Lucky Charms

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. I however, couldn't sleep with anticipation for trying my newest breakfast cereal: Lucky Charms. Having been very kindly given them by my friend, Natasha, at the end of her sister's 21st birthday party, I thought it was only fit that I reviewed them on this year's Christmas eve.
I must admit that this is not my first taste of Lucky Charms, having previously tried them at a USAo'Phile's house, but that was a rather long time ago, and I had forgotten just how bright and how many E Numbers this cereal contained - a real Christmas treat! The actual cereal component of this is rather plain. An oaty based cereal that takes on the form of a number of different shapes. Although frosted, it is still rather salty. However, the little marshmallow's are the redeeming factor of this cereal. They are an array of colour and shapes from pink love hearts to blue and yellow rainbows. In fact, they are so colourful and sweet that they counterbalance the saltiness and plainness of the cereal, making for a wonderfully harmonious, balanced bowlful of breakfast. Lucky Charms claim to be 'Magically Delicious' and I believe that this unity between salty and sweet creates this magic. As time goes on, the cereal remains fairly crisp and the marshmallows soften somewhat, but this is a welcome factor. Perhaps my only qualm with Lucky Charms is the fact that you are left with an unappetising grey/green milk once you've eaten all the cereal, nonetheless, it still tastes fairly sweet, if that's your kind of thing.
I would urge people to put aside their fears of E Numbers and Colourings just for one day and try a bowl of Lucky Charms, treat yourselves, it's Christmas!
Here are my ratings for Lucky Charms:

Crunch Factor: 3.5/5

Flavour: 4/5

Aesthtics: 4.5/5

Filling: 3/5

Overall Rating: 3.75/5

All-Bran Red Berry Crunch

Home again. Christmas time once more. Having finished exams I am finally feeling festive and therefore have decided to try All-Bran Red Berry Crunch. I have been searching for a specifically christmas themed cereal but to no avail, so thought the red berries muddled amongst the All-Bran clusters would suffice for now. 

When I saw the cereal in my bowl, my initial response was that it looked like a hybrid between bird food and rabbit droppings. Thankfully it tastes like neither. The flavour of the cereal is not too sweet or powerful so the berries are a welcome addition, and they leave you with pink milk at the end, even better! The cereal also stays crunchy for the time it takes to eat a bowl full so that's an added bonus. However, those with a more delicate mouth may want to give this cereal a miss as they certainly do live up to the 'Crunch' part of their name. 

All-Bran is perhaps not the most exciting cereal out there but it is not the worst i've ever had. It could probably do with a bit of work on the aesthetics, but i'm glad that it's not overtly sweet, as this is clearly not a cereal specifically for children; it has to appeal to adult tastes too. Although not my favourite cereal in the world, I would not be completely against eating more bowls of All-Bran Red Berry Crunch, however, will probably not be in any hurry to have my next bowl. 

Here are my ratings:

Crunch Factor: 4/5

Flavour: 2/5

Aesthetics: 1/5

Filling: 3.5/5

Overall Rating: 2.5/5

Cookie Crisp

In the midst of exams and revision all the days seem to merge into one. The same old routine, day in, day out. Christmas seems like a century away, and, despite the plethora of paper chains, snowmen and even singing Santas surrounding me, regardless of how many mince pies or selection boxes I eat, I just can't seem to get into the festive frame of mind. It is therefore in this rather 'bah humbug' mindset that I have decided to try and cheer myself up with a box of the very novelty Cookie Crisp.
This cereal is supposed to look like cookies and taste like them too, but I can say that it only half fulfils one of these brash claims. The cereal vaguely resembles a cookie shape and colour, but the chocolate chips could do with a little work; in my opinion they look more like dog biscuits than cookies. As for the flavour, they taste like generic cereal, not cookies as promised by the name on the box. I personally think that they are a little too salty and the texture needs more density. Thankfully Cookie Crisp's one redeeming factor is that they don't loose much of their initial crunch, living up to the 'Crisp' element of the name.
Some may say that I have been a little harsh on Cookie Crisp, but they really are nothing special. Once the novelty of your mum letting you eat 'Cookies' in the morning wears off, you are left with an uninspiring bowl of something vaguely resembling a cookie. Some would blame this harsh review on the lack of Christmas cheer in my life, and maybe this is true, but Nestle really should look at improving this cereal in the meantime.
Here are my reviews for Cookie Crisp:

Crunch Factor: 4/5



Flavour: 2/5


Aesthetics: 2.5/5


Filling: 3/5


Overall Rating: 2.5/5

Kellogg's Frosties

With the onset of revision week and christmas just around the corner, it seems that the days have lost all sense of structure and purpose. Thankfully with the start of advent, and a new box of cereal, there is still some sort of incentive to wake up before midday. Therefore, this week I have turned to a childhood favourite of not just myself, but also many others and have chosen to review Kellogg's Frosties.
With every bowl of Frosties you can see the sugar coating glistening and glittering in the sun pouring in through the window. Unfortunately as soon as the milk touches the cereal this shimmer fades instantly, nonetheless, Frosties still maintain their initial sweetness. Yes, the flavour may be slightly less intense than at the start but I feel like this is somewhat inevitable. The only issue is that Frosties do go a little soggy towards the end, however, not as much as other cereals such as Corn Flakes or Crunchy Nuts. This is feel is thanks to the sugar coating. In my opinion it acts as a sort of shield against the milk. For me, Frosties are like a tarted up version of Corn Flakes. What's great about them is the fact that you don't need to add anything else to them as they are sweet enough to begin with. Even at the end you are left with a bowl of sweet milk; Frosties truly is the cereal that keeps on giving...
Here are my ratings for Kellogg's Frosties:

