This post contains a chronological listing of the 40 CEREALS portion of the 1970 Kiki Project, January 9, 2010 – January 8, 2011 edition.
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40. Kellogg’s Mini Wheats, Original (white) Frosting – Would you have guessed this cereal for the last one of the “40 Cereals?!” A bit of background: I can define my morning breakfast cereals during my growing-up years in terms of Cereal Eras: primary school was such 1970’s staples as Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes or Shreddies; Grades 6-8 were all about the MINI WHEAT. I always loved the white sugar flavour better than the brown sugar type (those were the only two options then, now I see there are a couple more). And I always had exactly the same number every morning and turned them over so they were all white-side up. And I’d finger through the box trying to find the ones with the most sugar topping. In High School, I was all over Honey Nut Cheerios (which was #20, below). So in thinking about which cereal to choose for my 40th cereal, the Mini Wheat seemed the perfect nostalgic choice. Almost 30 years later, what do I think? Well, they’re smaller than they were in the ’70’s (we used to break them half, I remember) but the sugary coating topping the crispy wheat squares tastes exactly like I remember, and immediately brought back memories of happy childhood breakfasts, and filled my tummy with warm fuzzies.
39. Quaker Oatmeal Squares – these Big Daddies (bigger’n Corn Bran Squares, #17, below) will fill your tummy nicely! I’ve *stolen* baggies of these from Dad in the past, and used by the handful, thrown in with 3-4 other cereals – totally awesome. I don’t know if they would make a great cereal all on their own…they’re a big bite, for sure, very dense and crunch-astical. I combined them with #36, 37, 38, below and the mixture was A+ delightful! They don’t really taste like oatmeal to me but guess they get their name because the first ingredient is oats?..anyway, these are seriously delicious.
38. Nature’s Path Organic Crunchy Vanilla Sunrise, gluten free – after totally falling in love with #22, Nature’s Path Crunchy Maple Sunrise, I decided to try the vanilla, hoping the five star-yum factor would repeat itself…sorry to say, but nope, Maple knocks down Vanilla in the Battle of the Sunrises! Trying to put my finger on what zowie-ness is missing…either it’s that the vanilla tastes a little fake, or that the rest of the grains are not that exciting. The texture and crunch are good though. Mehhh…I’ll for sure eat up this box (and the Whole O’s described in #37, below) but they likely won’t be tossed in my grocery cart again any time soon (unlike Pufffffffins!!!!…)
37. Nature’s Path Organic Whole O’s, gluten-free – to be blunt (or short n sweet) these round little nuggets are BOR-ing!!! they’re a crunchier Cheerio, that’s the most concise description. Rather nondescript in taste, ie bland. Definitely need to be layered up; these are just “bowl fillers.” Trust me: save yourself over $1.00 per box and get ye some Cheerios instead, if you need some “O’s” in your bowl!
36. Nature’s Path Organic Oaty Bites – let’s call these “The Rich Man’s Crispix” – I don’t buy these on a regular basis (as evidenced by the fact that they are Cereal #36 of this little cereal project that started in January) because a rather small box is likely double the price of a box of Crispix! (see Crispix review in #6, below). But, yum, the price is worth the indulgence. These babies stay crispy right to the end of the bowl. They’re a bit sweeter than Crispix (thanks to organic sugar cane juice) and make an excellent mid-layer cereal: try a crispy rice cereal base, throw on some Oaty Bites and top with a granola or flake cereal – excellence, my friends, excellence!
35. Kashi Honey Almond Flax Flavour – I KNOW!!! You don’t have to say it…I bought another Kashi cereal (see my break-up comments, below, after cereal #30, if you missed it). I’m red with embarrassment as I type away…but I decided to give one more chance to Kashi. And maybe we did just need a break!…cuz I can highly recommend this cereal to you! Was surprised upon first pour with the serious CHUNKS of granola-esque pieces of cereal. Like cereal bombs, I kid you not. Fragile teeth? Go not with this one. But the granola clusters are delicious, not too sweet, and the sliced almonds add even more crunch and flavour. Was great mixed with the plain Corn Puffs. Very filling – a hearty, meal-ish type cereal. Kashi, we are back on good terms.
