Today's Review: Honey Monster Oat Puffs

Sugar Puffs underwent a bit of a re-branding last year, and as such dropped the "Sugar" out of the name entirely, which was reflected in the disappointing, flavourless lumps of wheat that sullied the good name of the Honey Monster. Well, I found this box in Poundland that are like those "Honey Monster Puffs", but made with oats instead of wheat, and because I like my disappointment to be complete and all-encompassing, I figured I'd give them a go.

Well, there you have it, odd, brown, shrivelled puffs that look like rejects from a peanut sorting machine, or maybe like some fancy driveway gravel. It's also reflected in the taste, there's a very slight hint of honey, but mostly it's like being promised a nice sugary breakfast treat, before being greeted with a bowl of plain oatmeal. Not that there's anything wrong with oatmeal, but don't dress it up to be some delicious honey-filled treat when it's actually a bland, stripped down variety of a once-beloved breakfast cereal. You can change the grain, but you can't ease the pain. It doesn't matter which box of Honey Monster Puffs you choose, the result is the same.

My rating: 1/5 

Today's Review: Breakfast Buddy S'mores Crunch

I do love an cheap brand American cereal, as you can actually pick them up for a decent price on import. I picked up this S'mores cereal in Sainsbury's for £2.50, and seeing as I love making s'mores (whenever I can find proper graham crackers), I was hoping it would translate well into cereal form. With this box you can pour yourself a bowl of chocolate and cracker cereal and tiny marshmallows.

Unfortunately, each part of this tastes quite off-brand. I was hoping for the delicious honey taste of Golden Grahams, and while there's a little hint in these pieces, they're pretty lacklustre. The marshmallows are fairly hard, although they soften up once the milk is in the bowl. The chocolate balls are alright, probably the most predominant part, but they're not particularly flavoursome. Mixed together they don't really taste like s'mores, but they do alright for an indulgent sweet cereal. I won't be buying them again though.

My rating: 2/5

Today's Review: Unicorn Froot Loops

Froot Loops are one of those rare cereals that have made the trip across the pond (I'm still waiting on Trix and Cap'n Crunch). Now, not only can you get regular Froot Loops, you can also get these unicorn Froot Loops! Look, there's a unicorn on the box! Also one on the back you can colour in! What else is different? Well, not much.

Holy glittering Froot Loops, Batman! Well, they look like they're glittering in the photo, and I was hoping they'd actually glitter a little because, you know, unicorns. But no, these are regular Froot Loops. Apparently they've been given more natural shades, but in reality they've just taken out a couple of the colours. These only come in purple, pink and yellow, and I think yellow's only there so they don't seem cheap. Or to emulate the horn, who knows. The Froot Loops themselves aren't bad. They're a little sickly sweet, but they have those nice fake American fruit flavours that it's hard not to like. It's just a shame it's lacking in some of the fruits entirely. This re-branding just seems like a money grab, the only things that are different are superficial. I'd stick with the originals.

My rating: 3/5

Today's Review: Honey Monster Puffs

Sugar Puffs are a national institution. They're one of those classic breakfast cereals, alongside the Coco Pops, Rice Krispies and Weetos, and their iconic Honey Monster is most definitely in my top five favourite cereal mascots. But apparently Sugar Puffs are no more, they are now "Honey Monster Puffs". I think this name has been a thing for a while, in response to backlash from people who take issue to the word "Sugar" being in the title. Won't somebody please think of the children?! Apparently just changing the name but keeping the sugar content the same wasn't enough, as we now have a new recipe! But does new always mean better? Well, no, because they've taken out 25% of the sugar.

Now, normally, I wouldn't see reduced sugar as a bad thing, especially if it's done right. But this is a product whose very name relied on the existence of sugar, and now there's a sugar deficit, and it shows. These are, in essence, the same puffs, the texture and base flavour is the same. The honey and sweet sugar flavour is present as well, but not for long. After a few chews the sweetness abandoned me, and I was left chewing flavourless puffs, ready for the next spoonful that would inevitably disappoint me again. These aren't nice, they've ruined Sugar Puffs for everyone. I know it was for the children, but what about my inner child? Can't they leave Sugar Puffs around for adults like me who know the consequences of eating spoonfuls of sugar for breakfast? Can they not co-exist with Honey Monster Puffs, for parents who want to mindlessly snatch boxes off the shelf with little regard for nutritional content, then complain later that actually these are quite bad, and they probably should have gone for Shredded Wheat?

