Happy National Cereal Day! Y’know, the day that always sneaks up on me because it falls on such an innocuous date that I end up scrambling to write something for it around 7 at night.

I wish I could celebrate this National Cereal Day with better news, but you’ve probably noticed Cerealously posts have been pretty few and far between lately. The reason why is a little hard to admit, but nevertheless I must be honest: keeping up with this blog just isn’t as fun as it used to be. Don’t get me wrong, I still love cereal, but as with anything you do again and again for a long time, after nearly 8 years of cranking out wordy reviews for every new cereal to hit shelves, it’s gotten a little tiring—and often feels more like an obligation than a relaxing hobby. Not to mention, changes in my personal and professional spheres, as well as new writing and creative projects, have taken up a lot of my free time and energy.

So, sorry to say, but probably don’t expect an uptick in posting frequency any time soon. For Cerealously’s first 7 years or so, I almost never took more than a couple days between posts, so I hope you can understand why I need a little break—until I can confidently say that cereal blogging is fun again, rather than because I feel I have to. I won’t call this a formal hiatus, since I’m sure I’ll pop in with a review or two now and again, but I nevertheless look forward to returning refreshed and hungry when the time is right. My deepest thanks to all of you, long-time readers and newcomers alike. If it weren’t for you all, I would’ve stopped years ago. Be sure to sign up for email updates through the site’s sidebar if you’d like to be immediately notified when I make my grand return.

Rest assured, though: I’ll still be doing The Empty Bowl and posting cereal news etc. on my Twitter. Again, it’s all about time, rather than a lack of subject matter passion, and recording a podcast or shooting off a tweet is way easier than a 700-word blog post.

That said, I’d feel bad leaving you on National Cereal Day with only a sad little “see ya later”—that’d be like getting broken up with on Valentine’s Day. So let’s round up a handful of exciting cereal-aisle developments from the past week or so, shall we?

Happy #NationalCerealDay!! There's another new Cheerios variety on the way: VANILLA SPICE pic.twitter.com/VbPtbDO7LU

— Cerealously 🥛🥣 (@cerealouslynet) March 7, 2023

Hot (and sweet) off the presses is Vanilla Spice Cheerios, which will presumably be joining the even more auspicious Frosted Lemon Cheerios on shelves soon. It’s unclear whether this is purely a mix of vanilla and cinnamon (because why wouldn’t they just call it that?) or if other spices will be involved, but after the similar-sounding tepidity of Honey Vanilla Cheerios and the esophageally incisive CinnaFuego Toast Crunch, I hope Vanilla Spice Cheerios can strike a happy medium of intrigue and intensity.

Lucky Charms are joining the General Mills Minis lineup! pic.twitter.com/RGIL0wWuwy

— Cerealously 🥛🥣 (@cerealouslynet) March 1, 2023

Next up is a new addition to the General Mills MCU (Miniaturized Cereal Universe). Lucky Charms are shrinking down, and while tiny colorful marbits sound very cute and toothsome, I’m a bit weary about GM choosing a corn base for the mini non-Charm pieces. Corn has long been a thorn in the side of limited-edition Lucky Charms varieties that inexplicably swap out the dense oat pieces that made the OG LC so iconic for hollow and bland corny impostors, and these Minis are no exception. I expect these to be just okay—and I feel the same about Cocoa Puffs Minis, which are also coming, according to Cereal Life (who you should follow because he’s got a way better inside scoop on cereal news nowadays than I do, anyway).

 

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A post shared by Cereal Life | Ami (@cereallife)

And speaking of Cereal Life, he’s got the exclusive scoop on the next Toast Crunch variety: Tres Leches Toast Crunch! Quite frankly, I have no idea what this is going to taste like, especially coming hot off the heels of last year’s Dulce de Leche Toast Crunch. Sure, I know Tres Leches and Dulce de Leche are very different desserts, but at least Dulce de Leche has a distinct caramelization to play off of. What is Tres Leches going to taste like? Cinnamon Toast Crunch and milk? Whether you eat it with milk or not (and would that in fact make it Cuatro Leches?)? I suppose Sugar Cookie Toast Crunch has already made a name for itself by essentially just being a sugarier, butterier Cinnamon Toast Crunch, so I won’t write off Tres Leches just yet.

Alright, that’s it from me for now. Wishing you and yours a wonderful National Cereal Day and another big thanks for reading. Again, please see this as a vacation for me, rather than a departure. I’ll still be active on Twitter, your podcast feed, and in the hearts of cereal lovers everywhere. Until the time comes when we can all share a verbose breakfast review here together again: stay crunchy, y’all!