Cereal – Page 16 – The Impulsive Buy

REVIEW: Kellogg’s Wendy’s Frosty Chocolatey Cereal

Alex / December 28, 2021 / Reviews / 20 Comments

I love Wendy’s Classic Chocolate Frosty, but I have no idea how to explain the treat to the uninitiated. With its mild flavor and a texture that will make you doubt your choice of a spoon, try a straw, then realize that’s somehow even worse than the spoon, it almost seems intentionally ambiguous. So, when I saw someone tried to capture its essence in a cereal, I thought I may finally have some answers.

Kellogg’s Wendy’s Frosty Chocolatey Cereal is described on the box as a “chocolate flavored multi-grain cereal with marshmallows.” Hmm, none of Dave Thomas’ secrets revealed there. I opened it up and gave the cereal a whiff. It smelled like a packet of instant hot chocolate, but there was something indescribably Frosty-like about it. There’s that ambiguousness again.

I needed to crack this code, so it was time to try each component separately without milk. The cereal had a pleasant cocoa taste, but it was very light on the corn-forward puff. The marshmallow was where things started to get interesting. A bit more cocoa, but notably some vanilla and… some malty goodness? My mind began to race. Have Frostys been malted this whole time?! A quick check of the ingredients on the Wendy’s website showed no mention of malt. Wait, there was no malt in the marshmallow ingredients, either. What the heck was going on?

I poured a bowl, added some whole milk, and took a bite. It was exactly what you want from a chocolate cereal but was lacking in Frostyness. I finished the bowl and I took a sip of the leftover milk. I’ll be darned, the milk tasted like a Frosty! How? The marshmallows! I investigated the bag of remaining cereal and noticed many of the little mallows had fallen to the bottom, not making it into my bowl.

I tried again. Marshmallow by marshmallow, I made a more evenly distributed serving (the first time I’ve ever eaten what could be called a balanced breakfast) and followed the box’s advice I had previously ignored. I froze the bowl of cereal for five minutes and ate it with mittens. Well, gloves, because mittens are the worst. Sure enough, it started to taste a little like a Frosty!

Despite the exciting development, it didn’t taste enough like a Frosty and I was left with more questions than answers. If you’re less concerned about such things, it was a somewhat basic but extremely eatable cereal. Chocolatey, a little vanilla-y, a perfectly crunchy yet puffy textured cereal, and just the right amount of sweetness from the marshmallows.

If you’re more concerned about such things, well, I found that a quick internet search will give you the answers to your Frosty questions. But, having done both, I can say eating a whole bunch of Kellogg’s Wendy’s Frosty Chocolatey Cereal in the hopes of finding them is a lot more fun.

Purchased Price: $4.29 (on sale, originally $4.49)
Size: 8.3 oz box
Purchased at: Shaw’s
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 1/2 cups without milk) 150 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 200 milligrams of sodium, 36 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 17 grams of sugar, 17 grams of added sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: CinnaGraham Toast Crunch Cereal

Erin / December 27, 2021 / Reviews / 15 Comments

Fresh off the success of Apple Pie Toast Crunch, General Mills brings us another variant in the TC family, CinnaGraham Toast Crunch.

Hang on, IS this in the Toast Crunch family?

According to the front of the box, yes. According to me and the ingredients section of the Nutrition Facts, this is Golden Grahams’ kin. I guess the inclusion of cinnamon and the extreme popularity of Cinnamon Toast Crunch make marketing this as a TC spinoff the right call but let’s give Golden Grahams some credit! It’s an excellent cereal and deserves to crawl out from beneath the rug it’s been swept under long enough to introduce its sibling, CinnaGraham. Hi CinnaGraham, the pleasure is all mine.

I’m a big fan of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Golden Grahams and vastly prefer cinnamon graham crackers to regular (unless I’m making s’mores, in which case I prefer the traditional route because some things shouldn’t be messed with – get your peanut butter cups away from my campfire) so the announcement of this variety had me pretty excited.

