Living in a Cereal World

Ok, so I'm just now getting to this after stashing it away for nearly three months because the week before I found out about it I had just opened a box of Pumpkin Spice Cheerios. Apparently I didn't realize how large that box was until it took me two and a half-ish months to finish it. Anyway, finally , Maple Cheerios. I wanted to categorize this as a "limited edition" cereal but the website  clearly states that this is a "new, permanent addition" to the Cheerios lineup. But a permanent seasonal addition, maybe? Eh, we'll see. So, flavor. It's a recognizable "maple-y" flavor at first taste, but upon further reflection it reminds me of a Honey Nut Cheerios without the "nut" undertones. You know what I mean. Honey Nut Cheerios taste like two things: 1. honey, and 2. something else that's not any specific nut. So if that "nut" flavor bothers you, I would recommend trying these Maple Cheerios instead. (Maybe

Since we went away for Thanksgiving this year, we had a backup turkey sitting in the freezer, meaning it was time for Second Turkey Dinner. 😁 And most importantly, the pies I didn't get last month. Pie #1:  Easy Lattice Apple Pie . Because it had "easy" in the name and I had enough stuff to do leading up to Christmas. It's very spice-heavy and not overly sweet: perfect for topping with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Pie #2:  Best Ever Healthy Pumpkin Pie . Ok, maybe not best best but very good. And I'm always looking for pumpkin pies that don't call for sweetened condensed milk because I cannot handle that stuff. You might have pumpkin pie fanatics in your family who are sticklers for that gelatinous/custardy consistency who wouldn't like this but they'd have to really be sticklers. And all new sides for me:  Slow Cooker Stuffing (it makes a lot --I had to jam it in my 5-qt Crock Pot);  Cranberry Orange Sauce (of course it's delicious

Umm...how did it get to be so late in December already? I completed and handed out my gift cookies two weeks ago! Blame it on the season. It seems like I spend all my free time baking or wrapping. 😵 But I still wanted to share what I included in this year's cookie tin. Soft Batch Pumpkin Gingersnap Chocolate Chip Cookies . I made (and froze) these back in November so I was still on Pumpkin Time. It might be a bit heavy on the ginger for some tastes once you roll them in the sugar-ginger mixture, but that wasn't an issue for me. 👍 Next, I attempted a snickerdoodle for the first time ever. The only ones I'd had before were thick and pillowy but these from  Two Peas are a more typical cookie. Sweet and cinnamon-y and do they spread . I gave away the smallest and neatest cookies and kept the weird giant ones. Finally, I browsed my collection to find these  Snowy-Topped Brownie Drops (also from Two Peas). People love chocolate, right? And these are basically just a br

(Also oats.) So how did I manage to pack three apple recipes into a ten-day period? Total coincidence. I started with these  Apple Carrot Muffins two Sundays ago as a way to up my oat intake in advance of Thanksgiving. Also, I wanted a somewhat healthy muffin. Yeah, I still did the glaze😜 but not on all the muffins since I froze some. If you like a hearty muffin with good stuff in it, try this one. 👍 Next came my birthday cake, which I actually picked out months ago. This was one of my rare traveling on Thanksgiving years, so of course I was going to tote along my birthday cake (you thought I'd bring a birthday pie? 😉). I chose this  Apple Crumb Cake because it was almost pie-ish, like an apple crumble pie with a super-thick bottom crust. The only thing I changed was to make half of the crumbs because it was just so much butter (actually, two things. I also subbed oats for the pecans). Sure, you only get one birthday cake a year, but I didn't know what sides and

It seems we're having a Snowvember day...so what better time to blog about cereal? 😛 I didn't bother to categorize this one as "new-ish" since I reviewed the  honey cinnamon flavor way back in July. I don't why it took me so long to get to this one. I think those purple puffs were a turn off. But it shouldn't have been, because there's no weird purple dyes involved, just purple corn and berries. It's Kashi , I should've known better. Kids will probably be all over those puffs, though. Smart. 👍 My favorite part was the apple-strawberry filled "pillows," which were also a feature of the Honey Cinnamon variety. I'd eat a box just of those. I guess that would make it Berry Krave?

So Target released a bunch of new Archer Farms granola flavors a few weeks back and I thought I ought to try one even though I have plenty of granola (store-bought and homemade) already. What struck me about this Lemon Raspberry was the flavor. There's nothing wrong with it; it was just... familiar somehow but I couldn't place it. After a day or two I finally realized the lemon tasted exactly like Cascadian Farm's  Lemon Blueberry except there's no mention of lemon oil in this one. So why do they taste the same? Maybe it's just in my brain. Also, both the lemon and raspberry components nicely complemented the peach YQ yogurt I had. 😁

In the latest installment of "What Do I Eat Besides Cereal?"... This  Sheet Pan Garlic Butter Salmon from Damn Delicious. Never was a website more aptly named. Seriously, who can resist dinner all on one pan? And the garlic butter sauce. You could put that on just about anything. These  Bacon-Chicken Sandwiches from Taste of Home. Now I'm not a big bacon-eater, but this sandwich gave me a little glimpse into why people love BLTs so much. Also, this sandwich hinges on the mayo-chutney mixture. I'll confess that until this day a few weeks ago I'd never had mango chutney in my life . Ever. And I've never had Indian food, either. I want to but I don't know if my digestive system can handle it. But mango chutney? Is so good. Finally, although everything listed here was super-delicious, this  Cinnamon French Toast  from Chobani takes the cake. Or takes the French toast. Every now and then I'm willing to try a French toast recipe with challah o

