VIEW SLIDESHOW: Cereal Eats: My Trip to General Mills HQ, Part 2

After I had taken a good look behind the scenes at General Mills HQ and some of the fun that goes on there, it was time to head to two of the very coolest places: the photography studio and the General Mills Archives.

We headed to the photo studio first. From huge pantries stocked with every kind of cake decorating accessory to colored plates as far the eye can see, the place is any photographer, blogger, or baker's dream. Its relatively small team works in two large areas: the main studio and a natural light studio. From there, they generate all of the photography for General Mills brands.

Next up was the magical time machine known as the Archives. Once again, I was met with employees whose passion was immediately evident. These fellow cereal lovers excitedly led me on an awesome journey down memory lane, through painstakingly temperature- and humidity-controlled rooms. We pored over discontinued cereal boxes featuring mysterious old characters and checked out the vintage toys that used to reside within. Truly a cereal lovers dream come true!

Check out the slideshow and stay tuned for Part 3!

VIEW SLIDESHOW: Cereal Eats: My Trip to General Mills HQ, Part 1

[Photographs: Paul Markert]

When I was in college, there was one particular event I waited for all year. University of Richmond (home to the work-hard play-hard set...and me), invited cereal reps to bring their cereals to campus on one special day so students could taste them and vote on what would be offered in the school cafeteria the following year. Picture it: hundreds of boxes of cereal and unlimited milk, free for the taking.

While other students enjoyed one bowl of maybe two of the sugary stuff, I treated the day as a second Thanksgiving. My sister and I would strategize and gameplan, putting away eight to nine bowls of cereal, starting with "healthy" meal-like options and finishing with dessert courses like Honey Comb and Reese's Puffs. Everyone was there—new cereals, old friends, healthy, unhealthy—EVERYONE. It was the happiest day of my college career.

Why do I bring this up now? You might think it a little strange that while others were studying or finding future mates, I was mooning over milk and cereal. Well, Mom and Dad, it finally paid off: the incredibly kind folks at General Mills recently invited me to their headquarters in Minneapolis to check out the behind the scenes of happy cereal land (note: those were not their exact words).

General Mills began back in 1880 with Gold Medal flour and has expanded to include brand like Pillsbury, Green Giant, Betty Crocker and of course, Cheerios. Other cereal brands include Wheaties, Fiber One, Lucky Charms and most importantly, Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Their Minneapolis headquarters is home to 3,000 employees, many of whom have had parents and even grandparents who have worked there over the years. It is clear that General Mills is much beloved in its hometown.

It is also clear that we would immediately become friends. It's pretty simple, since I'm a fool for cereal and so are the wonderful folks at General Mills. Here's a quick tour of the place, the first in a three-part series we'll be running in coming weeks.

At least Rice Krispies Treats still exist. [Photograph: Robyn Lee]

We've chatted about this Urlesque.com's list of 54 Cereals We Loved and Lost before, noting that Rice Krispies Treats Cereal and a strange new Berry Kix do indeed still exist. It's an awesome list that I still look at from time to time, just for kicks. But I've been thinking: have we really talked enough about discontinued cereals? I know I've discussed my intense love and longing for Honey Crunch Cornflakes (WHYYYY) and Oreo O's, but I'm not sure if I ever asked you all which cereals you wish would come back. I vaguely remember mention of someone named Sir Grapefellow and something magical called Sprinkle Spangles. I've heard fables of Teddy Graham Cereal and can still almost taste the very bizarre Hidden Treasures.

What I would give to just take one trip down the retired cereal aisle, sampling new and exotic treats from every box (side note: this does not actually exist). Wouldn't you?

Leave your most dearly missed cereal in the comments!

[Photographs: Robyn Lee]

I must confess, now that I can have any cereal I want (meaning that I am an adult with more than $5 in my bank account) sometimes I feel the magic is lost. But all it takes is a stroll down the cereal aisle, breathing in the light scent of cardboard, my eyes roving over the rows of happy colorful boxes, and the thrill returns.

