Living in a Cereal World

This is another soup I have to make every winter (and with the third snow in a week, it's definitely soup season) and it happens to serve up nicely in our Christmas bowls: Tortellini, Greens, and Bean Soup. For the greens I always use spinach; I still haven't gotten up the nerve to try Swiss chard. It'll happen at some point. And we finally have a pepper grinder--it really makes a difference, especially if, like me, you like to season a little heavy on the pepper. My mother commented that she would even eat the broth without the pasta--the combination of pepper, fresh garlic, and tomato paste is really that flavorful. We served this last night with breadsticks since, like the recipe says, it's more of a brothy pasta dish. And that's all we needed to complete the meal. Now I guess I'll go watch the snow fall for a few more hours. Then maybe a bowl game (no bowl pun intended). Next entry: something cereal related.

I've heard in recent years of many families having a Christmas morning breakfast that includes cinnamon rolls. Well, in my family it's always been waffles. The good kind. The rest of the year, if we want waffles, we use Bisquick. But for Christmas, we make them from scratch, using the recipe that came with my mom's original waffle iron--put out to pasture eight years ago, but the waffles live on. Favorite Waffles 2 eggs, separated 1 1/2 c. milk 1/2 c. vegetable oil 1 3/4 cups flour 1 T baking powder 1 T sugar 1 tsp salt In small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Set aside. In large bowl, beat egg yolks until thick and lemon colored; continue beating adding milk and vegetable oil. Add dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Fold in beaten egg whites. (Note: then, obviously, add batter to your waffle iron.) (We doubled this for five people, some of whom can really eat. They're--the waffles, I mean--so much lighter and fluffier than a mix; you'

Hey, as you can imagine it's the busiest time of the year. I haven't even been on the computer for two days. Just in case anyone thought I'd dropped off the face of the earth--and neither did the earth, thankfully. There hasn't been any news in the breakfast department in the last week. There will be entries next week, though. Or at least topics. We'll see how many entries. Happy various holidays!

I could've sworn I'd mentioned this before...but I guess not. When I started making soups a few years back, Vegetable Bean Soup was the first one I tried. It's hard to screw up a soup, for the most part. Just stay away from the blender-ing if you're just starting out. The not-so-secret ingredient that pulls everything together is the bacon. I don't think I even had enough this time around but it still turned out fine. Even with the extra zucchini and slightly less than the required amount of carrots. Like I said, it's hard to screw up a soup. But easy to throw one together. Really. Try it. You have all winter...

This was the final back-of-the-box suggestion I wanted to try (not doing the fresh fruit--can't deal with the conflicting textures) but with a twist. The box only mentions the molasses but I thought, hey, maybe I can add some ginger and it'll taste like gingerbread. Well...not quite. It mostly tasted like molasses, which is not that sweet, so I added some cinnamon along with the ginger. I'm going to try this again until I get the right spice combination. But just molasses? Not very interesting.

Yesterday I finally had the opportunity to make the new Cinnamon Toast Crunch muffins.  I was surprised at how much the mix itself smelled like Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I was really just expecting a CTC streusel, you know? But the finished product basically tasted like any other boxed cinnamon muffin. And not as much batter as those other ones. I'll sum it up as a fun treat for kids (who probably aren't going to be picky about cereal-based muffins) but not that impressive. I wouldn't pay full price for this (mine was on sale for $2.99 last week), either.

Were you aware that Rachael Ray sells her own brand of instant oatmeal? I wasn't, until a chance trip down the cereal aisle at Walmart a few weeks ago. I said to myself, hey, next time I'm in Walmart I should buy some of this. Which I did. And then I tried it yesterday. First off, when I opened and poured the packet I was surprised to find flaxseeds in there. Lucky for me I like flaxseeds, but still, I should check the ingredients before purchasing next time. Second, it didn't get as creamy as I would've liked but I think that's due to the combination of grains: oats, wheat, barley and rye. Third, "maple drizzle" is a very appropriate name, because that's about the amount of maple flavor you get in every bite. Maybe that sounds kind of critical but I did like it, really. And for the rest of the morning I felt great, not sluggish at all. So I will probably try at least one other flavor this winter. Look for that.

This is my last of the no-longer-existing flavors and it's pretty obvious why they'd stop making this one: there's no need with the Cinnabon flavor (which I first tried last year). And honestly, this cinnamon spice didn't taste much different. Maybe slightly less cinnamon flavor...but only slightly. I suppose you could slap "Cinnabon" on anything and it would be a big seller. Cinnabon hot chocolate? I would buy that. Cinnabon maple syrup? Yeah, that too. Speaking of hot drinks, I finally found that new Harvest Pumpkin tea. I think I'll have some tomorrow.

Not to leave anyone in suspense... We had plenty of dark meat left on our turkey, so the next day I made the appropriately named Next Day Turkey Soup. I would've had enough string beans, too, if I hadn't needed to toss the discolored ones (I had a bag of the frozen kind as a backup). And I happened to have an extra sweet potato on hand. This soup is delicious and full of vegetables. Maybe it helped that the turkey was also tender and not dried out (shameless plug for my mom's Kenmore roaster). I think orzo might be my new obsession. Alongside, the rest of the cranberry sauce and...stuffin' muffins! It's just fun to say, and super easy: preheat your oven to 350 degrees; spray your muffin tin with cooking spray--we use Pam--or butter it if you're so inclined; mound your stuffing into as many cups as you need and then bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until crispy on top. I will admit mine fell apart a little but some of the cubes just didn't get moist enough i

Yeah, I felt like getting back to the cereals today. I'm almost through my Special Ks. I opened the box of Vanilla Almond the other day, and upon the first bite I thought, is this honey? Then, of course, I remembered what I was eating. I suppose it tastes like vanilla. And almonds. That really cuts into the vanilla flavor--but not in a bad way. I just realized that one thing I like about these cereals with nuts is the way the essence of nut flavor gets all the way the through the entire bag. Also, I ate too much. Every time I open a box of Special K I forget how filling it is. **** Bonus review: Last weekend I happened to come across Thomas' Cranberry Swirl Bread. And the name is not misleading: it really does have a cranberry swirl, in addition to the big chunks of cranberries. Also, the bread itself tastes buttery without putting anything on it. I don't know why Pepperidge Farm isn't making theirs this year, but, no matter. This one is much better.

I didn't think it was necessary to list everything that went on over the long holiday but I did want to mention a few things. First, this Jellied Cranberry Sauce, which I made for the first time. I've only made cranberry sauce one other time, in '10--and that was with Craisins. This time I wanted to try the real thing but in a way I thought my family would enjoy it. Like a lot of people, we were used to the Ocean Spray in a can, so when I found this recipe I figured, hey that's not too far off. It was perfect, and even better the next day. So I definitely suggest making it the night before to make sure it's completely solid. Ok, on to dessert. This was a pumpkin pie year for me, so I tried this one, from PARADE. It's not a typical custard-y filling, probably due to the corn muffin mix. Even that little bit made a difference. Actually it reminds me of a sweet potato pie I made last Xmas. Texturally. Spice-wise, it's intense, in a good way. We polished t

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. We didn't have any extra guests this year, so I think we may have overestimated our sides intake. I may be trying stuffin' muffins tonight! But I'm actually here today to share my birthday cake. I had to make it last weekend because that was the only free time I had. I've had this Duncan Hines hummingbird cake recipe stashed away for five years, waiting for someone to request it. But no one ever did, so I finally decided to make it for myself. Yes, I make my own birthday cakes. Why? Because I want to. I loved how the batter smelled like snickerdoodles--maybe a little too much, as I didn't quite pour the batter evenly into my Bundt pan. It didn't taste like snickerdoodles, though; in the finished cake, the pineapple flavor comes through the strongest. I also don't think it would've made much difference if I'd used a whole banana instead of just half. I'd still label it a successful cake, though. Next

Well, I finally did it this morning. I tried almond milk. I knew my sister would get around to wanting some eventually and there's no way she could drink the whole carton herself so I figured, hey, why not? And as far as I can tell, no ill effects. To be fair, I did empty the last of my Lactaid into the bowl first but I don't think it made that much difference. The consistency, color, and taste all reminded me of soy milk (still not sure why that tastes nutty) but without the throat "fuzzies." It complemented my chosen cereal well--Golden Grahams mixed with Maple and Brown Sugar Life--but I'm not sure how well it would work with a corn based cereal. I'm thinking Corn Pops or Kix here. But I did like it. Beats eating cereal dry. ***Oh, and I've been meaning to mention that my schedule is totally messed up right now what with Thanksgiving prep and all. I might not even have regular posts through Xmas. But I'll do the best I can.

