Category Archives: Specials

Spooned & Spotted: Froot Loops White Chocolate Easter Bunny

White Chocolate Froot Loops Easter Bunny

What’s that old Froot Loops slogan again? “Follow your ears…to transcend earthly spheres!” Or something like that.

The point is that, through some unexpected matchmaking between Kellogg’s and candymaker Frankford, our world has birthed a warren of White Chocolate Froot Loops Easter Bunnies, each capable of supplementing their big-beaked father’s apparent lack of audio-capturing organs. With his sense of smell and these rabbits’ lengthy lobes, Toucan Sam’s many enemies will no longer be able to sneak up on him.

Samuel’s senses have become too powerful for this plane, and the only way for us to prevent rainbow-looped Ragnarok is to eat as many of these rascally reconnaissance rabbits as possible.

Though February has hardly even begun to let loose her polar powdered wrath, these edible heralds of Punxsutawney Phil’s prophesied early spring have already been spotted by Cerealously pal Sammy Hain at Big Lots. Naturally, the best move when you get your hands on a Froot Loops Easter Bunny will be to slice it up with a cheese cutter and serve it atop Froot Loops Pop-Tarts like a cardiac-arresting charcuterie board.

(Conversely, the worst move would be to try toasting these hares like said Pop-Tarts, but that’s between you and your kitchen appliances.)

The Empty Bowl Episode Twenty-Five: Raisins on Raisins

I know what you’ve been eating.

I saw it, don’t try to hide it.

You’ve been getting in the Grape-Nuts again, haven’t you?

Sorry if that doesn’t make any sense, but it will after you remedy my accusatory intro with The Empty Bowl’s latest half-hourish audio antidote. Hint: we’re asking about your secret cereal.

Welcome back into the sky’s balming bowl for a twenty-fifth time. My and Justin‘s meditative cereal podcast, The Empty Bowl, is back to discuss everything from Cheerios Oat Crunch (again) to Toops, and every idea from Raisin Bran 2 to the best Cookie Crisp never made.

If you need a longer soundtrack to your secret cereal scarfing, you can find more episodes at our Anchor hub, follow along on Twitter, or send in a listener question. We can’t discuss or respond to every email, I treasure each one like it’s a Cap’n Crunch chest.

Spooned & Spotted: Smartfood Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries Popcorn Mix

New Smartfood Cap'n Crunch Crunch Berries Popcorn Mix

Some cereal mix-’em-ups make sense: after all, the likes of Muddy Buddies and Rice Krispies Treats have largely superseded the reputation of their constituent cereals and become dessert icons in their own right. Though I’d still eat literal puppy chow if it meant getting a Muddy Buddies Cereal.

Then there are others that feel fresh off the boat from some Procedurally Generated Ideas Summit, held annually in international waters where all laws of common sense don’t apply—and Cap’n Crunch has had his fare share of nautically nonsensical tie-ins.

Now I’m not saying that a Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries Popcorn Mix doesn’t sound downright delectable—after all, it wouldn’t be the Cap’n’s first foray out of the cereal bowl and into an oddly shaped crystal dinner party bowl. But where those earlier mixes presented unique flavors unseen in cereal-form Cap’n Crunch—and with greater depth of candied add-ons—Smartfood’s new Crunch Berries Popcorn Mix feels comparatively uninspired.

I mean, Crunch Berries already have a corn ‘n’ oat base, while Cap’n’s golden chest pieces are known for their buttery goodness. Therefore I have to imagine that we won’t gain much beyond a little salt and some textural contrast by subbing kernels for chests. From what little we can see of this popcorn mix—this first photo was generously provided by Dijana J. on Instagram—the Crunch Berries stand alone in the realm of mix-ins. As if getting hulls stuck in your teeth wasn’t bad enough, what’s a little salt for your roof-of-mouth wounds too?

Here’s hoping the nether region of this bag reveals some sweet surprises, otherwise we have no choice but to wait for Smartfood to roll out DLC M&M’s.

The Empty Bowl Episode Twenty-Four: Lip Gloss & Jungle Juice

Did the first week of 2020 feel a little…empty to anyone else? There’s just so much stress happening globally that it’s easy to feel hollowed-out by daily responsibility.

But worry no more, for beyond any newspaper or starving Neopet, there exists an ethereal plane where there’s nothing to be upset about—and there’s everything your breakfast-loving self could hope for. Well, unless you like traditional English breakfasts or avocado toast, you may be disappointed. For there’s only one thing on our bed & breakfast’s menu.

Welcome to The Empty Bowl Episode Twenty-Four, the first post-holiday-hiatus episode of my and Justin‘s meditative cereal podcast. To make up for lost time, this is our longest episode yet, as we barrel through many new cereals coming in early 2020, and just as many late-2019 releases that made me the sugar-addled dancing plum of my own Christmas.

Not quite full yet? You can go back for seconds, thirds, or twenty-thirds at our Anchor hub, follow along on Twitter, or send in a listener question. We can’t discuss or respond to every email, but for each one, I’ll make a contribution to Neopets in need.

