Chocolate Doesn't Always Make it Better

I've said it before and I'm going to say it again - just because you CAN do something, doesn't mean you SHOULD do it.

This line of chocolate covered cereal is made by Nassau Candy and is carried by Walmart.  And it's pretty damn bad.

First up is Cinnamon Crunch:

If you love cinnamon crunch cereal, you might like this.  But you might also find yourself asking, "Why?  My cinnamon crunch cereal is really good.  Slathering it in chocolate doesn't really make it better.  Why do it?"

Honey Toasted O's:

Ewwww- these taste completely stale.  Completely stale cereal coated in chocolate.  Gross.

Fruity O's (Fruit Loop knock-offs covered in chocolate):

This is just wrong.  Again the cereal seems kind of stale and the fruit flavor overpowers the chocolate.  And let's face it, it's not like this is a great fruit flavor.  Fruit Loops are best as a cereal and that's where they need to stop.  This is the Spawn of Satan.

And finally, Toasted Rice:

This is by far the least heinous of all the flavors and the only one that seemed fresh (all are well before their listed expiration dates).  This might actually be good mixed with raisins and peanuts or other ingredients.  As it is, it's kind of bland.

If you want to get one of these, this is the best one.  However, there are only about 10,000 better candy options.  I predict this line will not be around for long.

Not everything has to be coated in chocolate - something are best left just as they are.

Cereal - It's Not Just for Breakfast Anymore

Heck - cereal can be lunch, dinner - even dessert! (Credit must be given to Jerry for always eating cereal on Seinfeld.) I've always been a fan of Mini Wheats - I can eat those babies right out of the box. Love them! So imagine my joy to see these:

Now I have to tell you, I was prepared not to like these. I thought they would be too chocolately. But I was wrong - they are perfect! I adore them!! The perfect touch of chocolate added to the traditional Mini-Wheat. My only complaint is that they are Little Bites which are half the size of Mini-Wheats. I think Mini-Wheats are the perfect size. However, these could be good in trail mix where regular Mini-Wheats are too big. If I'm honest, I bet it's because this size fits better into kid mouths. I mean, how many 44 year-old women are sitting around eating these? Well done, Kellogg's - these rock!!

I also paid a visit to Trader Joe's - a cool, funky place I love to shop. They are big on organic. This is a Trader Joe's brand cereal:

These are "Whole Grain Chocolatey-Filled Cereal Bites" (Chocolatey? Sounds like mockolate to me). They actually taste like they look - too wheaty. Like chocolate in a cracker, a not good cracker. I didn't like these at all. It might be organic, but it ain't good.

Now this looked like it had a LOT of promise:

I mean what could be better than peanut butter puffs, right? WRONG!!!! These are just so very bad. They very remotely taste like peanut butter but they mostly taste like plastic? rice? Puffin? Something creepy I can't really identify. GLAACK!!

I say if you are going to eat cereal that has chocolate or peanut butter as a primary ingredient, it should ROCK!!!! Otherwise it should have lots of fiber and be healthy as hell.

Everything we eat should either be really delicious OR really good for us. Otherwise, why bother? Too often we don't really think about it, we just grab something. It's kind of like life - we should either spend time doing something we really enjoy or that makes us better. But too often we just waste time - doing whatever is easy or whatever our friends are doing.

A great life requires eternal vigilance - you have to ask yourself - do I really like this? If it's not that great - stop eating it!! Ask yourself am I having fun? Am I learning something? If not, why am I staying here? Be conscious - choose better.

And pass on the Puffins.

The Blurry Line Between Cereal and Candy

This is going to be a relatively short post because I am working on an expiration date expose that will blow the lid off the chocolate world! (Or will at least be mildly interesting to the 25 readers of this blog.)

As I have said before, I love the grocery store. To me, there can be no better place than one containing thousands and thousands of food items. Oh the possibility! All the glorious things I haven't tried! New things arriving everyday! A tribute to human ingenuity and imagination! And the taste bud.


Today I spent some time on the cereal aisle. I love cereal. Although I usually get boring healthy brands. But when I saw these, I decided to take one for the home team, and buy them.






I gotta give General Mills top honors in the marketing department. What kid is not going to scream his head off when he sees this? The box looks like the Reese's wrapper, hell the cereal bowl is a Reese's cup wrapper. And these taste pretty darn Reese'slike. They really are pretty good. If they looked more appealing you could serve them in a bowl at a party! Are they cereal or are they candy? Or little cookies? Who knows?

See - not very delicious looking. Look a lot like dry dog food. But they really taste great! When I was a kid, I would have eaten the entire box the day my Mom brought it home from the grocery store.

I give them zero points for health but 10 points for taste. And 10,000 points for marketing and exploiting children. It all depends in what you're looking for in a "cereal."

There's another entry although not so well marketed. I remember Corn Pops from when I was a kid and they were good! These are NOTHING like the Corn Pops I remember. I think Kellogg's should have just come up with a new cereal.

These too claim to be chocolate and peanut butter. But in truth, they don't hold a candle to the Reese's Puffs. Equally unhealthy and even uglier in appearance, these are a desecration of the Corn Pops name. No points for anything.

The Reese's Puffs even have a list of 18 things to do before you're 18 on the back of the box. (They really should leave these motivational type things to the professionals. Like me.)

Let me share some of the 18 things:

bungee jump

go backstage at a gig (yeah, Miley will love to have you)

play a part in your favorite TV show (there's a realistic goal)

invent a word that makes it into the dictionary (are you kidding me? how about LEARN a word that IS in the dictionary?)

complete a road trip coast to coast (parents, that's a good one for your under 18 children, huh?)

but they did add the last one - reach 18 years of age - yes!! (um, by the very title of the list this makes no sense)

But hey, we all gotta dream, right?