These didn't even make my wee smell. Everything we loved about Sugar Puffs is gone. For shame. For shame.

My rating: 1/5

Today's Review: Kellogg's Crunchy Nut Peanut Butter Clusters

I don't often get excited over cereal, but spying this one on the internet a couple of weeks ago got me bit worked up. It's a peanut butter cereal, in the UK, no extortionate import prices, peanut butter is finally getting the recognition it deserves. Granted, this is a little pricey, at just under £3 a box, but it's a marked improvement on that imported Reese's cereal. This is a variation on the Crunchy Nut Clusters, featuring oat and wheat clusters and peanuts, all bound together with peanut butter.

I'll state the obvious here, this is not a healthy cereal. Each portion is over 200 calories, and it's clear from the taste that it's not in the same realm as your granola or muesli. It is, however, utterly delicious. The clusters come in all shapes and sizes, but they're filling and moreish, a great combination of oat and wheat flavours, with an unmistakable peanut butter taste running through the whole thing. The addition of milk seems to amplify the creaminess of the peanut butter, and overall this makes for a very sweet, deliciously nutty bowl of cereal. A new favourite of mine at breakfast time.

My rating: 5/5

Today's Review: Tesco Choco-Nut Malted Wheats

I love a big old bowl of Coco Shreddies, but being a stickler for that yellow shelf sticker, I don't find them on offer all that often. It seemed Tesco was there for me though, in the form of these Malt Wheats with a chocolate flavour, and there are even hazelnuts thrown in for good measure. I would have settled for just the chocolate, but hey, nuts are good too.

I'm not sure whether these should be Choco-Nut or Nut-Choco, the predominant flavour here is the hazelnuts. It's a nice, authentic, nutty flavour, but it seems like there's just too much of it, the chocolate part seems a bit like an afterthought. It's there, sure, lurking in the background, and it does show up a fair bit in the after taste, but these just aren't as chocolatey as I'd hoped, which is a shame, as the chocolate part is pretty decent as well. These Malted Wheats are a good quality cereal, pretty similar in texture to Shreddies, but the flavourings are just a bit too imbalanced. Too much nut, not enough choco.

My rating: 3/5

Today's Review: Reese's Puffs

American cereals have become more prominent in this country, but despite some brands having some fairly reasonable prices (like the off brand Cap'n Crunch and Apple Jacks), some still suffer from astronomical mark ups. Reese's Puffs is one such cereal, it's been £5 for a good long time in Tesco's American section, but I finally caught a break today and found it was reduced to clear for half the price. I couldn't resist them at that price, although it's a wonder I resisted them for this long anyway. I mean, come one, peanut butter and chocolate for breakfast?

Well, yes, I already have the peanut butter and chocolate covered in the Reese's spread I sometimes put on my morning toast, but this is something else entirely. This box consists of corn puffs infused with Reese's peanut butter and Hershey's chocolate, and you can tell the Reese's is being properly represented, because peanut butter is the third most prominent ingredient. It shows as well, this cereal tastes a lot like peanut butter, and it's good peanut butter. The puffs themselves have a satisfying crunch, and the flavouring is laid on thick. The chocolate puffs add a nice little edge to the overall flavour, despite my dislike for Hershey's chocolate they seem to have done a good job. It does seem, however, that the balance is a little off, I could taste a lot more peanut butter than chocolate, and while that's not necessarily a bad thing, I would say there's a little too much peanut butter at times, it gets a little sickly. But hey, this is a peanut butter and chocolate cereal, of course you'd expect it to be a little sickly, and on the whole this stuff is great. I'm glad I picked up a box, I just hope they're not cleared from the Tesco shelves anytime soon.

