NEW! Creightons 'Spoon of Cereal' White Chocolate Bar (Online)

It's the Easter weekend, and one of two annual occasions when it's perfectly acceptable (if not required) to eat chocolate for breakfast - the other being Christmas Day. Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day, which of course, can only be improved by a hearty dose of chocolate. If you feel similarly, you might want to check out Creighton's' new range. The British hand-made chocolate company's new summer collection is called 'chocolate for breakfast' and consists of three very unusual sounding bars: 'Maple Bacon', 'Coffee & Crumbs' and 'Spoon Of Cereal'. I've been following Creighton's for a long time on Instagram, and so when they kindly offered to send me a bar to review, I gleefully accepted. If you haven't heard about Creighton's before, I'll give you a little background information..

Creighton's was created in 2010 by mother and daughter duo Andrea & Lucy. All of their products are created in small batches by their in-house team in Leighton Buzzard using the finest quality Belgian chocolate.  Lucy & Andrea regularly change their collections 'much like a fashion brand', and say that they are they approach everything with a light-hearted British sense of humour. 

I wasn't sure which bar would arrive, but as a white chocolate lover and cereal addict I hoped for the 'Spoon of Cereal'. Monday, as it turns out, was my lucky day! 

"Don't Grow Up. Marshmallow flavoured white chocolate bar crammed with cereal hoops - a scent of caramelised mallow wafts from the wrapper as you unwrap this bar!"  

Isn't the packaging exquisite? I hoped the beautiful pop-art-esque design would pave the way to delicious chocolate as it had with Choc Affair's rhubarb bar. 

The slab didn't have as many cereal hoops in as I thought it would, but the sweet caramel scent was immediately evident, just as Creighton's promised.

Marshmallow is a remarkably difficult flavour to play with, after all it's essentially pillowy sugar, but the white chocolate delivered a nostalgic hit of caramel tones, reminding me of butterscotch. Indulgently creamy, the chocolate was sheer heaven. Unfortunately the cereal hoops tasted a little stale and had lost most of their characteristic crunch. I can't be sure that Creighton's are to blame though because I store my chocolate in the fridge -I know, I know, utter heresy! 

Despite my grumbles the Spoon of Cereal bar was utterly delicious. I'm now craving their new Coffee & Crumbs bar (Milk chocolate bar with a dose of finely ground espresso and crisp cinnamon sour dough toast crumbs) as well as many of their core range -especially the peanut nutter, rhubarb and custard and custard cream. Mmm. Creighton's range contains more than 30 different flavoured bars, as well as truffles, bonbons and lollipops, so please do head on over to their website for the ultimate in chocolate temptation.

9/10

Thank you Creighton's for the sample!

NEW! Coco Pops Granola (Tesco)

Q: What's the laziest way to create a new product? 
A: Create a variation of an already successful line and copy your competitor of course!

Last year saw the release of Nestle's Shreddies Max Protein Granola, followed by a few fleeting boxes of Cheerios and Curiously Cinnamon Granola* in January. Kellogg's have obviously been keeping their eyes peeled, as they have recently followed suit and brought out a peanut butter granola (Crunchy Nut Clusters) as well as this new Coco Pops Granola. I'm not complaining really, I love cereal, adore oats and always welcome new choices. I did however wait for the bag to come on offer (currently £2 in Tesco).

"A combination of chocolatey-flavoured granola with wheat shapes and wholegrain oats! A source of B vitamins and iron which helps to release energy throughout the day. Made with no artificial colours!"

I'm not sure why that last sentence warrants an exclamation mark. Perhaps it's surprising. What they have failed to market is that the new granola contains almost half the sugar content per 100g than that of traditional cocoa pops (16g vs. 30g). Of course the serving size and calorie content is higher though.

I hope you don't mind me mentioning that I'm not a fan of the new bag design. Whilst it saves on excess packaging, the bag won't stand up properly, irritating my need for orderly cupboards.

Fortunes turned when I opened the resealable (that's one bonus) bag. Inside was a sight for any chocoholic's sore eyes. Every morsel was covered in chocolate! The bag contained a good mix of (relatively small) oaty chunks and Cocoa Pops' puffs, Moons and Stars.

It's a shame that the new granola didn't pass my milk soaking test. By the time I'd stopped faffing about taking photos the shapes were soggy and the granola had started to disintegrate. There wasn't really enough oats to call it a granola either really  seeing as they only make up 30% of the ingredients. On the plus side the flavour was good though, and the milk turned chocolatey! Have you ever had Graze's Cocoa & Vanilla flapjacks? Well the oat chunks reminded me of them -which I hope you'll agree is no bad thing.

All in all it's a good product from Kellogg's. It might not me the most inventive cereal, nor is it the best granola I've ever tasted, but I'll enjoy the bag, and will probably buy Coco Pops Granola again - but only when it's on offer.

