April 22, 2013
Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch
There must be 300 different types of Cheerios on the shelves of my local Safeway. Well, maybe not quite that many but there sure are a lot, including new Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch. Instead of just the ubiquitous O’s, it adds flakes and clusters to make a very tasty cereal. The O’s are – you guessed it – Honey Nut Cheerios, and I think the flakes are lightly-sweetened bran. Also included in the medley are clusters made with oats and almonds. The different textures and flavors of the three types of cereal go well together and the end result is a delicious cereal that has become one of my favorites. The only thing keeping Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch from earning the esteemed “Outstanding!” rating is that there aren’t enough clusters. Sometimes, you’ll get a cluster or two in a spoonful of cereal, other times you won’t get any. Everyone knows that clusters are the best part of any cereal that has clusters, so it’s too bad that the cereal doesn’t have more of them. Even so, Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch is a tasty cereal that I recommend you try.
Phoood rating: 
March 26, 2012
Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut Cereal - Roasted Nut & Honey
Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut Roasted Nut & Honey cereal is a sister product to Crunchy Nut Golden Honey Nut. I really like Golden Honey Nut (read my review here), but I can’t say the same about Roasted Nut & Honey. I thought that it would taste somewhat similar to Golden Honey Nut. Instead, it couldn’t be more different. The flavor of Roasted Nut & Honey is best described as boring and uninspired. Although it contains a good amount of sugar, it doesn’t have much sweetness. And, you can forget about tasting any of the roasted peanuts that top the corn and oat O-shaped cereal. Don’t be fooled by the picture on the front of the box - the peanut pieces are much, much smaller than depicted, and there’s far less of them too. Overall, Crunchy Nut Roasted Nut & Honey is a disappointing cereal that I can’t recommend buying. There’s just too many other good cereals out there that you would enjoy more.
Phoood rating: 
February 25, 2012
Dulce de Leche Cheerios
Dulce de leche is a thick, caramel-flavored sauce that is made by slowly heating sweetened milk until the sugars in the milk caramelize. It's popular in Latin America, and the folks at Cheerios thought that it would be a good flavor to incorporate into their product. Wow, were they were right! To me, the word “caramel” brings thoughts of a thick, sticky, rich desert. That’s not what you get with this cereal. Dulce de Leche Cherrios have a nice, light caramel flavor and are not overly sweet. In fact, they have less sugar than the other varieties of sweetened Cheerios. I have eaten Dulce de Leche Cheerios three different ways: straight out of the box, with milk, and with milk mixed 50/50 with Quaker Oatmeal Squares. They tasted great each way. I have a feeling that Dulce de Leche Cheerios are going to have a permanent place in my cupboard along with my other favorite cereals.
Phoood rating:
August 7, 2011
Kellogg's Crunchy Nut Cereal - Golden Honey Nut
There’s yet another breakfast cereal on the shelves of my local Safeway - Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut. From what I’ve read, it’s a very popular cereal in the UK but only recently came to the US. I bought a box of the Golden Honey Nut variety, which has corn flakes covered with honey and topped with peanuts (it also comes in an Os variety called Roasted Nut and Honey). The honey and nuts give it a very crunchy texture, one of the most crunchy that you’ll find in any cereal. It easily stays crunchy all the way to the bottom of the bowl. Crunchy Nut is marketed as a tasty cereal for adults. Accordingly, it’s not overly sweet like kids cereals often are. On top of honey-covered corn flakes are small bits of peanuts … very small. No doubt the peanuts are the most expensive ingredient in the cereal, so they are applied sparingly. Even so, you do get a bit of peanut flavor in each bite. As tasty as Crunchy Nut is, it has a bit more more sugar compared to the cereals I usually eat, so it will probably only be an occasional purchase.
