The Impulsive Buy

Tag: Frosted Flakes

REVIEW: Kellogg’s Mashups Frosted Flakes + Apple Jack Cereal

Last year, Kellogg’s released its first Mashups cereal: Frosted Flakes + Froot Loops. Now, it’s revisiting the concept with Kellogg’s Mashups: Frosted Flakes + Apple Jacks. I did not try the original Mashups, but as a child, I was an expert at mixing random cereals together. As such, I feel qualified to take on this new Mashups rendition.

Throughout my life, I have had ample amounts of both Apple Jacks and Frosted Flakes, so I established solid expectations for what this Mashup would be like. Upon opening the box, I was pleased to see that both cereals seemed to be equally represented. I was able to discern the saccharine aroma of the Frosted Flakes mixing with a hint of cinnamon from the Apple Jacks.

I tried the cereal dry first and it tasted exactly as I expected. It had more flavor than solo Frosted Flakes and more sweetness than Apple Jacks eaten on their own. It tasted pleasant enough, but felt rather anticlimactic.

After adding milk, the flavors blended into a more cohesive presentation. The cinnamon from the Apple Jacks seemed to make the Frosted Flakes taste more complex. The sugar from the Frosted Flakes quickly incorporated into the milk, making every bite a little sweeter than the last. If you have tried both cereals, you can accurately deduce what this tastes like.

The textures of both work well together, at first. The bites seem crunchier than they would be when they are eaten alone. It is a satisfying experience, but it does not last long.

Unfortunately, Frosted Flakes degrade in milk faster than Apple Jacks. After only a minute or so, the loops remained relatively crunchy, but the flakes were already beginning to turn to mush. Since the Apple Jacks retain crunchiness, this Mashup is texturally pleasant for longer than a bowl of Frosted Flakes à la carte. Conversely, it becomes unpleasant more quickly than a bowl of plain Apple Jacks. Eating this in multiple small portions is highly recommended.

This is not a revolutionary cereal, but it is enjoyable enough to eat. I can certainly see children getting a kick out of it. Personally, I would like to see Kellogg’s try a slightly more daring combination for the next version of Mashups. That could be more fun for everyone.

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

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 9.8 oz box
Purchased at: Received from Kellogg’s
Rating: 7 out of 10
?Nutrition Facts: (1 1/4 cup) 160 calories, 0.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 220 milligrams of sodium, 38 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 14 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

June 11, 2021
REVIEW: Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes with Crispy Cinnamon Basketballs

I bought the original Reebok Shaq Attaq shoes back in the 1990s, which are still somewhere in my parent’s house. I also have a life-sized Shaq cardboard cutout with him wearing Hammer pants, which is also somewhere in my childhood home. Yes, it’s a 7 foot 1 inch display, and I can’t find it.

And this Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes with Crispy Cinnamon Basketballs box with Shaq’s face on it would be a great addition to the collection. I look forward to losing it at my parent’s place when I go back.

So why does Shaq have his own cereal a decade after retiring from the NBA?

Reason one, he’s a part of Mission Tiger, which is helping to save school sports around the country. And, two, he’s mentioned Frosted Flakes as being his favorite cereal of all time for so many years that Kellogg’s probably owes him for all that free promotion.

Sure, the cereal brand could’ve just stuck his face on a box of regular Frosted Flakes, but it went the extra 7 feet 1 inch to give the NBA Hall of Famer his very own variety.

Crispy cinnamon basketballs sound cool, but they don’t bounce and don’t have much flavor. I gathered a spoonful of them, and while they’re crispy, they taste like Apple Jacks Super Lite with a hint of cardboard. But when mixed with the sugary flakes, whatever taste they have gets lost. If Kellogg’s made a cereal with only these cinnamon-flavored puff pieces and named it Cinn-asketballs, I would dislike it. But probably not more than you hate me for coming up with the name “Cinn-asketballs.”

Because the cinnamon is so light, Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes with Crispy Cinnamon Basketballs mostly tastes like I’m eating regular Frosted Flakes. That’s not a bad thing, but the cinnamon shouldn’t be difficult to find, like whatever Shaq memorabilia I have in my parent’s house.