7/10

*if anyone's spotted either recently please let me know, they seem to have disappeared.

NEW! Weetabix Additions: Apple & Raisin Review (ASDA)

Whilst I can't live without my daily dose of porridge in the mornings, my other half struggles to start his day without a bowl of trusty Weetabix. Or at least that was the case until the Golden Syrup flavour disappeared from supermarket shelves towards the latter end of last year. He was so gutted that we couldn't find his favourite cereal anymore that I contacted the company back in November to ask if they were coming back. They said:

"Recent high demand has meant that we have had an increase in orders and we hope are hoping to be back to full capacity in the next few months. Please accept our sincere apologies, we do hope that you will continue to enjoy our products and are assured of our best intentions to get this back on the shelves."

With Bert's hopes intact, we eagerly awaited the return of the Golden Syrup Weetabix and were therefore somewhat surprised to see the two new Weetabix 'additions' lines that launched last month. I guess the company told porkies. Humf.

I tried to see the bright side in all of this and reminded Bert that although he doesn't like coconut (so the coconut and raisin flavour are out of the question) he does like apple and raisin. Maybe this new variety of Weetabix could serve as a valid replacement?

"Delight your senses...
with a nutritious breakfast that's packed with delicious apple, juicy raisins & warming cinnamon ensuring temptingly tasty goodness in every bite."

Whilst I'm not a huge Weetabix fan, I do love apple and raisin and was therefore intrigued to discover how their new flavour fared so purchased the box of 24 biscuits from ASDA for £2.

Whilst their banana and golden syrup (RIP) flavours are strongly scented, I couldn't particularly smell anything other than wheat when popping my biscuits in the bowl before drowning them in cold milk.

Oh. Was that it? Where was the flavour? Cinnamon is a pretty pungent spice -and my favourite one at that- but I couldn't detect it at all amongst the wheaty mush. The apple flavour too was non-existent and I was grateful that I'd had the foresight to top my cereal with cubed apple so that I could at least pretend I was eating flavoured Weetabix.

The only promise that Weetabix delivered on was the inclusion of raisins, but unfortunately I can't say this was a welcome addition. I really love dried fruit, but not like this. Have you ever eaten shrivelled, bullet-hard raisins before? Well that's what is lurking in amongst these biscuits. Rather than the moist, squidgy, flavoursome fruits, these were little dry rascals that stuck between my teeth in a frustrating fashion. Not good.

It wasn't just me either, Bert wasn't a fan either. If we weren't so reluctant to waste food they'd have ended up in the bin by now, but instead I've promised to buy him a couple of boxes of his new favourite cereal (Golden Syrup Wheats) from Sainsbury's when he's got through the Weetabix. You should never have to "get through" food though, should you?

2/10

NEW! Kellogg's Crunchy Nut Peanut Butter Clusters

January is known for being generally awful, but at least today is National Peanut Butter Day and the month has been a wonderful time for British peanut butter lovers. Finally we're seeing our favourite nut spread given the recognition it deserves! Not only have we recently seen the release of Peanut Butter Oreo ice cream sandwiches and Grenade's Peanut Nutter Carb Killa as well as Rocky and Nature Valley Bars (which I've yet to find) but now Kellogg's have taken note and are manufacturing an epic sounding new cereal. 

I can't even explain the excitement that took hold just over a week ago when Richard gave me the heads up on twitter about the new Crunchy Nut Peanut Butter Clusters. My day was made, nay even my week. I've often moaned about the lack of peanut butter cereals here in the U.K and have relied on American imports instead to get my fix (FYI Reese's Puffs are delicious, Cap'n Crunch's Peanut Butter Crunch is somewhat less desirable). Time's are finally a'changing folks! Fortunately for me, the lovely guys at Kellogg's offered to send me a sample to review and yesterday two boxes arrived at my house.

"New Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut Peanut Butter Clusters is a combination of delicious oats and wheat crisps, baked to crunchy perfection with added chunks of peanuts. The cereal uses peanut butter as the binding ingredient – a first for any Kellogg’s cereal."

 I poured myself a bowl and was surprised by the sheer size of the clusters. It's at this point that I'll admit to something embarrassing: I've never tried Crunchy Nut Clusters before. I'm not sure why but they've never particularly appealed. With that in mind I can't make any comparisons to the other flavours but rather offer a fresh opinion on the clusters as a whole. The other surprise came from the amount of whole peanuts mixed in. The sight of the chunky clusters and whole peanuts combined with the overwhelming scent of peanut butter pleased my soul. The biggest problem thus far was that it's quite a heavy and dense cereal so the 45g suggested portion size doesn't go far at all.

