News: Pumpkin Spice Cheerios Coming This Fall!

Image Source: General Mills Inc.

(Update: I reviewed Pumpkin Spice Cheerios!)

This is not a drill! Red alert! Err…I mean…orange alert!

As part of their ongoing efforts to revitalize the Cheerios brand, General Mills just announced an autumn debut for Pumpkin Spice Cheerios.

Set to hit stores around Labor Day, Pumpkin Spice Cheerios will bring an iconic seasonal flavor—which has already hit lattes, toaster pastries, dish soap, and much more—to your breakfast bowl. Since General Mills is committed to removing artificial flavors from its cereals, I’m willing to bet that this cereal will be stuffed with real pumpkin, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and hopefully fan favorites cloves and allspice.

Of course, Pumpkin Spice Cheerios won’t be the first pumpkin cereal: Trader Joe’s Pumpkin O’s, Pumpkin Puffins, and Pumpkin Spice Frosted Mini-Wheats have already broken that farm-fresh ground. But since those three cereals are cinnamon-y, squash-y, and pumpkin pie-y (in that order), Pumpkin Spice Cheerios could still easily claim the title of most authentically spicy pumpkin spice cereal,

Between Pumpkin Spice and this summer’s Strawberry Cheerios, I’m excited for the “revival” of a cereal line that I never really considered to be “dying” to begin with.

Keep up the good work, Cheerios: as long as you’re around, I can get my O-shaped breakfast food fix without having to pour milk on my SpaghettiOs.

Posted by dan g.. Categories: News. Tags: cheerios, general mills, news, pumpkin. 8 Comments

Apr. ’16

Spooned & Spotted: Kellogg’s Frosted A&W Root Beer Pop-Tarts

(UPDATE: Click this to read my review of Frosted A&W Root Beer Pop-Tarts!)

What’s more fun than a barrel of monkeys? A barrel of root beer, of course!

And what’s more fun than a barrel of root beer? Cramming it inside your morning toaster pastry!

Earlier this year we reported that Orange Crush and root beer flavored Pop-Tarts are on the way, and thanks to this picture sent in to us by reader and redditor /u/boyfoster, we know that those mythic sarsaparilla Tarts are not only real, but they’re A&W branded, too. Sorry, Mug and Barq’s fans: maybe you can convince the Pillsbury Doughboy to use those drinks in some Toaster Strudels.

According to boyfoster, who received and sampled these pastries from an in-store source, they taste good, but alas, they don’t fizzle. Oh well, I guess we’ll have to wait for Pop Rocks Pop-Tarts.

Oh, and one more juicy bit of news: according to boyfoster (whose word I now trust like scripture), there are also new Caramel Apple Pop-Tarts on the way that he was unable to photograph. Now that’s a flavor worth bobbing for!

Thanks again, boyfoster. To all readers who would like to see their picture or thoughts featured on a “Spooned & Spotted” post, head over to our submissions page, or just email us at cerealously.net@gmail.com.

Posted by dan g.. Categories: Specials. Tags: kelloggs, non cereal, pop-tarts, spooned & spotted. 4 Comments

Apr. ’16

Cerealously Looks Back at Chex Quest!

Oh boy, this one really does take me back.

When I talk about moments that really got me into cereal—not just cereal as a food, but cereal as a culture, hobby, and lifestyle—my discovery of Chex Quest is always one of them.

It was one of those summer days when it’s hot enough to make the sky warble and the hot dogs melt right into their buns. I had sought refuge in my cool basement and was digging through a drawer of old CD-ROMs and floppy disks. I happened upon this disk:

Since most of the other CD-ROMs contained word processing software and Encarta encyclopedias, the technicolor cartoon art on Chex Quest magnetically held my eyes and imagination alike. I couldn’t wait to boot it up, and as soon as I did, I happily lost myself in a world of pixelated breakfast heroism. Continue reading →

Posted by dan g.. Categories: Specials. Tags: chex, general mills, ralston, special. 2 Comments

Apr. ’16

Review: Golden Grahams S’Mores Treats

It’s mid-April, and the last traces of winter are finally melting away. This means that summer, s’mores, subsequent spooky stories, and other things that start with “s” are on their way. So right after I track down that lying groundhog who predicted an early spring, I’m going to load up on graham crackers, chocolate bars, marshmallows, and first aid kits for inevitable 3rd degree burns caused by charred marshmallow magma.

But before I start up any campfires and make Smokey the Bear sweat nervously, I have to pre-game with as many s’mores favored snacks as possible. Last week I munched on the dreamy pillows of Krave S’Mores, so now it’s Golden Grahams’ turn.

Ordinarily, I could just add Cocoa Puffs and Lucky Charms marbits to a bowl of Golden Grahams and call it a day. But it’s an on-the-go kind of busy week, and I can’t carry around a portable torch to roast any marshmallows (I don’t have any angry mobs scheduled). Luckily, General Mills has me covered with Golden Grahams S’Mores Treats.

Will they be satisfying enough to make me postpone that angry mob appointment indefinitely? Enough fluff, let’s get right into the marshmallow fluff!

Continue reading →

Posted by dan g.. Categories: Reviews. Tags: 8 rating, cereal bar, general mills, golden grahams, s'mores. 3 Comments

Apr. ’16

Review: Kellogg’s Krave S’Mores

So this is what Smorz died for?

Of course, Smorz was resurrected this January through some happy cereal voodoo, but times were darker before then. When Kellogg’s announced in 2013 that Smorz was being replaced by Krave S’Mores after 10 years as a fan favorite, tempers were more fiery than a misplaced campfire marshmallow. Smorz fans everywhere treated Krave S’Mores like the brother-murdering, ugly Uncle Claudius of the cereal aisle.