I'm a big fan of the Cap'n despite his cereal's roof-of-mouth-destroying quality. Admittedly though, I'm actually pretty unfamiliar with the Cap'n's other varieties (Crunchberries and the Peanut Butter flavor). But the bright blinking word "NEW" on the box of his latest, Cinnamon Roll Crunch, won me over.

Ripping open this box, I greedily dug in to discover rough cereal balls that simultaneously ripped up my mouth and unpleasantly coated my tongue. The flavor of cinnamon dissolves into something stale and sour, vaguely akin to a Cinnabon branded candle. Considering my love for cinnamon cereals, this was a huge disappointment.

DARN IT. Should have gone for the Basic 4 cereal, with its no-nonsense almonds and raisins, right beside the Cinnamon Roll Crunch boxes instead.

Are you a fan of Cap'n Crunch and his other flavor varieties? Have you tried Cinnamon Roll Crunch yet?

[Photograph: Robyn Lee]

I love cereal for so many reasons. And every week I write this column, I'm so glad to see so many people feel the same way. I think the reason we love eating and talking about it so much is because it's nostalgic and fun. And when we're talking nostalgia, we have to talk about the cereal mascots, box games and prizes.

Even the sad, healthy cereals of my childhood often had interesting boxes. There were even a few times where I got a prize from a rare box of Kix or Frosted Mini-Wheats. In fact, I specifically remember a time we saved up some Kix box tops and paid like, $4.99 for a toy dump truck that was thrilling for about 1 ½ days. Good times.

But for the rest of you normal people, surely your colorful, sugary, fun-shaped cereals came in bright boxes with happy mascots and cool prizes. Right?

Well, speaking of cool boxes, General Mills has released some fun vintage-y boxes until late April. The packaging is styled from the 50's, 60's and 80's, featured on Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. You can even collect a $5 coupon for a vintage Hasbro board game, exclusively at Target. Board games and cereal, my perfect Saturday night. Just kidding. And just kidding about just kidding.

Alright folks, since I was born in the late 80's and I never got to eat sugary cereals as a kid, I really need your help filling in the blanks here: what's your favorite "cereal box" memory? Who was your favorite mascot? What was the coolest prize you ever got? Please tell a deprived, healthy-cereal-home kid, won't you?

Last week, this list popped up on the popular, list-loving Buzzfeed: 16 Breakfast Cereals That Should Be Obliterated. I clicked on it excitedly. I do enjoy Buzzfeed, especially their Rewind articles on the Spice World movie or The Backstreet Boys.

So I settled in to yuk it up with some fellow cereal lovers, but was digitally slapped in the face by the first bold cereal name.

Grape Nuts. Now that's just uninventive; the 'Nuts are an easy target, leave 'em alone. Plus there's dozens of us (dozens!) who love them to death. I scanned the rest of the list and suddenly realized this was not your average Grape Nuts hate; these people went after innocent Corn Flakes, delicious Kix and most horrifying of all, Rice Krispies Treats Cereal.

Really?! What is this madness? I needed to express my rage in a public forum. I needed to tell you why this list is utterly unfunny, incorrect and a disgrace to cereal lovers everywhere. Am I taking this too seriously? Most definitely, people. They don't call us Serious Eats for nothing.

