The pumpkin spice virus…it’s spread too far. We thought if anyone would be able to resist its nutmeg-scented temptation, it would be the Quaker Oats guy. But even his luscious white locks couldn’t protect him. The a-pumpk-alypse is upon us.
In reality, the existence of Pumpkin Spice Quaker Oatmeal is no surprise. I think there are more varieties of Quaker oatmeal than there are actual pumpkins (don’t fact check me on that), so it was only a matter of time before pumpkin reared its bulbous head.
This is the first oatmeal we’ve reviewed on this site so far, but hot cereals are cereal too, so they deserve fair representation. We’re all about equality here at Cerealously. Continue reading →
As the toaster pops up, it’s time for two pastries to throw down.
With little cartoon pumpkins spreading throughout grocery store aisles like some sort of vegetable venereal disease, it’s hard to know which products do the orange orb its proper justice. And when you’re 5 minutes late to work in the morning, you certainly don’t have time to philosophically pontificate over the pros and cons of different pumpkin breakfast options (“the frosting on this one really speaks to me, but what would Kierkegaard think?”).
But don’t worry. We’re here to help.
Better than Wrestlemania. Better than a monster truck rally. Better than the World Series, Stanley Cup championship, and Wimbledon all mixed together in a Super Bowl: it’s time for a toaster tart face-off.
The month of October will no longer be known as the “Halloween season.” Instead, it will officially be deemed “Trader Joe’s month-long pumpkin-palooza.”
Seriously, walking into a TJ’s this time of year is like being transported into one of your grandma’s autumn tablecloths, with every store orifice (storeifice, for short) being plastered with kitschy graphics of everyone’s favorite vegetable. Or fruit. Whatever the heck your know-it-all cousininsists that it “technically” is.
And while I’ve already discussed Pumpkin O’s cereal, it isn’t the only pumpkin cereal Trader Joe has plucked from his field. So whether or not you consider granola to be an actual cereal (the word is on the box so leave me alone, dang it!), it’s time to give Country Pumpkin Spice Granola its time in the candlelit spotlight. Continue reading →
With its Hawaiian shirt-wearing employees, its whimsical wordplay, and its overwhelmingly campy atmosphere, I’ve always thought of it as the grocery store equivalent of Uncle Joey from Full House.
And just like how everyone’s goofy uncle has some sort of kitschy obsession, Trader Joe’s goes absolutely bananaspumpkins during the fall season.
As we all wait for the Great Pumpkin (he’ll show, trust me!), let’s gather round, snuggle up with our our Linus blankets, and I’ll tell you all about one of the only cereal options available for pumpkin junkies: Kellogg’s Pumpkin Spice Frosted Mini-Wheats!
Kellogg’s introduced these hay bale-shaped love letters to autumn a few months ago, but now they’re finally reaching the shelves of mainstream grocery stores everywhere. If you stopped reading that sentence halfway through to pull on your socks and shout “Honey, start the car!” I fully understand. While you shop, I’ll sit here and entertain your cat, who is now reading the screen in your absence. Continue reading →
Pop quiz! Without reading ahead, where was this photo taken?
If you answered “a pumpkin patch,” “my dreams,” or “an idealistic utopia in which Halloween occurs 365 days a year,” you would, unfortunately, be incorrect.
Nope, reader Marc P. spotted these elusive Mini-Wheats Pumpkin at his local Wegmans store and, as any true cereal fan would, wanted to share it with the world. Thanks, Marc!
Personally, I’m equally as interested in whatever amazing Halloween confection the Pillsbury Doughboy is hawking. I want to buy it simply so I can coat random passerby in black and orange sprinkles like the world’s most annoying sandman.
Unfortunately, we here at Cerealously are still desperately searching for a box for ourselves. So Marc, if you’d like to pour a bowl and grab a Ouija board, perhaps our ethereal spirit could consume it in lieu of our corporeal bodies. Or maybe I’ve just been watching too many horror movies.
Kellogg’s has been promoting this cereal pretty heavily, so you may have already seen it carving up your Twitter timeline.
This post ended a little short, so how about we brighten your Friday with a classic Mini-Wheats commercial, from before the entire ethos of the cereal became “anthropomorphized squares help kids get to school on time.” This commercial makes one yearn for a simpler era, when the entire world had a VHS filter draped over it and people could drop When Harry Met Sally references with reckless abandon.
If you’d like to see your picture or thoughts featured on a “Spooned & Spotted” post, click yourself right on over to our submissions page, or just email us at cerealously.net@gmail.com.
Okay, I’m really glad Barbara’s didn’t try to incorporate cheeky wordplay into the name of their new Pumpkin Puffins cereal, because it’s the kind of pun that looks like it could work, but should probably be outlawed by the U.N.’s International Tribune on Wordplay Sanctions.
Or should I call them the P.U.N.?
But I digress. Sneaking in just ahead of the Autumn harvest is a new pumpkin-flavored cereal from Barbara’s. Like their other Puffins flavors, Barbara’s Pump-ffins take the form of wee little adorable pillows that look like rounded cubes with ridges and bowed-in edges. It’s the kind of complex shape that would make a geometrician sweat just thinking about calculating the surface area to volume ratio.
But luckily we don’t have to calculate any derivatives of pi to cram these hollowed-out cuboids into our hungry pi holes. Continue reading →
Are you “pump”ed for Fall? Well thanks to Barbara’s Puffins cereal line, now you have another reason to be!
Though the dog days of summer are still steadily barking, Barbara’s has just announced that they are releasing a pumpkin-flavored variant of their delightful Puffins cereal. But look out, pumpkin spice latte lovers, because Pumpkin Puffins are bringing the real deal. According to Barbara’s website, they will be “made with real pumpkin and only 5g of sugar.”
It’s too soon to say how the inclusion of actual pumpkin will affect the cereal’s taste. But since I’m a massive puffin puffan, as well as a fan of harvest vegetables in general, I can’t wait to give these a try. Perhaps in a makeshift bowl that I’ve made from a hollowed-out gourd.
For those unfamiliar with Puffins, they are “crunchy oat and corn pillows” that come in flavors like peanut butter, cinnamon, honey rice, and more. Barbara’s also produces several other cereal lines, including Snackimals and Morning Oat Crunch, to name just a couple.
The cereal will be available for a limited time only this Fall. It’s unknown yet what stores will carry Pumpkin Puffins, but they are already available to order on Barbara’s online store. Pumpkin Puffins will join the rare pantheon of pumpkin cereals, which now also includes the elusive Pumpkin Spice Mini-Wheats and Trader Joe’s Pumpkin O’s (which have yet to be confirmed for this year).
Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I need to test the milk retention capabilities of hollowed-out gourds.
