Living in a Cereal World

 Because what else can you do? It snowed (but not as bad as predicted) and I made these  Chewy Ambrosia Biscotti : They're not as chewy as the name implies, though, or else they wouldn't really be biscotti. As for this year's cookie tin, I forgot to take pictures the first time, but I'll try to remember when I thaw out the rest. 😁 And now for a teensy mini-review:  I bought my brother some Elf cereal (not to be confused with Elf on the Shelf) and sampled it today just to get a sense of the maple flavor. Not very; not as much as I thought. And those fallback gritty corn balls...oh well, it's seasonal. And he's eating it, so...it served it's purpose. 👍

 Because snacks converted to cereal has been going on for a while now, and comfort food any time of day is peak 2020, Kellogg's presents: Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies cereal. (I feel like I have to include "Little Debbie" in the name everytime 😉) So why this one, when I resisted Twinkies and Thin Mints, among others? I haven't even had  an Oatmeal Creme Pie in a decade, at least. I don't know, maybe it's just the most nostalgic time of the year. So I picked up a box yesterday and opened it this morning. First off, you should know that it's not tiny Creme Pies. It's actually a big donut-shaped puff, made from the tried-and-true combination of corn and oats. Seriously, so many  themed cereals use this base. Just swap out the shape cutter and the flavors. The "creme" is actually a dusty coating that makes the bag smell like marshmallows. Not an unpleasant scent in the morning. 😁 I also picked up hints of cinnamon and nutmeg, and a quick ch...

 I don't know why it's taken me so long to post this; I'm pretty sure I wrote my notes two weeks ago. It's the busy season, I guess. So let me just get right to it: that brown sugar-toasty flavor? That is absolutely  Golden Grahams. Why did they ever change it? What did they change it to? Hold on, let me see if I reviewed it.  Oh, I did.  And apparently I couldn't taste the difference. And even now? Still can't taste the difference. But did it conjure up memories of the '80s? When I picture myself at the kitchen table on a Saturday morning, shoveling cereal into my mouth so I can go watch Garfield and Friends, that cereal...isn't Golden Grahams. It's Alpha-Bits. Or Ice Cream Cones. But I know Golden Grahams was part of our regular rotation, along with Apple Jacks, Frosted Flakes, and whatever TV tie-ins we could convince our mom to buy. So I guess what I'm saying is, it's hard to screw up Golden Grahams. Golden Grahams are a constant. Golden ...

 *cracks knuckles, starts typing* It's been a while since I wrote a review; let's see if I remember how to do this. 😄 If I had to sum it up, I'd say this is basically a multigrain Honey Bunches of Oats. Although Honey Bunches of Oats is also technically a cereal with more than one grain...hey, I said it's been a while. So, some honeys are light and sweet, others more robust, and some, honestly, taste like honey-flavored sugar. This sweetener just tastes like honey. What? It's cane sugar? Have my taste buds been off all this time? Well, anyway, my point is that everything here tastes natural. The sweet flavor doesn't taste like it was created in a lab. The oat clusters taste like oats. The dried cranberries have a nice chew--not too dried out, not sugar-sticky. You might not be a fan of the flat, thick flakes, but that's what happens when you start pressing grains together. I can't figure out if the little flecks on the flakes are rice or oat but that do...

 In what has become  an   annual   tradition , here's where I share the smoothies I've been drinking. But I only wrote down...four? That can't be right. And one of those was last week. So...here's the smoothies I remembered to keep track of over the last few months 😁: Mango Smoothie : because I found some diced mango in the freezer. Peach-Oatmeal Smoothie : At least, I think it was this one. It looks familiar. Strawberry-Mango-Banana Smoothie : So that's  why I didn't have enough mango for this smoothie. I think I just used more strawberries, and also swapped almond butter for the cashew butter. Blueberry Cottage Cheese Smoothie : Because I had a bag of mixed berries in the freezer and leftover cottage cheese in the fridge. If you're not a fan of the "tang" of cottage cheese, you will not like it in a smoothie, no matter how smooth. *Bonus*  I did, however, remember to record all my overnight oats: Banana Bread : If you can make something taste li...

