Tag: General Mills

REVIEW: Birthday Cake Loaded Cereal

Marvo Leave a comment

Happy 6th Month Birthday, General Mills’ Loaded Cereal!

It seems like yesterday that the Loaded Cereal line with vanilla creme filling debuted with three flavors: Cocoa Puffs, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Trix. Usually brands celebrate birthdays after many years, like Oreo’s 100th, Pop-Tarts’ 50th, Starbucks Frappuccino’s 20th, Pebbles Cereal’s 50th, Cap’n Crunch’s 60th, and Slurpee’s 50th, But you do you, Loaded Cereal, because I’m not sure how long your line is going to be around. Will there even be a 5th birthday?

I ask because the Loaded Cereals have yet to impress me entirely. If you love sugary cereals, your sweet tooth will get its fill. The Cocoa Puffs and Trix varieties were good, while the Cinnamon Toast Crunch one was a slight disappointment. I like the crisp cereal pieces and vanilla creme’s sugary burst.

But the trouble with them comes with the addition of milk. It’s impressive how quickly they turn into milk sponges. I don’t even have time to put the milk back in the refrigerator before they end up halfway to Sogsville. And the cereal goes through stages of sogginess. First, the exterior gets a texture that I can best describe as sort of gritty and slimy. It’s definitely not crispy anymore. But wait a few more milky moments, and those pieces will arrive at Sogsville, but they came by boat, and that boat capsized. Any crispiness they had won’t be there. And that’s the case with this Birthday Cake Loaded Cereal.

On top of that, I’m not sure I taste the whole “birthday cake” vibe it’s trying to present here. I dunno. After trying so many birthday cake-flavored items over the years with similar flavor profiles, I have this expectation of what it should taste like. But I don’t notice it here. There’s a bit of a vanilla flavor, but that can be easily explained by the creme filling. Beyond that, there’s a slight strawberry taste, which might explain some of the pieces’ light red hue. But that berry flavor plus the vanilla doesn’t do enough to convince me that this cereal is supposed to taste like birthday cake.

With that said, Birthday Cake Loaded Cereal tastes fine if you want to start your morning with something sweet. If the short trip they take to get to Sogsville doesn’t bother you or you consume cereal like a competitive cereal eater, you’ll enjoy them more than I did.

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

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 13 oz box
Purchased at: Received from General Mills
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup w/o milk) 180 calories, 5 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 140 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar (including 12 grams of added sugar), and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Limited Edition Peach Mango Cheerios Cereal

Marvo 3 Comments

Sometimes, I wonder if I should stick Cheerios flavors in my freezer to preserve them. Sure, they’re full of preservatives that make them last for months, but I want to keep flavors around for much longer so that I can hatch new fruity combinations like I’m a Jurassic Park scientist bringing dinosaurs back to life. My current chest freezer research on the Best Buy website is the result of my introduction to Limited Edition Peach Mango Cheerios Cereal.

Peach Cheerios has been done before, but mango is new in the Cheerios Extended Universe, and now I wish I could combine it with banana Cheerios. Also, why hasn’t there been a Chocolate Banana variety, General Mills? Anyhoo, before I start rattling off a bunch of Cheerios mashups I’d like to taste, I have to say that this limited edition summery cereal is awe-summer than other fruity varieties I’ve had.

Which ones are peach, and which ones are mango? Um, it’s definitely hard to tell by looking at them. They both look like the siblings of regular Cheerios that like to get occasional spray tans. It’s also difficult to tell by tasting them. I’ve been eating the pieces one by one to taste if there’s a difference, but my taste buds can’t detect whether some cereal pieces are peachy and others are mango-y. Are they both peach AND mango flavored? Or maybe they’re separate, but the flavors have fused because they’ve spent too much time in a sealed bag together, smashing into each other like participants in a heavy metal festival mosh pit.

The peach mango cereal is delicious and a great fruity combination, and my tongue can detect both when eating it, especially when I scoop it up with milk. However, it might be stronger when in milk because the orange coating on the cereal seems to run off into the liquid, making the milk quite fruity and tasty. However, I should mention that it’s not going to make you think of a sweet cereal like Froot Loops or Fruity Pebbles. It’s such a mild flavor that it’ll make eaters of the Cheerios Expanded Universe go, “Meh. Par for the course.” While those who are hoping for an intense blast of fruitiness will go, “Meh. Five over par for the course.”

Limited Edition Peach Mango Cheerios is a scrumptious summer cereal, and I’ll be a little sad when it fades away from shelves as the season comes to an end. Perhaps I should buy a box and preserve it in the chest freezer that’s currently sitting in my cart on the Best Buy website.

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

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 10.8 oz box
Purchased at: Received from General Mills
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup w/o milk) 140 calories, 2 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 160 milligrams of sodium, 29 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 11 grams of sugar (including 11 grams of added sugar), and 3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, and Trix Loaded Cereals

Brandon 7 Comments

In my last review on this very site, a review for a healthy cereal, I made fun of “the new Trix that is stuffed with frosting.” And while I am still enjoying my box of Cheerios Loaded with Nuts, when I saw the new General Mills Loaded Cereals on the shelf, I laughed and figured “in for a penny, in for a pound.” Wait, no, that’s not it. When in Rome? Whatever doesn’t kill me only makes me stronger? Maybe that one. Because the jaw-rattling sweetness on these new Krave knock-offs is enough to kill me. (Or at least leave me in mild discomfort.)

All three varieties — Trix, Cocoa Puffs, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch — are squared puffs filled with “vanilla creme.” The image on the box promises a creme that will decadently ooze from each piece. In what is probably a quite obvious development, this doesn’t happen. Despite this structural design flaw, is this cereal worth buying? Let’s dig in.