And in tiny letters underneath: with almonds. Although, come to think of it, I didn't even notice the almonds. I was focused on the other elements of the cereal. And maybe I was in a really good mood two days ago (who knows?) but I really enjoyed this. I could complain about the artificial "banana" flavor but actual banana flavor is hard to replicate. You might end up  with this . No, that "banana" is what I expect and is not offensive to my taste buds. Just so you know, it really permeates the bunches and the flakes. Speaking of which, I must've had a very good box because the flakes were a good size and not crumbly bits, and the oat bunches were big and bunch-y. If you were sampling this cereal, you would want it to look like that. I topped mine off with blueberries (because bananas and blueberries  just   go   together ) and overall had a very pleasant breakfast experience.

I think I've had this over a month and am just now getting around to opening it. I could have waited. Overall impression: disappointing. Or if I hadn't gone into it with any expectations: underwhelming. I was hoping it would be like  Wheat N' Bran , meaning a flatter, tightly-packed woven wheat, but with flavor. In actuality, it's an unstuffed version of the Frosted Shredded Wheat(s) that came out in 2017. And without that filled element, it's pretty...unspectacular. If you want a strawberry frosted wheat cereal, you're better off with Frosted Mini-Wheats Strawberry. Or, if you want a frosted shredded wheat like what I wanted above, Trader Joe's makes one in original frosted. I don't know if it comes in strawberry. You could always just add your own strawberries. Ta-da.🎉

So what exactly is French vanilla, and why do I like it in other foods but not the original ice cream? Okay, maybe I shouldn't have put those two questions together. French vanilla the flavor is meant to evoke the flavor of French vanilla the ice cream. So does this granola have that expected "French vanilla" taste? Yes, yes it does. And does it have almonds? Yep. Then there you go--French vanilla almond granola. That still doesn't explain why I like it everything except the ice cream. If I had to pick a vanilla ice cream I'd go with classic vanilla first, then vanilla bean. Anyway... *bonus* mini-review: Quaker Instant Oatmeal -- Coconut & Caramel Sometimes I pick stuff up and I'm not even sure why. Maybe I just love coconut a little bit too much. As it turned out, I really only tasted caramel here. Also, it smelled like kettle corn. So there's that.

...so I spent last week using up a can of pumpkin 😋: First up, this  Pumpkin Cheesecake Protein Smoothie . Usually by this time of year it's too cold for me to enjoy a smoothie so I thought I'd better sneak this one in now. And it is everything you could want in a pumpkin smoothie. Like drinking a slice of pie. 😍 those Fall spices! Next...okay, wait, I'll leave that for last. Third ,  Creamy Pumpkin Oats with Blueberries and Toasted Almonds . I've never really liked blueberries in my oatmeal but after eating several iterations of blueberry overnight oats I think I'm finally coming around. I'm also a big fan of  Minimalist Baker , so if she says serve your oatmeal over blueberries, I'm trying it. I would've liked the texture of the oats to be a little bit creamier but otherwise it was good. After that I made this  Healthy Pumpkin Bread from another one of my go-to blogs,  Cookie+Kate . I needed a pumpkin bread recipe that took only 1 cu

Think of it as the Nature's Path version of Wheaties. So I picked this up about a month ago when Target was having a cereal sale--I think it was buy one, get one 1/2 off--the same day I found the  Strawberry Life . My brain tried to process this quickly: "Quick, pick something you haven't tried! Ok, fine, the Heritage Flakes!" The redesigned box made it look a bit more appealing. As for the flakes themselves, they're a bit on the dry and crunchy side. There must be barely a hint of honey because I didn't taste it. On the plus side, all the grains, so it's more like Wheaties, Milleties, Oaties and Spelties. I'll definitely be mixing these with other cereals.

Who, me? I swear I'm not trying rush into Fall. I'm still wearing shorts some days. And I haven't started on the hot cereal yet. Okay, maybe I already opened my box of pumpkin spice Special K, but that was because I ran out of Special K. And maybe I've already started looking for more herbal teas in anticipation of biscotti season. And, yeah, I did make these  Peanut Butter and Banana Biscotti last weekend but my mom was sick and I wanted to do something nice for her. By the way, there's just enough peanut butter and banana flavors in these biscotti. Neither one is overpowering; it's a nice, subtle balance of both. You don't even really need the glaze, but, you know, peanut butter. 😍 And maybe it was one weekend too soon for  Apple Cinnamon Pancakes , but I did it anyway. 😜 They were surprisingly thin--I guess I thought all that baking powder would make them a little more puffy--so I ate more than I thought I would (and still have so much lef

(Hey, remember the sun? Flaming ball of gas that provides heat and light? I don't think I've seen it in a week. Maybe this weekend. Good times.) Anyway, so this time around I knew what I was getting into with regard to the texture and coating of this granola ; all that was left to suss out was the flavor. And I give that a 👍. Good call on adding honey to the almond butter. Don't get me wrong, almond butter is great as is, but as part of a cereal/granola? It needs a little something. This flavor is what I wish Almond Nut Butter Crunch tasted like. I might go so far as to say this is better than the Peanut Butter Granola. Something about that just tasted a little...off.