Another one I can't believe I haven't reviewed yet. I've been eating Golden Grahams as far back as I can remember. At least since the late '80s, when I first had a say on what I wanted for breakfast. Does it taste the same? As far as my taste buds can tell. I don't remember such a slick coating, but then, why would I have paid attention to that as a kid? The sweetness is also hard to describe. The ingredients list includes "brown sugar syrup," which is probably I couldn't quite put my finger on it. It wasn't honey and it wasn't straight sugar, either. It works with the graham pieces, though. It does get soggy and chewy pretty fast, but that's part of the nostalgia factor for me. It wouldn't be right if Golden Grahams were suddenly extra crunchy. Also, the box had better not ever be any color other than yellow.

(Why no, I'm not afraid to go there.) Anyway, I wanted to share one of my favorite soups. Like I said, it's easy; it's also very flavorful. Oh, I guess I should mention the name: Chicken-Vegetable Soup with Dumplings. I remember as a kid I loved my grandma's chicken and dumplings but now I couldn't possibly eat it--way too greasy. So when I came across this soup I jumped at the chance to try it. You can use whatever frozen vegetables you like; I prefer to stick with the mixed vegetables. Yesterday I forgot to thaw them until two hours beforehand; just a little rinse and they worked fine. I have overcooked vegetables in soup before and it's not pretty. The best part of the soup, though, is the dumplings; they help thicken the soup and make it almost creamy without using a dairy product. Plus it tastes just like the canned kind--maybe even better--without coming from a can.

My sister came home (again) with a new pumpkin butter to try, this one by Meridian Marketplace (there was no actual website but I did find it in a fundraising catalog). It's on the darker side of the color range, like Dickinson's, but with its own distinct flavor--a bit heavy on the cloves. It tastes like what I expect Celestial Seasonings' new Harvest Pumpkin tea to taste like: slightly overseasoned, to get that recognizable flavor. It's not my favorite but I like it and I would totally try their strawberry-rhubarb preserves, too. In other news, in case you missed it: there's been a recall of Nesquik chocolate powder. Man, that takes me back. Not to product recalls or Salmonella outbreaks, but to my milk-drinking days. My favorite at-home lunch as a kid was a tall glass of chocolate or strawberry (preferably strawberry) Quik with a PB&J sandwich and two homemade peanut butter cookies. They just aren't peanut butter cookies if you don't do the cross-h

Continuing my quest to cut down on sugar...and change my typical flavors. I wasn't sure how much syrup I would need; the amount I poured in my teacup (for heating purposes) was enough to coat the bottom, plus a little more. And then I didn't use all of it. Close, though. So I can't give you an exact measurement. It really comes down to your taste, anyway. My taste? Successful. I didn't want my Cream of Wheat to taste too much like pancakes; I guess the fact that it's wheat contributed to the overall experience. It was good, though--just enough maple flavor to make it interesting, and not too sweet. Oh, and, obviously (or not, I don't know) you have to use the real stuff, not table syrup. I could picture that being a weird, sticky mess.

I believe this came out back in the spring but I just got around to trying it yesterday. I just wasn't in an oatmeal mood in May. First things first, it comes in its own cup, and then you either add boiling water or heat it (with water) in the microwave. I opted for the boiling water since I was making a cup of tea anyway. When I lifted the inner lid I immediately took notice of all the berries. Lots of berries. Strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, to be exact, although I didn't really see the raspberries. I'm sure they were in there. I should also note that these berries looked like dried berries and not the scraps in regular instant oatmeal. I couldn't quite get the consistency I wanted, even after adding more water; I'm thinking that may be because of the multigrains. And you really need to stir up from the bottom. That's where all the flavor was. On the plus side, the container holds heat well. Really well. The oatmeal was still warm down to the

Oh, look, I'm back. It turned out to not be so bad for us after all. One uprooted bush, I think. And nerves. Lots of jangly nerves all day Monday and partly into Tuesday. I didn't even let the water out of the tub until Tuesday night. But the threat of bad weather means it's a good time to make soup, so I tried this minestrone. It's not your typical minestrone, which is precisely why it appealed with me, with the chickpeas and spinach and rigatoni. Plus it was really easy. You don't really have to slave over it; let the pot do the work. Last weekend I also tried this recipe: orzo veggies. Now I don't need any more peppers anytime soon. Seriously, though, this was also good. I'd never heard of toasting orzo before--unless I did it in a soup once, I can't remember--and I'm already on record as loving roasted vegetables. Yes, cutting up all those vegetables can get tiring and/or boring, so I did some of it the night before. It's worth the work

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this already. I guess all those Cheerios eventually run into each other. So this is another one of those corn-and-oats blends with a sticky-sweet banana flavored coating. I had it with a banana. Never can have too much banana. Just a few minutes I had a taste for banana bread, mainly because I really overdid the pumpkin this month. But back to the cereal...picture Cinnamon Burst Cheerios but with a banana flavor. It isn't even as nutty as Honey Nut Cheerios. I will say, though, that there aren't a whole lot of banana cereals on the market, so you might as well go with this one. This entry should really be longer but I have a lot going on today. Battening down the hatches for Sandy, you know? So don't be surprised if there isn't another entry before Saturday.

I'm a little pressed for time today but I wanted to mention a new raisin bread I've been eating this week. Maybe it's not technically new but it's new to me: Nature's Own  Cinnamon Raisin Swirl. It boasts of having no preservatives and no high fructose corn syrup and I think I can actually taste the difference in the bread itself. That slightly "off" taste is missing. What I really like about this bread are two things: (1) the size, which is between Pepperidge Farm's thin slices and every one else's "average" slices, and (2) the strong cinnamon scent. They must use good quality cinnamon because when I stick my nose in the vicinity of the toaster the aroma just hits me in the face. You don't even need to breathe deep. This one's definitely staying on the list.

Yes, this is another one of the variety pack flavors they don't make anymore, which is a shame because their dried-and-reconstituted fruit is so much better than Quaker's. In fact, I don't even like Apple and Cinnamon oatmeal because of those mealy little bits of things. It's definitely one of those texture deals. So the apple chunks are better but what about the cinnamon? Yeah, that has more flavor, too. I'm thinking this may be the winter to confirm what I already know about Quaker's instant oatmeal flavors. It's been a while. Back in school my brother and I would split the variety box: he'd get Apples and Cinnamon and Cinnamon Spice; I'd get Maple and Brown Sugar and Raisins and Spice. ...I got just slightly off topic, didn't I?

