Living in a Cereal World

I think the name is a bit misleading. I can taste the corn in there. I know there's corn in your oats, Kellogg's (nudge, nudge). I tried this cereal when it first came out back in 2010 (I think). I was a little bit disappointed, but then again, I may have set my expectations too high. It was good but I wasn't wowed by the cinnamon flavor. I wanted more. However, as with most new products, I needed to try it a second time to make a clear judgement. Now I think it's pretty good (obviously, or I wouldn't be eating it again). I would compare it to Cinnamon Burst Cheerios, as opposed to regular Cheerios. It's not the amount of oats I was expecting, but it does have crunch. *And just to update, I opened the box of Maple French Toast granola I told you about the other day. It could've had a bit more maple sweetness but I do like it. It tastes like a guilt-free Crunch 'N Munch.

I realized I'd better mention this before I finished the box! I first noticed Oatmeal Squares a few years back when Quaker included them in a bagged snack mix that was so good --seriously; it was cheddar-flavored and had Cheese Nips and pretzel rods and bagel chips...anyway, it led me to think, "maybe I should try the cereal," which I did. The thing about Oatmeal Squares is they're really dense. Really really. Which I suppose is good if you're trying not to overeat, but I found I didn't like eating a whole bowl of them. And I don't like to waste cereal, so I was determined to mix them with something. It turns out they mix well with a lot of things. My favorite combo is Oatmeal Squares and Corn Pops. (This goes for any flavor of Oatmeal Squares, by the way. I'll be trying the new Honey Nut next.) Lastly I have to mention: Happy Blog-iversary! I can't believe I've stuck with this for a month. I guess I finally found a concept that works for m

That's a mouthful, isn't it? Now I am going to try very hard to avoid a cheesy spoon/cereal segue. So I saw this in a Target ad two weeks ago and bought it last week after checking around--I think it's only available at Target for now. I went into it pretty much knowing what to expect; I've had the Touch of Fruit Mixed Berry flavor a few times. Can I taste the difference? Yes. This is distinctly raspberry. Or "raspberry." It tastes like a Nutri-Grain bar filling, basically. I also noted the slender box size, like a Little Bites box. And the smell was almost off-putting at first, like nail polish. You get used to it. I would buy this again; I can now say I eat all the Mini-Wheats flavors except Little Bites Chocolate. Which, if you've been reading regularly, you probably would've guessed. Rating: 3 out of 4 spoons. (I still can't commit to a ratings system!) **another new product alert** I was in Target the other day (yes, again ; I pretty much

I haven't had a chance to put it into practice yet but I want to reserve Saturdays for non-breakfast posts. Not exclusively; I'm just saying don't be surprised to find something "off-topic" on the weekends. Like these Mushroom-Stuffed Porkchops from bhg.com. I can't get over how delicious they were (I know I use "delicious" way too frequently; bear with me, I'm not a food writer). A few notes, though: we followed the baking directions since it isn't quite grilling season here yet; we used regular, not thick-cut chops--they turned out fine, just don't cook them as long; and my mother suggested they could've used more glaze. So, yeah, I'm not a huge pork consumer, but this will definitely be added to the rotation.

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned that this is one of my favorites . While regular Kix is great, it's a classic, Honey Kix just turns the flavor up a little bit more. It pairs well with bananas, which is how I had it today, and with other honey-flavored cereals (I admit to sprinkling a little bit of Honey Nut Chex on top. Just a little). I feel like this review should be longer but what more can I say? Simple cereals get simple reviews--and cereal definitely shouldn't be complicated.

This morning I did a rare thing--I mixed three cereals. I try not to do this because while two is all right, three can lead to eating too much. But I had two almost empty boxes, so I thought I'd give it a shot. First I emptied the Frosted Mini-Wheats Little Bites cinnamon roll (just as I suspected, the smaller size lends itself well to mixing), then I emptied the Cinnamon Burst Cheerios on top of that, and finally I added a thin layer of Maple Brown Sugar Life to complete the bowl. Reviews forthcoming on all of these individually, of course, but suffice it to say that was a great shot of cinnamon. Every bite offered something different and the two cinnamon cereals together weren't overkill. This wasn't even what I intended to write today. Oh well. Just thought I'd share.

Today I thought I'd mention some recently passed cereals that I still miss. I remember it was almost three years ago that my brother got me hooked on Smart Start Strawberry Oat Bites. They were a bit crisper than a shredded wheat and had a strawberry-flavored filling. As is usually the case, one day I went to the cereal aisle and they were no longer there. I think Kellogg's took their strawberry-stuffing technology, replaced it with chocolate, and created the new Krave cereal. Boo. What I miss even more, though, is All Bran Strawberry Medley. You may remember, when it first came out, the commercial had John McEnroe in some couple's bedroom? That was one of my favorite cereals of all time. I know I could recreate it today with some bran flakes, Corn Chex, and fresh strawberries--and it would probably be better--but it wouldn't be the same. 2009 must've been a big strawberry year for me. *No, I didn't forget it's St. Patrick's Day. I just wore out my e

Ever have a craving for Chex, but not one of the plainer ones? Maybe what you want is Honey Nut Chex. It's corn-based, gluten-free, and has a honey nut flavor that tastes like neither honey nor nuts but it's...right. It just tastes right. I mixed it with Maple Brown Sugar Life this morning (another out-of-order review--I guess I'll have to go back and insert links later). It's been a month since I came up with the idea for this blog and I've really gotten into mixing cereals in the interim. Most surprisingly successful combination thus far? Maple Brown Sugar Life and Fiber One Shredded Wheat.