So peak berry season is over. I'm already ready to move on Fall flavors. Actually, today I'm ready to move on. This past weekend I decided to say "so long" to fresh berries with  Triple-Berry Muffins and Mixed Berry Galettes. I held off until nearly the end of summer to make these muffins so I could swap half a fresh peach for the raspberries (which nobody likes but me--boo). I had to increase the baking time due to the extra peach juice that got in my peach batter layer--the fruits go in their own portions of batter, so make sure you have enough bowls--and that may also have increased the moistness but they were still delicious. Loaded with fruit, nearly equal amounts of batter and fruit. Moving on to dessert, because when you have extra berries and an extra pie crust in the fridge, of course you put them together 😉. These galettes were so good I could've made four more with peaches. Instead I just dumped in what was left of the straw- and blueberries from

I had no idea this was coming, so I was certainly surprised when I first saw it on shelves. Strawberry seems to be having a late run this summer (see: Post Strawberry Shredded Wheat and Frosted Chocolate Strawberry). So much pink we're just missing the unicorn.🍓 As for this Life, well, remember a few years back--wow, actually six years back--when Life tried to branch out to other flavors with their  Crunchtime line? I guess it didn't take long to figure out that Life should stick to what it does best: multigrain sweetened squares . And add new flavors every now and then. What I like about this new Strawberry is the subtle flavor. While not as "authentic," let's say, as  Strawberry Cheerios (still my most favorite strawberry cereal ever) the hint of strawberry gives it that certain Life class. If they ever want to introduce an apple cinnamon flavor, I'd try it. I'll give this one three more strawberries. 🍓🍓🍓

Or Nut Butter Almond Crunch, according to the website. But when you see the box, you read it the first way. I'm not sure what I was expecting with this cereal--I just saw almond and butter , so, yes please--but it still wasn't what I was expecting. To start, it comes in a smaller box, but several of their cereals do, so not an issue. However, once I opened it, the bag basically filled only half the box. Really, it could have fit in one of their little granola boxes. I guess they just want to make it seem like you're getting your money's worth, but still, I'm not a fan of misleading boxes. As for the cereal itself, there's a sturdy corn flake, which reminds me of the thickness of their bran flakes , and the titular crunch, consisting of oat clusters covered in almond butter. It's crumbly; I would have preferred thicker clusters. And it could have been sweeter--if made by another company. As it's Nature's Path, though, the flavor is no surpris

...although fruit butter is good too. 😁 So last month I found myself with some leftover blueberries--too many to eat. I didn't want to bake anything else at the time. I could have just frozen them. But I thought, hey, is there a way I can make freezer jam? I first made freezer jam last year and it seems I never blogged about it. That's too bad, because it was good. I want to say it was nectarine...? Anyway, so I thought I'd take other stab at it. I used this  Easy Blueberry Freezer Jam recipe and it really was easy. Two things I was not aware of, though, until I read some other recipes much later, 1) do not cut the sugar. It may seem like a lot of sugar, but it's all needed for the Sure-Jell (or whatever you use); and 2) you really should leave your filled container(s) at room temperature for 24 hours. I only did it for two. Despite those two errors, my jam was still delicious. It's a nice, jammy-yet-spreadable consistency and very blueberry. Which is what y

I know I don't really mention dinners anymore, but this one was too good not to post. So I had a taste for calzones--which I hadn't attempted since  last Fall --and I wanted one that didn't involve tomato sauce in it or on it. And maybe I could use up some mushrooms and add chicken...or chicken sausage. So with the guidance of recipes from  Reynolds Kitchens and  Sunset I ended up with Pesto-Chicken Sausage Calzones. Basic ingredients: 1 lb of pizza dough (thawed if frozen) 1/2 c. of pesto (I used refrigerated Buitoni) Swiss cheese--I used two slices of thin baby Swiss per calzone, you might like it cheesier 1 c. steamed broccoli 1 c. sliced mushrooms 2 fully-cooked Italian chicken sausages, sliced  Before following the directions from one of the linked recipes you'll want to brown your mushrooms and sausage (use one pan for less cleanup!). I just sprayed the pan with some PAM olive oil spray and sautéed for about 5 minutes. The great thing about calz

...with 25% more almonds, to be precise. This should be a re-review, but I never got around to trying the old Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds. I did try the Whole Grain version a few years back, if you want to compare this review to something. Anyway, you know the basic Honey Bunches of Oats drill: you've got your scrappy little corn flakes and wheat flakes, and crunchy clusters of honey-flavored oats. And with this one, of course, sliced almonds. When I poured my first serving I saw only two almonds so I figured, yep, bottom of the box again. But once I started eating, I tasted it: hey, there's an almond! And another almond! They are stealth almonds, apparently 😁. So while I can't say for sure that it's really, truly 25% more almonds, it is a decent amount of almonds 👍. ******** Bonus random breakfast product review: YQ by Yoplait If you know my history (I've mentioned it a bit) then you know I'm lactose intolerant. And perhaps I've al