My Reactions to Buzzfeed's List of 16 Cereals That Should Be Obliterated

1. Grape Nuts: Neither Grapes nor nuts. If it looks gross and it tastes gross it probably is gross. I don't even need to comment about this. You taste gross.
2. Apple Jacks: Pink milk no thank you plus the grainy residue ick. What? I wish all milk was pink. Apple Jacks are incredible and unique and underrated. I friggin love Apple Jacks.
3. Life: I asked for a cereal not a PhD. in philosophy. I'm not laughing. I didn't even crack a smile. Life is tasty and harmless, leave it alone.
4. Muesli: Could you be any harder to pronounce or enjoy? Not really that hard. Oh, and muesli is so delicious that even cereal haters love it. It's trail mix and granola and everything good and nutty and grainy in this world.
5. Kix: Too spherical the bimbo of cereals. Kid-Tested Mother Approved and you bring your filthy bimbo joke into this? For shame. Kix are one of my all time favorites. NEXT.
6. Rice Krispie Treats Cereal: What's the matter Rice Krispies aren't good enough for you Snap Crackle and Pop are rolling in their graves. I don't know what bothers me most: that they misspelled the name, that the photo they used to slander RKTC's beautiful name is from MY article or the fact that Rice Krispies Treats Cereal is one of the most delicious foods in existence.
7. Cream of Wheat: How could you eat that and not get sad. Disqualified, not a cold cereal, not in the same category. Oh, and Cream of Wheat is awesome.
8. Chex: Want proof that Chex sucks? The only time anyone likes it is when it's with other stuff. WRONG WRONG COULD NOT BE MORE WRONG. I have room in my heart for Corn Chex, Wheat Chex, especially deliciously plain Rice Chex. Have you fools even tried the deliciousness that is Chocolate Chex? Or Cinnamon Chex? I can't even ... Chex rules.
9. All Bran: Note to Mr. Kellogg the point of most cereal is to disguise the Bran. Ok All Bran is kind of gross. I'll allow this one.
10. Trix: The Rabbit must have diabetes by now amirite. Ok, again, this I'll allow. Trix really ain't all that good. Love it as a kid but yeah. It's kinda gross.
11. Wheaties: I've only been awake for ten minutes and now I have to stare at people who've achieved more than I ever will. Stop whining and take a bite of the Wheaties. One of the most underrated cereals out there. Delicious.
12. Cookie Crisp: Hey as long as you're fooling your self why don't you just use Haagen Dazs instead of milk. This comment makes no sense, but I will say that Cookie Crisp is not a good cereal. At all.
13. Corn Flakes: MMM how about some corn on the cob pulverized and flattened into a flake-like consistency yum oh wait no. Seriously though, was this supposed to be funny? I'm just confused by the comment. Corn Flakes are utterly delicious and actually, I almost exclusive want to eat pulverized corn products.
14. Oatmeal that comes in a packet: Life tip nothing good hot comes in a packet Ok, I guess I can give them this one though I totally disagree. Swiss Miss 4 life.
15. Cap'n Crunch: Hope you weren't too attached to the roof of your mouth. Fair. But in all honesty, I'm not too attached to the roof of my mouth so, the Cap'n and I will be making it happen.
16. Special K: So its only for ladies misandrist piece of crap. Don't care all that much that it is questionably marketed as a diet item for women. The cereal is friggin tasty as hell. That's all that matters to me.

In conclusion, this list left me annoyed, unsmiling, and desperate to commiserate with fellow cereal lovers. Please tell me you agree. Maybe this list was meant to be a joke. WELL I AIN'T LAUGHIN'.

Oh and in case you were wondering, here is my shortlist of cereals that should be obliterated:

1. Honey Bunches of Oats Fruit Blends Banana Blueberry
2. Honey Bunches of Oats Fruit Blends Peach Raspberry
3. Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats Strawberry Delight
4. Golden Crisp
5. Dulce De Leche Cheerios
6. Cookie Crisp

Thoughts?

[Image: General Mills]

Well, St. Patrick's Day is over. Time to shake the Shamrock-shaped, beer-soaked and corn beef-scented glitter off your mandatory green clothing. I'm not much of St. Paddy's Day gal myself (maybe my last name gave it away?), but there is one Irish dude who will always have my heart—Lucky himself and his alluring Charms. And for a limited time only, you can get this snazzy green box with all clover charms.

While this is all well and fun, it's basically just an excuse for me to talk more about Lucky Charms.

Obviously you all must know by now that Lucky Charms were no less than forbidden in my home growing up. And I realize I've already shared a good bit about my passion for the Charms:

Whenever I mention Lucky Charms these days, people love asking, "Oh did you pick out all the marshmallows first or save them all for last like I did?" with big stupid happy smiles.