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

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 10.2 oz box
Purchased at: Received from Kellogg’s
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup/38 g) 140 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 190 milligrams of sodium, 34 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 13 grams of sugar, 12 grams of added sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

If you’d like to learn more about Mission Tiger, click here.

May 4, 2021
REVIEW: Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops Cereal Bars (2020)

What are Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops Cereal Bars?

They’re not the Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops Cereal & Milk Bars that were available years ago that I thought were still around. But if you’re not familiar with cereal bars, the concept has been the same throughout the years. Cereal pieces are coated in corn syrup (or some other sticky ingredient) that allows them to stick together. Then their bottoms are dipped in a sweet confection.

According to Kellogg’s, the amount of cereal in each bar equals a half serving of cereal (by weight).

How are they?

The Frosted Flakes one, oddly, doesn’t instantly remind me of Frosted Flakes. Although, the original Frosted Flakes Cereal & Milk Bars also apparently didn’t taste like the cereal. My first bite reminded me of a sugar cone, but I couldn’t replicate that flavor with subsequent tastes.

The combination of the frosting on the corn flakes, corn syrup, and the white confection at the bottom of every bar make these taste sugar-heavy. I imagine it’s what Xtreme Frosted Flakes would taste like. It’s hard for the corn flakes’ flavor to come through. Occasionally it does, and when that happens, the bar tastes more like Frosted Flakes. But for the most part, it’s hard to pinpoint these as Frosted Flakes bars.

Fortunately, that’s not the case with the Froot Loops version. When I opened the wrapper, I expected a toucan to land on my shoulder and say, “I followed my nose” because the aroma of eau de parfroot filled my nostrils. And, with every bite, there’s no mistaking these are made with the iconic fruity cereal.

But the bars are a bit more fragile than the Frosted Flakes one. I imagine that’s the case because they’re made with loops instead of flakes, which means less surface area to allow the corn syrup to its job. Speaking of the corn syrup coating, it might’ve also softened the cereal loops ever so slightly, which didn’t happen with the corn flakes.

Anything else you need to know?

Along with these 6-count boxes, the bars are also available in 18- and 36-count offerings.

Conclusion:

Both bars are sweet, tasty, portable, and convenient ways to consume these iconic parts of a complete breakfast. But because it’s hard to tell the Frosted Flakes version is made with Tony’s cereal with all the sugar components, I have to say I enjoy the Froot Loops one more. That’s a bit odd for me to say since I prefer Frosted Flakes over Froot Loops when it comes to breakfast cereal.

DISCLOSURE: I received free samples of the products. (Thanks, Kellogg’s!) Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 6 bars
Purchased at: Received from Kellogg’s (available now at retailers nationwide)
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Frosted Flakes), 7 out of 10 (Froot Loops)
Nutrition Facts: (1 bar) Frosted Flakes – 100 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 90 milligrams of sodium, 17 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and less than 1 gram of protein. Froot Loops – 90 calories, 3 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 50 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and less than 1 gram of protein.

December 29, 2020
REVIEW: Kellogg’s Limited Edition Mashups Frosted Flakes + Froot Loops Cereal

What is Kellogg’s Limited Edition Mashups Frosted Flakes + Froot Loops Cereal?

This cereal is a mixture of Kellogg’s favorites Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops. I like to imagine it as an answer to the question: “What hijinks would ensue if Tony the Tiger and Toucan Sam were best friends?”

How is it?

I haven’t seen any promotional material elaborating on the question posed above, thus robbing me of the opportunity to see the two mascots exchange sparkling dialogue such as “You got your Froot Loops in my Frosted Flakes!” and “You got your Frosted Flakes in my Froot Loops!” However, this imagined scenario essentially delivers the main idea of what Kellogg’s Mashups offers: equal parts of crispy, lightly sweet corn flakes, and sugary fruit-flavored hoops.