Crikey. That's damn good. Peanut butter lovers rejoice for Kellogg's have created a cereal that can make us Brits proud. It's the best peanut butter cereal I've had thus far, and it's utterly delicious. The crunchy texture of the clusters is only enhanced by the addition of the peanut pieces which have stayed fresh.

Kellogg's are smart to use peanut butter as the binding agent too because it means that every single crumb delivers an impactive punch of flavour. Containing only 12g of sugar per 100g it's nowhere near as sweet or as synthetic as Kellogg's awful American Jif PB&J cereal (which by comparison contains 38.5g of sugar per 100g).

According to Crunchy Nut's facebook page, Peanut Butter Crunchy Nut Clusters are available to purchase from Tesco today, with more stores following suit soon. 

I suggest that you buy a box or two as soon as you find it, and then swiftly hide them from everyone else in the house!

10/10

*Thank you to Kellogg's for the samples.

NEW! Nestle Curiously Cinnamon Granola (B&M)

I recently rediscovered my love of granola thanks to the Max Protein Shreddies Granola released last year. Nestle's decision to transition it's traditional cereals into granola format must've proved fruitful for the corporation, because they've recently started manufacturing Curiously Cinnamon and Cheerios varieties too. The only trouble is, they're seemingly impossible to get hold of. The only reason I knew they exist was down to @productsinstore' photo of her find in Home Bargains last month.

The trouble is, our local Home Bargains taunts me. I often see evidence of their exciting new products on Instagram (looking at you again @productsinstore) and eagerly trek across the city on a mission to buy said treats, only to be left disappointed by their lack of availability in sleepy ol' Hereford. Nestle's new cereal hybrid caused an embarrassing amount of frustration -again and again I would search the aisles and come home empty handed.

On Sunday I persuaded Bert that we needed a trip to B&M for dog food, knowing full well that it's next to Home Bargains and that he'd let me pop in on my usual mission. Yet again it was unsuccessful and so I trundled into B&M miserably...

..Where I spotted a lone box of Curiously Cinnamon Granola and a load of Cheerios Granola for just £1 per box! Halle-flipping-lujah! Now the Cheerios granola didn't excite me all that much; it was the Curiously cinnamon that really tickled my fancy. Every U.K cinnamon lover can appreciate the deliciousness that is Curiously Cinnamon (although the Santé cinnamon stars are equally delicious). Add oats clusters into the equation and surely Nestle are onto a serious winner.

Yes, yes they are! There was a good even mixture of oats and cinnamon squares in the box and the warming scent was inviting. The granola isn't as heavy as some others either thanks to the rice flakes also gracing the mixture. As for the flavour, it's an intoxicating mixture of oats, wheat and spice that I absolutely loved. Ultimately the texture of this cereal gives it the edge, with the softer squares that go soft in milk whilst the clusters remain crispy.

The following evening I decided to top banoffee skyr (made using skyr, banana flavour drops and toffee sugar-free syrup) with the cinnamon granola and fresh sliced banana. Oof, it was delicious! I wasn't overly keen on ASDA's White Chocolate & Raspberry Granola with yogurt, but strangely much preferred the Curiously Cinnamon served this way.

Cinnamon & oat lovers rejoice: Nestle have nailed this one!

9/10

Macros per 100g: P7.7/C:73/F9.5

Sante Cinnamon Star Cereal (Polski Sklep)

I don't know about you, but I certainly think that cinnamon cereal is distinctly lacking in the U.K. Sure we have curiously cinnamon and more recently the (distinctly under-spiced) Cinnamon Oat Crisp Cheerios, but that's about the extent of the matter. The only way I've known to get hold of other cinnamon cereals until now is to place an order from American import companies as the States have a vast array of the stuff including Cinnabon cereal, Apple Jacks and Cinnamon Toast Crunch -to name just a few.

It wasn't until my last chocolate mission in the Polish Delis that I decided to delve further into stores, and soon uncovered a plethora of interesting looking cereals that I've not seen before, one of which was this bag of 'Cynamonowe Gwiazdki' -which I (correctly!) guessed translates to 'cinnamon Stars'. At £1.09 for a 250g bag it wasn't bad value and I decided to discover what Sante's Smart Teens cereal is all about.

The little stars are made from a mixture of wheat, barley, oat and corn flours, whilst the remaining ingredients are sugar, honey, inulin (a watre soluble fibre), sunflower oil, cinnamon, molasses from cane sugar, sea salt and natural flavours -that's it. It was a welcome surprise to see a list devoid of strange chemicals and e-numbers that you can find on so many cereals, although there is 8.1g of sugar per 30g.

The combination of sweet, warming scent and golden coloured stars resulted in a bowl of rather festive cereal. My friend and fellow blogger Laura (of A Daisy Chain Dream) rightly pointed out last week that there's no christmassy cereals here in the U.K either, so perhaps this is the closest we'll get.