Opening the bag, I noticed the traditional cinnamon swirl on each square. But there is a darker appearance to these pieces, and the aroma is surprisingly deep and rich, smelling a whole lot like a cinnamon bun. I’m not sure if this is because I was expecting the pieces to taste closer to regular Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but I was bemused by how much these actually seemed texturally similar to graham crackers, both eaten plain and once doused in milk.

Comparing the ingredients, CinnaGraham uses corn meal where the original uses rice flour, and CG contains baking soda and brown sugar syrup. Golden Grahams also utilizes this corn meal, baking soda, and brown sugar syrup formula, which apparently does a great job mimicking graham crackers even though real graham crackers have no corn in them.

This cereal feels denser and richer than a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, even though the serving size and caloric content are the same. I think if I had any self-control, I’d be inclined to consume a smaller bowl of this just because it feels more indulgent and filling than the lighter rice flour type. It tastes like a bowl of dessert, and I could see that being too much for some people. Since I’ve already eaten half the box in the course of one session, I am clearly not one of those people.

The brown sugar/molasses notes really come through here and a hint of honey is present also, further reinforcing the graham cracker flavor. The cereal behaves in milk as your typical Toast Crunch or Golden Grahams would and it’s too tasty to eat slowly, so getting soggy isn’t an issue.

The milk left behind is a deeper shade than with your classic Cinnamon Toast Crunch and with a more intense flavor to match. I saw this as a positive and have really high praises for this cereal overall. I think General Mills aced both the texture and flavor profile, and I hope this stays on shelves because it’d definitely go into my regular rotation.

Purchased Price: $5.29 (This seems too expensive but is probably just because it’s new)
Size: 12 oz box
Purchased at: Jewel-Osco
Rating: 10 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup without milk) 170 calories, 4 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 230 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of total carbohydrates, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 12 grams of sugar including 12 grams of added sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

Cereal Cinnamon Toast Crunch General Mills

REVIEW: Froot Loops Gummies

Brandon / December 23, 2021 / Reviews / 4 Comments

What are Froot Loops Gummies?

Discontent with your child’s sole exposure to sugary fruit rings occurring only at breakfast, Kellogg’s is pleased to announce the birth of Froot Loops Gummies, small, chewy rings of a gelatinous nature meant to fill in the afternoon “sweet-snack” slot.

How are they?

Have you ever been chewing a big spoonful of Froot Loops cereal when you had the thought, “I know what would make these better— if they were chewier and grittier”?

No?

Well, there’s a reason for that. No one needs Froot Loops in a gummy form. Texturally, these come across like a stale version of your standard gummy peach ring. There’s less gum and more grit, though, giving you an experience akin to dropping your gummy snack in the sand before imbibing.

At first bite, there is the unmistakable artificial fruit taste associated with the namesake cereal, but it dissipates quickly, leaving you with the disappointing ordeal of chewing on a mouthful of rubbery newspaper.

Anything else you need to know?

In 1994, Kellogg’s introduced the world to Puey, Susey, and Louis, Toucan Sam’s nephews. It feels like maybe they should have told Uncle Sam to stay away from the fruit snack market.

Conclusion:

My seven-year-old daughter ate these with me, lest you think this is solely the opinion of a snobby adult. She declared, “I’d give these about a three. Out of 100.” I said, “Wow, you think they’re THAT bad?” And she said, “Well, maybe like a three out of five.”

The thing is, she’s seven, and numbers are still a bit conceptual to her in a lot of ways. She was right with the three, though. Just, you know, out of 10.

Purchased Price: $1.00
Size: 4 oz.
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 3 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (10 pieces) 110 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 5 milligrams of sodium, 27 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 14 grams of sugar, and less than 1 gram of protein.

Candy Cereal Froot Loops

REVIEW: Sugar Cookie Toast Crunch Mini Treats

Rachel / December 10, 2021 / Reviews / 1 Comment

What are Sugar Cookie Toast Crunch Mini Treats?

The breathlessly-fawned-over, on-off seasonal Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal spinoff Sugar Cookie Toast Crunch has collided with the Cinnamon Toast Crunch Treats. You got your limited edition cereal in my cereal treat bar! You got your cereal treat bar on my limited edition cereal!