 I know, I know, it's been nearly a month. I had a very busy August and also nothing to review. I really want to try those new KIND cereals but not without a coupon. We had guests overlap last month--and no one got sick, thankfully--so here's what I've been up to on the baking front: I made Pinwheel Cookies (for the first time ever!) with this  Sugar Cookie Dough . It was super, super easy to handle but I had to go this  other recipe  to get the pinwheel instructions down (the description in the recipe version I tore out of Savory was very vague). You see I didn't quite separate the dough evenly so I took my leftover cocoa cookie scraps and made a cookie out of them. 😁 I also made this  Peach Custard Pie  while my brother was home. Why? Because peach season , duh. Also, hey, a custard I can handle! Finally, we're rolling again with these  Strawberry Sweet Rolls . But honestly, they were drowning in preserves and not very photogenic, so I didn't take a...

 I keep getting the name order wrong. What makes Kashi's new loops so super? Is it the peas and lentils? The natural coloring? Actually, you know what? Maybe it is  supposed to be the peas and lentils. Remember when I reviewed Wegmans'  bean   based   cereals?  Well, Kashi decided to mix their pulses with corn and oats, which definitely does not  have the weird bean aftertaste. So there's that. This has a typical berry scent. The flavor reminded me of Berry Berry Kix, but in an O shape instead of puffs. Also maybe a bit more authentically "berry." The ingredients do list raspberry and strawberry powder. So there's also that. Coincidentally, I just happened to read a list of Best Healthy Whole Grain (or something like that) Cereals from Good Housekeeping and this was on there. That was fast; it hasn't even been out that long.  Oh, and there's also a chocolate version, if you're into that sort of thing. 😉 ****** PSA: I'm seeing pumpkin spice ce...

This is how it works, basically: I bake stuff to share with my dad, he buys cereals I never would, which I then sample, anyway. 😄  So here's my quick take on two of them: Lucky Charms Honey Clovers: The honey clovers themselves were surprisingly large, and the marshmallow pieces ("marbits") on the small side. I think. It's been a while since I looked at actual Lucky Charms. I tried a clover. The honey was a basic honey flavor. But wait...what is this...oh, that's right, they're not oats. It's a corn  cereal. Why? We all know honey and oats work together: it's called Honey Nut Cheerios. Then again, they could just add marshmallows to those, but I don't want to give General Mills any ideas. So, just...eh. Cookies & Creme Krispies: I had no idea there were so many recipes for cookies and cream Rice Krispies Treats. But I guess someone at Kellogg's found out and decided to make it into a cereal. When I first found out about this I thought, ano...

I know what you're thinking: Pumpkin? In summer? Especially this summer? Honestly, I had a good reason. My grandma requested cookies for her birthday, and since I can't see her right now, I was happy to oblige. So I had to find a cookie that was a) soft enough for her to eat, and b) would travel well by mail (and not totally melt in this heat!). I'd been planning on making these  Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies  soon anyway, so, pumpkin challenge accepted. 👍 You know I  love   pumpkin , but pumpkin in the summer? I was thinking cold recipes. Starting with  Pumpkin Overnight Oats  from Cooking Classy (and I'll be making the other four recipes before the summer is over 😁). Next,  Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Granola Bars  from The Lemon Bowl. Yeah, I had to turn on the oven for these, but I've been eating them with yogurt! 😛 After that, a Pumpkin Pie Yogurt recipe from Eating Bird Food that I've  shared before . But this time I used regular yogurt...

Is it broiling where you are? We seem to be stuck on broiling or soaked. Either way, it's a good day for a cold bowl of cereal. Today I opened up a box of Caramel Apple Jacks. I haven't had regular Apple Jacks in ages , maybe even decades, but I was curious. I must also say I've never liked caramel apples. Peanut butter and apple slices, maybe, but no caramel apples, no candy apples. Fun fact: I haven't reviewed Apple Jacks, but I did  review  Cinnamon Jacks  many years ago. I don't even remember that one. Anyway, this morning. The scent of caramel hit me right away. It was intense. Intense enough that I worried I'd be eating mouthfuls of caramel. Yeah, not so much. I sampled an orange/tan ring (meant to be the color of a soft caramel?) followed by a red ring, and they basically tasted the same: like "Apple Jacks" with a hint of caramel. Weird. Also, since when did those rounds get so tiny? I thought they were big and fat like Froot Loops. But I ha...