I really thought Honey Bunches of Oats was getting out of the granola game; they hadn't released anything new in ages. Now here comes three new flavors: French vanilla almond, maple pecan (I guess the  cereal did well), and the one I decided to try last week, toffee almond. You don't see the word "toffee" in too many cereals/granolas. So it's still the cluster-y kind of granola they've made before, like extra large Bunches removed from the cereal. Light, airy, and crispy. But does it taste like toffee? That's hard for me to say. I'm not a big candy eater, and toffee wouldn't be a go-to flavor for me anyway. I will say this: it tastes like a delightful toasted caramel. If that's your definition of toffee, then toffee away 🙌. My only issue was the one sliced almond in my small sample size. I'm sure the rest are in there somewhere.

Now that I know it's not   "Cheerios Cinnamon Oat Crunch" I'm guessing the order of descriptors means there could be another flavor in the future. Maybe peanut butter? (Yes, I still miss  Peanut Butter Multi-Grain Cheerios !) Anyway. I don't know why I thought I wouldn't like this new Cheerios. Something about it just seemed extra-sweet, like it had way too thick of a coating, trying to get kids to eat Multi-Grain Cheerios. But that's not the case at all. Of course you know how much I love cinnamon, so that may have helped. So it's basically a bunch of Multi-Grain Cheerios coated in cinnamon and then rolled around in some tiny bits of oats. That's different; I suppose oat clusters are getting kind of tired. That said, I still wouldn't eat a whole bowl of this--it's just the perfect topper to jazz up something a bit more plain.

Just thought I'd take a quick break from the deluge of new cereals (seriously; I have at least two more next week) to give a baking update. First, for the Fourth I wanted to make a pie. Preferably a mango-blueberry pie. But I couldn't find exactly what I wanted. So after consulting a few different recipes I started with this  Rustic Raspberry-Peach Pie recipe from King Arthur Flour but used (almost) two cups of mango, two cups of fresh blueberries, and a 12 oz. bag of frozen raspberries. It turned out that only my brother and I like raspberries, so I probably should've used more mango. Also the amount of tapioca was a bit too much--I used it all because who knew how much water the raspberries would give off?--and made the filling almost jam-like. Again, more mango might've helped with that, too. I also made it a regular pie instead of "rustic" like the recipe and it actually sealed up nicely. If I hadn't been so busy that day (I made that pie first thin

I did not know what I was getting into when I picked this up yesterday. It was more of a knee-jerk reaction: New Kashi? Yes. Okay, so I did check for potential allergens first, but considering that it says "by kids" on the box, I'm assuming it's geared toward the majority of kids. What I really meant by that introductory sentence was that I didn't pay attention to the shapes, or bother to read the description on the back on of the box. "Honey Cinnamon" was all I needed to know. So it took me by surprise when I found two different shapes inside: spirals (like Cinnabon cereal) and square puffs (like the size of Shredded Wheat bites, but the same corn-grainy texture of the spirals). Also, they're filled with apple puree. That was a surprise. I think I would've called this cereal "Apple Cinnamon" instead. It reminded me of apple cinnamon Nutri-Grain bars. The only downside was the chewiness once drowned in milk. But that's how I e

I'm not a coffee drinker, so why am I trying this? Will I even like this flavor? Maybe I shouldn't get the larger box... These are all the thoughts I ignored when I finally found this cereal after nearly a month of searching. It's Mini-Wheats, it'll get eaten. Upon opening the box I thought I detected hints of vanilla and caramel. Then as I struggled with the bag: no, wait, maybe that's kettle corn? Finally I was able to get the bag open: ok, there's the coffee. From a quick Google search, apparently lattes are made with espresso, so I guess that's what I'm supposed to be smelling/tasting. As for that taste, it's not my favorite, but it's not bad. It definitely accomplishes "vanilla latte." And for curious non-coffee drinkers like myself, adding milk will dilute that coffee-like edge. For coffee drinkers looking to change things up, I suppose this is for you...? ******* It seems there's suddenly a glut of new cereals I wa

FINALLY. I told you I wouldn't post again until I had something to review. So let's get to it while it's still fresh. 😃 First, note that it's Raisin Bran, not Raisin Bran Crunch. The banana chips provide all the crunch you need. And yes--in case you were wondering how bananas could get into a box of cereal--it's in chip form. So if you don't like banana chips, then don't bother. I will say this, though: all the chips I had today were edible. Perhaps, like me, you've bitten down on a hard banana chip that wouldn't give and that pretty much soured you on banana chips. Well, Kellogg's has made sure that these banana chips have a nice crisp bite with no brittle issues (although what happens if your cereal goes stale remains to be seen). Let me back up to the sniff test: yep, there's a whiff of banana. And the bran flakes taste slightly of banana. I've never put sliced banana on a bowl of bran flakes--some combinations are too weird, ev