My rating: 4/5

Today's Review: Cheerios Cinnamon Oat Crisp

I like Cheerios, I like oats, and I like cinnamon, so having all three of them in the same bowl sounded damn good to me. It's a combination of Cheerios and cinnamon flavoured oat flakes. Maybe I would see why kids like the taste of Cinnamon Oat Crisp. Oh, wait, wrong thing.

There's nothing wrong with these by any means, but I can't help but think they miss the mark. The Cheerios are alright, but they don't have that nice mix of grains you'd get in a regular packet. As for the oat crisps, they're nice and crunchy, and they have a hint of spice, but they end up falling a bit flat, especially with the relative blandness of the Cheerios. This cereal is a good enough mix of oats and cinnamon, but it's not enough to wow me. I'd rather go for other cinnamon cereals with a bit more of a kick.

My rating: 3/5

Today's Review: Malt-O-Meal Marshmallow Mateys

Malt-O-Meal provide some fairly decent off brand American cereals that I've actually seen in a few places in the UK. I've tried their own versions of Cap'n Crunch and Apple Jacks, as well as the chocolate variety of this cereal, but I figured it was time to try out Marshmallow Mateys, their answer to Lucky Charms.

They look pretty similar, apart from the cereal pieces that are shaped like little anchors (that's pretty cute). The marshmallow pieces have different shapes, sure, but they're all small and brightly coloured. I went into this with a fair idea of how Lucky Charms taste, although I haven't had a box in a while, and these just don't seem as good. The marshmallows are nice and sweet, but a little on the soft side, and there aren't quite as many as I'd hoped. The cereal is crunchy, and tastes pretty good when combined with the milk and marshmallow, but it doesn't really stand out. It's just pretty bland, and overall it was just an average bowl of cereal. As much as I don't remember possessing some kind of crazy love for Lucky Charms, I still think they're better than these. Marshmallow Mateys may be enough to scratch the itch slightly while you mortgage your house to buy a box of Lucky Charms, but they're not particularly great.

My rating: 3/5

Today's Review: Malt-O-Meal Chocolate Flavour Marshmallow Mateys

One of the best things about having a B&M nearby is that I can get a nice cheap fix of American cereals. Well, off-brand American cereals anyway. They stock a lot of the Malt-O-Meal stuff, like Apple Zings and Colossal Crunch (which I haven't reviewed yet apparently, look out for that one). But here's one I hadn't seen before, a chocolate variety of Marshmallow Mateys, which is a cut price version of Lucky Charms. I would have gone for the regular, but every time I've tried Lucky Charms recently they weren't as good as I remembered. I figured having some chocolate thrown in would liven things up a bit.

This cereal contains a bunch of sizeable chocolate balls, sprinkled with some marshmallow pieces that look pretty similar to their Lucky Charms counterparts. They taste the same too, which is what counts, sweet, slightly chewy marshmallow pieces that actually taste better with milk. These are the things people seem to go crazy for when reminiscing about Lucky Charms, but to be honest, I don't thing they're all that great. They're nice and sweet, sure, but they do taste a little odd in a cereal bowl. The chocolate cereal balls are pretty nice, large and chocolatey with a nice crunch, even when they're drowned in milk. They are perhaps a little bit dry, and they do outnumber the marshmallows, which means they drown out the other flavours. On top of that, they seem to be distinctly heavier than the marshmallow pieces, while I was tipping the box the chocolate fell out at a much faster rate, leaving the marshmallows behind, I had to resort to digging my hand in to get a decent proportion of both. So really, while it's a nice enough cereal, it's not particularly great. While the individual elements are nice, when put together they don't quite gel too well. I'll probably give the regular Marshmallow Mateys a go in the future, but these are a bit hit and miss.

