Category Archives: Specials

17

Sep. ’15

Special: Spooned & Spotted — Mini-Wheats Pumpkin Spice Cereal

image1Pop 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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYleD8C4ECI

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.

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07

Sep. ’15

Special: Cereal Time with Gabe Fonseca — Alpha-Bits Cereal

Even though many students have Labor Day off of school, it’s time for a spelling lesson.

Or maybe just another cereal lesson. That’s right, cereal knowledge bomb-dropper Gabe Fonseca returns once more with the latest in his Cereal Time YouTube series, which seeks to teach the masses about what really matters in life.

Who needs accounting and mechanical engineering when you have cereal? After all, history’s many popular cereal brands can be seen as oat-based, sugar-coated symbols of the world’s evolving cultural zeitgeist. Or you can just see them as delicious.

And this week’s focus certainly has evolved. Alpha-Bits cereal has seen many mascots over the years, from a postman, to a dog, all the way to the Jackson 5. Although, as many have pointed out, the normalization of Alpha-Bits over the years into a bland, personality-less cereal could be seen as more of a devolution.

Oh well, maybe you can still use the grainy oats to teach your horse how to read. Mister Ed 2015, anyone?

And you know the drill: for more cereal action, check out Gabe’s other Cereal Time videos, and check out his quality Tweets, as well. Where else can you find badass Star Wars sneaker glamour shots?

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01

Sep. ’15

Special: Cereal Time with Gabe Fonseca — Addams Family Cereal

Have you been Cousin It-ching to relive another classic cereal?

Well the latest in cereal-ology scholar Gabe Fonseca’s Cereal Time YouTube series is ready to scratch that nostalgic itch. As regular readers (or viewers) know, Gabe’s series of videos evoke the spirit of childhood through quick cuts, bright colors, and even cartoon clips. And unlike most cereals today which have done away with the concept, this Cereal Time video has a prize inside!

This installment covers Addam’s Family cereal, which creeped onto store shelves in 1991 and lasted until 1993, as Gabe details in the video. Gabe pours an actual box of the maroon and pale cereal pieces, but doesn’t eat any. Like many Addams Family characters, this cereal looks a little too…undead. At least Ralston didn’t try to recreate the texture of Cousin It with the oat pieces.

Be sure to check the link in the video for a chance to win an actual Cousin It flashlight premium that paired with the cereal back in the spooky, scary ’90s (*cue ghost voices saying “oooooohhhhh!”*). Also check out Gabe’s Twitter and watch all of his other Cereal Time videos.

They really are a scream, I promise!

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31

Aug. ’15

Special: Spooned & Spotted — Froot Loops Bloopers Cereal

image1Welcome to the first installment of “Spooned & Spotted,” a new feature that spotlights submissions from Cerealously readers regarding what tasty or noteworthy cereals they’ve eaten or seen in stores. We almost called it “Spoon-ted,” but that sounds like the kind of euphemism that you’d look up on Urban Dictionary and immediately regret afterwards.

Today’s cereal was spotted by reader Marc P. (thanks, Marc!). It’s Froot Loops Bloopers, and it puts the familiar tropical explosion flavor of the Froot loops you know and love into a much more Crunchberry-esque shape.

Are these meant to be the factory rejects that got caught in the loopification machine, and now Kellogg’s just wants to profit off the runts of the litter?

Is this merely a nefarious conspiracy to make more cereals in shapes that will scrape the roofs of our mouths?

Only Toucan Sam can know for sure. And as he cradles his technicolor Dragon Balls on the front of the box (which have apparently given him the messiah-like ability to walk on a tsunami of milk), we can only assume that he won’t be spilling the beans on that particular secret.

While Froot Loops Bloopers have actually been around since late last year, Marc stumbled upon them for the first time at his local Target while hunting down the new Pumpkin Puffins cereal. It just goes to show you that sometimes the most interesting cereals are hiding right underneath your nose. Keep hunting, cereal seekers, and as Toucan Sam himself always says…

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.

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26

Aug. ’15

Special: Cereal Time with Gabe Fonseca — Golden Grahams

♬ Oh those Golden Graha—

We interrupt this catchy jingle for a special Cerealously report! The breaking news has just rolled in that cereal visionary Gabe Fonseca has released the latest in his informative Cereal Time YouTube series, which brings fun facts and history about a different cereal each week directly to to your doorstep. Err…computer screen, I mean.

Throw away those expensive textbooks, kids: this is the last educational reference you’ll ever need.