I already covered tea, so now how about some chocolate? You know, the drink every kid wants after a hard day playing in the cold and/or snow. A big mug with a fat jumbo marshmallow--two if you're lucky. (Not to get too off topic, but how about marshmallow varieties these days? If I was a kid I'd be in marshmallow heaven.) Some people call it hot cocoa but in my family it was always hot chocolate, specifically Nestle Rich Chocolate packets, although later I switched to Milk Chocolate with Marshmallows (to avoid buying marshmallows; must've been in college) and later plain Milk Chocolate. And we always made it with--gasp--water. I don't know why; obviously I have to now, but as a kid I could've had it with milk. Maybe using water was already a habit of my mother's, or maybe she didn't want to have to buy but so many gallons of milk. I should ask her and then update this entry. More recently, let's say three or four years ago, I discovered Land O Lakes

Another lesson in trying things while they still exist... Okay, so I've already written up Raisin Bran Crunch, but do you remember the other Crunch flavors? It wasn't that long ago, and I still don't know why they stopped making them. I remember Caramel Nut Crunch was one of those nice change-of-pace cereals; didn't hate it but didn't love it, either. I think Kellogg's has a similar flavor now in their Fiber Plus line--the most recent one--Caramel Pecan Crunch. So it's practically the same thing but with more added vitamins? The other former Crunch was Cran-Vanilla Crunch. I never got around to trying this. Oh, I was miffed at myself for a while for that one. If you see a cereal you want to try, just buy it and hold on to it. I don't know why I procrastinated on that of all things. But then I was placated by Total Cranberry Crunch, which also no longer exists, so that's another experiment I have planned for later: figuring how to recreate this

First off, I came across this recipe a few minutes ago for rainbow waffles. At this rate I'm going to have a whole binder full of "recipes for future children." Now to what I intended to share: pumpkin cranberry bread. I could've sworn I'd made this before but it wasn't marked on the recipe. I probably have a duplicate who-knows-where. Also, I cut the recipe in half because I really didn't need two loaves and it still turned out fine. Also, I must be in an orange food mood because I also made sweet potatoes and greens. I tore the recipe out of People magazine three years ago and finally got around to trying it. I'm used to eating only sweet potato fries on a regular basis and whipped sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving--not to mention my grandmother's boiled-to-within-an-inch-of-their-lives greens--so I was interested in a different take on these two foods. The flavor was great, not too garlicky and not too sweet, but I learned that you absolutel

In case you missed it: there's been a recall of Mini-Wheats. Just the Bite Size frosted and unfrosted varieties. Now's there a surprise you would not want to find in your cereal box. I guess we really are that much closer to Shards-O-Glass freeze pops. **** In other news, cookies! I meant to make these two weeks ago but my sister left again before I had the chance. So I'm just now getting around to it-- pumpkin-oatmeal raisin cookies. I first came across this recipe a few years back--I made my mom her own recipe book for her plastic-bagged collection of recipes, some of which were twenty-plus years old. This Libby's recipe was from 1997, with double the ingredients of I what just linked here and drizzled icing. It's delicious; moist and sweet and pumpkin-y, but I would've liked them a little bit oatier (is that a word? I just made it a word). I think I'm going to go drown my sorrows over my Birds losing in the ALDS in a mug of hot chocolate.

Well, I guess it's cold enough to start making soup...so I tried a new one last night: Smoky Cream of Broccoli Soup. The attraction for me, obviously, was a "cream" soup with no cream or milk involved. This was also the first time I ever put a hot liquid in the blender. I knew you were supposed to remove the plastic insert from the lid but I couldn't remember why because I haven't watched a cooking show in ages. I looked it up before I got started though: if steam builds up in the blender, it will blow off your lid. This is also why you can't overload the blender. I made sure to be extra careful, and it added to my prep/cook time, but better to be safe than extremely messy. A few thoughts on this recipe: (a) it was delicious; (b) don't let the look of the green liquid turn you off, the flavor is totally in there; (c) follow it exactly, with regards to the amounts. I could've used more broccoli and a slightly bigger potato. Also, next time I'll

Hey, I was out again for a few days and just now getting back into the swing of things. Hopefully next time I'll remember to mention an absence in advance. Anyway, you know how the back of the Cream of Wheat box has "stir-in ideas?" I intend to try all of them this fall/winter, starting today with Polaner All-Fruit. Super-quick backstory: I wanted an interesting flavor of fruit spread, picked up this apricot flavor, didn't realize it was All-Fruit with Fiber , turns out all Polaners are like that now, and then decided hey, I should try this in some Cream of Wheat. I stirred in about a teaspoon and it broke up nicely with little bits of apricot distributed throughout. And I'll confess to adding a teensy bit of sugar but it didn't really affect the mild apricot flavor. It was more than palatable (not even a texture conflict!) and I would recommend it to those of you who find the plainness of Cream of Wheat to be a turnoff.

I thought of this the other day when I noticed the monster cereals were out--you know, Count Chocula, Franken Berry and Boo Berry. They're (Halloween) seasonal around here, but I swear when I was a kid you could get them year-round. Not that I ever got any. They were definitely on the Mom List of Automatic "No's." Everyone's mother drew the line somewhere, right? And it didn't make sense to your kid-logic, did it? I never could understand why my mom would let us have Cocoa Puffs or Cocoa Krispies occasionally (although my brother ate them, mostly) but no Count Chocula or Cocoa Pebbles. Cookie Crisp sometimes, too, but they weren't entirely chocolate. In the "fruity" category: Trix, yes; Froot Loops, sure, but no Fruity Pebbles. Or the Berry cereals mentioned above. Could it be...was my mother a brand snob? I know the Pebbles were Post but the Monster cereals are General Mills...so...nope. I think it's just a case of arbitrary mothering. O

For once I get to review something right after eating it, so the taste is still fresh in my mind. I remember when it first came out, Yogurt Burst Cheerios came in two flavors, Vanilla and Strawberry. I liked both of them but I guess someone decided having the vanilla flavor and Frosted Cheerios was kind of redundant. Or maybe it just wasn't a big seller. Actually, I'm surprised the Strawberry flavor is still around. Yogurt Burst Cheerios consists of sweetened oat pieces (as you would expect from Cheerios) and strawberry yogurt-coated pieces in what I think is just the right ratio. Too much and you're venturing into Lucky Charms' flavor territory. The flavor itself reminds me of Strawberry Delight Mini-Wheats (and it's totally a coincidence that I'm eating both of those this month). Finally, I sprinkled a little bit of Apple Cinnamon Chex on top for some texture/flavor variety. Oh, and I forgot to mention I had this with sliced banana. Altogether a pleasant bow

My sister knows me too well. Whenever she travels, there's no question as to what I want as a souvenir: something food-related, preferably local to the region. So on her most recent trip--to Colorado--she brought back a tiny jar of huckleberry jam. What exactly is a huckleberry? Well, they look like blueberries but with larger seeds, which I could see as I spread the jam on toast yesterday. But they weren't hard like blackberry seeds--at least, I don't think so. I didn't get any stuck in my teeth. And the taste? Definitely...like a berry. Maybe even like one of those little mixed berry packets you get at restaurants. Here, I found  one on Amazon. Seriously, it's good. (Actual cereal review coming this Saturday...)