Texturally, the stars were crunchy, and passed the milk soaking test with flying colours. I could definitely taste the oat within the cereal mixture, but of course the main flavours were sugar and cinnamon -both of which were delicious.

I'm so pleased that I've found these cinnamon stars. Comparitively they're cheaper than Nestle's Curiously Cinnamon, yet equally delicious with less fat and salt (although as mentioned, they do have a slightly higher sugar content).

If you're a cinnamon cereal fiend then it's well worth a trio to your local Polski Sklep to pick up a bag or two!

8/10

*Comparative Nutritionals per 100g:
Sante Cinnamon Stars: 375kcal, fat 3.4g, sat fat 0.5g, carbs 75g, sugars 27g, fibre 7g, protein 8.1g, salt 0.23g
Nestle Curiously Cinnamon: 419kcal, fat 10.1g, sat fat 3.8g, carbs 74g, sugars 24.8g, fibre 5.2g, protein 5.4g, salt 1.11g

NEW! Choco-Nut Malt Wheats (Tesco)

A couple of months back* I reviewed one of Tesco's spanking new cereals, Golden Syrup Malt Wheats. I was so impressed with them that I gave them top marks, but I've now decided that it's high time to give their choc-nutty compadre a go. Their price remains at a rather bargain-ous £1.19 for a 500g box which I was more than happy to pay, although I wasn't yet convinced that they would taste all that special.

"We carefully select quality whole grain wheat to make this cereal, then cook it and lightly toast it for a lovely crisp texture and full flavour. To make it even more special, we coat each one with a chocolate flavour coating and ground roast hazelnuts to make sure they taste really nutty."

Well, Tesco, you had me sold on the description. Looks-wise the cereal appeared indifferent to Coco Shreddies (mmm Coco Shreddies) but it didn't have a particularly strong aroma and just emitted the slightest scent -reminiscent of Nutella. 

The Choco-Nut Malt Wheats were just as crispy as promised, and passed my milk soaking test with flying colours. I have to admit that I was slightly dubious as to how nutty they would taste, but my preconceptions were unfounded for each square delivered a powerful hazelnut flavour. In fact the nut element was perhaps a smidgen more dominant than the chocolate, but it was yummier for it and the resulting flavour tasted somehow more adult and less sweet. By all accounts the cereal should taste sickly considering that sugar is ranked number 2 on the list of ingredients, and each 40g portion contains 8.3g of the stuff (that's even more than the Golden Syrup version).

I'm impressed with both of the new flavours to Tesco's 'Malt Wheat' line, although the Golden Syrup flavour still reigns as my favourite. 

8/10 

Nutritionals per 40g serving: 151kcals P3.4/C30.2/F1.0

*I can't believe it was that long ago, where is the time going? Jeez. 

NEW! Morning Pops Subscription Box (Online)

At the beginning of July I was contacted by a brand new British company who told me about their exciting new subscription box, and wanted to know if I'd like to try the first shipment when they launched. Morning Pops sources a monthly collection of fun cereals from around the world and delivers to them to your door (with no delivery charge). The team have been scouring the globe on the hunt for innovative cereal to pop in upcoming subscription boxes such as Milo from Australia, and Oreo cereal from Korea.

If you follow my blog and/or Instagram you'll know that cereal is something I really enjoy -and eat a great deal of. My evening is never complete until I've had my pre-bed bowl. I also love trying international treats, so Morning Pops sounded right up my alley and I gleefully accepted their kind offer.

Last week the company launched and my Morning Pops Box arrived; I couldn't wait to see what lay within. Inside was three large individual serving bags of international cereals:
Kellogg's Froot Loops (USA)
Hershey's Cookies n Crème (USA)
Nestle Chocapic Duo (France)
The parcel also contained their own limited edition mix: Chocolate Pillows & Marshmallows (UK) and a mini Reese's peanut butter cup.

The only cereal I'd tried before was Froot Loops (I was addicted to them for a while a couple of years ago!) and I was eager to try the others. I just hoped that they still tasted fresh and the transference to clear wrappers hadn't resulted in stale or soft cereal.

Froot Loops
Nostalgia hit me of my trip to Miami when I opened this pack and the super sweet synthetic scent wafted into my nostrils. It never fails to amaze me how America can get away with using such artificial colours.

For anyone who hasn't tried these before, I warn you, they're so sugary that they always make me feel like I could jump on the sofas with sheer hyperactivity for half an hour after eating (not good when you have them before going to sleep). That said, I think they're scrummy and i love the fact that they taste so different to anything we have over here (UK Fruit Loops included!).

8/10

Hershey's Cookies & Creme
I was most excited to try this cereal, it's been on my must try list for quite a while, especially given how much I love Reese's Puffs -and indeed the Hershey's candy bar from which it is derived.