The strong scent of Froot Loops emanating from the bag foreshadowed the taste experience to come. Dry, the cereal’s flavor was dominated by the Froot Loops, but the Frosted Flakes amped up each bite’s crunchiness. My sample appeared to contain a 1:1 ratio of each cereal, so the experience was pretty consistent from bite to bite.

When eaten separately, the Frosted Flakes still taste like their sweet, corny selves, but that kind of defeats the purpose of a mashup, doesn’t it?

With milk, the disparity in texture became more apparent, because the Froot Loops approached soggy territory much faster. For this reason, I am not a huge fan of Froot Loops in milk, so the Frosted Flakes improved the experience by maintaining a much-needed crunch.

Anything else you need to know?

In dreaming up the hypothetical adventures of Tony the Tiger and Toucan Sam, my yearning was less about advertising and more about answering the question at the heart of this product: Why? Why, after Kellogg’s limited edition All Together cereal and General Mills’ Lucky Charms with Frosted Flakes, did Kellogg’s choose to combine two familiar brands when consumers could easily buy two boxes and do the work themselves?

My theory is that Kellogg’s knows there are two kinds of cereal lovers in this world: 1) those who are too lazy, busy, and/or frugal to become cereal mashup engineers and 2) those who will be inspired to buy multiple boxes, searching for the ideal cereal combination. Either way, Kellogg’s drums up business, and I get my heart set on a bowl of Strawberry Rice Krispies with Special K Red Berries.

Conclusion:

Froot Loops and Frosted Flakes pair well in texture, although the Frooty taste dominates. If mixing cereals is your thing, Kellogg’s Mashups saves you time and money, but it seems uninspired compared to other (real or imagined) combinations.

Disclosure: I received a free sample of this product. Doing so did not influence my review in any way.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 9.8 oz. box

Purchased at: Received from Kellogg’s
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 1/4 cup – cereal only) 160 calories, 0.5 grams of fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 230 milligrams of sodium, 39 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 15 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

June 17, 2020
REVIEW: Kellogg’s Limited Edition Banana Creme Frosted Flakes

Banana Frosted Flakes is one of my favorite cereals of all time. ALL TIME. I miss it dearly.

So much so that I’ve written about them and have a recurring dream where I fight Tony the Tiger to enter the discontinued cereals vault, which he is guarding, so that I can eat another bowl of my beloved cereal. But he always defeats me and right before the knockout blow he says, “You’re gr-r-reatly mistaken that I’ll allow you to enter this vault.”

But now, there’s Limited Edition Frosted Flakes Banana Creme. Will it be the reason why I no longer have to write cereal odes or fight Tony the Tiger in my sleep? Unfortunately, the written and violent pleas will have to continue.

The flakes have a faint pleasant banana aroma mixed with the familiar scent of Frosted Flakes. They’re coated with a layer of frosting that makes them look similar to the original variety. There aren’t any dried fruit bits on them or the word “banana” in the ingredients list.

There’s an adequate amount of banana flavor at first. But, by the fifth or sixth spoonful, it changes into something different from the first few dips into the cereal bowl. The fruitiness takes a backseat, and the frosting’s sweetness takes control. This happened whether I ate them dry or with milk. But those first spoonfuls brings a smile to my face.

While there’s sufficient flavor, I can’t help but think Kellogg’s could’ve added more, which might’ve helped make it a little more lasting. It could’ve taken the dried fruit from its Banana Raisin Bran (one of my favorite cereals of 2018) and added them to this. That addition might’ve made this one of my early favorites of 2019. But they weren’t so this ends up being a little disappointing to me.

If I weren’t a child of the 80s and 90s who got to experience the Golden Age of Breakfast Cereal that included Banana Frosted Flakes, I’d probably like this more than I do.

I do like it because I LOVE banana flavored products and there are traces of it. But its lack of a lasting flavor makes me go bananas.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free sample of the product. Doing so did not influence my review in any way.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: N/A
Purchased at: Received from Kellogg’s
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (3/4 cup w/o milk) 110 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 150 milligrams of sodium, 30 milligrams of potassium, 25 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 10 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

January 23, 2019