Phoood rating:
April 18, 2010
Fruity Cheerios
Long ago, the word "Cheerios" was synonymous with healthy. That’s why it was just about the only breakfast cereal my mom would buy. Nowadays, moms don’t have it as easy because there are all kinds of Cheerios of questionable healthiness: Honey Nut, Frosted, Apple Cinnamon, Yogurt Burst, Chocolate, and maybe the most questionable of all, Fruity. Fruity Cheerios are obviously meant to be a Fruit Loop-like cereal, from the color scheme of the box to the flavor of the cereal. They taste very similar to Fruit Loops, the main differences being that the fruity taste and sweetness are not as pronounced. They’re tasty, but not as good as Fruit Loops. But, I’m eating a cereal that’s better for me than Fruit Loops, right? Not necessarily. I looked up the nutrition information for Fruit Loops and found that they had exactly the same amount of sugar as Fruity Cheerios. Huh? I thought Cheerios were supposed to be good for me! You mean I just finished a box of Fruity Cheerios and I could have eaten the much tastier Fruit Loops instead? Fruity Cheerios may seem like they have less sugar when you read the side of the box, but if you look carefully you’ll see that the serving size is ¾ cup. The serving size for Fruit Loops is one cup, and when you take the serving size into consideration, both cereals have 12 grams of sugar per one cup serving. There are some other minor differences in the nutritional content of the two cereals, and the question of which cereal is healthier could probably be debated. My recommendation is to go for the real thing – Fruit Loops – and don’t fool yourself by thinking that Fruity Cheerios are better for you.
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June 22, 2009
Kellogg’s Raisin Bran Crunch
Some of my favorite breakfast cereals are Fruit Loops, Lucky Charms, Cap’n Crunch, Fruity Pebbles and … Raisin Bran. Weird, huh? I don’t really like bran cereal all that much, and usually just like to eat raisins all by themselves. But, somehow, Raisin Bran is more than the sum of its parts. I usually buy Kellogg’s Raisin Bran (no offense to Post Raisin Bran), but had never tried its sister product, Raisin Bran Crunch, until recently. Raisin Bran Crunch has flakes that are much crunchier than the flakes in Raisin Bran and also has oat and honey granola clusters. The cereal has a delicious, hearty crunch and stays crunchy in milk for a long time. It’s really good, and it’s nearly as healthy as Raisin Bran. My only minor quibble is that it didn’t seem to have as many raisins as Raisin Bran. I was expecting “two scoops” of raisins but noticed that, unlike Raisin Bran, the Raisin Bran Crunch box doesn’t mention anything about having “two scoops.” Nevertheless, it’s a delicious cereal that deserves a spot in my cupboard.
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January 8, 2009
Kellogg's Keebler Cookie Cruch Cereal
To most, a moment of clarity ensues upon discovery of Kellogg's Keebler Cookie Crunch. I've heard testimony stating that, "...the box emitted a guiding light unto my feet, a lamp unto my path." I unfortunately, didn't feel this spiritual high, and approached the box quite skeptical, because Kellogg's never fails to let me down. This being said, Kellogg's Keebler Cookie Crunch, like many of its limited-release predecessors, fall short in so many different ways.
Keebler Cookie Crunch is mundane at best, and its attempt to re-create a classic cereal (whose name should go without mentioning), is just as futile an attempt as trying to re-invent the wheel. I don't know how they could screw it up, the formula is so simple; take two classic snacks, cereal and cookies, and package them in one box. How much simpler does it get? I don't know, but I guess you'll have to ask the folks down at Kellogg's how they managed to botch this one, because they pulled it off yet again. Kellogg's Cookie Crunch is bland, soggy and tastes more like over-refined pretzels than cookies. Its originality lacks (in the fact that their is already another cookie-cereal combo on the market that's quite good), its taste is forgettable (what was I saying?) and as far as cereal mascots go, let's just say their are three elves out there who have been doing it right for over 50 years. Maybe those tiny Keebler elves need to keep doing what they do best, making cookies, and leave cereal making to the over-zealous Tiger's and ship-wrecked Cap'n's of the world.
Phoood rating:
January 4, 2009
Malt-O-Meal Blueberry Muffin Tops Cereal
Do yourself a favor, drop whatever your doing right now, and go get a bag of Blueberry Muffin Tops. You'll thank me later.
Blueberry muffin tops is Malt-o-meal's magnum opus, and can just as well be eaten with or without milk. Eat them out of the bag, pour them over your face, or dump them on Ice cream, whatever creation you can dream up, I promise you that you won't be let down. Versatile, delicious and layered in sugar, what more could you ask for? I don't know, but If you ask me, Blueberry Muffin Tops should be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, because they are quite literally, Rockin!. Imagine if you can a cereal that uses REAL blueberry muffins in every delicious morsel and you've come close to the magnificence that is Blueberry Muffin Tops. A bowl full of Blueberry Muffin Tops will keep those stomach pangs at bay, and should keep you snaking happy throughout the day. Despite this, the only real pitfall I can think of is it's lack of availability, but like a diamond in the rough, you can't keep a good thing hidden forever. So even it takes a few phone calls to your local grocers, believe me, it's worth the search.
