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This was an intriguing assignment for me: I’m not usually one to partake of sugary cereals — most likely a hold-over from my childhood days when the sweetest cereal that would enter our home would be Life — and that was probably because my Mom somehow mistook it for one of the various Chex cereals. We weren’t really ever a Rice Krispies family. And now I understand why: those tiny little kernels can be murder to clean!

My first experience with Cocoa Krispies was at sleep-away camp. I was floored that any right-minded parent would allow kids to have chocolate for breakfast. But I soon came to love breakfast cereals that could double as desserts. I hadn’t yet considered the relationship between Cocoa Krispies and its older, more responsible sibling, Rice Krispies. It was probably because the packaging and the mascots were different. (At the time Cocoa Krispies was adorned by Tusk-Tusk the Elephant.)

When I saw the box of “ChocoNilla” Krispies on the shelf of my local supermarket, I was curious. There are other cereals which emulate a vanilla taste, but often it’s too subtle. Would ChocoNilla give us the same experience? Would the vanilla stick out and coexist side-by-side with its chocolaty counterpart?

The answer, sadly, was “no.” I could taste the sweetness of the cereal, but the cocoa/chocolate flavor (and smell) was overpowering. The vanilla was simply too subtle. Fortunately, this was on sale and cost less than a similarly-sized box of Cocoa Krispies, so it potentially gave the Cocoa Krispie-holics more bang for their buck.

And it takes a lot of boxes (six) to earn that Barbie (or Hot Wheels) FM radio advertised on the back. I bought my box on sale for $2.44 (excluding tax); that’s a minimum of $14.64 for a radio that is likely worth less than six bucks. A disappointing prospect and a waste of an entire cereal box back panel. Not even a maze or a cute story involving Snap, Crackle and Pop.

(Is it just me, or does anyone else call those three Larry, his brother Darrell and his other brother Darrell?)

If you enjoy Cocoa Krispies, you’ll likely enjoy this as well. But if you’re looking for a vanilla twist, you’ll fall short of finding it. ChocoNilla gets three bowls from me.

Cleaning advice: Make sure not to let the sugary kernels dry onto the bowl in the sink. They can be a bitch to scrub off.

Cereal Wednesday Bowls:

For more information about the cereal please visit the Kellogg’s website.

Special thanks to Shiny for doing the review! Sorry about the lower production quality, which I blame entirely on my fickle and temperamental video software Sony Vegas… so instead I had to use Windows Movie Maker with it’s less than stellar graphic package. Hey… at least I got it up!

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We all knew NYCWD wouldn’t like this cereal because apparently he had some Tony the Tiger trauma in his childhood, but I kinda sorta liked Frosted Flakes as a kid so I really thought this would be good!

And then I took a bite and realized that I was very, very wrong.

Frosted Flakes Gold is a new cereal by Kellogg’s. The cereal is comprised of a whole grain corn and wheat flake thickly coated with “honey” that is actually a combination of honey, malt flavoring, and high fructose corn syrup. The coating is very slick to the tongue, similar to my Fiber One experience, and so coated in fact that it makes the flake itself seem like stale cardboard. Also, the flakes are of varying sizes, some of them so large that they could actually be tough to swallow if not broken down properly first.

To its credit, Frosted Flakes Gold packs an average amount of health punch: 3 g of fiber per 3/4 cup serving, as well as 25% of daily recommended amounts of Iron, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, and Vitamin B12. Honestly, though, the flavor and texture are just so unappealing that I’d rather take my big girl vitamin and a fiber tablet than eat any more of this cereal. Also, it claims to have Long-Lasting Energy but doesn’t follow through with telling us exactly how it has this long-lasting energy. From the 2g of protein that almost all of its competitors have per serving? From the bit of honey that’s in it? Where? Back up your claims, Tony!

I’m not quite sure which demographic is supposed to be targeted for Frosted Flakes Gold, but I think Kellogg’s totally missed the mark for both kids and adults.