Cerealously’s Top 5 New Cereal Releases of 2019!

Top 5 New Cereals - 2019

2019: cereal’s sophomore year of college.

I say that because, though the 1.5 century-old stuff made some great friends and memories this year, cereal also pulled some dumb shenanigans—as if it were trying to get hazed into a fraternity of goofy flavoring that it was really never cut out for.

Yes, decades from now, when cereal is telling its grandkids (named canned oatmeal & freeze-dried apocalypse biscuits) about these hectic post-halcyon days, we have to imagine it’ll grimace at the times it wore a meat dress and got sticky for no good reason.

In fact, just looking at the first three reviews I wrote this year pretty much gives you the full breadth of 2019’s cereal unorthodoxy. Pop-Tarts Cereal heralded the return of many other cult favorites. Sour Patch Kids Cereal puckered us up for freak incidents of cereal sensory overload. And Hostess’ inaugural pair of crunchable snack cakes showed us that Post means business.

But did any of those make my year-end cut of the tastiest, most creative and charming products of the past 365 days? Let’s count down like it’s Donkey…uh…Clown? Continue reading

Spooned & Spotted: Jolly Rancher Cereal

New Jolly Rancher Cereal Box News

Photo via i_need_a_snack_ (thank you for sharing!)

Ah. Oh man. Here it comes again. The inscrutable drooling.

Am I the only one whose middle school memories are just one big gob of shuddersome awkwardness that smells like ambient Jolly Ranchers that were bought in bulk at the student store and provisioned round the clock like electric chewing tobacco? Somehow I doubt I’m alone.

But anyway, it’s because of that unfortunate thing that I can’t even look at these pictures of General Mills’ new Jolly Rancher Cereal without my esophagus puckering and my mouth sweating from phantom exertion. For the sake of my delicate keyboard mechanics, I’ll keep this brief: Instagram foodie @i_need_a_snack_ managed to nab the last box of this faux fruit still life—which is stunning considering how a whole Walmart sold out of the stuff before news hit the web.

Regardless, this feels like General Mills’ way of clapping back against the sensory-subverting event that was Sour Patch Kids Cereal. On one hand, I hope this is more than just some imitation Zounds! Entirely Fruit!, but if this is authentic enough to Jolly Rancher candy to put the butter- in my -milk, these sour sweets will be gone.

Unfortunately, early comments are claiming it’s just remolded Trix flavoring. If this is true, I will only begrudgingly eat the entire box, while reminiscing on the good old days when Jolly Rancher Cereal pieces were shaped like Runtz instead of chubby tubes. If you’ve tried it, let me know what you think in the comments. I’ll be off to Walmart to corral these Ranchers just after my appointment with a mall food court 25¢ candy machine.

Spooned & Spotted: Kellogg’s Mer-Mazing Blue Raspberry Pop-Tarts

Kellogg's New Mer-Mazing Blue Raspberry Pop-Tarts

Alright, who’s in charge of Kellogg’s Adjectival Development Department? I just want to talk.

“Blueberrific” Pop-Tarts Crisps presented a pretty mild misdemeanor of negligent neologizing. But “Mer-Mazing”? That’s a high crime right up there with first-degree mer-der. I mean, I get it: Kellogg’s still had enough of the old Blue Raspberry Pop-Tart filling lying around—I have to imagine this stuff must radioactively decay at the rate of Chernobyl—and wanted to tie into the far-from-floundering mermaid trend. But would it’ve killed them to switch cryptids and debut wordplay so bad it’s good?

Bluepacabra Raspberry just rolls off the severed goat tongue!

In any case, The Tasty Turtle on Instagram is the first to spot these sea-dame snacks at Walmart. Big ups to them for sharing, but I will say this box art leaves me with more questions than answers. Like, why is this blue mermaid incapable of articulately holding a Pop-Tart? How can a Pop-Tart even survive underwater?

And is there another fishy lower body behind that giant Tart, or are we to believe this is a Mer-pastry, who’s sunk eternally to the bottom of the ocean for lack of proper hydrodynamics? The secrets of the deep will forever elude me.

The Empty Bowl Episode Twenty-Two: Takin’ the Snack Cake

Whoosh

*crunch*

Whoosh

*crunch*

That’s it. That’s your mantra for today. No words needed: just a cereal bowl in hand and the ethereal ocean of milk that is The Empty Bowl’s lifeblood.

New to this astral breakfast sphere? Well then you and your tensest joints are in luck: The Empty Bowl is a meditative podcast about cereal and has often been called more calming than its subject matter has any right to be. But regardless, Justin and I are proud to host a show that quite literally puts our listeners to sleep. In this lull-vely episode, we take you on the slowest rapid-fire journey through the biggest cereal news and reviews of the past four weeks, from the incoming glory of Timbits Cereal to a sneak peek at my upcoming Eggo Cereal breakdown.

Still up late with a pair of screaming children/cats/houseplants? You can soothe the savage snake plant with twenty-one other episodes of cereal sleepiness at our Anchor hub, follow along on Twitter, or send in a listener question. We can’t discuss or respond to every email, but each one really pleases my begonias.