(I'm trying to institute an "open it, review it" same-day policy. We'll see how this goes...) A Brief History of Bran: It all started in college. I figured if I was going to have a crappy college student diet--and oh, it was--I could at least do one decent thing for myself. So I started eating Raisin Bran Crunch. It was only in the last year or two that I decided to branch out, see what else was part of the raisin bran landscape. One of those was Fiber One Raisin Bran Clusters. I only had a little bit of it today to top off another cereal (yeah, I'm getting out of order again) but I've had it enough to review it. The main difference between this and your classic raisin bran is the flakes. They're smaller and rounder and not quite as dry, almost like they have a (barely) sweetened sheen. Oh, and there's clusters. Duh. The only thing I would warn against is eating this at the same time as Fiber One Honey Clusters. Too much of the same flake-ness. *

Hey, look! This month's issue of Relish features cereal snack recipes (actually, it's the Breakfast Issue--yeah, I saved almost all of those recipes): Fruity Cereal Treats -- I will definitely be trying this one; I seem to be on a dried apricot kick Almond Honey Crunch -- no sugar, only sweetend with honey, if that's your thing Peanut Butter-Rice Cereal Bars -- you had me at peanut butter. I highly recommend liking Relish on Facebook, too. They're always sharing interesting recipes (did I mention I'm a food lover in general, not just breakfast? I should've mentioned that).

This was another Target impulse buy. It's Life...but it's not? It comes in strawberry? I'm intrigued. First, it's clearly meant to get kids to eat Life. It's like a gateway Life. Otherwise, why bother branding it as such? Quaker could've just called it Crunchtime. It's another one of those multigrain-but-prominently-corn cereals (like certain Cheerios with reviews forthcoming). The rounds aren't as big as I thought they would be; I'd call them button-sized, and slightly puffy. I knew as soon as I poured it that this would be a good candidate for mixing, so I added some Oatmeal Squares on top. It wasn't too sweet and barely turned the milk pink (pluses in my book) but it benefitted from the texture difference in the Oatmeal Squares. Final verdict? Nothing special, but I do like it. If I had kids, I would buy this for them, and they'd probably eat it straight. I'd have to continue mixing it, though, to avoid breakfast boredom. And you k

(So it looks like I'll be sprinkling current reviews in with the ones I wrote last month. I hadn't quite made up my mind but these things have a way of working themselves out.) I bought this oatmeal on a whim, like most Target purchases. Plus I have a good track record with Archer Farms granola. This oatmeal is packaged similarly and makes about the same amount as the Quaker kind, so the only factor going towards buying another one of these would be a new/interesting flavor. Which is why I picked up Pumpkin Spice in the first place. I felt it was a bit heavy on the ginger; I think I was expecting more of a pumpkin pie flavor. Then again, too much cinnamon would've made it a deep orange-colored Cinnamon Spice, so I can see why they'd shy away from that. Overall I liked it and will definitely eat it again.

(from 8Feb12) The first time I had this I was disappointed. I wanted a fuller flavor, like the Bakery Favorites line (do they still make this? update: yes, they do ). Today, though, the second time, the mild taste of honey was exactly what I needed. The lesson: appreciate the oatmeal for what it is, not what it isn't.

Oops. Realized I forgot a few things. First, I was so psyched when I came up with this idea that I started writing entries before setting up the blog. So it'll probably take a few weeks to catch up on everything I've already written. Second, another word on the stuff I'm not into. On the chocolate cereals: there's only one that I like--Special K Chocolatey Delight. Slice some fresh strawberries on top, it's like dessert for breakfast. The rest fall into the category of cereals I just don't eat anymore. I wasn't even really into the chocolate cereals as a kid. Yeah, Cocoa Krispies turned my milk chocolaty, but I also had Hershey's Syrup for that. Also, my mom was not going to buy that too often. As for the others, when was the last time you had Honeycomb or Trix? I swear they're not the same. It's not even an adult taste bud thing; they're just not as good. Honey Kix tastes closer to what Honeycomb used to taste like. Lucky Charms: I'm

1. What's it about? This is mainly supposed to be for reviews of cereal. There could be entries on other breakfast foods/products, non-breakfast foods, and non-food posts, too, but I'll try to keep those to a minimum. 2. Cereal? Really? Yes. I love cereal. I think I've always loved cereal; I just forgot about it over the last couple of years as my lactose intolerance gradually crept up on me. Last year I finally switched to a lactose-free milk and rediscovered my feelings: hey! This is great! I should share this with someone! So...I started a blog. Ta-da. Disclaimer (because you never know): I am not paid to endorse any particular products, although wouldn't that be a great job? Man, that'd be sweet. 3. Anything else? Yeah, I hate to be a bummer, but there are some things I won't review, like most chocolate cereals because I don't really do chocolate for breakfast, and most traditionally kids' cereals, because they just aren't the same an