No toy inside, and NYCWD’s least favorite cereal mascot on the box are not in this cereal’s scoring favor.

Slogan: “Crunchy Flakes made with Whole Grain and Baked with Honey”
Taste: Like sickeningly oversweet cardboard, to put it nicely
Box opening: Pretty difficult
Bag rippage: Lots of ripping
Bag slippage: Bag overboard!
Allergy alert: Contains wheat ingredients and trace amounts of soybean

Cereal Wednesday Bowls:

For more information about the cereal please visit the Kellogg’s website.

The T-shirts for this episode are from ThinkGeek.

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This week’s episode is dedicated to Girl, Dislocated who special requested this cereal a few weeks back. We love our Girl so much that NYCWD and I co-hosted for her viewing pleasure! (You wanted to see us both, right? No? Oops! )

Cap’n Crunch’s Peanut Butter Crunch is a Quaker Oats cereal introduced to the market in 1969. At the time it was the most popular of the flavors. As with the entire line of Cap’n Crunch cereals the mascot for Peanut Butter Crunch is Cap’n Crunch himself.

The cereal is a puffed corn, oat, and rice flour ball with a secondary ingredient of real peanut butter. That’s a little confusing, considering the fake peanut butter flavor we both experienced. Perhaps the coconut oil is overpowering the flavor of the peanut butter, which coconut oil is occasionally found to do.

Surprisingly, Peanut Butter Crunch does very well in the vitamins and minerals category, packing 25% of the recommended daily values of Iron, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, and Zinc, as well as 100% of daily Folic Acid per 3/4 cup serving.

Peanut Butter Crunch forgets to sog out, which is a very good thing, but it’s low on the peanut butter punch and the flavor it does have is more chemical than natural. To answer Girl, Dislocated’s question, Peanut Butter Cookie Crisp is waaaaaaaay more peanut buttery than Peanut Butter Crunch. Ya can’t win ‘em all, Cap’n.

Slogan: “Sweetened Corn and Oat Cereal”
Taste: Sweet like Cap’n Crunch but with a hint of chemical peanut butter flavor
Box opening: Easy as can be
Bag rippage: No ripping
Bag slippage: No slipping
Allergy alert: Contains peanut ingredients

Cereal Wednesday Bowls:

For more information about the cereal please visit the Cap’n Crunch website.

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Almost a year after Kraft Foods started to look to get rid of Post Cereals due to cost and profit loss, coupled with the decision to stop advertising sugary cereal, we still find Golden Crisp with its mascot Sugar Bear alive and well on the shelves.

Golden Crisp was introduced by Post Cereals in 1949, under the name Sugar Crisp. The name has undergone a number of changes from the original, to Super Sugar Crisp, to Super Golden Crisp, to the current incarnation of just Golden Crisp. The dropping of the word Sugar represents the change in the mentality of America towards a lifestyle where Sugar is viewed as Satan incarnate.

Image by JasonLiebig via FlickrThe cereal itself is a puffed wheat… and while it isn’t necessarily my favorite kind, I can definitely overlook this thanks to… yeah… you guessed it… the sugar! To be honest, the cereal smells sweet… and the obnoxious wheat is 90% covered by the sweetened coating. The only real wheat indicator is a slight aftertaste. However, the cereal does sog out incredibly quickly as the coating dissolves into the milk.

While the Box and Bag Opening went well, the Pour was a good solid one with little to no Bag Slippage, and the taste is definitely palatable (unless you’re a diabetic), I would still have to only give this cereal 3 Bowls for both the Sog Factor and the lack of a true Cereal Premium (Toy). Still, I’m going to give it 4 Bowls for the simple fact that Sugar Bear is still on the box… and his sweatshirt even says Sugar Bear on it.

At least Post Cereals is keeping it real and sweet with Golden Crisp.

Cereal Wednesday Bowls:

For more information about the cereal please visit the Post Cereal website.

