REVIEW: Sprite Vanilla Frost

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Earlier this year, we were introduced to Sprite Chill, and in keeping with cool words, the lemon-lime soda is now bringing us Vanilla Frost for the holiday season. This version is exclusive to Kroger-affiliated stores, and instead of promising a cooling sensation like Chill, it sets out to keep you cozy with the classic flavor of vanilla and just maybe a hint of spice.

The packaging is adorned with a simple snowflake design that’s nondescript enough that you might accidentally grab one of these thinking it was a regular Sprite dressed in a winter sweater. If that happens to you, I hope you’re a vanilla fan because if you aren’t, you might have to take your anger out on the nearest snowman.

The drink is perfectly clear like a regular Sprite and just as bubbly and crisp as one. The vanilla flavor is noticeable from the first sniff, and while it’s not overwhelming in the taste, something about it comes across as slightly artificial. I thought this might bother me, but it ended up not being an issue as I continued drinking.

At first, it reminded me of a cream soda or something you might order at an old soda shop – it’s a little weird, you’re not sure you love it, but you can’t deny it has a certain nostalgic appeal. The vanilla isn’t overwhelming, but this drink has a dessert feel to it that reminds me of citrus pies or ice cream floats. It wouldn’t be my first choice for having alongside a meal, but it works on its own as a self-contained sippable sweet, and I could see it being a successful cocktail mixer. In addition to the usual effervescence of Sprite, this seems like it might have a bit of something else to give it an extra kick. I thought I could detect a slight gingery touch that, when combined with the vanilla, definitely pushes this drink into winter-months territory.

I purchased two bottles of this and have zero regrets, but your enjoyment of this Sprite will likely come down to your feelings about combining vanilla with lemon and lime. I found the pairing to be pleasantly wintery and would happily sip on it at a holiday party. I won’t be sad if it doesn’t return next year, but that’s also kind of the appeal of a limited edition; like a snowflake on the tongue, it’s here and it’s gone. Vanilla Frost makes my nice list, but if I wasn’t in proximity to a store that carried it, I wouldn’t overpay for a special delivery.

Purchased Price: $2.00
Size: 20 fl oz
Purchased at: Mariano’s
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 bottle regular) 200 calories, 0 grams of total fat, 110 milligrams of sodium, 54 grams of carbohydrates, 54 grams of total sugars, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Post Oreo Puffs Cereal

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Post has replaced its Oreo O’s Cereal with Oreo Puffs Cereal. This makes me scratch my head because the O’s made sense. After all, you can’t spell Oreo without O’s. Okay, technically, spherical puffs can replace the O’s in Oreo and still spell Oreo, but Oreo O’s had such a nice ring to it.

While Oreo O’s was made up of just chocolatey cereal pieces, Oreo Puffs Cereal features sweetened corn and oat cereal made with real Oreo cookie wafers and MARSHMALLOWS.

Yes, some of you perspicacious cereal eaters will point out that there was a limited time Mega Stuff Oreo O’s that had marshmallows. But now the white marbits are standard, like airbags and USB ports in new cars, and AM radios and ashtrays in really old cars. Speaking of the cereal that came out almost five years ago, this is what I wrote about it back then:

Mega Stuf Oreo O’s should be THE Oreo O’s Cereal. With the addition of marshmallows, there’s a better flavor balance between the creme and chocolate that’s more similar to an actual Oreo cookie than the original cereal.

And here we are. I’m not saying my words made this cereal happen, but you’re welcome if they were.

So, how does Oreo Puffs Cereal taste? With the addition of marshmallows, there’s a better flavor balance between the creme and chocolate that’s more similar to an actual Oreo cookie than the original cereal.

Okay, if you want a non-self-plagiarized version, the cereal tastes like Oreo O’s Cereal but with much-welcomed bursts of sweetness from the marshmallows. However, these don’t seem to be the O’s in a new shape. There are taste similarities, but if I remember correctly, the O’s had white specks and an opaque sugary coating that represented the white creme. These puffs only have the sugary white coating. However, it doesn’t make that much of a difference since the marshmallows better represent the filling. While it doesn’t taste EXACTLY like Oreo cookies, there are some chocolatey hints of it in the cereal, much like the original version. But it tastes good enough that there’s no need to cry over spilled milk with Oreo O’s.

Oh, speaking of milk, this makes an unsatisfying chocolatey milk.

So now that an Oreo cereal is safe from being discontinued, can we now focus on bringing Post Nutter Butter Cereal and its bold peanut butter flavor and peanut shape back? Heck, I would even settle for forgoing the peanut shape and having Nutter Butter Puffs Cereal.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free product sample from Post. Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 10 oz box
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 1/2 cups) 150 calories, 2 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 200 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 16 grams of sugar (including 16 grams of added sugar), and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Friends Vanilla Bean Latte Cereal

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I could fill this Friends The One With The Vanilla Bean Latte Cereal review with references from the TV show if I knew enough about it. I’m pretty sure I watched every episode, but I’m awful at retaining any knowledge about them other than the names of the main characters, and I vaguely recall there was a Tom Selleck arc with Rachel and Monica arguing over condoms. Or was that some vivid dream I had?

This Walmart-exclusive, limited-time-only cereal features sweetened whole wheat and corn flakes with vanilla bean latte flavor. The box’s backside has a board game that involves helping Rachel, Ross, and Chandler get a couch up a few flights of stairs. I’m sure that’s from the show, but I don’t remember it.

All the pieces have a sugary coffee-flavored coating that gives them a sweetness and a protective barrier from getting soggy. These flakes can take a soak, but its crunch will not croak. But the flavor sticks to the flakes so well that it doesn’t run into the milk.