And I just stare at them, stone-faced. No, you fools, my childhood didn't involve marshmallows, so stop rubbing it in and go laugh with someone who can relate. I might be the only person out there who actually LOVES the cereal part of Lucky Charms.

Is there more to talk about? Of course there is.

You see, recently, while inhaling the scent of a freshly opened box (uhhhh just go with it), I was hit with a sudden pang of nostalgia. Of vacations and roadtrips. Of birthdays and Christmas. That sweet marshmallow perfume that promised, "this day is special for some reason." It nearly brought tears to my eyes. The purity of the Charms was tainted once I reached college, of course, but the magic never totally died.

And in this recent moment of contemplation, I realized that Lucky Charms really is "the standard" for this kind of cereal, the Holy Grail, if you will. Yes, the colorful mallows are the real draw for most, but I adore those plain pieces: it's the tried and true flavor of classic Cheerios, only dressed up for a night on the town with a demure coating of "sugar crust". And when all the elements are swirled together in milk, the resulting spoonful so defines all that is good and right in this world that I cannot even put it into words.

Side note: though my mom is the one that kept me from Lucky all those years, she herself not-so-secretly loves the Charms.

I'm all for limited time offers, fun colors and flavors, bright boxes and fun cereal games. But Lucky had me at hello, all those years ago, and I will always, always, be after his Lucky Charms. ALWAYS.

Lucky Charms lovers—do you feel me?

[Image: Post]

Grape Nuts haters, forgive me, but I have one final thing to say. In fact, you might want to stick around. This just might change your mind.

It's certainly no secret that I think of myself Grape Nuts #1 fan. I even gave a passing grade to Grape Nuts Fit, though it in no way resembled the hallowed 'Nuts. I gave Grape Nuts Flakes a cursory mention last week, honestly not really thinking much about them. I assumed they tasted like Total or Wheaties, not a bad thing (in fact, Wheaties are a stellar cereal) but not something I needed in my life.

Boy oh boy was I wrong.

I got my hands on the flakes and gave them a half-hearted try. I froze after the first dry handful and instantly tasted sweet, malt-y Grape-Nutty flavor. I now have this to say: Grape Nuts Flakes, where have you been all my life?

Let's break it down. The flakes are small and crispy, sweeter than the 'Nuts but still have that satisfying toasty Grape Nuts flavor. I challenge all of you out there that think Grape Nuts tastes like rabbit food or will break your teeth to give these delicious flakes a chance. Personally, I'm ready for a bowl of Grape Nuts Flakes and Grape Nuts combined.
Another benefit of the flakes, to be quite honest, is the calorie count. I try to tell myself that 300 cals per teeny serving of Grape Nuts is better than 300 empty cals of Cape Cod chips lying around SEHQ (I CANNOT RESIST A CHIP). Truth is, the 110 calories per serving on Grape Nuts Flakes let me breathe a little easier and dig into a big old cup or two.

I'm a little surprised at myself that it's taken this long for Grape Nuts Flakes and me to come together. But one thing's for sure: Grape Nuts Flakes I ain't ever gonna let you go!
Ok ok, I'm done talking about Grape Nuts for a while. Wait, not really. Anyone else want to talk about Grape Nuts of any variety??

[Image: Post]

I'll never forget my shock and joy when I realized how many of you out there love Grape Nuts as much as I do. I just ate a bowl before I wrote this and had to announce out loud once again how much I adore this cereal. In fact, I could write a whole other post singing its praises, but I'll restrain myself.

(I realize I haven't mentioned its older brother Grape Nuts Flakes, because to be honest, I'm just so smitten with the crunchy nubbly textures of regular Grape Nuts, I've never given the flakes a second thought. Note to self: try the flakes.)

Now there's a new member of the Grape Nuts family: Grape Nuts Fit. It's described as lightly crunchy nuggets, granola, cranberries, puffed barley, and a touch of natural vanilla flavor. A tempting description.