It didn't disappoint either. Both the cookies and Creme flavours were represented well in maize form. The little cereal balls retained their crunchiness too, and they imparted a creamy sweetness into the milk. Yum yum yum.

9/10 (nothing can beat Reese's Puffs).

Chocapic Duo
Now I only knew about Chocapic through Instagram (where else?) but I've seen it highly praised everytime I'd seen it posted, so was looking forward to discovering what all the fuss was about. The cereal comprised of a roughly even divide between white chocolate and chocolate curls. I couldn't really smell much, but poured my bowl and got stuck in.

Meh, both chocolate and white chocolate were tasty, but nothing special. White chocolate often doesn't translate well into other products -Tesco's white chocolate and raspberry ice cream cones for example- and this was no different. Of the two, the milk chocolate clearly dominated, and it was a pretty standard chocolate cereal taste. Texturally it was crunchy, despite its lengthy soaking in milk whilst I faffed about taking photos. I imagine that children would love the colours and flavour of the Chocapic Duo, but it's not one I'd considering importing especially.

7/10

MorningPops Exclusive Mix
I'll be honest here. An exclusive mix has so much potential, so chocolate pillows and mini marshmallows seems a little thoughtless -and dare I say it- lazy. Looking at the ingredients (printed on a label on the bag of each cereal packet) showed that the cereals indifferent to that of Tesco's Choco Nut Pillows. Even I can add a few jazzy marshmallows to that without a huge amount of imagination!

Despite my grumbles, it was yummy. The mixture of chocolate, hazelnut and fluffy marshmallow works like a dream. Of course it was very sweet and again probably not the best thing to munch on before bed, but I enjoyed it never the less.

6/10

I enjoyed my Morning Pops subscription box, and think it's a novel idea. At £8.95 per month it's perhaps a little on the steep side (especially when one of the cereals is mainstream and from the UK) however If cereal is your jam, then why not spoil yourself or even that person you love? Take a gander over to www.morningpops.com where you'll find the full low-down on what the company has to offer, and if you use the code BLOG25 you'll even get 25% off your first box order.

Many thanks to MorningPops for sending me a sample box to try.

White Chocolate & Raspberry Granola (ASDA)

It didn't occur to me to write this review when I finally got round to picking up this bag of White Chocolate & Raspberry Granola from ASDA (hence the open bag shot below) and the only reason why I am doing so is because of the various requests in response to my Instagram feed. This granola isn't new by any means, but I hadn't tried it before, and it seems that many of you are eager to know how it fared. I probably wouldn't have bought it in the first place if it wasn't for my recent venture back into the granola world with the Shreddies Max Protein. Following my review, I had a conversation with fellow blogger Alex (Foodfinds GB) about how he didn't particularly rate the Shreddies granola. I asked him which is his favourite and he was recommended the White Chocolate & Raspberry version from ASDA. The naughty sounding cereal had piqued my interest on a number of occasions, and Alex's high praises gave me the push I needed to stump up the £2 for the 500g bag -not bad value really.

"Raspberry flavour wholegrain oat clusters with sunflower seeds and honey with milk and white chocolate chunks and freeze dried raspberry pieces."

I was stunned by the amount of freeze dried raspberries that poured out of the bag and into my first bowl. Apparently they only make up 2% of the ingredients, but there seemed to be much more. Maybe they'd all risen to the top, but it was fabulous to see such a generous supply of fruit. The second surprise to please me was the also generous nature of both white and milk chocolate chunks -a very different experience from the Kellogg's dark chocolate & coconut cereal.

I tried the first bowl with cold milk, and actually found the granola a little too tart for my taste buds. As you'll appreciate, freeze dried raspberries are very flavourful -but they are also quite sour. I hoped that the generous chocolate chunks would offer balance, but in reality they were all but lost against the overpowering raspberry. Humf. The oat clusters were nice and crunchy, but that was the sole redeeming factor.

A couple of nights later I gave the granola a second shot -this time with warm milk. My, what a difference the temperature made. When warmed up, the chunks melted and bled into the oats, raspberries & milk -resulting in a much more prominent and creamy chocolate flavour. It was absolutely delicious! This was the bowl of yum that I was hoping for in the first place.

Alex informs me that the granola is also rather good with yogurt, and I'll take his word on it, but for me it'll be enjoyed warm all the way!