34. Kellogg’s Special K – (thanks, Chris and Ana!) Sadly, for me, Special K is just not so very special. It’s on par with Rice Krispies and those two are slightly below Corn Flakes in terms of being contenders for Most Boring Cereals on the Face of This Earth. That being said, to its credit, Special K is a great social mixer with other cereals. Since it has no taste :), it adds texture to a mixed bowl of flakes/puffs/squares/pops. Love when I can try cereals at Chris and Ana’s Cereal Bar – I get a One Bowl Wonder at no cost! 🙂
33. Post Honey Bunches of Oats – I’ve seen this box at Chris and Ana’s a few times, so that was my motivation to try this cereal. And I like it! It reminds me of #32, below, Just Right in that there are a few different grains (corn, wheat, oats, rice) and reminds me a bit of #22, below, Crunchy Maple Sunrise because like the maple in CMS, the honey adds a sweet taste. An extra mark over Just Right because the little granola clusters add to the overall pleasing taste and texture. I won’t mind eating this box up at all (haha, I knew I was safe in trying this cereal because if for some reason I didn’t like it – Kashi, anyone?! – I could pass the box along to Chris and Ana!)
32. Kellogg’s Just Right – As stated, below, this cereal is a perfect pairing with the Corn Puffs. The two go in perfect harmony and need no other accompaniments. With my Trial Separation from Kashi in full effect (see below), I decided to go back to Kellogg’s as they really do make good cereal. A couple of months ago, both my massage therapist and BFF Debbie mentioned Just Right within days of each other, which I found a funny coincidence. So that was my motivation to pick up this box. And I am glad I did! A very nice cereal! I like the blend of grains and the touch of sweetness. I was surprised by the small pieces of cereal – looks like someone took a rolling pin to the cereal, then boxed it. Won’t mind eating this one til the box is gone.
31. Nature’s Path Organic Corn Puffs – Corn. Puffed. That is this cereal. It’s like having a bowl of popcorn for your cereal, except the puffs are round, not exploded-shaped like real popcorn. This one is an excellent base-building cereal as it only adds a supple taste to your bowl, and also adds a pleasing texture for your mouth. Had gotten away from these Corn Puffs for a couple of years – glad I re-introduced them with #32, above…
After a bit of inner reflection, I realized it was time to sit down with Kashi and have a chat. Sadly, I am just not feeling the love. It’s not you, it’s me, I informed the bewildered one. (“But I’m so popular! I’m featured in your favourite magazines!,” was his stunned reply). I remained firm, though, telling him I think it’s best if we take a break for a while, let me see others out there, play the field a bit more. I know, I know, I said…I was going to move on to your Go Lean Crunch, but buddy, I just can’t do it right now. So many other options are out there…and you really have disappointed me – you’re a bit boring, a bit hard, just not my type…I do hope we can still be friends, and maybe in a couple months time, I’ll wanna see you again…but for now, I’m leaving you behind. Please don’t hate me.
30. Kashi High Fibre Flakes & Granola – Now that’s more like it, Kashi people! Improvement noted over Kashi Go Lean (#29, below). I decided to give Kashi another try and was much more pleased with the Flakes and Granola. This cereal has three main components: flakes that are the shape and size of say, Corn Flakes, but much crispier, crunchier, and bran-like. Secondly, I recognized some of the cereals from the Go Lean – these little stick things and these little box things (which were good parts of Go Lean) and thirdly, we have tiny granola clusters – not too big and not too many of them. This cereal is great with milk, and would be a super yogurt topper – anywhere you need some crunch (ice cream? waffles?).
29. Kashi Go Lean – I finally got around to trying this cereal…like 5 years after I intended to try it! (Always see the ads in Runner’s World, for example). Gotta tell ya, though…disappointed. 😦 It reminds me of #22, below, Crunchy Maple Sunrise, but CMS was wayyyy better (likely because it was sweeter – haha!). Go Lean is OK…but I’m not swooning over it as I have been with some other picks, lately. It’s definitely got crunch and I will for sure finish the box, but I’m on the fence as to whether I would buy it again. On the positive, I sure feel virtuous eating it, what with all the different grains on the ingredient list. And at 13 g of protein per serving, the nutrition factor is a swaying vote in its favour.
28. Barbara’s Puffins (Cinnamon Flavour) – These Puffins are smaller, similar in size to Original Flavour. Again, knocked my socks off. Now be aware that the cinnamon flavour is very pronounced. Combined with the Special K Cinnamon Pecan (#26, below), it was a Cinnamon Spectacle. However, unlike #18, below (Cinnamon Toast Crunch), the sugary sweetness factor is less in the Puffins. And it’s not missed. Crunchy feeling lasts til the very last bite. Mmmmmm….so happy with the Puffins discovery.
27. Barbara’s Puffins (Peanut Butter Flavour) – Puffins, dear Puffins, where have you been all my life? How could I have gotten to 40 years old and never have known about you? So I could not resist, and had to try my Puffins Threesome (see #24, below). Totally. Awesome. The cereal itself was a surprise when I opened the box: the cereal cubes are HUGE – like each cube is 3x an Original Puffins. The peanut butter flavour is divine: present but not overpowering, not sickeningly sweet. Fantabulous crunch factor. Easily tops my chart of favourites. What a find.