My rating: 3/5

Today's Review: Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Until the last few years, I hated cinnamon. I couldn't get on board with it at all, and I certainly couldn't see why kids love Cinnamon Toast Crunch. But now I've grown to like it, so I figured I could finally understand those kids when I finally came across a reasonably priced box of this cereal.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch is pretty much like the Cinnamon Grahams (or Curiously Cinnamon) you'd find in the UK. Small, crispy squares of cereal, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. I think the difference lies in the sugar element, I don't recall the Curiously Cinnamon being overly sweet, but it certainly shows in this cereal. The cinnamon is quite strong, but has a lovely sweet taste that's aided by the sugar swirled on top. So this stuff is equal parts sweet and spice, and it's pretty pleasant, especially with the lovely crisp cereal that it's all piled on top of. This box certainly didn't last long, I surely can see why kids love Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I can't fault it, it's a cinnamon cereal that just tastes great.

My rating: 5/5

Today's Review: Lion Granola

I do like a bowl of granola in the morning, and there's certainly no shortage of varieties to choose from. Most come from pretty health-conscious brands like Special K and Jordans, but why have that when you can have granola based on a chocolate bar? I first spied Lion Granola a while back, but didn't want to bite at full price. I found a pack in the clearance section of Asda last week for a mere 69p, so while it may not be shifting units all that well, I figured it was worth a go.

This granola doesn't consist of much other than the box states. It's a bunch of oaty clusters, mixed up with chocolate and caramel. But hey, that's certainly not a bad thing. I found the structure of this stuff to be a lot better than most granolas I've tried. I'm a fan of big chunks rather than several flakes, and this box has a lot of chunks. I guess it's the chocolate and caramel that holds it together pretty effectively, and those ingredients also make for a pretty tasty experience. It's not the best quality confectionery, but the oats have a pretty satisfying crunch. Sure, it isn't quite as healthy tasting or clean as the fruity options, and it does get a little sickly due to the amount of chocolate and caramel shoved in there, but it's a decent attempt at granola that has certainly been filling me up in the mornings. 

My rating: 4/5

Today's Review: Coco Pops Porridge

When is a Coco Pop no longer a Coco Pop? We all know what Coco Pops are, those classic chocolatey rice puffs. But there are so many variations now. Coco Rocks, Coco Copters, and now we have Coco Pops porridge. Can a porridge be a Coco Pop porridge if it doesn't pop? Well, apparently so. But enough philosophy, what's this all about?

Either the instant porridge market has evolved in the last year or so or I really wasn't paying attention before that. It used to be you'd buy bags of oats or wild boxes of Ready Brek, and have to throw caution to the wind and work out the serving sizes by yourself. But now they all come in convenient sachets, with milk lines, and this porridge is no exception. You get seven sachets of chocolatey oats, and all you have to do is pour in the milk, tip it into the bowl and blitz it for a minute and a half. It sounds easy, but this porridge seems to enjoy sticking to the packet, which forced me to open it up and scrape it off with my finger. But hey, I've only had one so far, maybe I wasn't doing it right.

When I took the bowl out of the microwave, I wasn't particularly impressed. There wasn't a lot there at all, although what was there smelled nice and chocolatey. It looked a little stodgy as well, but after a good mix and some time to cool down, I was pleasantly surprised when I tucked in. It's an overall smooth, chocolate experience. I certainly wouldn't say it's "super smooth", but it went down pretty nicely. The closest thing I could compare it to is chocolate Ready Brek, and it is very similar, so it's nothing particularly special in that regard. But hey, it's still tasty, and despite the pretty meagre serving size, it did keep me feeling full for a good few hours. This Coco Pops porridge is easy to prepare, and is a nice chocolatey breakfast treat that kids will probably enjoy. It's nice to see Kellogg's go for a different kind of porridge, and while it's not perfect, it's a good effort.

My rating: 4/5

Today's Review: Kellogg's Krave Choco Roulette

I often have trouble deciding what cereal to have in the mornings. Something sugar coated? A chocolatey number? Maybe a blander offering? Sure, I don't have an extensive selection of cereals to go for at any one time, but it would be nice if the choice was taken from me sometimes. I guess that's what Kellogg's are trying to do here with this new Krave Choco Roulette. It at least takes the choice of Krave varieties off your mind, by mixing them all up together. Yes, this cereal combines four flavours of Krave in one box, so it's anyone's guess what you'll get in any given spoonful.

