REVIEW: Kellogg’s Cocoa Loops Cereal

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Kellogg’s Cocoa Loops Cereal box

While some cereals churn out new varieties all the time, Toucan Sam has mostly been content to stay in his lane, or should I say loop, for sixty years. There have occasionally been marshmallows added, or the rings swapped for hearts for Valentine’s Day, but the fruity essence has remained largely the same until now. A new iteration, Cocoa Loops, has arrived on shelves and is slated to be a permanent addition to the Kellogg’s lineup. This feels overdue, but perhaps it took this long to perfect things?

The box features a delighted Sam along with his niece and nephews, stirring up some liquidy-looking chocolate batter that looks like it should become brownies, but the crew is somehow able to use their feather-fingers to form it into tiny hoops. There’s a pleasant cocoa scent upon opening the bag, not overwhelming but enough to let you know it’s a chocolate cereal. When eaten on its own, the cocoa flavor doesn’t come through as much as I’d like, and I don’t enjoy the chalky experience of eating it dry.

Kellogg’s Cocoa Loops Cereal dry

Cereal is one of the easiest foods to assemble, since it basically only requires you to pour it into a bowl and add milk. But I know there are a lot of people out there who, due to laziness or personal preference, sometimes skip the milk component. If you’re looking for a cereal to snack on by the handful, keep looking cause this isn’t it. But that’s not a deal breaker, let’s try it with milk!

Kellogg’s Cocoa Loops Cereal in milk

Cocoa Loops fares so much better with this addition. When given the chance to mingle with milk for a few moments, the corn and oat-based loops soften to a nice texture and aren’t quick to sog. The chocolate flavor is more pronounced, and it’s a big improvement, but I still don’t think I’d choose it over already established chocolate favorites in the aisle. The box declares that it “makes milk chocolatey!”, and as with most chocolate cereals, if you truly want to experience chocolate milk flavor and not just milk that’s a slightly darker shade, you’ll have to let that bowl sit around for a while.

Kellogg’s Cocoa Loops Cereal back of box

I’m unsure if it’s intentionally goofy in the name of being “loopy,” but I have to mention some bizarre aspects of the box art. We have one nephew sounding like a Bluey knockoff by introducing himself as Pluey, and according to a heart-shaped craft project on the kitchen shelf, these kids refer to their uncle as “Uncle Toucan Sam”. I get that they can’t call him Uncle Sam without sounding like they’re talking about the familiar red, white, and blue-clad figure, but something about this moniker seems strange and redundant. Cocoa Loops with milk are a perfectly acceptable but not especially remarkable cereal. Without milk, I think these are for the birds.

Purchased Price: $6.99
Size: 9.2 oz box
Purchased at: Mariano’s
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 ¼ cup) 140 calories, 2 grams of total fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 210 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of total carbohydrates, 4 grams of dietary fiber, 12 grams of total sugars, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Confetti Cheerios Cereal

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Confetti Cheerios Cereal single serve cups

Happy 85th birthday, Cheerios! Confetti is the perfect flavor to help us celebrate. I like that Cheerios approaches its Confetti flavor in the same manner as I approach a new year: with a celebratory spirit but realistic expectations.

Confetti Cheerios Cereal cup close up

Brands often use “confetti” to describe flavor in the context of other desserts, like confetti cake or confetti cookies. Because delivering dessert for breakfast isn’t really the brand’s style, Cheerios avoids alluding to extravagant sweets in its name. Yet, Confetti Cheerios aren’t just your standard O’s dressed up for a party. Available in Family Size and Standard Size boxes, as well as single-serve cups, Confetti Cheerios is sweetened and vanilla-flavored.

Confetti Cheerios Cereal in the cup

Confetti Cheerios lives up to its product description; it tastes lightly sweet with a tinge of vanilla. Although the vanilla flavor is subtle, the cereal delivers a nice balance of sweetness with wholesome oaty goodness. Imagine a less-sweet Lucky Charms or a vanilla-forward Frosted Cheerios.

Confetti Cheerios Cereal single piece with sprinkles

The “confetti” element adds pretty flecks of color, but no extra flavor and very little texture. The confetti is not the same nonpareil (or sprinkle or jimmy—pick your preferred flourish) that you would find in a baked good or candy bar. It appears to be made of the same stuff as the cereal’s base. Consider this bonus: these Cheerios contain no artificial colors or flavors.

Confetti Cheerios Cereal in milk

While the dry cereal is pleasant, the flavor tastes more vibrant in milk. I would never confuse the contents of my single-serve cereal cup with a slice of confetti cake, but the wonderful vanilla aroma may have given me pause. My opinion shifted from “I’m glad they didn’t try to name this cereal after cake” to “Eh, they could have gotten away with it.” All it took was a splash of milk.