This week’s bowl is the delightfully flavored and textured Golden Grahams. As Gabe accurately states, Golden Grahams have been underrated for too long, so it’s nice to see them finally get the spotlight. For whatever reason, GG always plays second fiddle to its swirly brother, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, which gets all the flavor spin-offs (Peanut Butter Toast Crunch, French Toast Crunch, etc.). Golden Grahams, meanwhile, gets nothing. You lose, Golden Grahams: good day sir!

I, personally, would love to see a s’mores variant of Golden Grahams, or perhaps a seasonal pumpkin spice. But it’s as the saying goes, I guess: always the bridesmaid, Golden Grahams, never the cinnamon-swirled bride.

(Though I will argue that delightfully lick-able ridges trump swirls and powder every time)

As before, enjoy Gabe’s video (how else will you learn about what is perhaps the cutest and most obscure cereal mascot of all time?), and be sure to check out the rest of the Cereal Time series, as well as Gabe’s Twitter profile.

We now return to your previously scheduled jingle.

—ms. Graham cracker tastin’ cereal! ♪

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17

Aug. ’15

Special: Cereal Time with Gabe Fonseca — Hidden Treasures Cereal

If you’re looking for a nostalgic way to pass the afternoon (or at least a part of it), then point your eyeballs at the latest in breakfast virtuoso Gabe Fonseca’s YouTube series Cereal Time. Amongst a sea of cat videos, old Chocolate Rain parodies, and long-forgotten Harlem Shake compilations, the Cereal Time series is a real hidden treasure.

And speaking of hidden treasures (call me Paul Blart, because that was one clean “segue”), Gabe’s newest video discusses the much beloved Hidden Treasures cereal.

Appearing in 1993 and disappearing in 1995, Hidden Treasures proved that the good sometimes do die young. But there’s no need to cry; we’re sure H.T. the Robot, mascot for Hidden Treasures, is chilling in a milk-filled Jacuzzi with Sprinkle Genie in the cereal afterlife.

Perhaps General Mills will someday pull a French Toast Crunch and rerelease Hidden Treasures, but for now, the best we can do is try and relive the unique sense of surprise afforded by the cereal. If you live in the U.K., perhaps you can try your hand at the 4-part chocolate gamble of Krave Choco Roulette.

Otherwise, step right up, step right up and create a bowl of Cerealously’s Mini-Wheats Roulette, a cereal dreamt up after 5 minutes of lazy ideation!

Just pour a bowl of:

1/8 Frosted Mini-Wheats Touch of Fruit Raspberry

1/8 Frosted Mini-Wheats Touch of Fruit Raisin

6/8 Frosted Mini-Wheats (Original)

Will your bite be filled with a burst of fruit flavor? Will it just be a crunchy, wheat-y stack? The anticipation must be killing you!

Okay, so maybe this isn’t that close to Hidden Treasures, but hey: we tried! As usual, be sure to check out the rest of the Cereal Time series, and check Gabe out on Twitter.

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11

Aug. ’15

Special: Cereal Time with Gabe Fonseca — Frosted Mini-Wheats

Just in time for the exciting news about this autumn’s Pumpkin Spice Mini-Wheats, the latest installment in Gabe Fonseca’s wholesome and bowl-some Cereal Time series covers Frosted Mini-Wheats: everyone’s favorite sugary tumbleweeds (I mean that in the best way possible).

From their ginormous origins as mammoth wheat bricks, to their progressive shrinking into today’s bite-sized classics, all the way to the explosion of flavor options—including strawberry, blueberry, maple brown sugar, and the adorable Little Bites—these hearty squares have had quite the journey.

Not to mention they have the best mascot of all time. I would pay good money for a Mini-Wheat action figure (now with Kung-Fu fiber grip!).

As usual, be sure to check out Gabe on Twitter and watch all of his Cereal Time videos here. They’re just as addictive as a bowl of Frosted Mini-Wheats!

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04

Aug. ’15

Special: Cereal Time with Gabe Fonseca — OJ’s Cereal

The latest video in the wonderful Cereal Time series, brought to you by cereal chieftain Gabe Fonseca details a forgotten gem from the days of cereal past (that sounds like a better name for an X-Men movie, now doesn’t it?).

It’s OJ’s cereal, one of few cereals with a distinct orange flavoring. Perhaps this flavor oddity is what made it disappear from store shelves. To quote Hunter S. Thompson, it was “too weird to live, too rare to die,” which is why it will survive in the memory of fans everywhere.

What cereal will Gabe cover next? Feel free to post a comment below with your favorite retro cereal while you wait to find out. And in the mean time, you can check out Gabe’s other videos here.

Personally, we here at Cerealously are hoping for a look back at PB&J cereal, a cereal so mythic and rare (it never reached mass market), it is only discussed by cereal historians in hushed tones and nervous whispers.

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