Krave in general has a dedicated camp who vocally dislike it, but as an equally vocal defender of the Krave brand, I felt the need to stand up for Krave S’Mores. When kids complained to their mothers in the cereal aisle, I flipped over shopping carts to send a message. When people spoke ill of Krave S’Mores petitions online, I “Rickrolled” every single one of them.

Okay, neither of these are true. But I did Rickroll myself once. Somehow.

But do Krave S’Mores deserve my “Pedro’s cousins from Napoleon Dynamite” levels of protection? Let’s risk it for the chocolatey marshmallow-filled biscuit and find out.

Continue reading →

Posted by dan g.. Categories: Reviews. Tags: 5 rating, kelloggs, krave. 3 Comments

Apr. ’16

Review: Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts Gone Nutty! Frosted PB&J Strawberry

I’m glad you’re here! Hurry: put on my latest invention, the NostalgiGoggles 3000. We’ve got an important journey to take—a journey to your elementary school cafeteria!

*cue Sci-Fi whooshing noises, rainbow-colored swirling portals, Cacodemons, and other time travel imagery that doesn’t go over so well in text*

Phew, we made it. It’s the year [INSERT YOUR 3RD GRADE YEAR HERE] and the lunch bell has just gone off. Geography pop quizzes can’t get our spirits down when we have processed snacks and juice boxes on the way!

Our best friends all get in the hot lunch line with their crumpled dollar bills and milk money. We’re a little jealous, because today is Bosco Breadstick Day, but we’re still happy as we plunk down at our faux-wood paneled table, because Mom’s cryptic smile this morning told us she was packing something good.

Spilling our brown paper bags onto the table (which still smells strongly of the Lunch Lady’s Clorox wipes) the sight of PB&J Pop-Tarts makes our mouth water.

Who needs ooey-gooey cheese sticks when you can have ooey-gooey, oh-so-nutty pastries? Continue reading →

Posted by dan g.. Categories: Reviews. Tags: 9 rating, kelloggs, non cereal, pop-tarts. 7 Comments

Apr. ’16

News: Cinnamon Toast Crunch’s #SquadBowls Let You Eat Cereal with Friends!

https://twitter.com/CTCSquares/status/718091850284802048

Do you ever feel lonely snapping pics and snacking on Kix with your Selfie Spoon?

Do you feel your friendships would be stronger if your faces were all smushed uncomfortably close together?

Do you have a need for hashtags at the breakfast table, because hash browns alone just aren’t cutting it?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then Cinnamon Toast Crunch has you covered. After the success of the Selfie Spoon, CTC has introduced their latest invention: #squadbowls. These interconnected cereal bowls are perfect for cereal parties and breakfast clubs, and they’d probably make great skate parks for all your Tech Deck Dudes, too.

You can buy them at squadbowls.com. Depending on how popular you are, they come in 3, 4, 5, and 6 person sizes. But you’ll have to act quickly: the first 10 bowls each day (starting at 10am EST each day from now until 4/17) are only $0.99. After that, even the cheapest #squadbowl will run you back a whopping $59.99.

At that rate, you’ll be filling the bowls with Malt-O-Meal, for sure.

It goes without saying that our fast fingers here at Cerealously already snapped up one of the first 10 bowls. Expect an in-depth look as soon as it arrives.

Now does anyone know where I can buy some friends?

Posted by dan g.. Categories: News. Tags: cinnamon toast crunch, general mills, news, toast crunch. 3 Comments

Apr. ’16

News: Strawberry Tiny Toast Cereal and Blueberry Tiny Toast Cereal Coming This Summer from General Mills!

UPDATE (June 6th, 2016): Read my review of both Tiny Toast cereals by clicking here!)

Could Tiny Toast Cereal be the best cereal since sliced bread?

It might be too soon to say (after all, sliced bread has been the best thing since 1928), but what we do know is that Tiny Toast cereal, a crunchy bread-shaped cereal that comes in Strawberry and Blueberry, is flavored with real fruit ingredients, has no artificial colors or high fructose corn syrup, and is General Mills’ first new cereal brand in 15+ years. It’s the first since General Mills’ short-lived Harmony cereal, so here’s hoping Tiny Toast sticks it out longer than a piece of French toast thrown at the ceiling.

I’m just as blindsided and intrigued by this news as you are, cereal fans. Cerealously first found out about Tiny Toast way back in April, thanks to this cryptic Instagram post by Chef Andrew Zimmern.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BD3wAZ_oK16/?taken-by=chefaz

As the ever-vigilant cereal historian Gabe Fonseca points out, General Mills has experimented with sweet bread-themed cereals in the past. Though the pictured Tiny Toasts cereals never reached shelves, it looks like Strawberry Tiny Toast will be very real, very soon.

https://twitter.com/MrGabeFonseca/status/717904165578518533

All predictions and history aside, I’m excited: strawberry jelly on toast has been a breakfast mainstay in my family for decades, ever since my dad would prepare and eat entire loafs of it—assembly line style—to kill time after school.

Okay, just one more prediction: will Grape Tiny Toast be next? How about Cinnamon Raisin Tiny Toast? Ooh, or maybe Grilled Cheese Tiny Toast? Marble Rye Reuben Tiny Toast?

Whoops. I think I went too far.

Posted by dan g.. Categories: News. Tags: general mills, news, strawberry, toast crunch. 3 Comments