8/10

Shreddies Max Protein Cranberry & Oat Granola

I think I might've mentioned before that I've been patiently biding my time with this new cereal; eagerly waiting for it to come on offer. As always, I was lured in by the promise of 'high protein' but also was attracted to it because it's granola too. Granola is something I haven't bought I'm years, which is a bit strange really given how much I love oats -and of course flapjack. I tend to forget about the granola areas of the cereal aisle I think, normally making a bee line for the chocolate and/or sugar laden boxes instead. At £2.49-£2.79 per 400g box, I knew I could survive waiting a little while. Ok, well admittedly that and we had a bit of a glut of cereal in our house -I counted 16 boxes a couple of weeks ago and there's just two of us. Now we're down to *just* 9, and Shreddies Max is half price in Tesco I felt that I could buy a box  (thanks for the heads up on instagram @productsinstore). 

"Whole grain wheat & oat granola with malted cereal pieces & chopped cranberries."

I must first comment on the box design which -like many others- is resealable, but it tucks away neatly with no faffing required. 

A super sweet, syrupy aroma greeted my nostrils as soon as the bag was open, and I took my first peak at the granola within. The first thing I picked up on was the tiny clusters! I was expecting whopping great hunks of oats, but instead only spotted little nuggets. The second thought was regarding the Shreddies, which were dotted about between the oats. This was in line with expectations, and I looked forward to the mixture of textures and flavours. I then started to wonder where the dried cranberries were hiding, beginning to doubt their presence entirely. I shook myself a bowl, and still didn't find any, so took the childlike approach and stuck my hand deep into the bag to see what I could retrieve. Luckily I found a couple of fruity bits hiding towards the bottom, so I'm hoping that they've all sunk in transit and the last few bowls will herald a plethora of ruby treasures. Please note that the inner young Amy was disappointed that I didn't find a magic spoon in the box (currently in some promotional Kellogg's cereals). 

Given my addiction to sugar and oats, it's easy to understand why I enjoyed the flavour of the Shreddies Max Protein. A good soaking in milk turned the Shreddies soggy (just how I like them) whilst the clusters remained satisfyingly crunchy. The combination of malt and oat flavours worked in harmony, providing a slightly different taste with every spoonful.

I have to admit that a bug bear came from the high protein claim however, as 13g per 100g isn't the huge amount that its 'max' name alludes too. Shreddies Max Protein in fact contains far less protein than the 20g per 100g in Weetabix's chocolate protein crunch and 22g per 100g in the Mornflake chocolate porridge for example! Still, it's a tasty little granola and I'll continue to enjoy it.

7/10

Macros per 100g for those interested*: P13 C68 F7

*45g recommended serving size

NEW! Golden Syrup Malt Wheats (Tesco)

I'm cerealously addicted to breakfast. Not satisfied with one meal consisting of breakfast items, I'll regularly start the day with a bowl of porridge, have oatcakes or crumpets at lunch, and then a bowl of cereal before bed. They say it's the most important meal of the day, so why not have it three times over? My addiction means that I have a keen eye for new cereals to greet the shelves, and this week I spotted two new 'Shreddies' type offerings in Tesco. The supermarket's own brand Raspberry Malt Wheats have been out for a number of years now, and must be more popular than the ASDA Banana Milkshake Malties which I reviewed almost exactly a year ago, but have since been discontinued. The two new Tesco flavours in my local branch were Choco-Nut and Golden Syrup, so you may be surprised that it wasn't the chocolatey one that took my fancy. Let me explain...

Golden Syrup Wheats (mini shredded wheats) are the holy grail of cereal in my house. Once stocked by Tesco, Sainsbury's and ALDI they are now only available in Sainsbury's. Despite being own brand, they're still £1.99 for a 500g box and never on offer. Plus the recommended serving size is ridiculous, so the box doesn't actually go very far. Their exclusivity, price point and sheer deliciousness means my partner and I are often left competing for the last bowl. 

"Wholewheat malted cereal fortified with vitamins and iron with a golden syrup flavoured coating."

At £1.19 for a 500g box, the new Malt Wheats are a much cheaper swap, but could they taste as good as their branded Nestle counterparts, or indeed the worshipped Golden Syrup Wheats?

As soon as I ripped open the plastic wrapping, an enormous waft of syrup hailed my nostrils. There's something so comforting about that aroma, perhaps it's the thought of freshly baked flapjacks, but it's very welcome all the same. The Tesco Malt Wheats were a slightly darker shade than the Nestle version, and certainly much more tan than Frosted Shreddies. I wondered how they would fare once soaked in milk.

I can't even express how utterly impressed I was with them! They didn't turn to mush straight away, and packed a huge amount of flavour in every square. Even the milk tasted syrupy. I can imagine for those who aren't keen on sweet cereals that they'd be a bit too much, but if that's you then I'd wonder why you'd be buying Golden Syrup flavour in the first place. From a health perspective, yes they're higher in sugar than standard Shreddies, but still a lot lower than the frosted variant:

• Shreddies = 6.0g*
• Frosted Shreddies = 11.4g* 
• Golden Syrup Malt Wheats = 7.8g*

*per 40g serving 

Quite simply, these new Golden Syrup Malt Wheats have instantly become one of my new all time favourite cereals and are quite the treat come supper time (even if I do get the sugar sweats in my sleep -TMI? I'm sorry). I'm going to be sure to head to Tesco and stock up pronto before you guys all realise how great they are too and the price goes up!

