Living in a Cereal World

Are we really doing this again? It's almost February! Well, I did. Also, wow, it's cold. Why not warm yourself with a hot beverage of choice and a  Pumpkin Banana Biscotti with Maple Syrup Glaze ? This is what happens when you have leftover pumpkin and a banana in the freezer. Baking magic. Oh, and just enough maple syrup to glaze one batch of biscotti (I froze the other half). I will note that the texture of this biscotti starts crisp and ends chewy. Don't worry, they didn't go stale overnight--that's just the banana moisture. And maybe also the pumpkin, but I know I've made firmer pumpkin biscotti. That's not a knock on this biscotti by any means. I don't think I've made one yet that I didn't like. 😁 Or, hey, maybe you're more of a coffeecake person. I also made this  Pumpkin Streusel Coffeecake over the weekend, mainly because it called for a cup of pumpkin. The cake itself was moist and tender and pretty much perfect. You know I

Out of all the new cereals, this is the one I was most looking forward to trying. I'm not sure why. I rarely eat Rice Krispies. Perhaps it was the lure of the Strawberry. First, in case you were wondering, even though there's no "Rice" in the name, it's still Rice Krispies and not some grain blend. Red-dusted Rice Krispies. And that fresh bag scent...it's the cereal version of "strawberry," which is perfectly acceptable. I like to think of this as an upgraded Fruity Pebbles (although, to be fair, I haven't eaten that in years. Maybe even decades). Seriously, though, if you like Rice Krispies and you like Strawberry Cheerios, you will probably enjoy these. Bonus: yes, they will turn your milk into strawberry milk--color and flavor. Maybe next time I'll try it with sliced banana?

This wasn't supposed to be the first new cereal I reviewed this year--and if I'd noticed the word "soy" on the front, I might not have even picked it up. But we'll get back to that. First, it passed the smell test with flying colors. As soon as I opened the bag that honey aroma hit those brain receptors that tell you must eat NOW. So that was a plus. Then I bothered to read the ingredients. Soy protein isolate? Uh-oh. Remember my review of Special K  Nourish , and how it had these little soy twigs that I was allergic to? This time around the soy is mixed in with all the other grains into the flakes--which makes for a thick, dense flake by the way--and I had no reaction whatsoever. So, yay, Special K, I can keep you. The taste was kind of a letdown after the promise of the scent but I had only a small sample size the other day. I need at least one more tasting before forming a definitive opinion. So why not wait to write this blog entry? Because, that's

It's a new cereal year, so let's kick things off...with granola 😜. This is the only variety of this Fruit & Nut granola, which I thought was a bit odd. Usually there's at least two flavors. But okay, this is the only nut I can handle anyway. I open the bag and think, hey, clusters! I am never against clusters--unless it's that one that's so hard it's inedible. There's always one. What I like about these clusters is that they manage to have a crisp bite while maintaining that cluster-structure. Maybe it's the rice flour? The taste is what surprised me. It was as if the granola cluster had been coated in raisin juice. Seriously, I didn't know "raisin" could be a strong flavor. That was weird. Not bad, just unexpected. And it didn't appear to me that there was a ridiculous amount of raisins in there; in fact, I'd say there's a nice ratio of dried fruit to oats. What I didn't pay much attention to was the almonds. Wer

I know what you're thinking: this is how you're kicking off 2019? Well, actually, no. This is how I'm finishing 2018 so we can move on to the new cereals of 2019. Good? 👍 Apparently this Cascadian Farm offering has been around for fifteen years but I honestly never noticed it before. I was just thinking, hey, it's December, I could use the extra fiber. So imagine Raisin Bran Crunch without the raisins but with those little All-Bran twigs. That's basically it. The granola clusters and wheat flakes taste lightly sweetened but the bran "strands" (as they put it) are somehow dry and flavorless. Not that they need the flavor, mind you. But you probably wouldn't want to eat a whole bowl of just those. I topped mine with a little bit of Honey Bunches of Oats (for an added flavor dimension) and blueberries (because fruit 😋) and had a nice bowl of cereal. Now I can start acquiring the new stuff! 😀