This Grape Nuts Cereal is a completely different animal.

It took me a while to get past the fact that there are not any actual Grape Nuts in this medley. At first I felt tricked, but after a couple of handfuls, I was totally sold. These "lightly crunchy nuggets" are truly unlike any cereal I've tasted. They're light brown and nubbly and almost have the texture of pretzels. A far cry from my dearest teeth-cracking Grape Nuts, but too delicious to be mad at.

The rest of the elements are exactly as described, in ample amounts and, I'm pleased to report, with a strong and delicious vanilla flavor throughout the whole shebang. This cereal is a winner.

[Photograph: Robyn Lee]

Ah yes, another new cereal! Post has released a limited edition version of the well-loved crowd-pleaser, Fruity Pebbles. The "Rockin Xtreme Colors" promises to deliver an "amped up fruity taste". I can't say that I noticed a huge taste difference, but Fruity Pebbles are just so damn good, I don't really mind. The neon colors however, did get me excited. Cereal is such a visually pleasing food anyway, and I'm a sucker for brightly colored things. I mean, these are really brightly colored and I did feel a little bit like I should be wearing a tank top that says "YOLO" and white Ray-Ban wayfarers or whatever the kids these days are doing. These neon Pebbles won me over.

What new cereals are you all lovin' these days?

About the author: Aside from doing an awesome job with her role in Ad Sales & Marketing, Leandra Palermo secretly harbors a lifelong passion with all things crunchy and served with icy cold milk. This column represents the culmination of that love affair.

[Photograph: Jessica Leibowitz]

Any true cereal lover knows the second best thing to eating cereal is talking about cereal. It's been a while since we've had a good, rousing discussion here on Cereal Eats and I think it's about time.

Perhaps we should start at the very beginning. What appears to be a basic question, but what any true cereal-lover knows is, in fact, the very opposite. OK, yes, push comes to shove, first thing that pops into my head, I've got to say Cinnamon Toast Crunch—but the conversation doesn't stop there. Well, at least not for cereal obsessives. It's all about categories: sugary cereals, dinner cereals, dry cereals, mixing cereals, and the list goes on.

Here are my favorites:

Breakfast Cereals

Kashi Go Lean Crunch
Frosted Mini Wheats
Any Chex
Special K
Kix

Dry Snacking Cereals

Frosted Cheerios
Just Bunches
Kashi Go Lean Crunch
Kix

Dessert Cereals/Guilty Pleasures

Fruity Pebbles
Cocoa Puffs
Reese's Puffs
Lucky Charms
Honey Smacks
Count Chocula

Dinner Cereals

Original Cheerios
Corn Flakes (Kellogg's, Trader Joe's Brand)
Cracklin' Oat Bran
Raisin Bran (Again, Kellogg's, Trader Joe's Brand)

Favorite Mixing Cereals

Grape Nuts
Honey Nut Cheerios
Trader Joe's Berry O's
Just Bunches
Kashi 7 Whole Grain Puffs

Most Underrated Cereals

Honey Comb
Fruity Cheerios
Wheaties
Cinnamon Chex
Mini Cinnamon Churros

All Time Favorites

Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Grape Nuts
Honey Bunches of Oats
Multi Grain Cheerios
Rice Krispies Treats Cereal

I'm probably going to regret this post the moment is it published. I always find that when i list my favorite cereals, someone mentions some dark horse and suddenly I'm questioning everything.

Alright Cereal Eaters, your turn! Agree with me? Disagree with me? What are your categories? What are your favorites?

[Image: General Mills]

January has been filled with new cereal offerings and I couldn't be happier. Today, we've got another winner. I dare say that if Fiber One's new Chocolate Squares had been around when I was growing up, things would have been mightily different.