26. Kellogg’s Special K Cinnamon Pecan – have you seen how many variations of Special K there are now? I hadn’t noticed – where have I been?! I decided to skip the original Special K in favour of something I haven’t tried before (knowing that regular Special K goes in the same family as Rice Krispies and Corn Flakes). I highly, highly recommend this version! The larger-than-regular-Special K flakes are super crunchy and stay that way, even when milky; there are bits of pecans, but not too many; I love the pronounced cinnamon flavour. This cereal worked well with both the Puffins (#24, below) and the Millet Puffs (#23, below). Definitely would repeat-buy this one.
25. Nature’s Path Organic Honey’d Corn Flakes (gluten-free) – although the “organic” and “gluten-free” labels are affixed to this cereal box, that’s not really why I bought them – that’s just an added bonus. I thought they’d pair well with the Puffins (below) – and they did. Because of the honey coating they do not become soggy cardboard like regular Corn Flakes. The honey flavour does not overpower – just adds a bit of sweetness. Very pleased with this selection.
24. Barbara’s Puffins (Original Flavour) – big score! loved these little square cereal pieces! Similar to Corn Bran (#17, below) but even tastier because they are not quite as sweet. Definitely make a good first impression and the happiness continues to the end of the bowl. When I picked these up at Super Centre, I saw two other flavours of Puffins; am very tempted to get those and make a mix of all three….
23. Nature’s Path Organic Millet Puffs – after some trial and error, mixing and matching, concluded that #22 (below) needed something completely Plain Jane to accompany it. Hence the purchase of the Millet Puffs. Perfect-o! These are about as all-natural (ingredient list: organic millet) as you can get and are the perfect counter-balance to the Maple Sunrise cereal. A rather bland cereal with only a bit of, perhaps, nutty taste (?) on their own, I think these would also be good on top of oatmeal and peanut butter, or mixed in with yogurt and/or fruit.
22. Nature’s Path Crunchy Maple Sunrise, organic, gluten-free – I wanted a granola-y type cereal to use as a crunchy and sweet topping for an apply-crispy type concoction I made (not a “40 Recipes” as it was a single serving thing-y done in the micro). This cereal was great for this purpose! Major crunch, multiple textures and flavours – a real delight. The maple flavour is quite pronounced, maybe a bit too much?? And if you had a bowl of this, the base layer would need to be something very simple like wheat puffs or millet. It’s $4.99 for a 300 g box (ie small) so not a cheap buy, but quality trumps quantity in this case.
21. Quaker Regular Instant Oatmeal – a hot cereal! and not a sugary cereal! can you believe your eyes?! 🙂 Yummy yummy in my tummy if you prepare it this way: one pac of oatmeal with 1/3 cup water, nuked in the microwave. Add 1 T all-natural peanut butter, 1 T flax seeds and some blueberries. Let sit for a few minutes til the PB gets warm and goopy. Gobble up. I love this as a mid-morning filler-upper. (the oatmeal is pretty solid this way – add more water if you like a runnier hot cereal).
20. General Mills Honey Nut Cheerios – (thanks again, dad!) I think I had Honey Nut Cheerios every single morning of University (I lived at home). High School was the Mini-Wheats phase, if memory serves and then Uni was all about the Honey Nut (this was before I had multiple cereals in one bowl). Honey Nuts don’t mix nicely with other cereals either, really. They’re too sweet to play nicely with the sugary ones, but not sharp or unique enough to stand out from my base layer choices. Again, one sample will suffice for this year.
19. Post Shreddies – for some reason, I totally associate Shreddies with my Dad, I guess because we often had them in the house growing up, and dad still enjoys them to this day (where I got my sample serving for this project!). Shreddies are solid and filling. I find they mix better with non-sweet cereals like the oft-mentioned Corn Flakes and Rice Krispies than with sugary types. I never buy Shreddies myself, and one serving will be enjoyable yet sufficient.
18. General Mills Cinnamon Toast Crunch – I have never purchased this cereal in Canada. The last (and only) time I had these was during our trip to Moab, Utah in 2002. So this is genuinely a special treat, purchased just for the “40 Cereals” project. Very very rich in cinnamon taste – truly are like little sugar-cinnamon pieces of toast. Tend to overwhelm whatever else is in your bowl, so best with something simple (and tasteless, like Corn Flakes – haha!)