10/10

Kellogg's Jif PB & J Cereal (American Fizz)

As you may or may not recall, I have been trying to track down this cereal for ages whilst growing increasingly envious of the ample array of peanut buttery products available across the pond. Why can't any of the cereal manufacturers produce a pb flavoured cereal in England? I'm certainly not the only British nut butter addict. I bought the box from American Fizz for £4.99.

I had high hopes for Kellogg's; after all they're arguably one of the best know cereal brands in the world. The 'naturally and artificially flavoured' label on the front didn't phase me either as it's seemingly proudly displayed on all of their pop tart boxes, and they're pretty darn tasty.

The box contained a good mixture of two different cereal types: golden squares with holes in, and little pink balls. As soon as it was opened I noticed an overwhelmingly artificial, chemically smell... Oh dear. 

I  poured myself a bowl anyway and attempted to ignore the odour. I decided to try the peanut buttery cereal first, but all I could taste was fake strawberry. The flavour from the pink balls had leeched its way into every mouthful, and unfortunately it wasn't pleasant. In fact it reminded me of the fake flavour of the protein+ peanut butter flapjack I was unimpressed by back in March.

What a disappointment! I'll have to stick to the co-op's fantastic ice cream to satisfy my pb&j cravings and Reese's Puffs for my cereal needs from now on. 

3/10 

Chocolate Weetabix Protein Crunch (Poundland)

The Weetabix protein range launched right at the beginning of the year, but I wasn't particularly excited by it, and was far more interested in the new Ancient Legends, Cinnamon Oat Crisp and Avengers cereals. In fact if I hadn't spotted this mega box of the protein crunch in poundland, and -dare I say it-  the chocolate flavour wasn't in stock, I wouldn't have bothered with it at all. 

What is the benefit of the protein range anyway? Well according to Weetabix...

 "Weetabix Protein Crunch Chocolate flavour is the great tasting, nutritious, high-protein breakfast cereal that gives you the energy you need for busy mornings. Packed with protein and a satisfying combination of wholegrain wheat and oats, this is a delicious crunchy breakfast that helps keep you going all morning. 

We think it’s a simple way to enjoy a high protein breakfast and with all the goodness you’d expect of a Weetabix cereal; high in fibre, low in salt and fortified with Iron and Vitamin D. With a delicious chocolate flavour and irresistible crunchy texture Weetabix Protein Crunch is a fantastic breakfast option for active families."

The crunch cereal comes in little tubes, which I can't work out whether I approve of as a nice new shape, or if it just reminds me too much of pasta. 

Despite a lengthy milk soaking, the texture held up reasonably well. Whilst the cereal at the bottom of the bowl had started to soften slightly, the uppermost spoonfuls were as crunchy as promised. The chocolate flavour was so-so, the same as Weetos really. 

In fact there wasn't much difference in terms of either texture or flavour, between the protein crunch and Weetos cereal. For me this was a good thing, as high protein products often have an odd aftertaste, and these offer 2.4x more protein per gram than Weetos. If I was trying to increase my protein intake however, I would prefer to include more high protein yogurts such as the icelandic Skyr I reviewed a couple of weeks ago. 

6/10

Cap'n Crunch's Peanut Butter Crunch (American Fizz)

I've finally got to the point where I can close the doors to my snack cupboard which meant it was high time to place another order with American Fizz. I was most disappointed however when they listed a whole load of new lines the following day -including the Jif PB&J cereal that I've been dying to try since its launch at the beginning of the year! Boo. Anyway, in Jif's place I had purchased a box of peanut butter flavoured Cap'n Crunch.

"Indulge in the irresistible taste of Cap'n Crunch's Peanut Butter Crunch! Each bowlful is filled with the rich peanut butter flavour and unmistakeable CRUNCH you've loved since childhood. It's fortified with seven essential vitamins and minerals and has zero grams of trans fat."

The golden coloured corn based cereal looked very similar to Golden Nuggets, and I could instantly tell how sweet they were going to be from the sugary scent that emanated from them.

They were true to their name as much as they were peanut buttery and crunchy. They retained their texture despite a lengthy soaking in milk (whilst I tried to take a decent-ish photo). My only qualm was that they stuck to my teeth a bit, in the same way that corn-based snacks such as Bacon Frazzles do. 

As expected, sweetness was at the forefront of the cereal's flavour, although they don't actually contain anywhere near as much sugar as I expected them to, with 9g per 27g serving*. If you compare that to Coco Pop's 11g, and Reese's Puff's 10g, then Cap'n Crunch doesn't look like such the bad guy. 

