Tag Archives: chocolate

Review: Limited Edition Dunkin’ Donuts Chocolate Mocha Pop-Tarts

We were so close.

When Dunkin’ Donuts announced their partnership with Pop-Tarts, I thought it was a no-brainer that we’d get a Jelly Doughnut Pop-Tart, complete with a fried, yeasty crust and a fruity or custardy filling. But alas, my hopes were squeezed cleanly out of me like a Boston Cream doughnut in an industrial vice grip: instead of any Inception-ed “baked good inside of a baked good” flavor, Kellogg’s and Dunkin’ Donuts gave us Chocolate Mocha Pop-Tarts and Vanilla Latte Pop-Tarts.

We were so close that I nearly leaned out an open window and crooned “we could’ve had it all!” in my best Adele voice.

But I won’t complain, because Chocolate Mocha and Vanilla Latte are pretty darn good consolation prizes. And since I already love Vanilla Latte Pop-Tarts enough to consider working them into my annual family Christmas card, Chocolate Mocha will surely make me forget about the world’s cruel lack of Cruller-flavored toaster pastries.

At least I hope so. I’ll keep my emergency Adele wig on standby, just in case. Continue reading →

Posted by dan g.. Categories: Reviews. Tags: 8 rating, chocolate, kelloggs, pop-tarts. 4 Comments

Dec. ’16

Classic Review: Double Chocolate Krave Cereal

It’s been a relatively slow year for new holiday cereals, so I figured I’d celebrate the coziest time of year by revisiting one of my personal cozy cocoa classics. After all, it is the season for reconnecting with loved ones.

I’ve mentioned in my previous Krave reviews that the cereal is definitely divisive: most people either adore it (hi, I’m Dan: nice to meet you) or think it tastes like dog food pellets stuffed with expired chocolate pudding. But perhaps in this time of camaraderie and giving, we can give the Krave civil war a rest. Because I like to think that Double Chocolate is Krave’s most universally palatable flavor.

Why is that? Well I’m glad you asked. Pour yourself a glass of chocolate milk, chocolate eggnog, or questionably stale chocolate pudding and let me tell you. Continue reading →

Posted by dan g.. Categories: Reviews. Tags: 8 rating, chocolate, kelloggs, krave. 1 Comment

Oct. ’16

Spooned & Spotted (Europe): Nestlé Lion Cereal

Cerealously’s European readers are probably familiar with Lion Cereal, but hungry Americans like me are roaring with jealousy, because an entire Atlantic Ocean separates us from chocolatey, caramel-y breakfast happiness.

Longtime Spooned & Spotter Marc P. sent in the above photo of a Lion Cereal box he procured on a trip to Copenhagen, and if I could reach through the Internet and snatch a spoonful of it from him, you better believe I’d be elbow deep in my monitor right now.

Lion Cereal has been a European favorite since the early 2000s, when Nestlé introduced it as a loose cereal version of their classic Lion Bar, a wafered chocolate bar stuffed with crisped cereal and caramel. Lion Cereal contains chocolate and caramel-flavored crisps, too, which is a truly unique flavor that’s unheard of in American cereal aisles. I mean sure, you could mix Superman Cereal with Batman Cereal, blend Cap’n Crunch’s Caramel Popcorn Crunch with Chocolatey Crunch, or just crumble Chocolatey Caramel Pop-Tarts into a bowl with milk, but none of those have a beastly lion mascot.

Just moody superheroes, an old ship captain with eyebrows on his hat, and a trip to the dentist.

Hopefully I can find an international grocer around me that has Lion Cereal imported. Otherwise, I might just splurge and scour eBay for a box. This might be dangerous, though: if Lion Cereal is Europe’s best exclusive cereal and Oreo O’s are the cereal pride of Asia, then bringing both into the same household with Waffle Crisp—America’s best exclusive cereal—could bring too much talismanic cereal energy together in one place.

I’m just trying to eat a balanced breakfast here, not tear a hole in the space-time continuum.

A big thanks to Marc for sending in this photo. If you’d like to see your own picture or thoughts featured on Cerealously’s next “Spooned & Spotted” post, all you have to do is head over to our submissions page or email us at cerealously.net@gmail.com.

Posted by dan g.. Categories: Specials. Tags: caramel, chocolate, spooned & spotted. 4 Comments

Sep. ’16

Review: Oreo O’s Cereal (South Korea)

In the distant future, when all food is eaten in pill form and my great-grandkids ask me to describe the magic of breakfast cereal, I’ll oil my cyborg jaw motor and tell them about Oreo O’s.

I’ll tell them about the 10 glorious years America spent eating those cookies ‘n’ creme flavored rings. I’ll tell them about Oreo O’s 1997 introduction, orange-sprinkled Halloween Oreo O’s from 2000, and 2002’s marshmallowy Extreme Creme Taste Oreo O’s. I’ll captivate them with tales of sunglasses-wearing milk glob mascots who closely resembled PSY from Gangnam Style.

Then there’ll be a brief intermission as I explain what the heck Gangnam Style was. Seriously: I don’t know how it got over 2 billion views either, children of the future.

Then I’ll tell them about the tragic 2007 discontinuation of Oreo O’s. I’ll pause to build suspense, and then I’ll tell them about the legal loophole that allowed South Korean food manufacturer Dongsuh Companies Inc. to keep producing Oreo O’s as the rest of the world mourned the loss of milk’s favorite cereal. With my own eyes glistening, I’ll tell them about the E. coli contamination that forced Dongsuh to recall Oreo O’s in 2014, as well as the two-year Oreo O’s drought that followed—known globally as “The Second Dark Ages.”