So I'm trying to cut back on sugar a bit, and I've been saying for years that I wanted to try honey in my tea. Thanks to a freezing (not literally) morning yesterday, it was the perfect time to try it. I decided to use my old standby, Bigelow's Constant Comment. I grew up on this tea. This is my mom's favorite, so we always had it in the house, along with regular Lipton. These days I like more variety, but I will never not have Constant Comment around. It's perfect for warming up after being out in the cold, or on a morning when my throat's a little scratchy. I figured this would be the best tea for my little experiment, since I know exactly how sweet I like it. I made the cup of tea first, then squeezed in a little bit of honey and stirred. Nope, not there yet. A teensy bit more. Still too hot to tell, maybe? A little bit more honey. I tasted it again--ugh, that tasted like a spoonful of honey. I realized then that there was still some water left in the teap

I'll confess: I spent my allotted food topic research time discovering Goodreads, which was a total timesuck. Seriously, I can probably only go there once a week. So I came up with this instead: what to look forward to this fall. --by my count I have about six cereals left that I eat regularly. My sister will be coming home soon so I'm hoping between the three of us we can tackle one of those giant Good Morenings cereals. --then I'll have to move on to granolas, which I've mentioned in passing but never formally reviewed --I'm also looking to experiment with hot cereal flavorings and cold cereal recreations --more baking and recipes --and I'm really hoping by the end of the year to be able to go back and update with pictures. I'm not stupid; I know food blogs need pictures.

(from 28 Feb '12 -- yes, I still have a few of these entries left, and no, I'm not sure they make this product anymore) If you've ever had Quaker Instant strawberries and cream oatmeal, it's basically the same flavor. The main difference is the dried strawberry bits in this looked like actual dried strawberries, as opposed to the oatmeal's pink-tinted...thingies. *** Well, that was short. I need to start working on more ideas for next week.

...and I think this is the last Oatmeal Squares flavor I need to cover. Smell test first: I opened the bag and breathed in the aroma. Yep, smells like a bottle of maple syrup (the real stuff). Surprisingly, though, maple syrup is not one of the ingredients. I guess that explains why it's called "golden maple flavor." I'm also curious as to the "golden" part of the name. That's not a word I usually associate with maple. And for the taste: like the others, it's very subtle and mild. It doesn't overwhelm when I mix it with other cereals. The only teensy complaint I have is that the box color should be differentiated a bit more from the new Honey Nut box design. It's hard enough to find this flavor as it is without accidentally picking up the wrong box.

Or: how to survive without the traditional morning cereal. So I was a on a four-day trip over the weekend and you know hotel breakfast bars--Lactaid is not an option. Neither is taking the pills, for me. So I had to get creative for three mornings. Sunday morning was easy since that's my hot breakfast morning anyway. I had scrambled eggs that tasted like they'd been made from some kind of powder (is that a thing? Powdered eggs?) with water added and toast. Then I went back to the bar for two mini-muffins. I was starving that morning, I think because I didn't eat much the day before while traveling. I'm not the best traveler anymore. Morning 2: oatmeal. While I prefer places that put out the big vat of oatmeal, at least the packets were an option here. I have no idea if I was supposed to microwave it after adding the hot water; it might have cooked it even more. At least now I'm primed for oatmeal season (Fall starts next weekend!). Morning 3: After the generic o

Ask and I shall receive, in a way...? Oh, and, I'm back. I totally forgot to mention I'd be out of town for a few days. Then I was too tired to update Tuesday, which brings me to having something to write about today: I had Apple Cinnamon Chex this morning. When I opened the bag the scent hit me immediately. Definitely apple cinnamon. That's a check (no pun intended) in the plus column. Then came the tasting. Wait a minute, I thought, that's not corn. I expected it to be corn or a corn/something else mix like Honey Nut Chex. But it's actually a rice cereal. Which makes sense when you think about it--otherwise, why would you need Cinnamon and Apple Cinnamon Chex? So the combination of apples, cinnamon, and rice worked successfully for my taste buds. That was a relief (I'm sure I've mentioned before that I can't stand Apple Cinnamon Cheerios. Some things just don't work with oats for me). One nitpick: most of the apple cinnamon flavor came off in t

I think this is the last Mini-Wheats I need to review (like I've said before--no chocolate). Again playing fast and loose with the idea of tasting like a muffin, this flavor of Mini-Wheats is more like "blueberry" and extra sugar. That sounds overly critical, but it really is the artificial blueberry flavor you'd expect in a cereal, or maybe a Pop-Tart. Not that I'm complaining. If I didn't like it, I wouldn't still be eating it. I think blueberry and strawberry were the first "other" flavors I tried once I realized I liked Mini-Wheats. Now someone just needs to figure out how to get apple pie into a cereal.

Sheesh...one minute there's nothing new and then all of a sudden there's a cereal backlog. So today I decided to go with the cinnamon pecan Special K. I eat several flavors of Special K, with the exceptions of original, Protein Plus, and Fruit & Yogurt (tried it once, wasn't impressed). I also like the granola; it doesn't feel like it's weighed down with crap. Oh, and I don't eat the Red Berries, either. If I want strawberries in my cereal, I prefer actual strawberries. Now I'm rambling, mostly to lengthen this entry. How'd you guess? So you know the Special K basics: rice flake cereal, kind of plain. This one has a light coating of cinnamon--which seems just about right for a Special K. You wouldn't expect the flavor to be as strong as the Cinnamon Roll Mini-Wheats or the Cinnabon cereal, and it isn't. I don't think the pecans are flavored, either. If they are, it's just from being mixed in the box with the flakes. Do I like i

Finally opened the box this morning. I don't think I've had this one in a year, either. I popped one in my mouth to see if I could recall the flavor. Not really, no. It was surprisingly crispy. And I can only describe the flavor as a deep cinnamon. It didn't taste like a cinnamon roll at all, which is probably a good thing. Try to imagine eating an entire bowl of tiny cinnamon rolls. I guess the Cinnabon label is meant to be synonymous with "intensely cinnamon." If so, then I approve. I never got around to trying Cinnabon's original cereal--you know, the one before Kellogg's. So I made a point of trying this one last year. By the way, I went to the larger Wal-Mart two towns over yesterday and they had plenty. Two rows. Their cereal aisle is huge. I went there in search of the hard-to-find golden maple flavor of Oatmeal Squares (and was successful) and also finally spotted Post's Good Morenings. I intend to try one of those sometime this year, hones

And now for the only thing I do with plain Cheerios: double-oat breakfast cookies. I'm sure I've mentioned before that I do not eat bowls of the stuff; the smell is...unappetizing, to put it politely. But baked into a cookie they become chewy and almost nutty-tasting--it adds an element to the chewing experience. As for the flavor, there's barely a hint of peanut butter in the finished product; I think it adds more sweetness than anything. Oh, and a ridiculous amount of energy--I feel like I need to get up and move after eating one (or two). My one complaint--and it isn't really a complaint--the recipe never makes as many as it says. I always come up around a dozen short.

Yes, I'm a day late. I had to take a sick day--did not feel like thinking about food at all, let alone writing about it. But a bunch of little notes started piling up, so: 1. Waah! My cereal hookup is going out of business next month. Sure, there's other branches but this one was so convenient. You'd better believe that if they have some kind of massive sale to get rid of the merchandise I will be stocking up! 2. I noticed a new ad for Fiber One 80 calorie Honey Squares the other day. The box says "now more honey and better taste." Can it top my previous "meh" review? We'll see about that. 3. Oh, another fruit butter to add to the list: McCutcheon's Pumpkin Butter. This was a gift from my grandma. I usually get Dickinson's pumpkin butter  every fall so it was good to have something to compare it to. This McCutcheon's version is definitely less sweet and seems to lean a little more on the cinnamon and nutmeg. I still like it thoug

I had to check to make sure I hadn't already written a review of this one. I think what I like most about it is that it's non-flake based. I don't know about you, but when I think of fiber cereals my first thought is dry, bran flakes. Not that they can't be dressed up, but to have a shredded wheat in the fiber lineup was refreshing. I remember I leapt at the chance to try this when it first came out. I think General Mills went out of its way to make sure this shredded wheat was different from Frosted Mini-Wheats (unless they were legally obligated to--either way, smart move). The biscuits are flatter and the texture is not quite as rough. I'm pretty sure I have to eat a little more to fill myself up. Also, the size and texture allow for better (cereal) mixing if need be. If you're not crazy about Mini-Wheats you might like these better.