Ok, not really. These cookies, on the other hand, are... Perfect Fluffy Peanut Butter Cookies . I was out of town for a few days, so between packing, traveling, and unpacking, I'm only just now catching up on everything, including this blog (sorry blog! 😒). So when I finally carved out some time to bake I wanted to try a new cookie. But not just any cookie. How about a peanut butter cookie with some high-fiber coconut flour? I'd already made  these cookies (but with almond butter) a few weeks ago so I knew what to expect with the texture. They're soft, almost cakelike, but lighter. "Fluffy" probably is the best word for it. Oh, and I drizzled melted chocolate on some of them, as suggested by  this recipe . They're delicious either way. (Of course I had to try both. That was me last night, mouth full of peanut butter, watching the Caps finally get it done 😃🙌) ******** Ok, seriously, I know I need to review something. Anything. Next week, defi

So last weekend I was finally able to make my belated Mother's Day pie/gift:  Apple-Peach Pie . Why apple peach? Two reasons: (1) I already knew my mother loved apple and peach pies, and (2) I could've sworn I already had an apple-peach pie recipe in my collection. But if I do, I couldn't find it, so Google had to help me out here. I chose this particular recipe because I wanted to take a whack at making the pie crust. I figure I can attempt it once a year. And I'll be honest, it just didn't want to hold together. It rolled out very smoothly and easily; I had allotted plenty of time for that--my least favorite--part. But it wouldn't make the transition to pie plate, so I ended up with an unintentional crumble pie. Not that that affected the taste outcome. 😜 Apples and peaches play surprisingly well together--even if you try a different recipe, this is a great dessert for this time of year. 😋 ******** I know you're wondering where my next review is; w

Or, how to finish a bag of whole wheat pastry flour in a week. Ok, maybe I went overboard just a little. To be fair, some of it is now frozen to take to my brother in the near future. But here's where I started:  Apple Oatmeal Spice Cookies . I had some dried apples and I couldn't remember how long they'd been in the pantry so I thought I'd throw them in an oatmeal cookie. Somehow I failed to notice that even though "apple" is in the name of this recipe, there's no dried apples in the ingredient list. But I added them anyway. Along with applesauce I now had double-apple oatmeal spice cookies. And for a cookie made with applesauce they still have a nice, hearty texture. Sometimes applesauce cookies get gummy, which is very unappealing. Recipe two:  Healthy Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies . Okay, these were just for me. Nobody else liked the banana bread variety I made a while back (probably because it didn't fit their preconceived notion of a "

Hi, it's a been while. Usually while I wait for the next wave of new cereals (Raisin Bran with bananas? Vanilla Latte Mini-Wheats? I'm in) I fill the rest of the entries with what I've been baking lately. Buuut I've been oven-less for almost two weeks now. Hopefully it'll finally be fixed tomorrow. It's been one of those situations where you don't realize what you had until it's been taken away. You know baking is a stress reliever for me. That and giving the finished product away. My brother just visited and I couldn't make anything for the occasion 😞. I also had to postpone my mother's Mother's Day pie/gift. I did take the opportunity to experiment, though. Perhaps you guessed that from the entry title. I know microwave mug baking has been around for a while but I never tried it because it's not really baking baking. And I knew you could make mug cakes. But what about Mug Coffee Cake? Was that a thing? Yes, yes it was. But how?

So how is this different from their Protein Granola? I'm still not sure. I guess extra protein is no longer a selling point. In case you were wondering, there's only a four-gram difference in these products. More important to me: how does it taste? My first thought: I'm eating sweet little nuggets of peanut butter. It has a very strong peanut butter flavor (and scent, apparently, according to others in the kitchen; my nose can't be trusted during this pollen season). And it's crunchy, like the texture of a candy bar filling. The rice flour probably helped with that. At first I thought I was eating crushed peanuts and had to double-check the ingredients. As a comparison, here's  my review of the peanut butter Protein Granola. Bonus mini-review: Donut Shop -- Pink Donut Ok, first, why ? Second, what is "pink" supposed to taste like? Perhaps you can tell by my asking these questions that I had no intention of purchasing this cereal. But if it

...because I do eat non-cereal breakfast foods. Here's a couple I thought I'd share: 1. Chocolate Swirl Banana Bread . I made this for my grandmother because she loves chocolate and soft, sweet treats but she doesn't really need an entire loaf of banana bread. So I kept some to sample. And you know I'm not a big chocolate-eater so a swirl is just enough for me. 2.  Breakfast Quesadilla with Spinach and Black Beans . You know, sometimes you want eggs for breakfast. And sometimes you have leftover tortillas and black beans from dinner. But also sometimes you've already had spinach twice that week. So I threw in some leftover mushrooms instead. Absolutely make the guacamole with this one. It might not be quite the flavor you're used to but it adds an extra dimension to the quesadilla. 3. Finally,  Breakfast Braid with Eggs, Roasted Red Pepper, Spinach, and Feta . A few years ago I printed out a recipe for a sweet breakfast braid (basically a Danish) but I

Is there anything they won't try with Cheerios now? Maybe marshmallows. As I usually do (if I can remember 😜) sniff test first: faintly of peaches. Next for the visual: it's the bigger round O's this time, with the slick sheen, like  old school Banana Nut Cheerios. But these O's aren't some grain blend; it's straight oats--the better to hold in that peachy flavor? Two minor quibbles: 1) I actually wanted more peach flavor, but perhaps to do that would've required the addition of artificial flavoring, in which case, no ; and 2) I couldn't quite get a handle on the peach flavor. It tasted more like canned peaches than a fresh peach, or even a ground-up freeze-dried peach (is that a thing?). So I guess it wasn't exactly the Peach Cheerios I was looking for. You know what might've helped? The dried peach bits from  Special K Berries and Peaches . That would've taken it over the top.

