marshmallow-flavored.

Franken Berry

Notice: The year I started this blog, General Mills came out with Monster Mash. The following year, they brought back Frute Brute. And last year they introduced Carmella Creeper. I originally didn't review Count Chocula, Franken Berry, and Boo Berry because I considered them the regular cereals, and the others the limited edition novelties. But I've been waiting for a "fallow year" with a lighter load on Halloween so I could properly review the classics. And now that time has come!

Name: Franken Berry
Variation: Monster Cereals
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: This is actually my least favorite of the Monster Cereals, even though it's basically the flagship variety (or was that Count Chocula?). It's a bright, shocking pink, and it smells good, but after so many bites, it kinda starts tasting plain. If not for the marshmallows, it'd be incredibly dull. Don't get me wrong, it's edible, but there's not much here to inspire a craving. You've heard me say this before, but I think they should use Frute Brute's new formula, and re-name it Franken Cherry. Strawberry's a good flavor, but it's overdone.

Rating: 🥣
Leftover Milk: Tastes of strawberry, to its credit.

Count Chocula

Notice: The year I started this blog, General Mills came out with Monster Mash. The following year, they brought back Frute Brute. And last year they introduced Carmella Creeper. I originally didn't review Count Chocula, Franken Berry, and Boo Berry because I considered them the regular cereals, and the others the limited edition novelties. But I've been waiting for a "fallow year" with a lighter load on Halloween so I could properly review the classics. And now that time has come!

Name: Count Chocula
Variation: Monster Cereals
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: Count Chocula is easily my favorite Monster Cereal. I mean, come on. It's chocolate, and it has marshmallows. A combination like that can't fail. There's really nothing more to say about it. I could take or leave the fruity Monsters (although I was pleasantly surprised by Frute Brute), and Carmella Creeper was an enjoyable novelty, but Count Chocula is the only cereal in the lineup I've made a habit of buying, and the only one I've over-enthusiastically indulged before, by buying what was probably too many boxes for one person to eat in a single spooky season...

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Satisfyingly chocolatey!

Monsters' Frightful Friends

Name: Monsters' Frightful Friends
Variation: Monster Cereals
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: Monster Cereals' new innovation this year is the introduction of the Monsters' pets - Carmella's snake Scratch, Franken Berry's bat Bennie, Boo Berry's cat Meow Berry, and Count Chocula's spider Igor. Represented by the addition of new marshmallows, I imagine the taste of the individual cereals remains the same. And this cereal - Monsters' Frightful Friends - would seem to be a reskin of Monster Mash Remix, mixing - not all, but some - of the different cereals together, with these new marshmallows.

Like last year, it seems to be mostly Carmella Creeper with a bit of Boo Berry tossed in. It makes for a good visual aesthetic - like rotting zombie flesh. Did they introduce Carmella Creeper last year just so they could have a green Monster cereal? Although I applaud the addition of a zombie girl to the lineup (and the caramel apple flavor was a great choice), I think a swamp monster would have been a better fit for the brand.

Anyway, it's not a bad flavor combo (unlike the original Monster Mash, which was trying to do too much). It's fruity; although it begins to taste kinda plain after a few bites. And, maybe my box just wasn't shaken up enough to evenly distribute the pieces, but for the pets to be the star of the show, the marshmallows are scarce, and don't make much of an impression. I'm struggling to think of a reason to justify continuing to eat this cereal every year, other than the novelty factor.

Rating: 🥣
Leftover Milk: Just a mild hint of fruity, marshmallow flavor.

Frosted Chocolate Cake

Name: Frosted Chocolate Cake
Variation: n/a
Manufacturer: Post

Review: Although I'm not really a fan of shredded wheat, this new cereal from Post grabbed my attention with its reference to Frosted Chocolate Cake. The back of the box mentions "decadence" more than once, which is promising - but I still have my doubts. The whole aesthetic of the cereal has a nice black-and-white look, that goes really well with my bowl. The biscuits smell cocoa-y, and have a good, chocolatey flavor. Occasionally, you'll get a bite of real chocolate chips.