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December 24, 2008
Golden Grahams
I have a few trusty breakfast cereals that I always eat, but recently I got adventurous and bought a box of Golden Grahams. I don’t recall having ever eaten it, but it looked like a cereal that I would enjoy. I was not impressed by the taste of the cereal, having expected a stronger graham flavor and more sweetness. I also found that the cereal got soggy in the milk too quickly. Just to be confident in my conclusions, I also tried it my second favorite way of eating breakfast cereal – straight out of the box. Again, I didn’t like it all that much. Soggy, mediocre-tasting cereal makes a poor breakfast (or lunch, or dinner…), so I guess I’ll have to continue looking for a new cereal to add to my cupboard.
Phoood rating: 
June 4, 2008
Strawberry Chex
Finding a good breakfast cereal can be very difficult. The ones that taste the best are full of sugar, which may be alright to eat every once in a while but I don’t want to start each day by eating sugar by the spoonful. On the other end of the spectrum are the cereals that are low in sugar and low in flavor. Strawberry Chex occupies that cherished middle ground between sugar-saturated and flavorless. They have a real nice strawberry flavor and just the right amount of sweetness. Thankfully, there are no dried strawberries here, as some other cereals use. Instead, the tasty strawberry flavoring coats about half of the cereal pieces. And yes, they leave strawberry-flavored milk at the bottom of the bowl – yum!. For those of us who are sometimes too lazy to even put the cereal in a bowl with milk, you’ll be glad to know that they also taste great eaten straight from the box.
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October 18, 2005
Quaker Crunchy Corn Bran Cereal
Have you ever really liked something, but did not know exactly why? That’s how I feel about Quaker Crunchy Corn Bran cereal. It’s a simple, ordinary, corn flavored cereal that really doesn’t offer much to get excited about. But, for some reason, I just love it. It has a nice flavor, good crunch, and the cereal puffs keep their crunchiness a long time. Maybe I like it so much because it is so simple and unpretentious in a world filled with overhyped and oversweet cereals. Among all the others, Crunchy Corn Bran stands out as one of my favorites. It’s my understanding that it is not available in all areas of the country. Luckily, you can order it here and have it shipped to you no matter where you live.
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June 3, 2005
1/2 the Sugar Fruity Pebbles
I’ve always loved Fruity Pebbles cereal but don’t eat it very often due to the high sugar content. Now, I can enjoy them more often as Post has introduced a low-sugar version. Although I didn’t have a bowl of the original version to compare it to, I have to say that Half the Sugar Fruity Pebbles look and taste so close to the original that you will never tell the difference. They are great! And, they have less sugar than my usual (semi-healthy) cereal, Life. Go get yourself a box today.
Phoood rating:
September 14, 2004
Honey Graham Life Cereal
New Honey Graham Life Cereal is one of the oddest tasting foods I have eaten in quite a while. What I find odd about it is that it doesn’t have a honey or graham flavor. At first, I thought that my taste buds were playing tricks on me. So, I ate another bowl of the cereal. And the flavor I thought I tasted was still there. It was the vague flavor of … bananas. And it wasn’t a particularly good banana flavor. I’m not sure what happened at the Life Cereal laboratory, but they sure got this one wrong. Don’t bother buying a box, I think you’ll only be disappointed.
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August 13, 2004
Reduced Sugar Trix Cereal
I love new Reduced Sugar Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, and now I’ve had a chance to eat new Reduced Sugar Trix. General Mills has another hit with this cereal. By sweetening the cereal with Splenda No Calorie Sweetener, the cereal has 75% less sugar than regular Trix. With only 3 grams of sugar per serving, you can eat it by the handful if you want to. I actually did this, and it tastes great straight out of the box. It also tastes great with milk, so buy yourself a box and have a bowl for breakfast as soon as you can.
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July 21, 2004
Reduced Sugar Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal
I love breakfast cereal. I eat a bowl or two every morning, and I even eat it for dinner frequently. Usually, I eat cereals that don’t have too much sugar. Not that I don’t like highly-sweetened cereals – because I do – but I’ve got to watch the waistline. This new Reduced Sugar Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal is like a dream come true. It has a delicious cinnamon sugar taste, but only 2 grams of sugar per serving. That’s less than many other “healthy” cereals. The trick? It is partially sweetened with Splenda No Calorie Sweetener. I found that the cereal has just the right amount of sweetness for my taste. And, it even stays crunchy in milk like a cereal should. Cereal lovers, rejoice!
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