Trix Loaded

The world’s foremost cereal mascotted by a deranged woodland creature tastes the most like its forebearer. When you first pop one into your mouth, you get the unmistakable artificial fruit taste of Trix. As you bite in, however, you get the vanilla creme, which tastes like sweet. That’s right, it tastes like sweet. There is no discernible vanilla flavor; it tastes, in fact, like someone managed to stuff a piece of the outer shell from a Little Debbies Zebra Cake into the inside of a Trix. That doesn’t sound appealing, necessarily, but it’s better than you might think. This was the best of the three.

Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup) 180 calories, 6 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 110 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 2 gram of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

Cocoa Puffs Loaded

Like the Trix version, this one tasted quite a bit like the cereal from which it was born. And while the concept of a vanilla filling seems like it would be an excellent compliment to a chocolate cereal, something about it just didn’t seem to click as well. I noticed the aggressive sweetness of the filling more with this one, I think, which was a detraction. After a few spoonfuls, I realized I probably didn’t need to try this one again.

Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup) 180 calories, 6 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 130 milligrams of sodium, 31 grams of carbohydrates, 2 gram of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Loaded

This was the biggest disappointment of the group. First of all, CTC is the best cereal in General Mills’ catalogue, and maybe even the best cereal ever. Second, the idea of adding FROSTING to a cereal flavored like cinnamon toast sort of makes you think this would strongly evoke a cinnamon roll itself, right? Well, it doesn’t. Part of what makes CTC so good is the almost extreme amount of Cinnadusting on each heavenly square. These Loaded pillows have but a FRACTION of the namesake’s powder. On every fifth piece you go, oh, right, cinnamon; but by and large, these things are tasteless. Well, except for the overbearing “sweet” from the filling. Like a grandmother meeting Tom Selleck at a Blue Bloods fan convention, it is loud and proud.

Rating: 4 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup) 180 calories, 6 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 120 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 2 gram of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

All three were purchased at Walmart for $4.93.

REVIEW: Berry Swirl Lucky Charms Cereal

Marvo Leave a comment

Skittles encourages you to “Taste the Rainbow.” But when I look at Berry Swirl Lucky Charms Cereal, I can’t help but think I’m about to taste the rainbow that leads to a pool of 64 melted Crayola crayons on top of a Bob Ross paint palette. I could give you a rundown of all the colors I see, but staring at it hurts my eyes. Also, I’m pretty sure if I look at it long enough, a 3D image will pop out.

Those of you who have ridden the rainbow of Lucky Charms varieties probably have Fruity Lucky Charms at the front of your mind, which was the usual marshmallows with red-colored, fruity-flavored cereal pieces. Berry Swirl Lucky Charms takes the color and fruity taste up a notch with different colored fruity cereal and berry-flavored marshmallows. Of course, the obligatory green clovers, pink hearts, yellow stars, blue moons, purple horseshoes, red balloons, rainbows, and unicorns are also in the mix.

Much like other fruity cereals, all the corn pieces taste the same regardless of color and have a nondescript fruitiness. While there’s a decent number of blueberry and raspberry-flavored marshmallows, the amount is dwarfed by the bright cereal pieces and standard marbits, making the new berry marshmallows indistinguishable from the rest of the cereal. Eating them on their own is the only way to taste their respective flavors. It’s disappointing that all the marbits weren’t the berry ones because I think that might’ve made this a marbit more interesting than it is. But Lucky Charms gotta Lucky Charms and have the usual sugary stalwarts.

Berry Swirl Lucky Charms will satisfy fruity cereal fans, and it’s a good part of a complete breakfast. However, because the berry marshmallows don’t add anything, it’s not better or more intriguing than any other fruity cereal with marbits. But it’s definitely the most colorful.

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

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 10.9 oz box
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup – cereal only) 140 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 210 milligrams of sodium, 31 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar (including 12 grams of added sugar), and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Reese’s Puffs Peanut Butter Lovers Cereal

Marvo 11 Comments

There once was a Nutter Butter Cereal from Post.
Being so peanut butter-y nutty, it could boast.
But it disappeared from shelves like a ghost.
And for a bit, my PB cereal choices were toast.

But now there’s Reese’s Puffs Peanut Butter Lovers Cereal, and it’s made me forget about the Nutter Butter one, which, by the way, should’ve returned this year with the rereleased Chips Ahoy Cereal. So if Post doesn’t want my money, I’ll happily give it to General Mills with its cereal that’s as great as Post’s discontinued offering.

Reese’s Puffs Peanut Butter Lovers Cereal is influenced by Reese’s Peanut Butter Lovers Cups. General Mills could’ve just pulled the chocolate pieces from its regular Reese’s Puffs, brushed off the cereal dust from its hands, and offered the tan peanut butter pieces as a brand new product, but it didn’t. There seems to be a thin peanut buttery coating that gives the puffs an added oomph of nutty goodness, and oh my goodness, that makes a difference.

They have a strong peanut butter taste but without the jaw-slowing texture of the spread. And that flavor shined whether I ate it dry from my hands or in milk from my hands. I think the coating will also help the pieces stay crunchy in milk for a bit longer. I wrote “I think” because this cereal is so good that my taste buds won’t let it stay in milk for long. The dairy (or non-dairy) at the bottom of the bowl does have a slightly nutty flavor. It might’ve had a more robust flavor if the cereal was allowed to soak a little longer, but, again, my taste buds won’t allow that.

Peanut Butter Lovers Cereal should be a permanent member of the Reese’s Puffs line. But if not, it’s so tasty that I’d love to see it come back yearly in the same seasonal shapes as the original Reese’s Puffs — Bunnies, Hearts, and Bats.

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

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 11.5 oz box
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup – cereal only) 160 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 1 gram of polyunsaturated fat, 2 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 250 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.