All of this is good, but it doesn't disguise what the cereal is. All the different varieties of Frosted Mini-Wheats I've tried so far have had good flavors, but I could never get past the drudgery of eating shredded wheat. This cereal is honestly as good as any of them, but it still has the taste and texture of shredded wheat. Given the high sugar content, what's the advantage of eating it over something better-tasting, like Chocolatey Chocolate Lucky Charms? Unless you have a fiber deficiency, it beats me.

Rating: 🥣
Leftover Milk: Some chocolate flavor, at least.

Wednesday

Name: Wednesday Cookies and Crème
Variation: n/a
Manufacturer: Kellogg's

Review: I got so excited when I saw this cereal, I couldn't wait to snatch it up. Not only because Wednesday was a good show, but because I'm a little bit obsessed with Jenna Ortega right now. And even though I don't usually like cookies and cream cereals, the black & white aesthetic (well, mostly just black) is perfectly on point. Hey, at least it has marshmallows!

The cereal is super dark. Like charcoal; I'm afraid it'll stain my teeth. But it looks magnificent. The smell and taste is very strong - like concentrated cookie crumbs, a hint of Oreo cheesecake, really dark chocolate, or even black coffee. I'm not sure there's enough cream (I'm sorry, crème) to balance it out. If that's what the marshmallows are doing (they're shaped like coffins), perhaps there should be more of them. Or, they could have just called it "cookies 'n' scream" and been done with it. XD

It's turning my milk black! Rarely does eating a bowl of cereal inspire such excitement. Do I like it enough to buy it again? I'm not sure. But I really enjoy the visual presentation, and how thoroughly it commits to its premise. As an artist and not just a cereal lover, I respect that. Plus, I get to have Jenna Ortega staring back at me (unblinkingly) from the cereal box every morning for a week. So that's a bonus. :-p

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Black as midnight; black as pitch; blacker than the foulest witch.

Trix Mystery Color

Name: Trix Mystery Color
Variation: Trix
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: Honestly, I'm getting a little annoyed with all these minor variations of Trix. I don't even like Trix that much* to begin with. I was fed up when they kept throwing different versions with marshmallows at me, and now they don't even have marshmallows!

First it was "silly rabbit turned milk pink", and now it's "turns milk a mystery color". The mystery color better not be pink. >.> In fact, I would hope that it would be a different color each time, based on the combination of cereal pieces - although I don't know how that would work, if it's all pretty much evenly mixed in the box.

Anyway, it tastes just like Trix (with the fruity shapes, not the puffs), and the mystery color reveal is anti-climactic. My default rating for Trix is 2 bowls, but I'm tempted to rate it a 1, just because the novelty is so lame, and I feel like I've been "Trix'd" into buying another box...

*It's funny how, being forced to repeatedly eat some cereals I kinda like (such as Trix) is making me like them less, while being forced to repeatedly eat some cereals I never really liked (such as Frosted Flakes), is making me like them more.

Rating: 🥣
Leftover Milk: 1 of 3 colors? All I get is orangey-pink.

Frosted Flakes with Jibbitz Marshmallows

Name: Frosted Flakes with Jibbitz Marshmallows
Variation: Frosted Flakes
Manufacturer: Kellogg's

Review: Kellogg's is doing a promotional tie-in with Crocs (also featured on Froot Loops w/Marshmallows, but with the regular marshmallows). I'm not crazy about Crocs - I think they're a dubious fashion statement. And for a while I passed this cereal up. But ultimately, I decided I could stand to add a box of Frosted Flakes w/Marshmallows to my breakfast lineup, since I didn't hate it when Tony was schmoozing with the Creeper Bits.

Toucan Sam is sharing the advertising duties.