It's that time again. What  carrot   cake  would I  try   this   year?  Nothing fancy, nothing super decadent (or super healthy 😛). Just a classic carrot cake. So I made this  Classic Carrot Cake : I decided not to do the decorative icing because what would I have done with the rest of the cookie icing? Maybe if I had/knew some kids close by we could've decorated cookies but I don't so...pass. Just dump some pecans on there and my dad's good 😁. And of all the carrot cakes I've made over the years this  is the one he raved about. Maybe it's the pumpkin pie spice?

I know I've slowed down as of late, for two reasons: shelf space and finding something I want to try. And the two are related because it's getting harder to find regular sized boxes of cereal. Everything is "Large Size" or "Family Size" and I can't stash boxes away like I used to do. Plus I don't want to make a commitment to a large box of something and then not like it and be stuck with it. So taking all that into consideration, that's why it's taken me a year to try Cinnamon Toast Crunch Churros. 😁 I finally found a regular-sized box on sale at Wegmans, so it was time. I don't know why I thought I wouldn't like this. I mean really  wouldn't like this. What's so terrible about original Cinnamon Toast Crunch? That's basically all this is, shaped like a tiny, 1-inch churro. So every couple of years Cinnamon Toast Crunch could just come out with another wacky shape, like Cinnamon Roll Crunch (seriously, they should do thi...

Mystery picture solved! I was trying to figure out what other berry recipes I was supposed to be sharing, as well as identifying this image: It didn't help that I couldn't remember if this was a dessert or breakfast recipe (I ate it both ways), but I finally found it with my dessert recipes:  Hidden Berry Cupcakes . I can't remember if filled them with strawberry or raspberry fruit spread but either way, berries! I also unintentionally made two chocolate chip cookie recipes over the holiday weekend: first, these  Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Banana Scones  (I used semi-sweet minis, I prefer their distribution in a scone) and then these  Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies  because sometimes you see a chocolate chip cookie recipe and you just have  to--and also send some away because that's just too many cookies. 😉 ******** That doesn't even cover March baking, but I really want to review a cereal next. I just haven't had the shelf space or the inclinatio...

(edited to add: finished cookies!) Maybe you're thinking, I know she's  been stress baking.  Maybe at first, but now it's back to regular baking. And I've only made one  banana bread! 😜 So I'm going to work my way backward, let's see how many I want to add to this post. For Mother's Day I made this:  Strawberry-Rhubarb Icebox Cake . It's like the simplest strawberry shortcake (my mom's favorite dessert) with no baking whatsoever! And since strawberries were BOGO, I also made these  Peanut Butter Strawberry Muffins  the day after that aired. Hopefully I'll remember to take a picture next time I thaw one. The weekend before I also bought two containers of strawberries. I ate one, but I used the other to make this: (You see I took the picture after  breakfast 😁) Strawberry Breakfast Pastries Let's see, what else? Almond Butter Snickerdoodles . I love an interesting snickerdoodle. Oh, I just made these today.  Whole Wheat App...

You know, I've had this three times already and just haven't felt motivated to write about it. I guess it's that  unremarkable? It's your basic Honey Bunches of Oats: corn and wheat flakes, oat bunches...and lightly frosted. I don't know what I was expecting.  I was expecting not to like it because it would be too sugary, but honestly? After the first sample, once I really started eating it, I didn't even notice the "frosted" component. Maybe, maybe , it made the oat bunches a little harder than usual. Or maybe that batch was just a tad overbaked. Who knows? You can tell I'm really struggling with this review. There's just not anything spectacular or horrible about this. It's just...eh.