When I first saw this on store shelves, I thought heh, somebody decided to mash up Cinnamon Toast Crunch with French Toast Crunch. As it turns out, not really. Smart name, though. As per the front of the box, "crispy cinnamon puffs with a hint of maple syrup." They aren't kidding about the puffs. They were way puffier than I expected. If you've ever had  Puffins , these are even puffier. When I saw how big these puffs were, I expected them to be hollow in the center. Nope. It's all cereal. They have a bit of that weird gritty/graininess that irks me sometimes; I think it's the corn bran (and maybe the red lentil flour? I did not know such a product existed). As for the hint of maple syrup? It's more of a suggestion . Just enough to make you think, this cinnamon tastes a bit...off. So it's not bad, just not what I was expecting. ❋❋❋❋❋ Bonus mini-review: *new*(-ish) Lucky Charms Frosted Flakes I didn't want to count this as a full revie

Okay, technically it was a Saturday bake but I didn't eat any 'til this morning:  Paleo Banana Bread . Have I gone Paleo? No, I'm not a fan of sticking to any one diet in particular. I just had plenty of bananas and coconut flour, so what else was I to do? 😉 If you've never baked with coconut flour I will say that it has a little bit of an aftertaste. Barely detectable, but it's there. And the end result can be a bit drier than baking with regular flour. But otherwise, it tasted just like banana bread. I swapped out peanut butter for the almond butter--because I just made granola bars with almond butter and I like to rotate--and didn't even taste it. Smelled it when slicing the bread, yes, but no taste. And I love the combination of peanut butter and bananas. I may have to try spreading some on a slice next time. One prep note: make sure you really whisk in those eggs. I had a few splotches of baked egg white on top of my bread. Yes, it's less photogeni

Yeah, so this April weather is a joke...but you know this. And I'm sure you're tired of me bringing it up, so let's move on to Easter dessert. If you've read my dessert entries, you know I don't like a lot of fuss. I like to follow simple, straightforward recipes and then encourage you to do the same. Of course, your definition of simple may differ from mine. My point is, this was the opposite of simple. This was a lot of work. The kind of work I'm only willing to put in for special occasions. But, as usual, it was worth it:  Carrot Cake Ice Cream Sandwiches . I have only recently come to the realization that ice cream sandwiches might be my favorite dessert. And the easiest way to make them is by slapping two store-bought cookies on some softened ice cream. But this? Not even cookies, which I failed to notice when I decided to make them. What you make is two thin sheets of carrot cake, cut to size later. So there's shredding carrots, blanching the carro

I can be easily amused. Like when the honey bear gets to be about two-thirds empty, so it just looks like a plastic bear wearing honey pants. Or whenever I see a NAPA truck on the street, riding around. Silly truck! Trucks don't need hats. Or the Pillsbury Doughboy. I shouldn't need to explain that one. That's one of the main reasons I wanted to try this new cereal from Annie's. Cinnabunnies. Just try to say it without giggling. Cinnabunnies. Of course the other reason was the promise of cinnamon. You know how I love my cinnamon cereals. This one, though, felt a bit...lacking. Maybe the bunny-shaped puffs were too puffy. Maybe the combination of sorghum and rice didn't do it for me. Or maybe the amount of cinnamon just wasn't enough. Somewhere between this underwhelming flavor and the thick, smothering blanket of  Cinnamon Toast Crunch Blasted Shreds is the cinnamon sweet spot. My cinnamon happy place. But still, it's not bad. And I'm going to say it

Have you ever made (or just bought, tbh) a cookie, tried it, and felt as if you'd had it before? Even if you'd never had it before. Or maybe you've made so many oatmeal cookies that they're all starting to blend together. That might be the case. We ended up snowed in a few days ago so of course I had to bake something to keep my hands busy. My choice?  Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars . Because sometimes you want peanut butter and oats. I don't make a lot of bar cookies but I'll make an exception if the ingredients are what I'm feeling. No sugar, no butter, fiber fiber fiber? Good times. And now the snow is melting. 😁 ******** Ok, next entry really is going to be a cereal review. Really. 😛

Because we're doing this now. So you know I like to try new things (especially with coupons)...and I wanted a hot breakfast this morning. (First day of Spring? Hahahahahaha.) And I was overdue for an egg. Enter:  Just Crack an Egg . If you recall from last year's Lent Challenge I've cooked eggs in a mug in the microwave before so the appeal here was not having to chop up any mix-ins. All of the fillings come in neat little packets that peel open easily. I wasn't sure if they'd be, well, filling enough so I went with the two-egg option. Oh, maybe I should've mentioned that first. It's like that Price is Right golf game: Just Crack an Egg...or Two. But still large eggs. I don't know what would've happened if I'd used extra-large eggs. As it was, I discovered a teensy corner of not-quite-cooked egg when I reached the bottom of the cup. Wow, this is what happens when I write reviews off-the-cuff. I also should have mentioned that I had th