The light green and orange marshmallows - while not as strongly colored as they look on the box - make for a nice, soft visual palette. As far as nutritional content goes, Frosted Flakes is actually fat free, but because they're frosted, it's not the least sugary cereal on the market (and adding marshmallows doesn't help). I think the marshmallow shapes could be more interesting, especially if they're imitating Jibbitz charms (what are they - flowers, fish, and... balls?).

What are Jibbitz charms, you ask? They're a last ditch effort to make Crocs seem cool by giving people the option to accessorize and individualize their shoes (while lining the inventor's wallet). It's this generation's fidget spinners, or Silly Bandz bracelets (remember those?). Anyway, the taste of Frosted Flakes with marshmallows has definitely grown on me. If it were plain, I wouldn't be so sure, but with the marshmallows, it's actually not bad.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Sweet, but flakey.

Fruity Cheerios

Name: Fruity Cheerios
Variation: Cheerios
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: You'd think something with a generic name like "Fruity Cheerios" would have been done before, but the box says it's new. Ignoring the green Cheerios, this cereal makes a much better impression of "red, white, and blue" than Team Cheerios did (ironically). The only fruit mentioned by name on the box (on the back, and in the ingredients) is pear - which is intriguing. However, the flavor is a little underwhelming. After having Team Cheerios (which was good), and Peach Mango Cheerios (which I liked better than I expected to), this is a bit of a letdown. It's too bad that both of those cereals are "limited editions", and this is the one that's "new" (and therefore, more likely to stick around). That said, it's been growing on me, and it does taste good with fresh fruit added in. I think I could learn to like it.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Pink and pear-y.

Peach Mango Cheerios

Name: Peach Mango Cheerios
Variation: Cheerios
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: I wasn't sure how I was going to like this new flavor of Cheerios, but I know somebody who was very excited to see it. The Cheerios are lightly-colored, and slightly yellowish. They taste kind of plain dry, but that's because the flavor only really comes out in milk. And I can distinctly taste the peach and mango. It's actually quite refreshing. Turns out, peach and mango complement each other really well. It reminds me of a mango colada drink I had recently. I know I don't have great memories of Toasted Coconut Cheerios (although I wonder if my opinion would change if I tried it again), aside from the beautiful teal green box, but this cereal makes me think a Pina Colada Cheerios would be really good. In any case, this is another resounding success for the Cheerios brand. It's almost a shame it's a limited edition. Imagine having all the flavors of Cheerios at your disposal - like from a big cereal vending machine - and being able to mix and match. I bet a tropical medley of Cheerios flavors would be better than Froot Loops Tropical was...

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Fancy a peach mango smoothie?

Chocolatey Chocolate Lucky Charms

Name: Chocolatey Chocolate Lucky Charms
Variation: Lucky Charms
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: I was pretty surprised when I saw this new version of Chocolate Lucky Charms on the shelf. Not only is it chocolate, but it's chocolatey chocolate! I thought, "how different could it be?" But, you know I had to try it. It has a combination of regular Lucky Charms marshmallows, and new chocolate-flavored marshmallows. Honestly, I suspect it's just a slightly rebranded version of Lucky Charms with Haunted Marshmallows that we saw last fall, which is pretty much the same thing. It's basically what you would get if you mixed Chocolate Lucky Charms with Count Chocula. I should love it - and I do like it - but at this point I feel like we're just retreading old ground. And I actually miss the bright colors of Lucky Charms' original marshmallows.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Chocolatey, but not as chocolatey as Cocoa Puffs.

Crunch Berries

Name: Cap'n Crunch's Crunch Berries
Variation: Cap'n Crunch
Manufacturer: Quaker Oats

Review: Having now had plain Cap'n Crunch, I can properly assess the virtues of this cereal. And I can say, from the very first bite, the fruity flavor is a welcome addition to round out the plainness of the regular crunch pieces. And the colors! This is a very colorful cereal. No competition for Fruity Pebbles, but I do appreciate the differently-colored red, green, blue, and purple berries. I'm glad we've managed to get here from only having red berries when this cereal originally debuted (not that I was around for that). People complain about the sharpness of Cap'n Crunch's cereal pieces - and it's a valid concern - but when I eat them in milk, they soften up enough not to cause me any problems. This is definitely one of my favorite cereals on the market and, like Reese's Puffs, whenever I eat it, I can't seem to shovel enough of it into my mouth!

