Living in a Cereal World

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...