So…did you know that these existed?
I didn’t. Until a recent trip to the grocery store, that is.
As I walked down the cereal aisle, this brown box practically jumped out at me, set off in stark contrast to the standard yellow Cheerios boxes.
Let me tell you something about my childhood: My favorite cereal of all time was Count Chocula. My mother (wisely) did not allow me to eat it each and every day, but boxes of Count Chocula occasionally showed up in our house, and I happily consumed the chocolaty goodness. Crunchy cereal pieces first, saving the marshmallows for last. (And yes, I might have had some cereal-eating OCD-type issues.)
There was something magical about chocolate for breakfast.
Now, as a responsible adult, I attempt to eat responsible-adult-type cereals. You know, things with fiber and whole grains. Things without way-too-much sugar. Things, sadly, without marshmallows — chocolate or otherwise.
That’s not to say that I have never pilfered a bowl of Lucky Charms when Chad was out of town and the kids were in bed. Because I have. But for the most part, I try to eat cereals that are somewhat good for me.
Which is, perhaps, why the box of Chocolate Cheerios caught my eye.
After all, the cover clearly announces that they’re good for you, with phrases like, “May Reduce the Risk of Heart Disease” and “with Whole Grain Guaranteed.” At the same time, there are words like “Chocolate” and “Real Cocoa” calling to my sweet tooth. I had no choice: I had to take a box home.
L. (3) was not impressed. I should tell you that he’s an incredibly picky eater, and picky in weird ways. (This is a kid who asked for peas and carrots one night when I offered him waffles and ice cream for dinner. Yeah. Really.) He tried a few of the Chocolate Cheerios, and then asked me to take them away.
But I don’t take his word for anything, so I poured a bowl for myself.
The verdict: Meh. Okay.
I guess I was expecting something similar to the Count Chocula yummyness of my youth, but better for me. Alas, it didn’t quite measure up. The chocolate flavor was present, but not very strong. I mean, it was okay. But I think I decided that if I really want chocolate cereal, I should just buy a box of Count Chocula. And I’m perfectly happy with regular (or Honey Nut) Cheerios if I’m in a Cheerios kind of mood.
But for now, I’ll just go back to my responsible-adult-type cereals. (Oh, okay, I might finish the box of Chocolate Cheerios. You wouldn’t want me to be wasteful, would you?)
What’s your favorite cereal (now or as a kid)? Have you tried any new ones recently?
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I’m linking this post to the Moms’ 30-Minute Blog Challenge, hosted each Tuesday at SteadyMom.com.
Chocolate anytime of day sounds good to me!
We are not big cereal-eaters here, at least not for breakfast. When it is in the house, we eat it as a snack. My hubby loves Reese’s Puffs. I prefer a good ol’ bowl of Cheerios — adding raisins or bananas for extra oomph.
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Thanks for the review. I’ll hold out for something better. I love Lucky Charms and Peanutbutter Cap’n Crunch, and Cocoa Pebbles. But like you, I rarely purchase them. Quin is forced to eat plain or multi-grain cheerios.
If you want chocolaty goodness and like pb as well…. try Reeses Peanut Butter Cereal…. mmmmm,mmmmmm
My weakness is Honeycombs. I do splurge on a box every now and then, because I discovered that they’re really not that bad, nutritionally. I also liked Cap’n Crunch, but man, it tears up the roof of your mouth.
I eat Quaker Oat Squares every morning.
My “kid” cereal that I’ve always loved but only eat rarely, like when I’m on vacation, is Frosted Flakes. They’re Grrrrrreat!
the kid cereal of my youth . . . hmmm. i guess my favorite thing was special K or cornflakes with warm milk – go figure. then Golden Grahams hit the scene and they were a hit with us. my sister and i got hooked on berry Berry Kix a little later – which you cannot find anymore (if i ever do, I’ll buy a case!)
i saw the chocolate cheerios today and wondered about them – thanks for clearing that one up for me!!
Probably Bluberry Morning, here, but we always had oatmeal with honey for breakfast growing up.
Count Chocula is the BEST, and the ONLY way to eat it is crunchy pieces first & chocolaty marshmallows last!
For me, Cocoa Puffs comes in a close second, although I preferred them n the “olden days” before they changed the recipe to include real Hershey’s chocolate. (Strange, I know, but they had such a distinct taste then)
I had to laugh, because one of Amanda’s current favorites is Cocoa Pebbles. I have no desire to eat those. Terry eats totally kid cereal (Frosted Flakes, which are way too sweet for me, and Lucky Charms, Captain Crunch Crunchberries etc).
I have developed cereal issues in old age. I started buying vanilla soy milk to get more soy in our diet. Kyle liked to drink it, and I really liked it on my cereal (Raisin Bran mixed with unsweetened shredded wheat bites). But then he stopped drinking it, and I don’t buy it just for me, so I don’t eat much cereal anymore.