But then I’ll finish with the story of Fall 2016, when an unexpected tweet from a Korean food account alerted me that the dawn of a new age was upon us. Continue reading →

Posted by dan g.. Categories: Reviews. Tags: 10 rating, chocolate, marshmallows, oreo o's, post. 31 Comments

Sep. ’16

Review: General Mills Count Chocula Monster Cereal (2016)

I feel like I’m giving a toast at Count Chocula’s wedding. I mean, what is there left to say about an old friend who has been by my side nearly my whole life? Am I right, folks?

I definitely remember having a box of the Count by my elementary school-aged side during those otherwise dismal autumns that heralded the return of homework and playground bullies. And this fanged friend reliably returned year after year like a bloodthirsty Santa Claus. It doesn’t matter that General Mills’ annual Monster Cereal news in late August is like a new Fast & Furious film announcement: we all may know it’s coming, but we still collectively lose our minds anyway.

The only bad part about Count Chocula & Friends’ yearly visit is that they must at some point leave us. And even though the Monsters’ departure from shelves is more of a slow bleed out (I’ve found Boo Berry in close-out stores through late July of the next year) than an abrupt goodbye, Monster-less November mornings are nonetheless marred by a few milky crocodile tears.

So this night’s for you, Count Chocula: may your marriage to the Countess be happy. But enough sentimentality—just because I’ve reviewed Count Chocula cereal before doesn’t mean I can’t make it my fall tradition. Who knows, maybe I’ll taste something I missed before.

Let’s free these chocolate ghosts from their plastic sarcophagus. Continue reading →

Posted by dan g.. Categories: Reviews. Tags: 8 rating, chocolate, count chocula, general mills, halloween, monster cereals. 3 Comments

Jul. ’16

Review: Kellogg’s Cocoa Krispies Treats with M&M’s Minis

Whether it’s ice cream, cappuccinos, pancakes, or Grandpa’s old 1972 Buick, everything’s better when you cover it in chocolate.

Heck, I was even gonna give you my complete, 5000+ item list of things that taste better when slathered in creamy cocoa, but I couldn’t read it because I covered the list in chocolate. Totally worth it, though: this list tastes delicious.

Rice Krispies Treats are no exception to the rule. Kellogg’s “new” Cocoa Krispies Treats—which have probably been released before—come in original and “with Milk Chocolate M&M’s Minis” varieties. Since that’s like IHOP selling Plain Waffles and Belgian Waffles with Maple Syrup for the same price, I predict that boxes of normal Cocoa Krispies Treats will slowly gather dust on grocery shelves until the zombie apocalypse, at which point they’ll be used and traded as valuable currency.

But I’m not here to talk about disappointing, underachieving, and plain Cocoa Krispies Treats. Today is all about his Harvard-bound, candy morsel-stuffed older brother. Continue reading →

Posted by dan g.. Categories: Reviews. Tags: 6 rating, cereal bars, chocolate, kelloggs, rice krispies. Leave a comment

Jul. ’16

Review: Nature’s Path Organic Qi’a Superfood Cocoa Coconut Superflakes Cereal

Qi’a?

You mean like that car company? Or are you talking about those cute ceramic pets that grow plants on their backs? Oh, wait, you must be thinking of “iQi’a,” the popular Swedish furniture and meatball emporium.

Forgive me for the bad puns, but those were the things that came to my mind as I tried pronouncing the name of Qi’a Cocoa Coconut aloud in the cereal aisle. I’m still not sure I’m saying it right, and since it took me 3 months just to wrap my tongue around the correct pronunciation of quinoa, I might just quite while I’m ahead.

Nature’s Path Organic’s current Qi’a line of power bars and oatmeal also includes three new Superflakes cereals (the other two are Coconut Chia and Honey Chia). They’re expensive, so I had to be selective in my choice. I figured Cocoa Coconut would make for the most unique cereal, since chocolate and coconut is rarely seen in cereal ever since my doctor told me that “eating fudge-dipped macaroons in milk isn’t part of this complete breakfast.”

I guess he skipped the med school lesson on “how to diagnose a good time.” Continue reading →

Posted by dan g.. Categories: Reviews. Tags: 4 rating, chocolate, coconut, nature's path, qi'a. 19 Comments

Jul. ’16

Review: Nature Valley Chocolate Oat Bites Cereal

Please, oh please, Nature Valley Chocolate Oat Bites: you have to be better than Attack of the Clones.

Let me explain what I mean by this. I recently came to the conclusion that my experience with General Mills’ new 2016 line of Nature Valley cereals closely parallels my experience watching the Star Wars films.

Nature Valley’s “original trilogy” provided an exciting plot arc. First, Chocolate Oat Clusters brought an innovative breath of fresh air to the breakfast table. With its fudgy decadence and rich clusters, Chocolate Oat Clusters gave me A New Hope that grown-up cereal could be fun.

Then Baked Oat Bites Struck Back. With layers of sour cream doughnut complexity, it improved on Cracklin’ Oat Bran’s seemingly un-improvable formula. Finally, Honey Oat Clusters happily rounded out the saga with a Return to its predecessors’ doughnut-esque delightfulness, but it lacked a sense of cliffhanging, compelling intrigue.

I thought the fun was done there, but then Nature Valley announced two more cereals. The first, Raisin Oat Clusters, was a bit of a disappointment. It was less imaginative and more dry. And unlike the other movies, The Phantom Menace didn’t even taste like a bakery dessert!

Wait a minute—I think I mixed my metaphors there.

That’s a long-winded way of explaining how Chocolate Oat Bites—the newest Nature Valley cereal—has to break the cycle. Attack of the Clones may not have been the worst Star Wars film, but I sure wouldn’t want to watch it for breakfast every morning. Continue reading →

Posted by dan g.. Categories: Reviews. Tags: 9 rating, chocolate, general mills, nature valley. 7 Comments