Crunch Factor: 2.5/5

Flavour: 4/5


Aesthetics: 4/5


Filling: 3.5/5


Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Crunchy Nut Clusters

This weekend I finally broke out of the bubble and headed home for my mum's big five zero. It was a gastronomical few days, moving from one eatery to another with only a few hours rest in between each. Nonetheless, I did my best to pull through and avoid the dreaded food coma. Thankfully, cereal is always a simple, reliable choice for any time of the day and I have now fully recovered in time for this week's review. 
I have previously reviewed Crunchy Nut Cornflakes, the original, which fared well in the ratings so I thought it was about time I diversified and have moved on to Crunchy Nut Clusters. These are completely different to the original Crunchy Nuts. They have added chocolate curls and are also in cluster form. This makes them extremely crunchy, as their title would suggest, which can be a good thing, but some of these clusters are very large, a bit of a challenge in the morning when you have not yet fully woken up. They are also a tad salty, which I guess is counter-balanced by the chocolate curls, but it does feel a little odd eating actual chocolate in the morning. Their one redeeming factor is that they don't go too soggy having been sat in a bowl of milk over a prolonged period of time. 
So what do I prefer Crunchy Nut Clusters or the original cornflakes? Both have their positives and negatives, one goes soggy quickly, the other is perhaps too crunchy. I personally feel that the clusters are better eaten for dinner, lunch or a snack due to the difficulty of getting you mouth round them in the morning. Will I be having more bowls of Crunchy Nut Clusters? Perhaps when I'm feeling a little peckish during the day or can't be bothered to cook dinner, but I will reach for something else in the morning.
Here are my ratings for Crunchy Nut Clusters:

Crunch Factor: 3.5/5

Flavour: 2/5

Aesthetics: 3/5

Filling: 3.5/5

Overall Rating: 3/5

Weetabix Chocolate Minis

This is the week from hell with three essay deadlines piling up and my dear mother's birthday on Thursday, for which I haven't even bought a present yet (sorry mum). Therefore I decided to reach for "fuel to start my day in a tasty way" and have chosen Weetabix Chocolate Minis to add some form of excitement to my life.
This is a very versatile cereal that, just like standard Weetabix, can be eaten in all sorts of ways: hot, cold, with sugar, syrup, yoghurt or even dry. However with the bitter east Fife weather taking a nose dive, this morning I decided to have them with hot milk for, in the words of George Hailstone "a bowl of warm wheaty goodness". This makes the chocolate chips melt and leaves the cereal crispy on top but soggy on the bottom. But I feel that Weetabix is one of the only cereals that is bearable when soggy, as my granddad would say, you could suck it through your teeth. Yet, if you have Weetabix Minis with cold milk it's a completely different story; they stay crispy for a good 5 minutes, perhaps even more. The only down side is that the chocolate doesn't melt. I think that Weetabix Minis are great due to their versatility and are a great start to the day, especially on cold winter mornings.
Here are my ratings for Weetabix Chocolate Minis:

Crunch Factor: 2.5/5

Flavour: 4/5


Aesthetics: 2.5/5


Filling: 4/5


Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Jordan's Country Crisp

"At Jordan's we don't do soggy" - when Ed Fry pointed me in the direction of this advert the only logical step was to take this claim as a challenge and therefore, I went out and bought myself a box of Jordan's Country Crisp to either prove or shun this very bold statement once and for all.
Naturally I went for the strawberry variety in a desperate attempt to remind myself of long summer days gone by. Even though on the front of the box they claim to be 'sun-ripe' strawberries, they are but freeze dried strawberries that probably haven't seen the sun in over a year. Nonetheless, they do add a little bit of a sweet and tart extra to the cereal, and at the end you get the added bonus of the milk turning pale pink. As for the crunch claim, I must admit that the cereal stayed relatively crunchy. Perhaps not as crunchy as at the start, but that would be very hard considering it's mingling with the milk for a good 10 minutes, but when compared to other cereal the crunch remains strong at the end. And finally the flavour is just right too. The clusters are sweet and the strawberries tart giving the cereal a balanced flavour which, yet again, stays to the end. What's not to like?
Jordan's make a bold claim but I feel it is a justified one as this cereal truly is rather brilliant. I will definitely be starting my day with a fair few more bowls of Country Crisp in the future.
Here are my ratings for Jordan's Country Crisp:

Crunch Factor: 4.5/5

Flavour: 4/5


Aesthetics: 4/5


Filling: 4/5


Overall Rating: 4/5