We eat way too much cereal in our house, and I try to push the healthy stuff. But, every now and then I get a box of Reese’s Puffs and become “Mom of the Year” temporarily. They are heavenly!
Ooh, I saw these the other day in the store too! And I was hoping they were going to be flat-out awesome….. sorry to hear they’re just okay. Still may have to try a box though, LOL! I don’t remember much about my childhood, but I do remember liking Fruit Loops and Sugar Smacks (sugar high, I guess!). These days, I mostly eat oatmeal (with lots of stuff added, fruit, milk, splenda, flax, etc). In the dead of summer when it’s oppressively hot, I’ll switch to plain or banana nut or yogurt Cheerios.
Enjoy those chocolate cheerios!
Frankenberry or Frosted Mini Wheats are my weakness. I have tried the new Chocolate Cheerios and had pretty much the same opinion you did. They were okay but I was hoping for something slightly more decadent.
I “allow” myself (aka pig out on) one box of Frosted Flakes every year. It might be a little more often than that, I don’t record in on my calendar.
When I was single, I ate cereal for dinner many nights a week, but the most decadent I got was sprinkling sugar on raisin bran.
You’ve obviously struck a nerve! Chocolaty goodness for breakfast? That ranks up there with Bill Cosby’s “Himself” routine where he talks about giving his kids chocolate cake for breakfast.
My husband recently read in Consumer Reports that any cereal which changes the color of its milk is not good for you. Figures! On the bright side, dark chocolate is both good and good for you.
My philosophy is that I must have my RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) of chocolate. Some days a Hershey’s kiss will do it. Other days, all the chocolate in Hershey, PA wouldn’t be enough…
I always liked it when Gram Kocher would buy us Frankenberry. Mom would never buy that particular brand of junk when i was at home.
I LOVE healthy cereals!
My favorite that might not be soo healthy is Cracklin’ Oat Bran.
We didn’t have many cereal choices when I was a kid.- mostly oatmeal,
no instant or flavored. But Mom let us put butter and brown sugar on it. Not too bad. But have you seen??? They have little boxes of Valentine hearts in chocolate. They have them at Target and hopped right into my cart. Love, Mom
My weakness as an adult – Cracklin’ Oat Bran is WONDERFUL! The Quaker Oats Ohs come to a close second and are cheap (about $2.18 at Wal-Mart). I do like apple cinnamon and honey nut Cheerios but not the original, and I had high hopes for the chocolate ones.
As a kid, Cocoa Pebbles, Fruit Loops, and Frosted Flakes were probably my favorite. My husband loved Cocoa Puffs. My kids liked the new mini Chocolate Shredded Wheat.
I love making homemade Chex mix around Christmas. And I LOVE snickerdoodles. So you can imagine my excitement when I saw the Snickerdoodle Chex Mix recipe this year. Well, it had 2 types of chex & popcorn in it, kinda boring. So I experimented w/adding other ingredients. Chocolate Cheerios is one of the things I added that really worked well. I haven’t tried eating them as a bowl of cereal though.
Lucky Charms! We tried the Chocolate Cheerios, too, and our kids’ response wasn’t enough to encourage me to buy them again. However, if you want chocolately goodness and healthfulness, just get regular Cheerios and sprinkle Nesquik on them. One of my brothers came up with that when we were kids (probably the same one that puts ketchup on noodles when he has no spaghetti sauce!)… we liked it then and my kids love it now.
I wasnt impressed either. I ate a handful out of the box and thought they tasted like burnt cheerios. HOWEVER…. my husband (who purchases things like smores pop tarts) is on his second box.
I’ve tried these and liked them, but my favorite is Smores cereal. Truthfully, I am not a cereal-eater, but I like these two as well as Reese’s puffs.
my favorite cereal as a child was cookie crisp. One shopping trip my mother said I could get them only if they were more nutritous than her ‘boring mom cereal’. Well, low and behold, the second ingrediant on her cereal was sugar and cookie crisp (at the time) was not. Sugar was somewhere like fourth. So I won and I got cookie crisps and I was so very happy.
I too have carried forward that childhood obsession with Count Chocula, but like you, I felt guilty eating them now, assuming they were bad for me.
Like you said, when I saw Chocolate Cheerios, and the “healthy” promo on the box, I thought these would be the guilt-free solution to that Count Chocula craving…that is, until I looked at each box closely, and studied their nutrition information side by side. Amazing!!! You should do this!!!
These cereals are virtually identical!!!! The top four or so ingredients are the same, in the same order. The firber, protein, total carb count, and virtually every nutrient catagory is the exact same. I think there is like 2g more sugar in Count Chocula, but again, the total Carbohydrate total is the same.
So….I bought the Count Chocula!!
YUM!!!