Advent

There are some people who believe that being with friends and family is more important at Christmas time than things of actual value. I, however, have always been a firm believer of the latter and was delighted when I received my "Adorable Lindt bear and friends advent house" in the post. Top work there Mum!

For the month of december I gave up cereal and transitioned, with a surprising amount of ease, onto chocolate each morning. Day one was a little disappointing with only a mini Lindor 'truffle', at least each one is lovingly made by the swiss chefs just like in the adverts. The second day definitely made up for it though when I received a little Lindt teddy bear. Over the whole period I got 6 mini chocolate snowdrops with a creamy double milk filling, 6 Lindor mini chocolate truffles with a smooth melting filling, 5 Lindt Chocolate Napolitains, 3 Lindt Mini Bears, 3 Lindt Gold Reindeer and finally, this morning, my calendar gave me a full sized Lindt Teddy Bear, which I half ate before I took the picture, hence why his face looks like he just had a botched batch of botox, I couldn't resist. 

Overall I would say that the calendar was a success and I actually looked forward to waking up and discovering what chocolate I would get each morning. Could I eat chocolate every day for breakfast? Most definitely, but I must admit that I'm super duper excited for my next bowl of cereal! I would give the calendar a 4/5 as the chocolates were evenly distributed in size. I'm already looking forward to next year's.

Nestle Chokella

Working 9-5; what a way to make a living. Occasionally my mind wonders elsewhere, usually to the heady days of summer when there were no time constrictions placed upon my daily habits and my most important query was whether or not Dolly sung live. At 7am, when faced with another day in my glamourous Parisian life of making PowerPoint Presentations about the major competition in the packaging world, sometimes it’s only the prospect of trying a new cereal that can really motivate me to embark upon another day.

Dare I say it, but In France, cereal has one major competitor each morning, Nutella. Therefore when I found Chokella, a chocolate-hazelnut flavoured cereal, you can imagine my delight. A cereal combing my two favourite breakfast foods; it would be insane to not try this. Chokella has the distinctive hazelnut smell of Nutella, but unfortunately smells a lot more flavoursome than it tastes so I was a little disappointed when my first spoonful didn’t quite meet my expectations, it isn’t an unpleasant flavour, it could just benefit from being a little more powerful. On a more positive note, the cereal per-se is in the shape of mini toasts, a novelty that is still exciting, even at the age of 20. However, unlike toast, it keeps it’s crunch upon impact with milk, and takes a good 15 minutes to go soggy. And for those of you who don’t like cereal flavoured milk, this is the cereal for you. Despite my own previous beliefs, the milk retains its milk flavour once you have finished the cereal. Chokella is closest you will ever get to a cereal version of Nutella on toast, but is it the perfect breakfast cereal? That’s hard to say.

Here are my ratings for Chokella:


Crunch Factor: 4.5/5


Flavour: 3/5


Aesthetics: 4.5/5


Filling: 3.5/5


Overall Rating: 3.8/5

Miel Pops – Cœur à la Noisette

Hello cereal fans, or should I say ‘bonjour céréale fans’. I am so sorry that I have neglected you for so long but I have been rather busy trying to forge my new life in France and stumble my way around the French supermarkets in search of the cereal aisle and decent milk! Having lived off a mixture of croissants, Nutella and baguette every morning for the past 2 weeks, I was really craving some cereal and was therefore delighted when in Franprix, after about 5 minutes of broken ‘franglais’ on my part, and several looks of incomprehension and bemusement on behalf of the employees, I was finally shown to the aforementioned sacred aisle.

Faced with a choice of cereals from all over the globe, all that I knew was that I wanted to try something French and it was this desire that spurred my decision to pick Miel Pops – Coeur à la Noisette, translated as Honey Pops with a Hazelnut Heart. This description makes the cereal seem rather lovely, almost as if after a bowl all your worries will just melt away. I wouldn’t say that all my worries have completely disappeared; this is a breakfast cereal and not a psychiatrist or magic genie, but while tucking into my breakfast at 6:30 in the morning I felt unusually chirpy for that hour. Perhaps it was just the temporary euphoria one experiences when trying a new cereal for the first time, or perhaps it was due to the wonderful mélange of honey and hazelnut in the same bowl and the sunshine yellow colour of the cereal per se. However, after about four or five spoonful’s, this very sweet cereal begins to get a little sickly. On the plus side, the longer the cereal stays in the milk, the softer the hazelnut centre becomes but the outer shell keeps its crunch, c’est formidable!!! A final note is that despite the sweetness of the cereal the milk remains milk tasting, an added bonus for those who don’t like their milk tainted by other flavours.

Here are my ratings for Miel Pops – Cœur à la Noisette:

Crunch Factor: 4/5


Flavour: 3/5


Aesthetics: 3.5/5


Filling: 4/5


Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Céréales Fourrées au Lait

It's been over two months since I have posted anything and I am deeply apologetic. So far, this summer has been extremely busy; I not only helped and witnessed my own dear grandmother's near breakdown when moving her from North Yorkshire so she can be closer to our family down south, but my parents also decided to move house and I have therefore been living off microwave meals without access to a fridge, fully functioning kitchen and internet access. However, having jetted off to Mallorca, I have regained access to all of the aforementioned luxuries, and a whole host of foreign and exciting cereals to titillate my tastebuds for the next few weeks. 