I do love a bowl of Krave, and having tried both the milk chocolate and chocolate hazelnut flavours, I was looking forward to trying out the white chocolate and caramel that are introduced in this box. Unfortunately the only way I could try them was to take a wild guess at what each pillow contained. Still, I was pleasantly surprised by each flavour, the white chocolate is nice, light and creamy, while the caramel has a very sweet hint to it. But the real experience should come from having a bowl full of random, chaotic flavours, and while it certainly is a nice crunchy experience that is extremely chocolatey, mixed together it doesn't have too much of an impact. There are hints of white chocolate, hazelnuts and caramel, but since the milk chocolate is so prevalent that's the main flavour that I took away. Still, it's a nice filling bowl of cereal, certainly delicious. This is a neat idea from Kellogg's, but it's up to you if you want to take a gamble. Ha, get it? Because it says "Roulette".

My rating: 4/5

Today's Review: Curiously Cinnamon

I tried out some cheap cinnamon squares from Tesco the other week, and while I wasn't too fond of them, I felt ready to confront my childhood nightmare and give Cinnamon Grahams a go. Well, since my traumatic experience they've had a name change and visual overhaul, but I assume they taste much like they did back then.

Well, they're cinnamon flavoured squares, that's for sure, but these are of pretty high quality. They certainly don't possess the fantastic crunchiness of Golden Grahams, but there's definitely a nice crunch to them. I wouldn't flood these with milk, they seem like they'd get soggy pretty quickly, but with just a splash I had a pretty good experience throughout. As for the flavour, it's not bad at all. Slightly spicy, pretty sweet, with a nice texture provided by the cereal itself. They are a little powdery, meaning the cinnamon can overwhelm a little in places, but on the whole I wasn't worried about grabbing another bowlful the next day, which is good as I picked up a massive box. 

I have faced up to my cinnamon fears. I have conquered the cereal that sparked my grandmother telling me off that one time, and I've found it's actually pretty tasty. If you're into your cinnamon, these make for an interesting breakfast cereal. But then hey, you've probably had these already. As for me, I'll definitely still choose Golden Grahams over Curiously Cinnamon.

My rating: 4/5

Today's Review: Tesco Cinnamon Squares

Over four years ago, in my second review, I told the tale of my life long hatred of cinnamon, beginning with the accidental consumption of Cinnamon Grahams. Since I've started reviewing, however, I have finally weaned myself onto the taste of cinnamon, enjoying many treats that contain the spice. But a little while ago I decided to revisit my food nemesis, although I didn't fancy paying full price for the proper branded stuff only to eject it violently from my mouth. So upon spying this Tesco cinnamon cereal, displayed within their 3 for £3 section, I figured it was worth a try. After all, if it went wrong, I had two other cereals to wash it down with.

These are, basically, cinnamon squares. They're crunchy rice and wheat squares, covered in cinnamon. The main thing I noticed upon eating a spoonful is that I certainly didn't mind the taste. Hooray, my mortal food enemy has become an ally! The spiciness is certainly not very pronounced, and lends a nice sweetness to what would otherwise be some bland cereal squares. That's not to say this cereal is without its problems. The squares themselves are not as crunchy as I expected. They're quite thick and a little stodgy, and the addition of milk only makes it worse. Sure, they have a bit of crunch if you eat them quickly enough, but they are a little too soft for my liking. As for the cinnamon, while I certainly didn't mind it, there is just too much spread on. Every time I tip the box up a load of powder comes out, and it just contributes to a bit of an overload where the cinnamon is concerned. This isn't an awful cereal, it's an interesting start to the morning, but I'm sure it could be more well made. But now I know my next mission, to buy a box of Curiously Cinnamon and chow down.

My rating: 3/5

Today's Review: Spooky Shreddies

Halloween is just around the corner, and there are finally some good seasonal goodies lining the shelves. Granted, one of them is the Halloween edition M&Ms, which are the same old thing but in different colours. But there are also some mighty interesting offerings, like these "Spooky Shreddies", which are, quite simply, cinnamon flavoured Shreddies. A good choice for Halloween (aside from pumpkin of course), but my relationship with cinnamon cereal is somewhat strained, as detailed in as far back as my second ever review. But cinnamon and I have started to become allies, so I was willing to give these a shot.