17. Quaker Corn Bran Squares – the ultimate prize winner for “Cereals That Hold Their Crunch.” These squares can’t get soggy – impossible! Corn Bran Squares make a good base-of-base layer – ie. UNDER something like Rice Krisipes or Corn Flakes, at the very bottom of your bowl. I can’t do these repeatedly, though. They are an “every once in a while” choice.
16. Post Honeycomb – I don’t think I even had a Honeycomb til I was about 35 years old! Anyone else remember the ads on TV in the ’70’s where they measured the Honeycombs with a ruler, just to show how B-I-G they are?! Too fun. Honeycomb + Corn Pops is a great combination…and they really are quite the mouthful, given the generous size of each. Yummy fun but not a regular purchase.
15. Kellogg’s Corn Pops – we never had sugar cereal in the house as kids. Except for vacations: then we would get the little 8 pack of variety cereals as a treat. Corn Pops was always the first choice, for me! Big, noisy, exuberantly crunchy. I love them as much for the happy memories they bring back as I do for the sweet taste.
14. General Mills Cheerios (thanks for sharing with Aunti, Emily!) – more substantial as a bottom/base layer cereal than #4, 6, 8, or 9 (below). Cheerios feature pleasant mouth-feel as you’re eating them, don’t get soggy, and don’t detract from other cereals’ flavours. Can’t call them a fave, and I never buy a whole box, but I can see why they are popular. Definitely a better choice for kids than most cold breakfast cereals available!
13. Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes – Tony the Tiger may think “they’re GREAATTTT!!!!” but I beg to differ. PC Frosted Flakes win over Tony any day. Tony’s version have a shiny, sugary sheen to them and the flakes are a bit smaller. PC Flakes are a bit thicker and the coating, while still sugary, just doesn’t taste as cheap.
12. Kellogg’s Rice Krispies, Cocoa** – Ewwww! I really dislike chocolate cereals, in general. The flavour is just too intense – really a Dessert Cereal. And your milk turns brown which is just generally displeasing to the eye. But I had to try these in order to add to the Krispies Collection!
11. Kellogg’s Mulitgrain Krispies with Honey Flavour** – These are a different shape – larger “kernels.” Not bad. Mixed well with the Vanilla Flavour ones (note: I give Kellogg’s bonus points for spelling FLAVOUR the Canadian way on the box – very good!) Would not buy again.
10. Kellogg’s Rice Krispies with Vanilla Flavour** – Not bad. Not great. Very sweet. Same size and shape as original Rice Krispies. Would not buy again.
9. Kellogg’s Rice Krispies ** – Another base layer cereal that works well with anything added on top. You know how there are the Original Six hockey teams? Rice Krispies must be an Original Six cereal. I remember it well from childhood. This is not a favourite cereal – it’s bland and loses its crunch faster than Corn Flakes, for example.
**=The Grand Slam of Rice Krispies. I saw all these variations on the shelf, and had to do a Grand Slam taste trial. So over the course of a few days, I mixed n matched combinations before drawing the conclusions that are noted, above. Who knew there were so many Krispies?!
8. Kellogg’s Corn Flakes (donated by Dad) – Dad says I am wrong, that these Kellogg’s Corn Flakes are better than PC Corn Flakes (see #4, below). I prefer PC because I find they hold their crunch very well; Kellogg’s Corn Flakes become mushy cardboard very quickly. Glad I don’t have to use up a whole box – thanks for the small donation, Dad!
7. Kellogg’s Vector (donated by Chris and Ana) – I have a love/hate relationship with this one…I love the taste, the crunch…with this one, it has to be the only sweet cereal in the bowl as its taste and texture is so dominating. The problem is that it doesn’t like me so much – leaves me bloated if I have more than a serving at a time…the soy? So I choose rarely but eye longingly…
6. Kellogg’s Crispix (thanks again, Chris and Ana) – a versatile cereal: works well as a base layer upon which to add The Triumvirate (see #1,2,3, below) OR works equally well as a top layer over Rice Krispies and Corn Flakes. Crunch stays right to the very last bite.
5. Kellogg’s Guardian – a nice addition from time to time, but not a favourite; very sweet…but it has psyllium! maple flavour a bit too strong for long term enjoyment
4. President’s Choice Corn Flakes – better than Kellogg’s, in my opinion; will set up taste test at a future date
3. President’s Choice Frosted Flakes*
2. Quaker Cap’n Crunch*
1. Post Alpha Bits*
*= These three cereals are my triumphing triumvirate. Nothing. beats. this. combination. Yup: no redeeming nutritional value at all, sugar content through the roof…but the taste! the crunch! the flavours! yummy yummy yummy. My go-to, must have, bar-none favourites.
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