Picking up where we left off... Banana Fig Bread makes 1 (9-in.) loaf 1 c. chopped walnuts 1 1/3 c. all-purpose flour 2/3 c. whole-wheat pastry flour 1/2 c. sugar 1/2 c. firmly packed lt. brown sugar 1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 3 large ripe bananas, mashed 1 1/2 c. dried figs, stemmed and diced (I ended up using the entire Sun-Maid bag) 6 T. unsalted butter, melted 1/3 c. plain yogurt 2 large eggs 2 tsp. vanilla Preheat oven to 350. Bake walnuts 5 to 10 minutes or until golden, stirring after 4 min.; set aside. Whisk flours and next 4 ingred. in a large bowl; set aside. Combine bananas and next 5 ingred. in a medium bowl; stir in walnuts. Fold banana mixture into flour mixture. Spoon batter into a buttered and floured 9x5-in. loaf pan. Bake 55 min. or until a wooden pick comes out clean, shielding with foil as nec. Cool bread in pan on a wire rack 30 min. Remove from pan; cool completely. (Adapted for People magazine from Ted Allen's In My Kitchen )

You see what I did there? Well, you will. So I was wondering how the drought in the Midwest would affect cereal prices, since so many of them contain corn (of course that's not the only thing to think about, but it is for the purposes of this blog). The answer: not much. As I learned from this article , the majority of cereal pricing is determined by costs relating to production, transport, marketing, and so forth. The raw materials only make up a small amount. So no need to run out and buy up your local supply of Corn Flakes. Good to know. I also wanted to share a banana bread recipe that was in People a few weeks back, but there's no link to it. So in order to make the title of this entry work (I'm stubborn), I'll have to get back to it on Thursday and type it out. Let me just say for now that I'd never worked with dried figs before--or any type of fig for that matter--so I didn't really know what to expect. They smelled kind of like prunes but once I cut

I'm sure I've mentioned Cinnamon Life a couple times already but I don't think I've done an actual review. If you've ever had original Life then you'll understand when I say: it tastes like that, but with cinnamon. Now maybe that sounds kind of obvious but that's also what distinguishes it from my personal favorite, Maple Brown Sugar Life. I couldn't stand original Life as a kid; I thought it was a really weird flavor. Cinnamon Life takes that flavor from my memory and just dumps some cinnamon on it. It doesn't get far enough away from the original flavor like Maple Brown Sugar Life does. The only reason I ever have it in the house is for my brother; like I said before, he was just here for a visit. Whatever's left of the Cinnamon Life after he's gone is up to me to finish, so I mix it with whatever else I might have that fits. Like yesterday, when I finished up my Fiber One Caramel Delight but didn't have quite enough for a bowl--just

(from 27Feb'12) You remember a while back when the Fiber One campaign slogan was "Cardboard, no. Delicious, yes?" Well, I didn't need convincing. I was already convinced. I'll be upfront, though: the flakes might be too dry for your taste. But they--and the clusters--have a nice sweetness, and it's a change of pace from a raisin bran-type cereal for your fiber needs. *** Actual note from today: Just tried one of Dannon Light & Fit's new seasonal flavors--honeydew. Really good. It proved my theory that I like melon-flavored products but not the texture of actual melons.

I failed to mention last time that I trotted out these new recipes for my brother, who showed up for an unplanned visit. Now I'm still getting ahead of myself, in a way. I wanted to share two other recipes I tried this week. Yesterday we had these oven-roasted green beans with dinner. Super easy. Olive oil, salt, pepper, roast. Bam! If you will. It turns out I'd been sitting on this recipe for three years. I don't know why I was so afraid to try roasting vegetables. Now I just want to expand my vegetable options. And last week I made this shrimp fried rice. Definitely get a bag of shredded carrots for this one. One less step for you. What I liked about this recipe--besides all the vegetables--was that it didn't taste weighed down like a restaurant-bought shrimp fried rice. Much less salty. It might not be enough soy sauce for you, though. YMMV. Oh, and I only used half the ginger it called for because my mom is not a big fan of fresh ginger. Or ginger in general, n

I know I'm a day late but I wanted to let you know how the pie turned out. What pie? Oh, this Peach-Mango Pie from this month's Better Homes & Gardens. I knew I wanted to use my frozen peaches in something pie-based; I just happened to glance at the BHG table of contents and, hey, that solves that issue. I thought it was excellent; my mom kept saying, "it's so sweet," but everything's too sweet to her these days. I admit I didn't have enough mangoes; I've never made a recipe that called for a measurable amount of mango (as opposed to, say, "add 1 mango"). I suppose in a pinch you could add more peaches instead. Also, I could really tell the difference between the straight-from-the-orchard peaches and the extra store-bought peach. My original peaches were fat and almost orange inside while the grocery-store peach was small and pale yellow--almost the same color as the mangoes. I probably should go for local produce more often. I was

(from 22Feb'12) I've been dismissive of Little Bites since they came out--"Little Bites? That's for kids [says the woman who still eats Corn Pops and Golden Grahams unashamedly]"--but I could not resist the pull of Cinnamon Roll. In case you haven't caught on yet, I'll try anything that is maple, brown sugar and/or cinnamon flavored. That's my sweet spot, so to speak, and this cereal hits it. The small size isn't a deterrent at all--if anything, it almost makes you pour too much. I give this one 4 spoons.

...or so I thought. I knew there'd be more than enough for three people (eight), so I figured I'd better learn how to freeze them. I found several options and decided right away that the sugar syrup solution was not going to happen. These peaches will be going into a pie at a later date, which means they'll get sugared then. I was intrigued by the idea of freezing a few whole but as it turned out, there were only two peaches left yesterday. So I sliced them, sprinkled them with Fruit Fresh (which, by the way, can be found with the rest of the canning supplies in the kitchen section at Wal-Mart), put them in a freezer bag and checked on them this morning. Still peachy! Two peaches were eaten, two were tossed (boo--I hate wasting food), and I used two in this coffee cake. It was very tasty, although it got a little soggy in the middle--I'm thinking the juicy peaches did it. **** And it turns out I spoke a little too soon about the Cinnabon cereal, which I found yest

I made sure to taste one straight out of the box first--instant hit of cinnamon. I don't remember liking it much the first time (this, in case you couldn't tell, is only the second) but today I just really wanted some cinnamon. I guess I'm still smarting from my last entry. I mixed it with the apple cinnamon Life Crunchtime and that threw me off a little. Okay, I said to myself, remember that flavor from last week. The next bite made more sense, so I didn't have to get up and check my milk. This has just been a really rushed morning, so I was more focused on eating than tasting. *** I was debating whether or not to finally mention the pie I made last week, or wait and tack it on to my future peach entry. Either way it would still feel tacked on, so here it is. I wanted a pie with a crumbled oat topping and I needed to get rid of a frozen deep dish pie shell, so...ta-da. Oh, hey, look, another chance for cinnamon. Also, if you've never tried golden raisins, you b

I don't really need to review this, since I already covered it with the Little Bites version. Same flavor, different size. I just wanted it on record that I mentioned it. **** Now to what I really wanted to write about today: Dear Kellogg's, Do you have something against cinnamon? Why are you taking away my cereals? First the Simply Cinnamon Corn Flakes, now the Cinnabon cereal? Did you have to save up your cinnamon for the new Raisin Bran , which, admittedly, is delicious? Oh, and the Cinnamon Roll Mini-Wheats Little Bites. Yeah, that probably takes a lot of cinnamon. You realize you're now forcing me to try the new Apple Cinnamon Chex, though. Yeah, that's right. General Mills. Maybe you can win me back next year. Sincerely, cerealfyre

You may recall that I reviewed the banana/blueberry flavor a few months back; now I've finally gotten around to the peach/raspberry. After pouring, my first impulse was to pick out a nice-sized oat bunch to try. It tasted enough like raspberries; the little bits of dried raspberry in the oat bunch were also a nice touch. What won me over, though, were the flakes. Instead of a typical artificial "peach" flavor, Post's food scientists have managed to recreate the taste of actual peaches. Seriously. You need to try this. I will definitely rate this higher than the banana/blueberry. Of course, it helps that I have peaches on the brain. I know I'm getting some local ones later this week, so I've been searching for peach recipes. I'll have to let you know how that goes.