When I first encountered this box, proudly boasting only 80 calories, I was turned off. It reminded me eerily of 100 Calorie packs, of which I am not a fan. The problem is this: either they've altered the snack to make it lower in calories, most likely adding a sweetener with a horrible aftertaste or creating some sort of new cardboard-y texture in said snack. OR they (yes, the mysterious they) leave the snack unharmed but only give you like 2 1/2 cookies or crackers or whatever. So, don't get me wrong, I understand the concept behind eating smaller quantities of high calorie snacks, but let's be honest: I end up crushing four packs in a hungry rage, and then know exactly how many calories I just crammed down my gullet. I'd rather mindlessly eat handfuls of chips and walk away clueless, pretending it didn't happen.

Anyway, when it comes to low cal cereals, I'll stick to Special K and its mild yet tasty compatriots. If I'm going to go chocolate or fruity or cinnamon, give me the sugar. Give me the sweet, sugar-crunching-in-my-teeth goodness of Cinnamon Toast Crunch or Reese's Puffs. All this to say, I was wary of Chocolate Squares.

My first impression after a dry handful was good. The cereal is decently chocolate-y, and does not have that strong, unpleasantly fruity taste many low-cal or healthy chocolate cereals have, which is a huge plus. There is still a slight aftertaste of something a little too sweet, and yet cardboard-like at the same time. Good, not great.

It all changed when I poured a bowl with milk. If you close your eyes its like you are eating Cocoa Puffs. And I freaking love Cocoa Puffs. I'm fairly certain this cereal would have made it past the iron gates of my mother's cereal cabinet, because of its Fiber One pedigree, and yet hiding inside the box is a wonderful cereal that fills the bowl with chocolate-y milk for all! I'm saving this cereal for those times I need a little something sweet in the afternoon or evening. And by those times I mean every single day.

Anyone else tried this one? Thoughts?

[Photographs: above, Post; below, Robyn Lee]

Alright, alright—I can already hear the groans. These days, it seems everyone is coming out with Greek yogurt products from frozen treats to hummus blends. And I've definitely found myself rolling my eyes as brands seems to think "Greek yogurt" are the magic words. All that aside, this new variety of my beloved Honey Bunches of Oats is truly something to get excited about.

We tried all the flavors of Honey Bunches last year l and found nearly all of them awesome, barring the very unfortunate Flavor Blends. But I must admit I was wary of this one. It wasn't just the vague "Greek" name; I've never been a big "yogurt-covered-whatever person, so I thought this might not be for me.

Upon further examination I realized this cereal is a completely different animal. While Original HBO is described as "crispy flakes (corn flakes), crunchy oat clusters and a touch of honey!" this new breed is described as "2 unique granolas made with real Greek yogurt, crispy whole grain flakes and a touch of honey".

So what does that translate to flavor-wise? Well, the flakes are a lot closer to Special K, as Carey pointed out, which is very welcome! The various indiscernible granolas are tasty and plentiful. The coated clusters are smaller than the original "bunches," but slightly tangy and pleasantly candy-like without being too sweet. As a dry cereal, this is a decent snack. But it really shines in milk. Soft and crunchy in all the right places. I know it's early in the year, but this is a big winner so far!

As with most HBO varieties, I can highly recommend this one.

I'm glad Honey Bunches went this route. The more I eat it, the more it makes sense. Now the question is, when is a chocolate variety coming out?

Has anyone else tried this? Do you love it? Is it necessary?

[Photographs: General Mills]

Hello, Cereal Lovers and Eaters! It's been a hot minute. 2012 was an interesting year cereal-wise. We reminisced about a lot of classic favorites and tried a lot of new varieties that just didn't work. Well, I'm happy to kick off 2013 with brand new editions of some of my favorites cereals: Honey Nut Cheerios Medley and Peanut Butter Toast Crunch. Both cereals just hit the shelves!

Peanut Butter Toast Crunch

Disclaimer: Cinnamon Toast Crunch is my favorite cereal, so I'm about to nerd out up in this piece.

I was keenly disappointed when I tried Frosted Toast Crunch, which replaced the soft cinnamon-sugary melt-in-your-mouth squares with over-sugared and flavorless impostors. I am thrilled to report that Peanut Butter Toast Crunch is delicious, and worth of the "Toast Crunch" name.