Okay, it wasn't that long...I just didn't get a chance to post this yesterday. And, funnily enough, I had planned the week's meals ( yes, I am a planner😛) before I realized this past Wednesday was Pi Day. Anyway, enough setup, here's what we had for dinner:  Healthy Chicken Pot Pie . I've made this once before but decided to make it again this week in lieu of soup. Anyone else getting tired of soup? Or Nor'easters? Then at almost the last minute I realized I should find a use for the second pie crust. While I'm at it, I should also try to finish up these frozen cranberries. Hey, don't I have a recipe for a Cranberry-Pear Galette? Well if I do, I couldn't find it. So I ended up making this one:  Cranberry-Pear Galette with Pecan Crust , without the pecan crust. It made just enough for four, which was my intent; I didn't want to make a full pie and have it go to waste with people going their separate ways. That was my first galette; I would

A few weeks ago I reviewed the new  Strawberry Granola , so now it's time for the other new flavor, Lemon Blueberry (...with pumpkin seeds). I don't know why they're not mentioned in the name; coincidentally, they weren't present in my sample, either. To be fair, I just poured a little off the top; I know the pumpkin seeds are in there somewhere. On the plus side, I had a lot of dried blueberries. And it's tricky to put my finger on the lemon flavor. It's sweet but it's...tart (not like SweeTarts, though. That would be gross). Perhaps they made lemon sugar? Okay, checking the ingredients...no. There's cane sugar and honey and lemon oil. I have no idea how straight lemon oil would taste. Now I'm curious.  It's a good flavor, though. More than palatable. Way more. ******* And in the interest of equal granola time, here's the last one that I made:  Orange and Almond Granola . Making orange (zest-infused) sugar was a new experience

Remember when Special K launched their Nourish line? And perhaps you remember when I  reviewed the cereal? Well, I never thought I'd be trying one of these again but here we are, two years later. To recap: the original cereals had these soy twig-like pieces that I couldn't eat (thanks, latent soy allergy! 😒) and would have been waaay too much trouble to pick out. But this new flavor, Berries & Peaches, does not. What it does have: multigrain flakes, freeze dried berries, more freeze dried berries, freeze dried peaches, and little yogurt-y bits that I honestly don't remember for all the fruit. Seriously, pile on the fruit, Special K! I am not being sarcastic for once. For some reason I thought there was only one kind of berry so I was surprised to find blueberries and raspberries. The freeze dried peaches are a new one for me. I honestly couldn't tell if they freeze dried or just regular-dried (you know, like raisins). They're weird little square piec

Or, All the Cranberries in the World. I didn't mean to have cranberries twice in one weekend. It just sort of...happened. First with these  Cranberry Blueberry Muffins . If it's from Ocean Spray, I trust their take on cranberries. So let me give kind of a weird compliment: these muffins tasted just like a boxed mix. Seriously, like I'd just added Craisins to a Betty Crocker Wild Blueberry mix. If I'd used wild blueberries instead of the regular kind it would've been exactly that. Except, you know, homemade. Secondly, I made a pie for the holiday/guests. Originally I had planned to make an Apple-Cherry Pie, but due to others' dental issues at the moment I couldn't risk an accidental cherry pit. But  Apple Cranberry Pie ? It's a go!👍 Luckily I thought to snag a bag of fresh cranberries last month before they disappeared from store shelves. Somehow I always miss out on baking with cranberries in the Fall and I don't get around to it until...right a

Previously... I told you about Grain Berry's Honey Nut Cheerios equivalent. After that I took my other coupon to experience their shredded wheat. It's another one of those nearly-flat woven wheats, which sort of look like two halves pressed together. I find that shape ideal for mixing, which I did (see  earlier this week). It's nice to have a cinnamon flavor that's not in the Shredded Wheat lineup, and it's also a nice cinnamon flavor. Really understated compared to a Blasted Shred. They both have their place, though. ****** I've been really lax lately in my baked goods updates. I may have to just combine them all in one entry.

Or Cinnamon Toast Crunch Blasted Shreds. Whatever you call it, it's not a misnomer. Those little biscuits are loaded with flavor. Imagine compressing at least five Cinnamon Toast Crunch squares into one piece of woven wheat. That's how strong the flavor is. It's like all the crumbs at the bottom of the box were collected into one vat and then reshaped and spat out as a new cereal. What I'm saying is...the flavor is strong. 😜 But I suppose if someone in R&D at General Mills said, hey, we need a gateway Shredded Wheat for kids...you could do worse. I should also mention that it's the tight, flat, rectangular kind of biscuits, not the fat little Mini-Wheats-type squares. I mixed this with another shredded wheat kind of cereal that I should've reviewed already but somehow missed. I guess that'll be next.