The line I always use when trying to convince someone to try this is "It's like Cinnamon Toast Crunch with extra benefits." I, for one, overdid the Cinnamon Toast Crunch as a kid, to the point where I don't think I could ever eat it again. So I have been pleasantly surprised that I haven't gotten sick of this Fiber One. Truthfully, you can tell the difference between a caramel flavor and a cinnamon flavor. But the taste still puts me in a positive frame of mind. Plus all that fiber. Did I mention the fiber? If I could just get a Fiber One (or Fiber Plus) take on Chex, I'd be set.

I meant to include this waay back in the intro but it was running long, and then other topics cropped up, and so on. Anyway, if you've noticed, this blog's address is myilk andcereal.blogspot.com, not "milkandcereal." Why? First, I didn't want to pick something that might have already been taken, but second, (and mostly) it's the way my mom says "milk." Not all the time, just sometimes. If you're familiar with Southern accents, then you know some things are lengthened--like vowel sounds--and some things are shortened. Or, in this case, both. So "milk" becomes "mee-ilk" becomes "mee-yilk" becomes "myilk." Other examples include "dyood" for dude and "Pwontiac" for Pontiac (okay, that one I really can't explain). Of course, I realized after I typed it out that one could also interpret it as " my ilk and cereal." But as you can see, I stuck with it anyway. *** A quick a

Okay, now let's see if I can get back on schedule. This morning I had the hard-to-find Honey Nut Clusters.  The first thing I noticed was that by the time I sat down, the milk level had dropped considerably. So add a little more than you normally would if you want to avoid eating a bowl of honey nut mush. I love the crispy coated flake--it tastes like wheat, or maybe a wheat bran?--but isn't dry. In these times of multiple cluster based cereals, though, the clusters in this cereal could stand to be a little bit larger and/or crunchier. The novelty of Honey Nut Clusters has worn off, which is probably why it's no longer prominent for General Mills. I can't remember if I mentioned in an earlier post that I tried this cereal for the first time only last year. I don't know why it took me so long. The word "Nut" must have thrown me off. Imagine my surprise when I found out there's no nuts in Honey Nut Clusters; the clusters are actually nut-flavored . It

You may recall that I reviewed the strawberry flavor a few months ago; I thought I'd take a crack at the apple cinnamon. I remember as a kid that I absolutely hated Apple Cinnamon Cheerios--and I'd sworn off that flavor of any cereal since then--but for some reason I was open to trying this. I'd figure, if the idea of it doesn't make me gag, I could try it for this blog. I tasted it dry first. The apple flavor comes on strong, and the cinnamon kicks in behind it. I can live with that ratio. My mom tasted a fallen piece and said, "You know what this reminds me of? Apple Cinnamon Cheerios." Gee, thanks, Mom. So now I can't explain why I liked it. Maybe it's the mixture of grains? By comparison, the Cheerios in question are just straight oats. Come to think of it, I've never been crazy about apple cinnamon oatmeal, either. So anyway, thumbs up for this one. I think I could eat it without mixing, too.

(from 21Feb'12) Another repeat cereal day, so I thought I'd write about fruit butter. I couldn't decide how to group it, though: by brand? All together? One per entry? Well, here's a quick line on the ones I've had so far: McCutcheon's Peach Butter (I think this link goes to the product index but it's pretty obvious to navigate)-- like peach baby food, but I mean that in a good way. Plum Butter (I thought this was also McCutcheon's but it's not on the website, so maybe not) -- had a coffee-like aftertaste, at first, but it got better with time. Ozarkland Sweet Potato Butter -- pie on toast, I'm telling you. Includes a sweet potato pie recipe on the lid, but you won't get around to it. ***now for today's actual updates: after a year of searching, my mother finally found a jar of McCutcheon's Pear Butter for me. The combination of pear and spices is unlike anything I've tasted--not even apple butter; you'd think they m

I probably should've been paying more attention when I was eating this but I'll give it a shot anyway. Okay, Multi-Grain Cheerios. There's five kinds of grains: corn, barley, wheat, oats, and rice. I'm glad they finally put it on the side of the box because I never could figure out that fifth one. Really, when you look at them, maybe it looks like four distinct grains. This is another sweetened cereal that doesn't need any additional sugar although I swear some grains are sweeter than others. Maybe I should suss that out next time. *** Ugh, this is only the break in my crazy fortnight (now there's a word I never get to use). I'm shooting for entries on Tuesday and Sunday, but we'll see. My brain hurts just trying to organize my thoughts.

(from 20Feb12) I made oatmeal today. The regular Quaker kind in the big tub, with raisins and cinnamon. Sometimes I add Craisins. Let's get craaaazy [/sarcasm]. This mild winter has made me dread the end of hot cereal season. I just can't eat it in late spring/summer. March will probably do it for me. ***Update: I was right. Especially after we had that one day in March that was pushing 80. And after last week's 90s and 100s, I'm ready for September to start the hot cereal cycle again.

First, a catch-up entry from 17Feb'12: I wasn't supposed to write an entry today since it was a repeat cereal day, but I wanted to mention Ozarkland Hot Cinnamon Apple Syrup (I couldn't find a link anywhere; you can't buy it on their website) . I was worried it would be too spicy--and the cinnamon part does indeed taste like Red Hots--but the sweetness of the apple balances it out nicely. Can't wait to try this on french toast. **Update: I've tried it on everything since then--pancakes, regular waffles, blueberry waffles. French toast, though, was the ideal combination. There was something about the sweet-hot syrup and the crispy edges of sugary batter that worked out perfectly. Second bit of business: Guess what, I did it again. I picked up another box of Archer Farms cereal thinking it was granola. This time, Pumpkin Spice. So I mixed it with some Cascadian Farm oats & honey granola--which is great for mixing since the flavor isn't overpowering.