I think I might end up also snacking on these Cap'n Crunch Peanut Butter cereal balls on their own. They make a lovely crunchy treat to munch on infront of the TV, and it is Game of Thrones night tonight, hurrah! Reese's Puffs are still my favourite PB cereal thanks to their inclusion of chocolate too, but these make a nice change.

7/10


*27g? Seriously? Is that a mouse's portion?

NEW! Kellogg's Special K Nourish Dark Chocolate & Coconut (Sainsbury's)

Not long after the Ancient Legends range came out at the beginning of the year, Kellogg's released a new variant in their Special K range. They say:

"Special K Nourish brings delicious joy to breakfast by giving you a bowl full of wonderful flavours and varied textures specially combined to give you a positive & healthy start to every morning. Our crisp flakes and clusters are made with a variety of wholesome grains like oats, wholewheat, rice and barley, with hearty linseed and sunflower seeds, adding a fibre packed crunch to every bite. And with luscious additions like delicate dark chocolate curls and crispy coconut you can spring into each day feeling upbeat."

To be honest, I was just attracted to the idea of a chocolate and coconut breakfast cereal. The Nourish range also comes in 'Dark Berries', and 'Nuts and Seeds' flavours too, but pishhh, pass me the unhealthiest version ta!

The first thing I noticed was the distinct lack of chocolate or dried coconut. All I could see were special K flakes, which -to me- taste like cardboard. 

And that's all I could taste really: bland flakes with the occasional little crunchy cluster thrown in for good measure. The linseed and sunflower seed nuggets admittedly added extra texture, but that's about it. There were a few coconut pieces dotted about, but seeing as they only make up 7.5% of the box, they were very far and few between. I don't even know how Kellogg's can even describe the curls as being dark chocolate, they just tasted like poor quality cooking chocolate, and also only account for 7.5% of the ingredients -probably a good job. 

I appreciate that Special K is a low calorie/healthy cereal, but it's so lacking in terms of flavour that it seems pretty pointless. If you're watching your intake there's much tastier alternatives, and I'd certainly much rather a bowl of porridge (or Krave!) anyday. 

3/10

NEW! Kellogg's Avengers Cereal (Morrisons)

Oh dear. Despite having been to Comic-con a couple of weekends ago, I feel like I have a dirty little secret. Shouldn't all geeks have a preferred universe? Star Wars or Star Trek? DC or Marvel? Well.. I'm quite the nerdy little stop out because I love all of them. There. I said it. 

If you haven't given up on me yet, you might do now, because I watched Batman vs Superman at the cinema this week and really enjoyed it. Ben Affleck is no Christian Bale, but he plays a far better part than I'd have given him credit for. I also thought that I'd struggle to concentrate for the full 2.5 hours, but the plot kept me engaged (no mean feat I tell you!).

BACK TO THE CEREAL...

So, Kellogg's have always been hot on their film endorsements (remember the Star Wars breakfast biscuit & cereal review?) and this time they've created an Avengers cereal to coincide with the release of 'Civil War' on 29th April. 

What sort of breakfast would the Avengers eat? Probably not a chocolatey cereal -but please feel free to correct me! 

There are two types of cereal within the box: 'crunchy shields' and 'chocolate reactors.' It's the loosest link to the film that I can possibly imagine, as the shields look more like mini pretzels than anything else, and I'm pretty sure that the reactors are actually Kellogg's Krave thrown in for good measure. Of course it's not pedantic adults that the cereal is really aimed towards, and I'm sure that the kids will be enthralled by the pretty box and the idea of eating 'shields' and 'reactors'. 

Pouring myself a bowl I realise that there's far more 'shields' than 'reactors' which I found slightly disappointing considering they are supposed to make up 40% of the cereal. I could instantly smell a strong cocoa smell, and I poured my milk on before getting distracted (see I told you I have a short attention span!). 

It was a good few minutes before I returned to my bowl, which I saw as a good opportunity to test how the shields and reactors held up. The milk had turned a lovely milk-chocolate colour and all of the cereal seemed intact. 

The crunchy 'shields' held their texture, and were true to their name with a crispness that had survived their long-milk soaking. The chocolate flavour wasn't half hearted either they were sweet with taste reminiscent of Coco Pops. The 'reactors' had suffered more, and despite staying whole had gone a bit mushy. The chocolate flavour was far more mild too, and they just tasted a bit odd -now I was glad of their scarcity!

It might not sound like it, but I did enjoy the new Avengers Cereal, especially its chocolateyness and combination of textures. I picked up my box for £2.00 from Morrisons, but they are available from Sainsbury's too -for a pricier £2.80. 

8/10