Review: Kellogg’s ToGo Breakfast Mix: Cinnamon Roasted Candied Pecan and Salted Caramel & Praline Almond

IMG_4241Unlike the product it’s reviewing, this review of Kellogg’s new ToGo Breakfast Mixes should not be enjoyed while driving.

This review will not fit in your cupholder.

And licking this review will not produce a savory cinnamon pecan flavor.

So how are they similar? Well, both the breakfast mixes and this review probably shouldn’t be submerged in milk. That’s right: according to the packages themselves, Kellogg’s latest attempt to capture those “on the move” consumers—who have been slowing cereal sales—is meant to be enjoyed as dry finger food, preferably while stuck in rush hour traffic or while leaning away from the smelly guy on the bus.

Heck, you could even scarf ’em down in the brief interval between paying at the 1st window and picking up your McNuggets from the 2nd window at a McDonald’s drive through.

So these resealable, single serving pouches are obviously convenient, but are they tasty? I double-fisted both flavors while flying down the Interstate in order to find out (okay, not really).

IMG_4242First up was Cinnamon Roasted Candied Pecan. Now this is a fresh flavor concept; unless you’re willing to mix Cinnamon Honey Bunches of Oats with the a box Pecan Bunches, you’re unlikely to ever experience this particular flavor pairing in the cereal aisle.

And let me tell you: it works! The pieces in this Mix have a delightfully savory roasted nut profile that is coated in a warm gloss of cinnamon and brown sugar. It’s all the deliciousness of those cinnamon nuts you can buy at baseball games, but without the embarrassment that comes with publicly spending $7 on a small, carrot-shaped plastic bag.

Sure, this stuff might look like human kibble, but if this is what cat food tastes like, then grab a bucket of orange paint and call me Garfield.

IMG_4243Alongside the pieces are some rare chunks of smushed together cinnamon sugar and nuts. These babies are easily the best part: their intense, concentrated sweet cinnamon taste made me think they could be the fossilized cores of ancient Egyptian Cinnabons, carefully preserved and extracted for our enjoyment.

IMG_4244The second flavor was Salted Caramel & Praline Almond. I’m really enjoying the recent resurgence of caramel flavor in the breakfast aisle, and this Breakfast Mix is another worthy addition to that pantheon.

I got a serious caramel corn vibe from the kibbles ‘n’ bits in this one. But unlike Cap’n Crunch’s attempt at recreating caramel corn, Kellogg’s take on it was much saltier and even a bit smoky, in that “oh crap, we microwaved the popcorn 10 seconds too long” kind of way.IMG_4245

While the first flavor had candied pecan niblets, Salted Caramel has whole praline almonds (even though I only counted about 3 of them in my whole bag). The coating on these bold almonds is pleasantly sweet and salty, with just a touch of butter—each is like that one lucky almond at the bottom of every bag of trail mix that has been simmering in the juices of all the M&Ms and raisins.IMG_4246

Despite the bags’ gentle attempt to persuade me otherwise, I couldn’t help but try these with milk anyway. And I would do it again, too: Cinnamon Roasted Candied Pecan becomes even more like moist cinnamon bun filling in milk. Meanwhile, the formerly salty Salted Caramel & Praline Almond takes on a more traditional, golden sweet caramel flavor with earthy almond extract undertones.

I know that Kellogg’s is really trying to distance themselves from the prepared cereal branding with their Breakfast Mixes (the pouches don’t even say the word “cereal” on them anywhere), but I’d love to see these creative flavors released in full-sized boxes. Heck, they could even drop the “ToGo” name altogether and just throw Garfield on the box. I’d buy a lasagna flavored cereal.

Because despite the innovative ingredients, these Breakfast Mixes are just too small and a bit too expensive. I don’t want to have to load my shopping cart down with plastic pouches just to buy a week’s worth of satisfying breakfasts.

Because if I did that, my cat might get jealous.


 

 

The Bowl: Kellogg’s ToGo Breakfast Mix: Cinnamon Roasted Candied Pecan and Salted Caramel & Praline Almond

The Breakdown: Kitten-sized servings and Fancy Feast prices are the only things keeping these groundbreaking ballpark nuts and caramel corn cereals from the glory they deserve.

The Bottom Line (Cinnamon Roasted Candied Pecan): 9 CinnaMummies out of 10

The Bottom Line (Salted Caramel & Praline Almond): 8 bowls of LasagnO’s out of 10

3 responses »

  1. I purchased the cinnamon roasted candied pecans mix (only 2 bags on the shelf) at the dollar tree in N.C. and fell in love! They are great for a anytime snack. Please bring y hem back to the store!!!! I know that they will be a sell out! I shop at food lion, piggly wiggly,Wal-Mart dollar tree and Harris teeter.

  2. I’m actually not on board with your review. The amount of pecans, the size of the pecans in the cinnamon roasted candy pecans mix is absolutely ridiculous. The front of the package shows pecan halves.. What you get in reality is little teeny tiny pieces none more than about a quarter of an inch and there aren’t very many of those. Talk about no truth in advertising here! Kelloggs really needs to be a little more truthful with the picture on the front of the package because you’re definitely not going to get what you see there .

  3. I love the one i found with the pecans, its so tasty, and just the right size for a snack before bed. lol I found them at Dollar Tree in AR, and its a tasty snack for a buck. I went back and got 8 bags while on vacation. Now i am running out and worrying if my store in TX has them. lol

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