Chocolate Strawberry LOADED

Name: Chocolate Strawberry LOADED
Variation: LOADED
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: I was excited to see that General Mills is continuing to expand their LOADED lineup this year. Previously, the only flavor not tied to an existing brand (Cocoa Puffs, Trix, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch) was Birthday Cake LOADED. Now, I introduce to you Chocolate Strawberry LOADED - and just in time for Valentine's Day!

The great thing about this cereal is that it's the first LOADED cereal to use chocolate (creme) filling instead of vanilla. How exciting is that? The color of the cereal is vividly red, and it smells of strawberry. It could have a more vibrant flavor, but I think what sells these LOADED cereals is the satisfying mouthfeel. They soften up in milk, without tasting soggy, and are a lot of fun to eat. Kellogg's Krave might very well have a new competitor!

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Vividly pink but faintly flavored.

[Flashback] Reese's Puffs Hearts

Notice: Flashback reviews have been written from memory, without having the cereal in front of me. I started taking pictures of notable cereal varieties several years before I decided to start a blog reviewing them. As such, details beyond whether I simply liked the cereal or not may be hazy, especially regarding the quality of the leftover milk. Whenever possible, I have made an effort to procure another box of the cereal for a proper review (even the ones I didn't like), but due to the ephemeral nature of many of these novelty cereals, this is not always possible.

Name: Reese's Puffs Hearts
Variation: Reese's Puffs
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: When I started this blog almost two and a half years ago, there were three seasonal varieties of Reese's Puffs I'd had previously, that I was hoping to find again. Thankfully, Bunnies and Bats have proven to be somewhat resilient. But this is the third year in a row that I've looked high and low for the Valentine's Day version of Reese's Puffs (last spotted in early 2019), in vain. Which is why I'm finally resorting to writing a flashback review. It's not a difficult task, however - just a disappointing one. Like the other holiday specials, this is just Reese's Puffs with a slightly different shape. And like every purely cosmetic variation of Reese's Puffs I've had so far, I love it! Could there be a more perfect pair than chocolate and peanut butter?

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣

[Experiment] Strawberry Cocoa Pebbles

Description: New, and in time for Valentine's Day - it's... Strawberry Cocoa Pebbles! Except, not really. But I'm surprised I haven't seen this yet. Mixing Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles is such a simple idea. And I had the perfect opportunity to try it with this winter's WinterFest Fruity Pebbles; I separated out the red pebbles, and added them to a bowl of Cocoa Pebbles. It's not bad. And it looks great. I think it could maybe have a little more strawberry flavor (I've actually never thought about what flavor Fruity Pebbles are, or if the different colors are even the same flavor), but I'm sure that's something Post could tweak if they ever tried making this. I would buy it and try it if they did!

Rating: 🥣🥣

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!

Strawberry Banana Cheerios

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

Review: Two weeks of Cheerios in a row? I've noticed lately that there are a lot of varieties of Cheerios on the shelves. I'm not even sure how many of them are new or limited edition. I don't intend to try them all (at least not in the immediate future), but sometimes there are flavors that catch my attention - like this one.

Strawberry banana is one of my favorite fruit combinations (especially in smoothies and on top of French toast); they're also the two most likely fruits that I'll cut up and put in my cereal (blueberries are also good) - and what better cereal candidate could you have for that than this one?

About half of the cheerios in this box are shaped like hearts, which is cute, and the banana flavor is thankfully not that gaudy flavor you get in banana-flavored candies sometimes (which is like bananas on plutonium). As a kid, Cheerios always seemed like such a dreadfully boring cereal, but with all these creative flavors, my impression of it is definitely improving.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Tastes of strawberry and banana, as you would expect.

Chocolate Strawberry Cheerios

Name: Chocolate Strawberry Cheerios
Variation: Cheerios
Manufacturer: General Mills

Review: After eating the sort of indulgent cereals I like to eat, I have to temper my taste buds before digging into a bowl of Cheerios. That said, I don't dislike the texture and oaty taste of Cheerios, given the right flavor combination. I would never describe a bowl of Cheerios as "bursting with flavor", but this one, arriving on shelves just in time for Valentine's Day season, has hints of chocolate and strawberry that form a combination that is not unpleasant. I doubt it will become one of my favorite flavors of Cheerios (I have a few in mind that I'm hoping to review for this blog eventually), but I liked it.

Rating: 🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: An intriguing blend of chocolate and strawberry.

Froot Loops Sweethearts

Name: Froot Loops Sweethearts
Variation: Froot Loops
Manufacturer: Kellogg's

Review: This Valentine's Day edition of Froot Loops actually features hearts instead of loops. The shapes and the packaging definitely recall conversation hearts, although there are no words involved. The cereal itself tastes just like regular Froot Loops (which I like), but it's always fun when the classics offer a nod to the seasons or the holidays with a novelty product, even when the difference is only superficial (why mess with a good thing?). It's not the heart-shaped cereal I was hoping to find this Valentine's Day season (maybe next year Reese's Puffs will sell Hearts again), but it was a pleasant surprise.

Rating: 🥣🥣🥣
Leftover Milk: Slightly fruity.