I swear this cereal just came out last week. This might be my fastest turnaround ever . 😃 You know how I feel    about    cinnamon    cereals . I'm probably more particular about these than any other flavor. So I had to get the scent first--barely present--and then the taste. This particular combination of cinnamon and oats takes me back. But to where? Is it the cinnamon of Cinnamon Chex? Nope. What about Cinnamon Toast Crunch? No, that has a higher sugar-to-cinnamon ratio. This is a more robust flavor. Maybe like Apple Cinnamon Cheerios without the tweak of apple? Or on a par with cinnamon Oatmeal Squares, but more robust. I only had a taste of this new cereal this morning because I had some Multigrain Cheerios to finish, so next time I'll see how much more of an impact Cinnamon Cheerios has in milk and  to my taste buds.😋

I wrote this so long ago that I've almost finished the bag! 😄  Let's see if this jogs my memory. I opened the bag and saw clusters first; that was a good thing. Once I starting pouring, however, eh...not so much. More loose oats. But there were  sizable coconut flakes (Nature Valley calls them "shavings"), which I prefer to the shredded I always end up using in my granola recipes. The flavor is also strongly of coconut with a bit of honey-sweetness. I didn't leave myself any notes regarding the almonds, so there must not have been any characteristics that stood out. Coconut and almond is still a great combination, though.

Continuing my quest to try every Cascadian Farm cereal...I think I have two more after this one. So Graham Crunch, obviously, is their Golden Grahams. They look just like them (although maybe slightly smaller and curled on the ends? I don't know, it's been a long while since I had Golden Grahams), smell just like them, taste just like them. That maple-y sweet flavor--ah, it's just cane sugar and molasses. And they get soggy and chewy just like them. So what's the difference? Just the organic price? Checking...okay, wheat and oat instead of wheat and corn meal. Different sweeteners. But honestly, I couldn't tell the difference. And either way, General Mills gets paid. Sounds like a sweet deal. 😜

I know I'm overdue for an entry; I put this off last week because I was busy and then again  this week because it felt weird and wrong to be doing something so superficial. But today I'm ready to blog because I think we could all use some semblance of normalcy right now. So, Coconut Flakes. You may recall my entries on  Cinnamon Flakes  and  Vanilla Os  from last year; a few weeks back I finally got around to trying the third and final flavor. Here's the thing about this cereal--I wouldn't really call this flavor "coconut." At least, it's not what I think of when I think of coconut flavored cereals (see:  Toasted Coconut Cheerios ). But oddly enough, whatever you'd call this generically sweet flavor, it's actually the best  of the three. It really balances out the bean aftertaste and the dense crunchiness. And there you have it. This  is why I enjoy trying new cereals. You never know what you might find. 😄

So they decided to drop the dates and pecans...? Actually, no, this is just a new flavor, replacing the  coconut variety . The first thing I noticed when pouring were those same knobby flakes that you find in all the Great Grains. They're a blend of wheat, rice, and oats and not pressed to death, which makes for a thick, hearty flake. I guess those  are the "Great Grains?" I never really thought about it. They were also a bit on the dry side. Nice robust cinnamon scent, though. The raisins were chewier than I would've liked, which--along with the dry flakes--made me wonder if the inner bag hadn't been punctured at some point, resulting in a slowly stale-ing cereal. Notice I didn't mention the clusters. That's because I totally forgot about them.  They were not that cluster-y. I've had way bigger. If you're going to put clusters in a flake cereal--and in the name of said cereal--they need to be sizable. I like a big crunch to offset the flakes...

After December's Christmas cookie crush, I had to step away from the oven. But I slowly eased back into it with these  Harvest Cookies . I can never say no to a good oatmeal cookie. Some people don't like the chewiness of a cookie made with honey but I think that's a good quality for a oat-based cookie. Next my services were volunteered to make these  Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies . I find when you're tasked with making gift cookies you can't go wrong with chocolate!😋 (btw, I used the leftover pumpkin to make  these pumpkin pancakes ) Finally, I tried my hand at a birthday cake for my mom. Usually I make her an upside-down cake or a cake with fruit in it but this year I did this: She also loves gingerbread so instead of a traditional loaf I made this  Gingerbread Bundt Cake with Maple Glaze  (the unglazed part went in the freezer). I'd been having issues with under-baking last Fall so I may have erred on the side of caution and overbaked...