Sniffing it, I notice a slight coffee bitterness with an equal amount of sweetness, and its flavor is also not overwhelming. So, if you want a cereal with a HEAVY java taste, this is not it. But this cereal is how I like my coffee, sweetened and creamed. At times, there’s a nuttiness that might be coming from the underlying flakes, and at other times, my taste buds thought of Raisin Bran, thanks to the flavoring fading and the whole wheat flakes’ taste coming through. Like actual coffee, the cereal leaves an aftertaste that reminds you that you’ve consumed coffee long after you’ve finished. Even though I wish the flavors stood out a bit more, I enjoyed this cereal immensely.

Its flavor also got me thinking we could pretend to be baristas with this cereal by adding different kinds of milk — almond, oat, soy, cow, or whatever your heart desires or your digestive system tolerates.

Despite its flavor, coffee isn’t a listed ingredient, so I’m sure there’s no chance of getting a caffeinated jolt from this. While it lacks actual java, a serving has enough fiber to give my digestive system almost 20 percent of my daily recommended amount.

Fine flavor. Fiber. Friends. Who could ask for more from a cereal that makes your breath smell like coffee?

Smell?

Oh, Smelly Cat! I totally forgot about that.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free product sample from General Mills. Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 15.9 oz box
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup) 200 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 105 milligrams of sodium, 48 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, 17 grams of sugar (including 17 grams of added sugar), and 4 grams of protein.

REVIEW: General Mills Twinkles Cereal (2024)

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Is General Mills taking this retro trend a bit too far? And when I mean “far,” I mean far back in time. Because here we have a cereal dug out deep from whatever catacomb discontinued products end up in — Twinkles Cereal, which should not be confused with this cereal.

This is so retro that I didn’t know it existed, and I ended up having to look it up like I was someone born after the year 2000 trying to find out who the heck MC Hammer is and why their parents are embarrassing them by shuffle dancing side-to-side to his music in public.

Twinkles Cereal is old, like black-and-white-television-old. The first result that popped up during my research was a commercial from the 1960s that touted the star-shaped toasted oats’ n corn cereal, which came in a box with a storybook attached. The story featured the adventures of Twinkles the Magic Elephant and his friends Fulton the Inventor, Sanford the Parrot, and Wilbur the Monkey. Sadly, this 2024 box did not come with a storybook. Instead, there’s a game board featuring Thomas the Octopus, Alfred the Alligator, Randolph the Bull, and Victor the Vulture.

While I’m disappointed I can’t read a Twinkles story to my son before bedtime, I’m surprisingly not disappointed with the taste of Twinkles, despite it being such a simple sweetened cereal. After tasting it for the first time, I was a bit shocked that it had been discontinued in 1973. They have a sugary shine, which is appropriate for star-shaped pieces. And that sweet coating does a good job of preventing everything from getting soggy quickly.

Twinkles is tasty, but its flavor reminds me of another cereal. For a while, I couldn’t put my tongue on it. I thought it was another General Mills product and mentally went through all the different tastes. But I finally realized what it was while snacking on some in my car at a beach park, looking out at the ocean, and pondering my life’s purpose — Cap’n Crunch. However, that similarity happens when eating it as a dry snack. With milk, the flavor changes to something less familiar and sweet but still good.

Twinkles Cereal surprised me, and as I ate it, I wondered if it would be even better if the cereal that features Twinkles the Magic Elephant was combined with Lucky Charms’ Magical Marshmallows. I believe it would be magnificent.

Twinkles is available for a limited time as a Walmart exclusive.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free product sample from General Mills. Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 15.8 oz box (Family Size)
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 1/4 cup) 160 calories, 2 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 160 milligrams of sodium, 35 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 11 grams of sugar (including 11 grams of added sugar), and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Quaker Hot Cocoa Life Cereal

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One of the popular wintertime flavors right now is hot cocoa. The warm drink is a classic, but the “hot cocoa” flavored things seem awfully lazy. They’re just chocolate, sometimes with marshmallows. And Quaker Life Cereal has joined the hot cocoa party with its latest offering.

The front of the box of this new seasonal flavor says, “Nothing like hot cocoa.”

It’s right. This cereal is nothing like hot cocoa.

My all-time favorite cereal is Cinnamon Life: it’s filling, it’s oaty, and it’s sweet, but gram for gram, it has less sugar than lots of other options in the cereal aisle.

Hot Cocoa Life has those same elements, so I will be happy to finish the box. But it doesn’t have much of a flavor on its own to make me pick it over Cinnamon Life.

There is a mild cocoa flavor, but it’s not strong enough to remind me of hot chocolate. I guess it vaguely reminds me of powdered hot chocolate mix, but only if I really stretch. And unlike all the classic chocolate cereals, Hot Cocoa Life doesn’t turn the milk chocolatey either.

We’ve seen Chocolate Life Cereal before, but I don’t remember it well enough to know what makes this new version different, except that it has more sugar.

I’m a sucker for seasonal cereals, so I will probably buy it again just for the novelty. (Those are some fun blue trees on the box!) But this one just feels like a cash grab.

If Quaker wants to come back next year with a peppermint chocolate cereal, I would be all over it. But so far, I’ve been unimpressed with the other seasonal Life flavors (pumpkin spice and gingerbread), and this one is also disappointing.

Purchased Price: $4.98
Size: 22.3 oz box
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup/42 grams) 160 calories, 2 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 0.5 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 170 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of dietary fiber, 9 grams of sugar (including 9 grams of added sugar), and 4 grams of protein.

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