Walking through the cereal aisle in the Spanish supermarket 'Mercardo' was more stressful than passing through security at Terminal 5. There was an array of completely different cereals to back home and some even had smarties and jelly babies thrown into the mix. Given that it was the start of the holiday, I decided to maybe tone down the extravagance a little and opted for the Céréales Fourrées au Lait (Milk Pillow Cereals) as they reminded me of when I would stay at our friend's french home every summer, although I was a little confused to see a french cereal being sold in a Spanish supermarket. Nonetheless, this cereal was as good as it was all those years ago. You bite into the crunchy exterior to reveal a delicious milky, gooey centre that tastes almost like white chocolate. Granted, these are not the healthiest of all cereals, nor do they look that appetising from the packaging to when they're in you're bowl. But holidays are a time for indulgence and extravagance in my opinion, and I feel that I indulged my inner child as memories of summers spent in France during my childhood came flooding back with every mouthful.   

Here are my ratings for Céréales Fourrées au Lait:

Crunch Factor: 4.5/5

Flavour: 4/5


Aesthetics: 3/5


Filling: 4/5


Overall Rating: 3.9/5

Coco Pops Croco Copters

When the possibility of a trip to Tescos becomes the highlight of your day, you know that the monotony of revision has kicked in. I therefore decided, like almost half of St. Andrews, to head home for a little bit of TLC and to fully prepare myself, mentally and emotionally, for the looming exam period. Having foolishly booked the 09:22 train home the Monday morning following Sunday's frivolities at the Kate Kennedy Club Charity May Ball, I was absolutely delighted when upon my arrival home I was greeted by an amply stocked cereal cupboard courtesy of my loving mother. 

Indulging my inner child for a few days, I was immediately drawn to the most novel of all the cereals: Coco Pops Croco Copters. Despite the fact that it's clearly advertised and marketed towards children, I fully enjoyed my first taste of this new cereal; it doesn't taste exactly like classic Coco Pops, but nonetheless has its own unique flavour. The cereal takes a long time to go soggy and, as with Coco Pops, you are left with chocolatey milk at the end. What's more is that the plethora of games and activities to be found on the side of the box, including a word search and maze, were a great stimulant each morning, meaning that I was mentally prepared for a day's worth of revision. The only confusing thing about this cereal is the fact that each individual piece is shaped like a clock cog whereas the packaging would suggest that theme was revolving around helicopters. However, if you can find it within your heart to overlook this minor issue, i'm sure that you too will thoroughly enjoy Coco Pops Croco Copters. 

Here are my ratings for Coco Pops Croco Copters:

Crunch Factor: 4/5

Flavour: 3.5/5


Aesthetics: 4/5


Filling: 3.5/5


Overall Rating: 3.75/5

Kellogg's Corn Flakes

Easter Sunday marked the end of Lent and instead of celebrating with an easter egg or Lindt Bunny, I couldn't wait to tuck into a huge bowl of cereal. In fact, I was so excited about being able to eat cereal again that I forgot to blog about it last Tuesday and I can only apologise for my own negligence to the cereal cause. But, what did I choose as my first bowl of cereal in 6 weeks, 42 days, 1008 hours, I hear you say. There was no competition, it had to be Kellogg's Corn Flakes.

Sometimes overshadowed by more 'exciting' or 'interesting' cereals, Corn Flakes remain a solid classic that give their contenders a run for their money. Yes, they don't have any particular flavour, but sometimes all you need is something simple. This also means that you have a base upon which you can add whatever you wish, be it fruit, honey or sugar. However, I personally always opt for my corn flakes plain, enjoying the simplicity of the cereal per se, for me, Corn Flakes are the equivalent to the detox option of the cereal world. My only qualm with Corn Flakes is the time that they take to go soggy. Within about one minute of pouring the milk on, you are guaranteed to find a soggy bottom to your cereal (something Mary Berry does not approve of). For those of you who are not fans of  soggy cereal, this means that you may have to consume your breakfast as fast as possible, potentially setting you up for mid-morning indigestion. However, after a few weeks away, I always seem to forget this fact and come crawling back to Corn Flakes, only to be reminded about the speed this transition takes. Nonetheless, apart from this minor glitch, Corn Flakes do remain, in my opinion, an underrated gem of the cereal world - a bowl full of golden sunshine...

Here are my ratings for Kellogg's Corn Flakes:

Crunch Factor: 2.5/5

Flavour: 4/5


Aesthetics: 4/5


Filling: 3.5/5


Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Hot Crossed Buns

I always find myself feeling extremely enthused about seasonal foods such as easter eggs, pigs in blankets and Pimm's. I, therefore, could hardly contain my excitement when I realised that Easter is just around the corner by the sheer quantity of hot crossed buns filling the shelves of Tescos. In a way, hot crossed buns hold a very nostalgic and very dear place in my heart. Every sunday morning of lent my brother and I would clamber into my mother and father's bed, teddy in hand, and devour hot crossed bun after hot crossed bun, only after I had insisted that my dear mother remove every single raisin and currant. I have since grown up and learnt to deal with the raisins, but still enjoy eating hot crossed buns in bed with my teddy, which is exactly what I did this very fine morning. 

The smell of orange, cinnamon and various spices coupled with slightly singed bread fills your house with the unbeatable feeling that spring has finally arrived. However, how you choose to eat your hot crossed bun is a question that can divide a nation. I would personally always eat my hot crossed buns warm (after all, the word 'hot' is in the title), choosing to toast it, but I could understand some people perhaps choosing to heat them in the oven or under the grill. However, I once heard someone say that they heat them in the microwave, needless to say I ended that friendship quickly... But whether you enjoy your buns hot or cold, the next big question is what condiment, if any, to top with? Taking pleasure from the simple things in life, I tend to stick to butter, but I suppose marmalade or maybe even honey would also make good options. It is this versatility that makes hot crossed buns a perfect treat for anytime of the day, be it breakfast, lunch or dinner. This also means that around this time of year I end up devouring them, packet after packet. Perhaps, in the words of Helen Mirren in Calendar Girls, "we're going to need considerably bigger buns".

Overall I would give hot crossed buns a rating of 4/5