Well, this is a first: a cereal re-issue. (Compare it to my original review here ) Slightly lighter yellow box design, taller and narrower box than I remember...okay, okay, what about the cereal? First, when I opened this yesterday I forgot I was supposed to be reviewing it. Then I poured it and realized, hey, this looks different. The Os don't have that slick sugar coating anymore, and they're not as big and round. In fact, more than a few were misshapen (for that artisanal Cheerios look?). Next I went back and did a sniff test. Aroma of Honey Nut, mostly. Finally, taste. Imagine Honey Nut Cheerios with slightly less honey, a touch more cinnamon, and a good amount of banana. Bottom line: much improved. 😋

Well, that's kind of a misnomer. It's not that bad. Maybe a couple of inches, turning to rain later. But it does encourage me to sit down and blog about something, anything. So I wanted to quickly write up what I made this morning:  Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls . If you're pretty good at making biscuits (which I am after two-ish years) and love cinnamon rolls, it's a no-brainer. Also, sometimes you just don't feel like being bothered with all the work that goes into regular cinnamon rolls. What I appreciate about Erin's baking recipes is that her measurements are precise and usually correct. Three tablespoons of melted butter? Yep, used it all, no more, no less. And the sugar mixture? Also just enough. This was true even though I didn't have a perfectly rolled rectangle of dough. And I didn't bother to trim the ends to make even-sized rolls. And I omitted the nuts. Guess what? Still delicious. Oh, and I used my coconut milk (if you've never tried t

You know, I originally called these entries "occasional" granola reviews because they were filler in between cereal reviews. Now, though, they're occasional because I mostly make my own granola. It's not as intimidating or time-consuming as it sounds. In fact,  this is the most recent granola I made. Lasted almost three weeks. So why did I buy this one? Two reasons: I'm a sucker for new products (and just happened to notice this while browsing the cereal aisle) and 2) you know I love the way freeze-dried strawberries make everything taste like strawberry. It wasn't until I got home to check out more information on this product before purchasing that I found out there was also dried coconut. Yessss.😍 Another one for Unofficial Coconut Month. According to the ingredients this granola is entirely oat-based, but like a lot of them it crunches like there's puffed rice involved. I guess that's just the cane sugar crisping it up. And like I said before,

Ooh yeah. 🎵😜 1. You know I have to have my tea and biscotti in the winter, so I thought I'd try this recipe for  Coconut Biscotti . This was my first time ever using coconut flour and I love it. Can't wait to use it again. Next time I'll probably try it in a recipe where it's the only flour. We'll see how that goes. As for this recipe, I think it struck a nerve, but in a good way. Now I'm on a coconut kick. I didn't even use the optional toasted coconut (honestly, I just didn't feel like taking the time to toast it) but the coconut extract and coconut flour provided plenty of coconut-y goodness. I dipped half of them in chocolate because, why not? But again, not necessary. The plain ones are good too. Just have a nice, flavorful hot drink accompaniment. 2. The last thing I baked was these  Banana-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies . I wanted some oatmeal cookies--you know I'll put oats in just about anything--and we had too many bananas in t

I honestly didn't know this cereal existed. I usually have an ear to the ground, keeping up to date on new cereal releases but this one somehow fell through the cracks. I just happened to spot it while looking for something else in the cereal aisle. And I'm on a coconut kick right now. Plus I love almonds. Also, I haven't had any flavor of Great Grains in ages . In fact, give me a second to see if I've ever reviewed any...yep,  Cranberry Almond Crunch and  Blueberry Morning , which is now under the Great Grains umbrella. But on to this one. I must have been in a charitable mood last week to take such glowing notes. When I opened the bag I was pleasantly surprised to see such huge flakes (seriously, like three flakes pressed together), substantial oat clusters, and big flakes of coconut. Of course you want your cereal to look appetizing, so, point for you, Post. And then you don't want to subsequently be let down by the flavor and I was not. The oat clusters ta

Ok, everybody's cleared out, all the decorations have been put away, the majority of boxes have been unpacked...maybe now I can get back on schedule 👍. Kicking off the new year with something healthier...have you ever heard of  Grain Berry cereal? There's one grocery store here that sells it and I honestly never paid attention to it...until I came into possession of a coupon. You know how I am about coupons 😁. And I've heard of sorghum but didn't remember what it was exactly, or that it apparently has health benefits. This Honey Nut flavor is their equivalent to Honey Nut Cheerios. The O's are much smaller and darker, and don't have that slick sweetener coating. The oats themselves taste more like bran than the oats you'd be expecting and have a hint of sweetness. A cereal like this is just what I need right now (raise your hand if you also overdid it with the cookies last month 😛). ********* Speaking of Cheerios, though, if you have a craving for

I'm still working on my picture issues but I couldn't wait any longer to share What I've Been Baking Lately: 1.  Sweet Potato Spice Loaf . This was supposed to be our Christmas dessert but we had more than enough cookies, so I made it a New Year's cake. I thought it would be more of a stiff, dry pound cake but darned if that sweet potato didn't up the moisture content. It also provided a subtle sweet potato flavor. Mainly the spices shine in this one. I hope you like allspice and nutmeg. 2.  Apple Butter Bacon Scones . Did I mention these already? Oh, well. This was my first post-move Sunday breakfast. There's a little something for everyone: apple butter, diced apple, bacon. Every bite of bacon was like a little surprise. 3.  Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Cornbread . I made this for Christmas dinner, kicking off a week of way too much squash. Seriously, I don't need any more winter squash recipes for a month. It was worth the effort, though. Baking i