Surely you know my now that I have very conflicted feelings on Golden Grahams. I know that allegedly Cinnamon Toast Crunch began as Golden Grahams doused in cinnamon sugar, but when closely compared, the textural difference between the two cereals is pretty significant. Peanut Butter Toast Crunch, however, very closely resembles the crunchy, sturdy Grahams. There is a thin coating of peanut butter business and sugar that has a nice hit of salt and leaves you wanting more. (and more and more and handful after handful after move the box away from me). I admire the fact that this cereal didn't take the cheap, super-sweet route and instead made a peanut butter cereal with integrity and character. Peanut butter lovers, Golden Grahams lovers, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch lovers rejoice—this is an incredible new cereal that is bound to become a classic.

Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch

You'd be hard pressed to find a person who doesn't like Honey Nut Cheerios. While my personal Cheerio favorite is MultiGrain, I'm a huge Honey Nut Cheerios fan. After trying all the Cheerio varieties last year and finding most to be delicious, I was excited about trying this new variety.

Cheerios has mostly stuck with different flavors when it comes to their varieties, with the exception of some added fruit and Oat Clusters (which lacked in clusters). This iteration of Cheerios boasts not only clusters, but flakes as well. It all works. The clusters are tasty and plentiful and the flakes have a wonderful almond flavor. My only complaint would be the texture of the flakes—they remind me a bit of Total Raisin Bran, not a good thing. I overlooked this as I polished off half the box in one sitting. Apparently everyone else here at SE loved it as well, as the box disappeared, never to be seen again. Totally looking forward to having this one again!

So there you have it—two exciting new cereals to kick off the New Year. Here's to many more delicious new varieties in 2013!

[Photograph: Amazon]

If you heard me say "they're grrrrrrreat!" (which I probably should never say out loud), you would immediately think, Kellogg's Frosted Flakes and good ol' Tony the Tiger, right? Yet, when was the last time you actually thought about Frosted Flakes? Or had a bowl for that matter? I know, me neither.

When a mini-box came in a variety pack, it was the last cereal chosen before a loser like Raisin Bran or plain Cheerios. Never once did it get chosen as a birthday cereal. And don't even think I ever touched its barrel in the college cafeteria.

This week, while browsing the cereal aisle, I spotted that iconic blue box and thought, too boring to talk about in my cereal column. But has that been my problem all along? Have I overlooked the simple Flakes for more colorful and interesting cereals? Do people even eat it anymore? How do you people feel about Frosted Flakes? Perhaps we have something to talk about after all.

It took me a little while to realize that the various boxes of cereal I bring into SEHQ weren't going to be met with the enthusiasm I was expecting. The delivery of 8 varieties of Frosted Mini-Wheats was met with groans of "why?", Waffle Crisp was deemed inedible by almost everyone but me and there has been a nearly-full box of Fruity Pebbles languishing on the shelves for a solid month (out of my sight and reach, for my own reasons). What do you mean you'd rather eat sandwiches and pizza and tacos and whatever insane black magic Kenji is creating in the kitchen? What do you mean you don't want to consume 500 empty calories in a few handfuls of frosted marshmallow-y things? Sigh. So alone.

But when I sheepishly placed the bright blue Tiger-clad box of Frosted Flakes in the kitchen, I heard several cries of "Oh! Frosted Flakes" "MMM Frosted Flakes!" "Yay! Frosted Flakes" Uh, you get the picture. The people were pleased! As I crammed a handful into my mouth, and tasted sweet, corn-flaky, frosted sugary goodness, I realized why. Frosted Flakes is a perfectly executed cereal.

Simple is the key to this classic cereal. Kellogg's Frosted Flakes was introduced as 1951, as Sugar Frosted Flakes. As with many cereals from that era, the "sugar" was dropped from the name. Like Raisin Bran, the name Frosted Flakes cannot actually be trademarked because it's a description. In fact if you look at the box it actually says FROSTED FLAKES (of corn).