You may recall when I reviewed the new raspberry flavor that I mentioned a chemical smell--well, this time I opened the box and was immediately hit with the scent of berries. Recognizable berries. Or "berries", if you will. I imagine a My Little Pony that could smell like this. Actually, it took me back to a time, many years ago, when I was a kid trying out an awesome new cereal: Berry Berry Kix. Now there's a flavor I know I outgrew. Sigh. Some things you just can't get back. But you can move on. When this flavor of Mini-Wheats first debuted, I remember thinking it was a genius move. Instead of flavoring the frosted part (like the Blueberry and Strawberry flavors) stick the fruit in the middle! Why didn't they think of this sooner? Or maybe they did and it was a matter of execution. Anyway, to the cereal itself. It's supposed to be blueberry/strawberry but there's apple and grape in there too, I suppose to achieve just the right flavor. And it works

(Ugh, I hate being a day late but that's what happens when you overschedule your Tuesdays.) So, last weekend: On Saturday I made this zucchini oat bread for Sunday breakfast. This is the only zucchini bread I make; others taste more like a dinner accompaniment. I thought I knew this bread well enough to make it in my sleep but for the first time I forgot the nuts. It wasn't a big deal--all it lost was some crunch--but I shouldn't have overlooked that. Then on Sunday I was roped into making cookies for my sister. I didn't want to do it; I'd already planned on making a pie for the Fourth and oatmeal cookies the next week for travel purposes (I always travel with my own fiber!) but it's hard for me to say no when it comes to baking. I was determined to use ingredients I had on hand, which meant using up the last of the milk chocolate morsels. Chocolate chip cookies it is! I used the recipe on the back of the Nestle Toll House bag but at the suggestion of ano

Because I have been asked this before, no, it's not about the calories, I just wanted to try the flavor. This is probably only the second time I've had a box of these Honey Squares, so I'm trying to remember how I felt about them the first time. I wasn't blown away but I wasn't displeased, either. I'm pretty sure I was willing to give them a second chance. On to the cereal: they look like little Golden Grahams, but they don't taste like it, and the texture is different. Not only because it has that gritty--and flashback-inducing --feel of corn cereals, but it seems to be puffed with more air than the flatter Grahams. The taste is just sweet enough; I'm beginning to wonder if I shouldn't type honey as "honey" instead so you know exactly what I mean. Most of these honey cereals have a subtle sweetness to them. Code word: honey. You know, when you type the word "honey" over and over again it starts to look weird. There's actu

(from 16Feb'12) A few years back I was devastated  (relatively--I know it's just a breakfast food) when they stopped making Honey Graham Life. That was the Best. Cereal. Ever. But then they replaced it with Maple Brown Sugar Life and all was forgiven. I never did like regular Life. As a kid I thought it was the weirdest flavor. Cinnamon Life is just okay. I use it for mixing but I wouldn't eat a bowl of it on its own. *** back to today, new product alert: Apple Cinnamon Chex. I probably won't get to that for a few weeks, though. Also, if you haven't the new Mini-Wheats Fruit in the Middle Raspberry flavor because you don't live near a Target, good news! I spotted it at Giant yesterday. I suppose that means it's being rolled out to all regular supermarkets now.

Tuesday has been my busy day lately, so I only have a few little things today: --In my last entry, I mentioned how much I disliked the Total box. Well, it's been cleaned up a little. Just slap a nice picture of a bowl of your product on the front and I'll be happy. --I think, if I'm not mistaken, Quaker has started putting Stila bars in a regular rectangular box. What, nobody likes parallelograms? --I finally caught my white whale over the weekend: pear butter! Totally worth the wait. I'll have to add it to the fruit butter write-up I haven't typed yet. --I haven't gotten around to sharing the cake I made for Father's Day: a sweet potato bundt cake. My brother loved it especially. He said it was his new favorite. I could do without the pecans in the streusel (I'm sure I've gone on the record with regards to nuts in my baked goods) and I may have baked it a little too long but it was tasty. And dense. But not pound cake dense. To sum up, quot

Why review a cereal that's been discontinued? I guess I just wanted it on the record. I was actually looking for Total Cranberry Crunch--I didn't realize that was already gone. Really disappointing. I'll wait till the end of the year, though, for any new flavors of Total before I resort to buying the regular kind and putting Craisins in it. Anyway, obviously I haven't bought Total in a while. Let's start with the redesigned box. Who is the target audience here? Accountants? Engineers? It's too busy and makes eating a healthier cereal seem sooooo serious. You only need to appeal to me with good flavors. As for the actual cereal, I like that's there two different kinds of flakes--oat and wheat, I think--although I'm still not sure which is which. The darker one is probably wheat. Also, there's flax seed clusters. I never noticed that was where the flax came in. I wonder if chia seed clusters are next? That would be an interesting sell. So this&#

My brother came home to visit last week so it was the perfect time to try out some new recipes. First, Roasted Garlic Chicken Sausage and Summer Vegetable Saute. This was the first time I'd ever tried the Al Fresco brand of chicken sausage and Classico Pasta Sauce (I have to watch my tomato sauces; some brands are too rich for me). The combination of the two worked out just fine. I actually cut the recipe in half--we only needed to feed four--and heated the sausage in a pan instead of grilling. It probably would have been better with that flavor you can only get from a grill but I'm not complaining. Second, Asparagus-Stuffed Chicken Rolls. Who doesn't like stuffing foods with other foods? This is a two-person recipe, so to stretch it out to four I used two really big chicken breasts and split them down the middle. Also, I forgot about the sage leaves so I just added some dried sage to the breadcrumb mixture. This was really good but I might have used a little too much

I wasn't going to try this, but it was on sale for $1.99, so I figured, okay, for that I'll be your guinea pig. My first impression upon looking at the box (and tasting it) was that this must be Quaker's answer to Honey Nut Cheerios. It makes sense; they are the oat company. The shape is intended to be a heart--it's more defined on the inside than out. The texture is close to Cheerios but maybe puffed with a bit more air. It's such a slight difference you might not even notice. When soggy, the chewiness reminds me of another cereal I used to eat but I can't think of it; it's driving me crazy. Alpha-Bits, maybe? And some of the corn/oat Cheerios. The sweet flavor is similar to Corn Pops, which, coincidentally, was the other half of my cereal mix today (my brother was home last week and ate all my Oatmeal Squares--I expected that, though). You can really tell that a little something extra is missing since there's no nut flavor as well. If forced to

Another classic. If I was forced to choose only one cereal to eat with bananas, it would be this one. Bananas and honey just belong together. What can I say about such a well-known product? First, thank you , General Mills, for not messing with this one. You can invent forty more flavors of Cheerios as long as you leave this one alone. The size and texture of the oats should stay the same; the honey nut flavor doesn't need to be any sweeter or nuttier or more intense. And don't ever get rid of the Bee. (Technically I was finishing up the Kix but I needed something to complete the bowl. The Honey Nut Cheerios dominated the flavors but that was fine.)

I don't bake often but my brother is home for the week and dominoes (no food pun intended) just kept falling. I was determined to make this blueberry rhubarb pie because my brother loves blueberries and he'd recommended strawberry rhubarb pie to me a few years ago. Now I'd never had rhubarb until this pie, but I guess if it can be baked, I'll try it. First, I had to find some rhubarb. I actually had to go two towns over to Wegmans, where it turned it out to be cheaper to buy frozen rhubarb for the amount I needed. Once it thawed, I was able to really assess it for the first time. It reminded me of celery, but not as stringy (and don't worry, it doesn't taste like it either). Another first time ingredient for me: tapioca. It's a thickener and I think I love it. Nobody likes runny, watery fillings, especially when using frozen fruit. Tapioca tightens that right up. It was nice to cut a slice and have nothing but fruit and crust. As for the flavor, it wa

(from 15Feb'12) Apparently this replaces Raisin Bran Extra, which is not a problem for me, because I wasn't too fond of it anyway. This new Cinnamon Almond, though? Delicious. My one complaint is the lack of raisins. I hope they're all in the bottom of the box. Otherwise, where's my two scoops of raisins, Kellogg's? *** update: I just opened a fresh box of this on Monday. I think there's more raisins this time. Maybe they figured out the ratio.

I just happened by accident to come across how to make use of those top tabs. They were one of the reasons I chose this layout in the first place. So now with the labels you can choose what you want to read and skip the rest. I have a feeling most people are here for the cereal reviews anyway... Enjoy!

(from 14Feb'12--I forgot I still have catching up to do!) Today was a repeat cereal day, so I thought I'd review a granola. I eat it with yogurt a few times a week. I bought this Archer Farms Cranberry Crisp cereal thinking it was granola and didn't realize my mistake until I got home. The MacGyver-y (okay, not really) solution: I mixed it with some Cascadian Farms french vanilla granola I already had on hand. Pretty good, even with the weird wheat twigs. Like eating Golden Crisp without the guilt.