If you’re looking for a blowout bash of flavor that will leave you sweeping up confetti for weeks, Confetti Cheerios may not be your style. As an enjoyable gathering of pleasant, well-acquainted flavors, this new addition brings some fresh fun to the breakfast table. Whether you’re turning 85 or simply getting to work on time, Confetti Cheerios make it easy to sustain the celebration.

Purchased Price: $1.00
Purchased at: Walmart
Size: 1.4 oz (39 g) single serving cup
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 150 calories, 2 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 180 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Cap’n Crunch’s Mystery Crunch Cereal

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Cap’n Crunch’s Mystery Crunch Cereal box

Little in this world appeals more to my suburban, middle-aged dad sense of adventure than a mystery food product. It’s a little like living on the edge, only if the edge is about as sharp as an end-cap at the Piggly Wiggly. Look, you can die on the track at a NASCAR Fantasy Camp weekend, or break a fibula playing pickup basketball, but the worst that can happen with a mystery product is that you end up out a few bucks if your Pop-Tart turns out to be century egg-flavored.

The problem with a mystery product, though, is that I don’t think I’ve ever gotten closure. Over the years, I’ve gulped many a strange Mountain Dew, and eaten mysterious cereals and snack cakes galore, and not once do I remember hearing later what the mystery flavor turned out to be. Where do they even announce these things? The Nightly News with David Muir? A special newspaper I’m not privy to, like The Gourmand Gazette?

Cap’n Crunch’s Mystery Crunch Cereal back of box

In the case of Cap’n Crunch’s new Mystery Crunch, the thing is, I’m not sure I care enough to go back later and try to figure it out. It’s just… boring. The box has some clues, I guess, depicting the Cap’n on a fruit-filled island holding a scroll listing “Fruity? Coconut. Vanilla? Creamy” with “coconut” crossed out and “creamy” circled. Oh, and there’s a crab drinking a red beverage out of a glass bottle. (Is the flavor Crab Juice?! Hmm. Now I’m hungry for a stick of fresh Khlav Kalash.)

Cap’n Crunch’s Mystery Crunch Cereal in a bowl

I will say, I tried the cereal before studying the box, and my thoughts went like this, in order:

It’s… plain Cap’n Crunch?

Oh, wait, there’s a weird, extra sweetness.

I think that’s coconut? Maybe?

Okay, it’s actually a little orange-ish. Orange-ish, but also still some coconut.

Therefore, for no reason other than the fact that I need to enter something to enter the sweepstakes using the QR code on the back—so I can win a Yeti, a chair, a speaker, or possibly an Airbnb gift card—I’m going to say that the mastery flavor is Boring Tropical Creamsicle. And then I’ll sit back and relax until April when… Lester Holt will tell me on the evening news? A proclamation will be made by the three wealthiest kings in Europe? Oh, who am I kidding? I’ll go to my grave never knowing what this damn flavor was.

Purchased Price: $4.97
Size: 22.1 oz box (Family Size)
Rating: 5 out of 10
Purchased at: Walmart
Nutrition Facts: (38 grams) 150 calories, 2 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 170 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 16 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

OTHER THINGS I CONSUMED: 1/23/2026

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Liquid IV Hot Chocolate

Liquid IV Hot Chocolate

It’s cold here on this rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I’m talking high 60s to low 70s. BRRRRR. Fortunately, I had this hot chocolate mix to warm me up, which was on the clearance shelf for 50 percent off or five dollars.

Unfortunately, I used only one of the six packets in the box to keep me warm and gave the rest away because this hot drink mix is a hot mess. It smells and tastes like I’m drinking watered down hot cocoa next to a busy perfume section at Macy’s. Is that hard to believe? Yeah, it is hard to believe Macy’s is busy nowadays. There’s also a slight sourness in the aftertaste, which is what I expect from fruity Liquid I.V. flavors, but not from a hot chocolate-flavored one.

Maybe Liquid I.V. should stick with only cold drink flavors?

Swoop Peanut Butter Chip Blitz High Protein Dessert

Swoop Peanut Butter Chip Blitz High Protein Dessert

After opening the top, I saw a shimmer that made it look icy, but once I started scraping away at the top, a regular ice cream-looking level appeared.

I’ve never been a fanboy of high protein ice creams, like Halo Top and Enlightened. They were okay tasting, but didn’t wow me. However, this pint of Swoop did wow me. Not just because it’s a high protein ice cream, but it’s an ice cream that has a decent texture despite not having milk, skim milk, or cream. The only “dairy” listed is from whey protein isolate, and the first ingredient is water. It’s also made with avocado oil, and dates sweeten the chocolate. I know, all that sounds like it should be an awful product, but it’s not.