There's not much to say about these, to be honest. They are cinnamon flavoured Shreddies, and they taste like cinnamon. At first I was quite put off by the spiciness, being used to purely sweet varieties for so long. But as I continued through the bowl, I actually found them to be quite alright. The spice is not too overwhelming, but it's definitely flavoursome. It provides a nice sweetness that blends in with the Shreddies quite well, but the spiciness still put me off a bit until the end of the bowl.  Certainly not the best flavour by any stretch of the imagination, but that's probably my adversity to cinnamon talking. These Spooky Shreddies are a neat idea, and cinnamon lovers will certainly have a good time. They're just not quite for me.

My rating: 3/5

Today's Review: Weetabix Banana

Weetabix is a breakfast classic, but even though it is inherently pretty delicious, it is a little plain. You can always take to slicing some fruit and sticking them on top of your wheat biscuits, but now you don't have to bother. Or do you?

See, one of the most popular fruity Weetabix toppers is banana. I've never tried it myself, but Weetabix themselves attempted to save me the effort by bringing out their own banana flavour. Unfortunately I don't think it's truly representative of the proper banana Weetabix experience. "Flavour" is the key word here, as there isn't any actual banana in it at all. So in reality, while there certainly is a banana flavour, it's more like the foam sweetie bananas than the stuff that grows on plants. It's not entirely unpleasant, but it is a little too sweet for my liking. I'd rather just stick to the original Weetabix, and you probably will too. This is interesting for a change, and it tastes okay, but I doubt it'll beat putting actual slices on top. If you ever wanted some pick 'n' mix flavoured Weetabix though, this will be right up your street.

My rating: 3/5

Today's Review: Cookie Crisp Brownie

A few years ago Cookie Crisp landed in the UK, most likely to a cacophonous uproar from parents nationwide. I say most likely because I don't remember hearing such an uproar. Although I wasn't quite a child, I was too busy thinking about how awesome it would be to eat cookies for breakfast, and awesome it was. Cookie Crisp is basically tiny little chocolate chip cookies that you can drown in milk and label as part of a nutritious breakfast, and they actually taste pretty good after a good night's sleep. Now Nestlé have decided to not only give us cookies for breakfast, but to make them brownie cookies too. What's not to love?

Well... they don't look quite right. I mean, they certainly look like chocolatey cereal, but they're not cookie shaped like their older brother. These are smaller, and square, overall much more cereal like. Looks aren't everything though, so I delved in and started to crunch my way through them. But something was amiss. Sure, this cereal tastes like chocolate, and it's pretty nice too, but that's all it really tastes like, chocolate cereal. The pieces are small, and quite hollow, not nearly as substantial as original Cookie Crisp. There are chocolate chips contained in the pieces, but they're not really noticeable while chomping. I could also detect no hint of brownie flavour. 

So overall, these were not what I was expecting. These are less Cookie Crisp, more Coco Rocks or other generic puffy-ish chocolate cereal. They are nice, and they turn the milk chocolatey pretty damn fast, but they just don't seem to deliver on their promise. However, my kids devoured their bowls within about a minute, so these are probably a great purchase for children.

My rating: 3/5

Today's Review: Honeycomb Puffs

Yes, it's a new Sugar Puffs cereal. But not content with giving us crunchy honey waffles, or even the regular Sugar Puffs that are honey flavoured to start with, they need to give us Honeycomb Puffs, which are just regular Sugar Puffs with extra crunchy honeycomb pieces mixed in.

Those pieces sure do add a bit of flavour, but they are very crunchy, and provide a stark contrast to the regular soft Sugar Puffs. So whenever I got to a chunk, my teeth weren't really expecting it. Plus it doesn't really do much to add to the flavour, since Sugar Puffs taste like honey in the first place. So all in all I'm not too impressed. They're nice, but somewhat unnecessary, and a bit awkward to eat.

My rating: 3/5