I wanted to make a simple pound cake for Memorial Day and had this one in my back pocket since last November. Well, I committed quite possibly the biggest baking error there is: I forgot the sugar. There were at least three points in the baking process where I should've caught that mistake but I missed every one. I know I was too focused on not screwing up melting the chocolate--it was my first time--but that's not really an excuse. It just wasn't a good day to bake. I had too many other things on my mind. So then I had a whole bunch of leftover milk chocolate morsels. What to do? Cookies, duh. I considered making regular chocolate chip cookies but then I came across this oatmeal cookie recipe specifically for milk chocolate chips. Anytime I can stick oats in my baked goods, it's done. As for the cookies, they're not bad. A little too buttery-rich for me; I can't really eat more than one at a time. That's probably a good thing anyway. ****** Just a qu

This is the most recent flavor in the Fiber Plus cereal line. I've realized that "crunch" is Kellogg's shorthand for "contains oat clusters." But it works on two levels for me because this is another one of those cereals with crunchy flakes that hold up for a long time. Seriously, I was still picking out a few non-soggy flakes at the end. I'm sure I've mentioned before that I don't like nuts in my cereal but there's so little pecan in the clusters that it's not really an issue. My focus returns to the flakes. The caramel flavor is strong in this box. It almost reminds me of...Cracker Jack, maybe? It would be too much for me without the addition of the oat/pecan clusters. Also, the box boasts of tasting better than Fiber One Honey Clusters, but I beg to differ. It tastes stronger , yes. But it tastes different because they're entirely different flavors. The Fiber One in question has a mild honey flavor. You can't really compare t

It just so happened that I was able to have one of my favorite combinations this morning: Special K Chocolatey Delight and fresh strawberries. Strawberries and (close enough to) chocolate for breakfast? Yes, please! Ok, so I sprinkled in a little bit of Fruit Blends --I'm still trying to finish it--but the overall effect was still there. On to the actual cereal. My favorite quality of the various Special Ks is the flakes: large, crispy rice that stays crispy just long enough. This particular one even tastes like it has a hint of cocoa (by virtue of being packed in with those chocolatey pieces). In case you didn't know, they're not actual chunks of chocolate. That doesn't bother me; the amount I had in my bowl might've been too rich otherwise. I'll be having strawberries again tomorrow in the cereal I plan to review Saturday. This'll be interesting.

So I had this again today, as I mentioned last time, and my first bite out of the box tasted an awful lot like an intense brown sugar. I had to try another one; this time I was able to separate the flavors. The combination of the honey nut flavor and this particular oat cereal just happened to taste like brown sugar, which was kind of weird. That wouldn't happen with Honey Nut Cheerios, you know? But after a few spoons, it began to taste more like honey. Especially mixed with the Corn Pops. It was like a entire bowl of honey flavored cereal. Good times.

Corn Pops was one of those cereals I assumed I'd outgrow but a few years ago I picked some up on a whim and...there you go. Sometimes you miss the familiar flavors. Not to mention the weird, gray non-plastic bag. I assume it has something to do with the stickiness? Hold on. I just checked the bag. It's regular plastic now, so I guess they solved that problem. Huh. I wonder when that happened. Anyway, at least it still tastes the same. And it still gets chewy in milk, which you would think would be annoying, but it's comforting, I suppose. This is the way Corn Pops should always be. Take note, other traditional kid cereals *cough* Honeycomb *cough*. Still, to assuage my junk cereal-eating guilt, I mix it with Oatmeal Squares. It's a great combination, really. This month I have the new honey nut flavor, which I will review Tuesday. I need to eat it again to really get a handle on it.

This is a reliable flavor in my family--my dad has eaten it, my grandma eats it regularly. What is it about Maple and Brown Sugar? I thought about it while eating (a little too much of) it yesterday. Maple on its own--while perfection on pancakes--might be underwhelming on cereal. Brown Sugar might actually come off too strong. But when you put the two together, the balance of flavors keeps you coming back for more. It's one I always look forward to slightly more than the fruit varieties.

My mom was out of town for Mother's Day so I decided to wait on the food-gifts until she got back. I made this apple pie last Friday with Braeburn apples, which are my favorite. Sometimes I mix them with Galas. I'm not a huge fan of the tart apples, like Granny Smiths, but my favorite deep-dish apple pie calls for a sweet/tart mixture which is actually pretty good. For dinner I made this roasted salmon. We've had it several times now and I definitely recommend it. The idea of smoked paprika was a little intimidating at first but we took the risk since it was cut with some brown sugar. It has a nice sweet and smoky flavor. I also accidentally bought baby spinach instead of regular spinach but between the three of us we ate the whole bag. **** Oh, and I finally made a note of those other new Jello flavors: cherry lemonade and fruit punch. Of course I'm going to try them all.

A classic. I've been eating this as far back as I can remember. How could you not like the simplicity of a slightly sweetened puffed ball of corn? Well, I suppose you might not. I know when I was a kid this was one of the cereals I sprinkled sugar on. When everything else you eat has a raging sweetness I suppose you expect every cereal to taste that way. But anyway. I still love Kix (without the extra sugar). Even when they get chewy at the bottom of the bowl--still enjoying it. Today I had it with sliced banana. I think the key for me is the combination of textures. I couldn't do bananas and Oatmeal Squares, for example. I think I'm rambling. It's too hot today.

(from 13Feb'12) I had just enough left in the box for a full serving. Good times. I eat all the bite-size Mini-Wheats except that cinnamon [streusel] one. Didn't like that. I don't think they make that one anymore anyway. They've introduced a new Cinnamon Roll flavor in the Little Bites, though, so I've decided to to give it a shot. Watch for that review soon. ***** Back to the present day: we have a **non-breakfast new product alert.**  Okay, technically it's a new flavor alert. Yesterday I bought mango Jello. I know! It's really good. I hope it proves popular enough for Jello to come up with a sugar-free version next year. Oh, and there's two other new flavors, too, but I didn't catch those. Maybe next time.

I wasn't feeling so great Sunday morning, so I thought I'd skip the scrambled eggs in favor of some homemade raisin bran. To accomplish this, all you need is a box of bran flakes and some raisins. Yes, really, it's that simple. The first couple of times I used a store brand, but this was my first time trying Post's Bran Flakes. I know what you're thinking: another Post cereal so soon? Well, this box had already been in the house for three weeks--my aunt ate it the last time she visited--and believe or not, it still wasn't stale. Plus column for you, Bran Flakes. In fact, the only negative was that all of my milk was absorbed about halfway through. Mostly that was my fault, though; I was eating really slowly (even slower than usual) because I didn't have much of an appetite, and I was also reading, which slows you down. So I was left with half a bowl of bran mush. It wasn't too much of a problem because when I'm not feeling well my favorite things t

You know, I was really looking forward to some Just Bunches. I use it like a granola with my yogurt, and I hadn't had any in a while. I thought they'd stopped making it until I spotted it at Wal-Mart last month. Last week I got around to opening it. Nothing strange there. But the other day I found a dead bug in one of the bunches. No big deal, I thought, it happens. It was one of those tiny brown crawling things--they almost look like food if you aren't looking closely. Well, today I found another one. This time, though, I swore it was moving. So I picked the bunch out of my yogurt and dropped it on the table. The little bug dislodged itself and started wriggling. Oh, heck no, I thought (well, actually I had several thoughts with much stronger language but I'm assuming this is a family blog), threw the offending bunch and bug away, and closed up that box. Like the title says, not cool. For all I know there could be a whole bug colony in the bottom of the bag (I don&