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Sweet, and just a little bit fruity.

Cap'n Crunch

Name: Cap'n Crunch
Variation: n/a
Manufacturer: Quaker Oats

Review: It's time to review one of the classics! Actually, I've never had plain Cap'n Crunch before. I've had Crunch Berries. I've even had Oops! All Berries. But never just Cap'n Crunch. Although the difference in nutritional content between this and Crunch Berries is just one gram of sugar and ten calories, so it's not like eating Lucky Charms without the marshmallows. That said, it is kinda plain, and I do miss the subtly fruity complement of the crunch berries. It's not a terrible cereal, but these crunch pieces don't fare as well as the crunch berries do on their own, and I just can't see me going out of my way to have this cereal again, when I could have it with crunch berries instead.

Rating: 🥣
Leftover Milk: Still sweet.

Birthday Cake LOADED

Name: Birthday Cake Loaded
Variation: n/a
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: Having tried Cocoa Puffs, Trix, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch Loaded, I was surprised to see this new cereal on the shelves. It's the first one to break the mold of being based on an already established Big G cereal. I'm not even sure whose birthday we're celebrating... But given that I've described the other Loaded cereals as tasting like eating vanilla frosted cupcakes, it would seem to be a natural choice.

This time, the biscuits are pretty and pink. I don't know if it's just the power of suggestion, but I swear they taste faintly of strawberry. In milk, they actually do a really good job of imitating the texture and mouthfeel of a frosted birthday cake. Given that I'm not very fond of birthday cake to begin with (as has already been established), I like it better than I thought I would. In fact, this might just be the best birthday cake cereal on the market - better, even, than LOL Surprise!

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Pink, but kinda plain.

Kit Kat - New & Improved

Name: Kit Kat Cereal - New & Improved
Variation: Kit Kat Cereal
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: It's only been a year since Kit Kat debuted, and already, I've been seeing a "new & improved" version on the shelves. For months, every time I'd go shopping, I'd stare at it doubtfully. It's still new. How could it possibly be improved? Finally, I broke down and decided to give it a try. The cereal pieces are lighter-colored. My first impression of the flavor was positive, but the more I eat it, the more of a chore it becomes. Other than a faintly savory note - butter, perhaps? - it's kind of bland, and tastes less like Kit Kats than I remember. And the milk is still plain. I thought, at the very least, they could have fixed that. I'm surprised this is a General Mills cereal. It's like they found a good seller, and then changed the recipe to use cheaper ingredients so they could maximize profits. Capitalism strikes again, I guess.

Rating: 🥣
Leftover Milk: Completely, utterly plain.

Fruity Pebbles Waffles!

Name: Fruity Pebbles Waffles!
Variation: Fruity Pebbles/Waffle Crisp
Manufacturer: Post

Review: The cereal wars are real! Not long after I picked up Cinnamon Toast Crunch Waffle, I spotted Fruity Pebbles Waffles! on the shelf, as if in response. But I've seen pancake mixes flavored with different popular cereals, so I guess it's not that unusual. The first thing I noticed when I opened the comically fat box, is that these blocky waffle pieces remind me of Waffle Crisp - which makes sense, as that is also a Post cereal. So it's basically Waffle Crisp flavored with Fruity Pebbles. The rainbow flecks are pretty, if underwhelming compared to Fruity Pebbles. And the flavors are kind of subtle, especially after soaking in milk. I think I'd rather have plain Waffle Crisp so I can mix it with something better - like Peanut Butter Crunch.

Rating: 🥣
Leftover Milk: Looks like a birthday in your bowl!