...or so it says on the box. On the website, Apple Cinnamon. No added sugar, no sugar added. Semantics. Either way, I didn't even notice that part when I picked up a box last week. I just knew Cascadian Farm had new granola flavors (the other being Coconut Cashew). So without the added sugar what stands out most is the cinnamon. It's--I don't want to say odd, because I like it--a deep cinnamon flavor, almost clove-y. Not like what I'm accustomed to using in my baked goods. Is this where the date powder comes in? Could be. As for the granola itself, it's very crisp and crumbly. Like  all   Cascadian Farm   granolas . The freeze-dried apple slices are easy to bite even with the skins on. I guess the next time I make a granola I'll have to find an apple cinnamon recipe--hopefully with that kind of apple.

Why try this cereal? I was in the mood for some fruity flavors. And who doesn't like bunnies? It's very Spring-ish, when you think about it, these bunny and blossom shapes. The perfect cereal for a cold, gray winter--except it's sunny and 60 degrees right now. I'm sure the February snow dump is coming. Anyway, to the cereal. The key word here is subtlety. There was barely a hint of berry aroma to pick up on when I opened the bag. The purples and pinks of the cereal bits are very soft shades. I tasted a purple bunny first; it had just a hint of berry. A pink blossom came next--was it a different flavor or the same, but less of it? The plain bunny also tasted the same, probably from being surrounded by berries. The corn, oat and rice blend give the pieces a crisp bite that gets chewy in milk but that also helped to bring out the berry flavor. Overall, I'd call this "Trix Lite." So if you're looking for natural berry flavors with fruit juice-colored...

(I told you not to hold me to it. 😉) So why did Kellogg's feel the need to launch another fruit-filled Mini-Wheats so soon after Touch of Fruit of the Middle? I think the answer is in the name. It's no longer just a touch (see my reviews  here ,  here , and  here ). I think Post's Frosted Shredded Wheat  came in there in 2017 and showed them how to really stuff a wheat biscuit. And all those interesting flavors are gone now, so, your move, Kellogg's. First impressions: upon opening the bag I was smacked in the face by the scent of berries. Ok, that bodes well. But wait. Which berries? I couldn't sniff it out. Next, the pour. Some of those biscuits looked like they were about to burst with berry filling. So that's new. And the flavor? Still couldn't place it. Definitely berries. If pressed I'd say raspberry and blueberry? Let me check...yep, those two and strawberry puree. And...dried apples? Maybe that's what was throwing off my taste buds. I ...

(I'm trying to write a review once a week this month but don't hold me to it. 😁) So why does this work for me when  Raisin Bran with Bananas  didn't? I think it comes down to not liking bran flakes with bananas. I just can't do it. The crisp combination of wheat and rice? That works for me. It must be a texture thing. But on to first impressions: the first thing to fall out of the box was a banana chip. I can't be mad at that. Special K Banana had better deliver on the bananas. The flakes are just barely sweet, which is good for me, otherwise I would've tried  Banana Creme Frosted Flakes  last year. There's also just barely a hint of banana, probably from being packed in with all those banana chips. And unlike my Raisin Bran review, I didn't have a problem with the amount of banana chips in this cereal. I'd say the amount of flakes and chips are just about even. At least they were at the top of the box. I was worried about not liking this afte...

Fun fact: I can't remember ever having Eggo waffle cereal the first time around. But just in case I did, I decided to try the new blueberry flavor instead. I expected it to look like a blue-speckled Honeycomb but my box was disappointing. All the pieces were squished like they were trying to make Eggo Crispix instead. The scent was like a box of Trix. Which raises the question: is Trix actually only one  flavor? Or is this new cereal something plus blueberry? I could've answered this question had I not already passed the box on to my brother (technically, it was for him). As for flavor--according to my notes--I wrote, "It wasn't bad, but I wasn't wowed." Now, almost a week later, I can't even remember  how it tasted. That's how much of an impression it left on me. 😛 So if Honeycomb ever did want to try a blueberry variety...here's your opening...