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Who doesn’t like peanut butter?! … Well, ok, lots of people don’t like peanut butter. And many other people are actually allergic to it, but if you don’t fall into either of those categories then I have the cereal for you!

Peanut Butter Cookie Crisp is a whole grain corn cereal made by General Mills and is part of the Millsberry line of kid cereals. It was added to the Cookie Crisp collection in 2005. Chip the Wolf, originally known as Howler, is the cereal’s mascot. Judging by the smacking of his lips he enjoys a little bit of peanut butter in his diet, as any canine would.

The cereal packs a serious peanut butter punch. It is admittedly super sweet, but you’re reading the words of a woman who sprinkles extra sugar onto her peanut butter before eating it, so this is exactly the way I like it. The bite-size peanut butter cookies taste exactly like a homemade peanut butter cookie, even better than some I’ve had! And the best part is that the cereal stays crunchy in milk which is much more important for a cereal to do than its cookie counterpart.

Peanut Butter Cookie Crisp contains 12 vitamins and minerals, including 25% of the daily recommended allowance of Iron, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, and Zinc.

If you’re looking for a low sugar cereal for your kids this might not be the best option for you, but if you want something with vitamins and minerals that tastes delicious enough for your kids to actually eat then I say go for it!

No toy inside, but a fun Cookie Cruiser cut-out activity on the back keeps the family occupied.

Slogan: “The Great Taste of Peanut Butter Cookies & Milk!”
Taste: Seriously peanut buttery
Box opening: Easy
Bag rippage: No ripping
Bag slippage: Minimal slipping
Allergy alert: Contains peanut and wheat ingredients

Cereal Wednesday Bowls:

For more information about the cereal please visit the General Mills website.

The T-shirt for this episode was provided to me by NYCWD who purchased it at the Avitable Zazzle Store.

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So we’ve already talked about the Original Cheerios. Then we talked about the most popular Honey Nut Cheerios. We even talked about Honey Nut Cheerios Breakfast Bars. So what is there left to possibly say about Fruity Cheerios? Alot actually.

Fruity Cheerios was only brought into the market by General Mills in 2006. The Cheerios brand has no notable mascot, but rather bases its marketing plan in an appeal to mother’s for a healthy breakfast choice for their children. Fruity Cheerios is no different, but the colorful box is eerily reminiscent of Kelloggs’ Froot Loops, minus the talking bird.

The Fruity Cheerios claim to have 25% less sugar than the “Most Popular Fruity Cereal” (*COUGH*Froot Loops*COUGH*), appears to be true. Here is how the math basically breaks down:

• •32g serving of Froot Loops has 15g Sugars
• •27g serving of Fruity Cheerios has 9g Sugars
• •9g Sugars divided into 27g of Fruity Cheerios equals 1g of Sugars per 3g of Fruity Cheerios
• •Therefore 33g of Fruity Cheerios would equate to 11g of Sugars
• •11g/15g= .733333 which rounds out to 73% of the Sugars represented

Thus Fruity Cheerios, according to my calculations, actually has 27% less Sugars than Froot Loops, living up to their claim. The box opened well, the bag opened like silk, bag slippage was minimal, and the soggies were held at bay for at least 5 minutes during milk contamination. So why in the end did I only give it 4 Bowls?

Just like Fruity Pebbles, every singly colorful Fruity Cheerios tastes the same. There is no taste difference between the orange, purple, or greenish Ohs. They all taste the same. The final nail in the coffin… as it is with most cereals… there was no toy. Just some really lame games on the back of the box.

So in conclusion, with less sugar, more mom appeal, and a decent fruity flavor, Fruity Cheerios is sure to find its way onto breakfast tables nationwide with ease.

Cereal Wednesday Bowls:

For more information you can visit the Fruity Cheerios Cereal Page

The T-shirt for this episode was provided by the Second Hand Tryptophan Store