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Waffle

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

Review: Making a good companion to French Toast Crunch, here's Cinnamon Toast Crunch reenvisioned as a waffle cereal! The cereal pieces are bigger and thicker - like Cinnamon Toast Crunch Rolls - but actually a little bit unwieldy to chew on. The taste is like CTC with a little bit of maple drizzled on top, but the predominant flavor is butter. It's like eating heavily buttered waffles. It's definitely the "butteriest" cereal I've ever had, and I'm not sure that's something I like. Plus, I'm not crazy about maple. It's been a minute since I've had Eggo Homestyle and Waffle Crisp, but - in spite of the quality of the Cinnamon Toast Crunch brand - I think I liked those waffle cereals better. But, if you really like the taste of butter, you might like these better than I did.

Rating: 🥣
Leftover Milk: Have you ever had a cinnamon maple butter milkshake?

Cheerios Veggie Blends

Name: Cheerios Veggie Blends (Apple Strawberry & Blueberry Banana)
Variation: Cheerios
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: I know I said I wasn't going to bother trying these - as it's my experience that foods blended with veggies don't usually taste very good (V8, I'm looking at you). But I've been a little more health-conscious lately, and I was looking at the possibility of eating some less sugary alternatives to my usual Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs for a change. Plus, I was sure Maple Cinnamon Cheerios Hearty Nut Medley would be better than these, but that cereal turned out to be a total trainwreck. And these? Well, at least they're edible...

They have a dull, multigrain-like coloring. I can definitely taste that veggie-like flavor (1/4 cup of veggies per serving!), but also with a hint of fruitiness - but only a hint. However, with about half the sugar (or less) of the sugariest cereals on the market, they are not sweet. Are they improved by adding fresh fruit? Well, marginally. Even with fresh fruit, they're still not sweet enough for my palate. I think I'll be able to stomach these two boxes, but there are better flavors of Cheerios out there - in the mid-range for sugar and with low fat content - that I would rather eat.

Rating: 🥣
Leftover Milk: Just a little sweet and fruity, with an unmistakable veggie undernote.

Cinnamon Crunch

Name: Cinnamon Crunch
Variation: Cap'n Crunch
Manufacturer: Quaker Oats

Review: This is one of two new varieties of Cap'n Crunch that I originally picked up at the start of the year. But, unfortunately, there was a recall. So I've been waiting patiently to see them on the shelves again, and this is the only one I've spotted so far. It's a straightforward - but intriguing - new variation of Cap'n Crunch. No Crunch Berries, just cinnamon crunch pieces. And you can really taste the cinnamon. It's reminiscent of eating snickerdoodle cookies. I guess if you don't like cinnamon, you're not gonna like this - it's a straighter dose, I think, than what you get in Cinnamon Toast Crunch. But I like it. The crunch pieces have a good mouthfeel, and they're sweet, to keep you coming back for mouthful after mouthful. Now I just hope I can find a[nother] box of Sea Berry Crunch...

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Expect sweet, cinnamon milk.

Raisin Bran with Cranberries

Name: Raisin Bran with Cranberries
Variation: Raisin Bran
Manufacturer: Kellogg's

Review: I'm lukewarm about Raisin Bran, but I was excited when I spotted this new variety on the shelves, because I do like cranberries, and they're a good fit for this cereal. At least, that's what I thought. After tasting it, I don't know how well the flavors mesh. Raisins are nice and sweet. Cranberries have a tartness, and a whole different flavor profile. You'd think maybe they'd balance each other out (as the box claims), but I think they kind of clash. Well, it's not terrible (and the more I eat it, the more it's growing on me). But it's not the slam dunk I thought it would be, either. It was a fun novelty to try. But my favorite version of Raisin Bran is still Raisin Bran Crunch.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Flaky, flaky, flaky.

Raisin Bran Crunch

Name: Raisin Bran Crunch
Variation: Raisin Bran
Manufacturer: Kellogg's

Review: As you might have noticed, Raisin Bran hasn't really been on my radar - until just recently. But I've been spying this cereal for a while now. I don't remember having it as a kid, and I started to worry that it might disappear from shelves before I had a chance to try it. That is, until I sat down to watch the disaster movie 2012 (which actually came out three years earlier than that). There's a scene in the movie where people are panicking in a supermarket. And I noticed Raisin Bran Crunch right there on the shelf in the cereal aisle (of course I was looking at the cereals) - 15 years ago!