There are tons of varieties of "frosted flakes" out there, but only Kellogg's has that distinct and beloved flavor. I was surprised to find there are only 5 ingredients in the sugary flakes. Milled corn, sugar, malt flavoring, salt and good old BHT for freshness. Look, I'm not saying it's health food by any stretch, but I was surprised to see the ingredients were so, simple.

What makes Kellogg's Frosted Flakes so darn good? First off, the corn flakes themselves have that indescribably corny flavor and the flakes set the standard for the perfect crispness and thickness. Other brands are too crumbly, too thick, and too brittle. (Am I the only one who cares about this kinda stuff?)

Then of course, there's the most obvious trait of the cereal: the frosted coating. I've used the word "crusty" before to describe this on cereals and once again will acknowledge that unless we are talking about bread, crusty is never a good word for food. Well I hereby want to state that when we are talking about a sugary frosted cereal, crusty is very, very good.

I've had knockoff brands that are slick and slimy and grainy and just all around worse. You want a nice sugary crust coating each crispy, corny flake. That is what makes Frosted Flakes so awesome. I don't even think I have time or space to talk about how Frosted Flakes are in milk. The flakes shed their sugary coats and transform into satisfying cornflakes, surrounded by a perfectly sweetened pool of milk. THAT IS A DELICIOUS BITE OF CEREAL, MY FRIENDS.

If I could go back in time, I'd choose the Flakes first out of that mini box variety pack.
Frosted Flakes: Are you bored with them, or do you agree that they are a timeless top cereal?

[Photograph: Robyn Lee]

It's been a few weeks since we last chatted cereal together and I'm happy to report on a new and delicious offering from Attune Foods. Attune has several cereal brands including Skinner's, home of the original Raisin Bran, Uncle Sam cereals and Erewhon Organic. Erewhon Supergrains: Buckwheat & Hemp stays true to its mantra of "Simple Ingredients, Simply Made". And ya know what? It's simply darn good.

To be honest, I wasn't even really aware that Erewhon existed as a player in the cereal game. (Once again I marvel at the sheer unending vastness of the cereal sphere.) Buckwheat and Hemp is about a natural as cereal gets. They cook the buckwheat groats with organic hemp seeds and organic brown rice. The mixture is then pressed into flakes and coated with organic maple and brown rice syrup. Certified organic, whole grain certified and gluten free.

I know I go on a lot about my love of sugary cereal, my fixation with marshmallows and chocolate and colors, but in all honesty, in my everyday cereal eating life I'm just looking for a healthy cereal that tastes good. The ingredient list on Buckwheat & Hemp is short and simple, with no scary colors or additives. It packs a pretty heavy calorie punch, but that is due to the high protein and empty sugars.

Healthy cereals tend to make two mistakes. Either the cereal will be completely flavorless and cardboard-y, or in an attempt to cover the afformentioned flavorlessness, the cereal will have a strange and sickening fruity-sweetness.

Buckwheat and Hemp, however, does not suffer from either of these conditions. The flakes are crunchy and hearty, with a pleasant nubbly texture from the hemp seeds. The buckwheat provides a nice toasty malt flavor, with a demure slick of sweetness. This cereal is lightly sweet, hearty and very satisfying. It's great for snacking and stands up wonderfully in milk. A cereal that I would even have for breakfast, because I somehow trust it would keep me full.

I really love this cereal. A couple of other Serious Eaters at HQ mentioned it tasted "too healthy" but I actually didn't find that to be the case. I found that it's just a good tasting cereal that happens to be very healthy. A rare breed.

I'm looking forward to exploring more offerings from the Erewhon line, specifically Cocoa Crispy Brown Rice Cereal. I know, you can take sweet cereal out of the girl but you can't take the girl....whatever.

I also need to start hitting the aisles of an honest-to-goodness natural foods store and seeing what others gems I've been missing out on. What are some of your favorite healthy and delicious cereals?