Swoop Peanut Butter Chip Blitz High Protein Dessert close up

The pint features peanut butter swirls, dark chocolate flakes, and a maybe-vanilla base. While there are some peanut butter swirls going through the middle of the pint, they were mainly on the outer rim of the dessert. But with every scoop, there was a pronounced peanut butter flavor. The chocolate flakes were plentiful, and it’s hard to believe Swoop used unsweetened chocolate, dates, and coconut oil to make them.

Like any great ice cream pint, I could’ve eaten this in one sitting.

Alani Nu Cherry Bomb Energy Drink

Alani Nu Cherry Bomb Energy Drink

I didn’t have high hopes for this zero sugar energy drink because when I searched the Target website to see if the nearest store had it in stock, I noticed its product page had an overall 3-star rating from shoppers. However, like other Alani Nu products I’ve tried, this one is great as well.

According to the brand, this energy drink is a “twist of cherry, vanilla, and cola flavors.” But it really should be rearranged to cherry, cola, and vanilla because the cherry is definitely the most prominent, followed by the cola, and somewhere there’s vanilla. However, my tongue didn’t notice it. Think of it as Cherry Coke or Wild Cherry Pepsi, but the cherry initially dominates the taste buds, then the cola comes through for a bit, and then the cherry fully rushes back in, which might be too much for some.

The Cherry Bomb name is definitely fitting. Also, I think it’s The Bomb. And with 200 milligrams, it’s also a caffeine bomb.

Dark Chocolate Reese’s Puffs Cereal

Dark Chocolate Reese’s Puffs Cereal

Our reviewer, Tiffany, covered this cereal earlier this week, and gave it a glowing review. After trying the sample General Mills sent me, I have to agree with a lot of what she said.

This cereal has a better balance between the chocolate and peanut butter flavors. It definitely makes the original Reese’s Puffs taste too peanut butter-y. I also agree with her that this should be the default Reese’s Puffs cereal. I don’t think General Mills would lose any money by doing that. Also, we don’t have to get rid of the original completely. General Mills could bring it back every so often with a graphic that calls it the “Retro Recipe.”

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REVIEW: Dark Chocolate Reese’s Puffs Cereal

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Dark Chocolate Reese’s Puffs Cereal box

Every so often, an innovation comes along that doesn’t just tweak the original but completely upstages the OG. The new Dark Chocolate Reese’s Puffs Cereal does exactly that.

Apparently, this is the first new Reese’s Puffs flavor combination since the cereal debuted in 1994?! That feels wild, considering there have been limited-edition shapes (bats, bunnies), Minis (which I loved), and other variations like Big Puffs and Peanut Butter Lovers. But flavor-wise, Reese’s Puffs has always stuck with milk chocolate…until now.

And honestly? I am obsessed. General Mills tried to position this as a “midnight snacking” cereal – something clever about dark chocolate and late-night eating – but let’s be real: I ate this all day. I had it as a snack. I had it for dinner. No regrets because this is what Reese’s Puffs should be.

Dark Chocolate Reese’s Puffs Cereal dry closeup

This version uses real Hershey’s cocoa, and you can actually see the dark chocolate cereal pieces as well as taste them. Not just “cereal chocolate” flavor. The chocolate finally pulls its weight and does the Reese’s candy justice. After eating this, the original Reese’s Puffs just taste like peanut butter puffs to me.

Dark Chocolate Reese’s Puffs Cereal and regular Reese's Puffs Cereal comparison

Texture-wise, it matches the original, meaning it doesn’t completely pulverize the roof of your mouth. From a flavor perspective, General Mills describes it as a richer, deeper take on the peanut butter and chocolate combo, and that description holds up. The cocoa-forward chocolate balances the peanut butter perfectly, and the cereal finally honors the candy. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are my all-time favorite, for the record.

Dark Chocolate Reese’s Puffs Cereal in milk closeup

I tried it both dry and with milk, and enjoyed it both ways. It doesn’t really turn the milk into peanut butter chocolate milk, but I’ll let that slide because the cereal itself tastes so good.

At first, I felt annoyed that I had to buy a giant family-size box of this new flavor. But, this is the Reese’s Puffs glow-up we didn’t know we’d been waiting nearly 30 years for.

They’ve reassured fans that the current classic isn’t going anywhere, but I’m officially petitioning for this dark chocolate version to become the new classic.

Purchased Price: $4.93
Size: 19.7 oz
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 10 out of 10

Nutrition Facts: (1 cup / 39g) 160 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 1 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 1 polyunsaturated fat, 2g of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 220 milligrams of sodium, 29 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar (including 12 grams of added sugar), and 3 grams of protein.

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