Regardless, its time has come. Despite sounding even healthier with its oat clusters, this cereal manages to contain even more sugar than regular Raisin Bran - on account of its honey coating, I imagine. That said, it's pretty good. Flavor-wise, a definite improvement. I'm not surprised it has stuck around. But with the raisins and the high sugar content (rivaling even a cereal like Mega Stuf Oreo O's), I would recommend eating it in moderation. Alternatively, Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch is quite good, and has notably less sugar.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Sweet as honey, but flecked with bran.

Team Cheerios

Name: Team Cheerios (Frosted Berry)
Variation: Cheerios
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: Although curiously not including the word "Olympics" anywhere on its packaging (I'm sure there are major copyright and royalty issues involved), this new variety of Cheerios seems obviously poised as a tie-in. I didn't even realize this was an Olympics year, so I guess it did its job. I'm intrigued by the combination of strawberry, frosted, and blueberry Cheerios to simulate the colors of the American flag (although it's more of a pink, yellow, and purple, than a red, white, and blue) - and I like that the different colors actually have different flavors for once. Let's open it up!

The muted colors definitely don't make much of a visual impression (especially compared to a cereal like Summer Fruity Pebbles), but it smells fruity. As expected from a Cheerios cereal, it doesn't blast you with sweetness, but it does have a pleasant taste. And I think it's a great combination of flavors. The strawberry and blueberry Cheerios complement each other well, and the frosted Cheerios make for a nice bridge. I like it. And it's good with fresh fruit cut up into it, too. Despite looking and sounding like a cheap cash-in novelty to advertise the Olympics, it's actually a good cereal. I would eat "Frosted Berry" Cheerios even if it had nothing to do with the Olympics.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Blue, and very berry-flavored.

Raisin Bran Maple Flavor

Name: Raisin Bran Maple Flavor
Variation: Raisin Bran
Manufacturer: Kellogg's

Review: I like to put maple syrup on my pancakes, waffles, and French toast. But I think I'm learning - especially after the travesty that was Maple Cinnamon Cheerios Hearty Nut Medley - that maybe maple isn't really one of my favorite flavors, certainly for cereal (notwithstanding that one that had marshmallows). I'm torn, because it's a good idea. The plain bran does benefit from adding some flavor, and maple is a breakfast tradition. But do I actually like it? Not nearly enough.

Rating: 🥣
Leftover Milk: Slightly maple-flavored, and flecked with bran.

Raisin Bran

Name: Raisin Bran
Variation: n/a
Manufacturer: Kellogg's

Review: Raisin Bran is never going to be one of my favorite cereals. That said, even as a kid, I could appreciate eating it on occasion, mainly on account of the raisins. Which is actually the reason I don't eat it anymore. Raisins have a pretty high sugar content, making this one of the sugariest cereals on the market, despite its health-forward approach. Which is not to say that it's any worse than, say, Mega Stuf Oreo O's, but is this the cereal I want to spend those sugar tokens on? Regardless, reviewing it for my blog is a good excuse to have it again. Besides, I've been wanting to try some of the alternate flavors I've been seeing lately.

So, it's probably the first bowl of Raisin Bran I've eaten since I was a kid, and I'm not impressed. Yeah, I can see how the sweet taste of the raisins is the only thing going for it. The bran flakes are dull (they're not even frosted), and waste no time getting soggy in milk. There is something about the texture of the raisins that I like - they're chewy, but this cereal is a real chore to eat. I'm glad I poured a half bowl. That's not a very good sign. If I wanted to pretend to be healthy, I think I'd rather have a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch (if I can find it). Looks like it's back to eating cookies for breakfast for me!

Rating: 🥣
Leftover Milk: Diluted with flakes of bran...