Let me start out by saying this is not a sponsored post. This is completely unsolicited. I may wind up sounding like a bad marketing shill before this is over, but I wanted to get that important fact out of the way.
A few weeks ago I entered a giveaway from a fellow blogger. Looking back, it was actually two months ago. I didn’t think much of it at the time. Then a few weeks later I was notified I had won, and I needed to pass along my address. Then another month plus time passed and I had forgotten about the giveaway. Yesterday the boxes arrived.
Yes, boxes.
“What’s this?” It took me a minute to remember the giveaway. I had expected a box or two of cereal, not actual boxes of boxes of cereal. Plus more. I didn’t have the time to delve into the contents right away, so the anticipation built even further over the next couple of hours before I could finally bust into the boxes. One, in particular was smaller than the other two, and held the promise of things other than cereal.
Snackimals, which I had intended to be placed in my kids lunch boxes, somehow didn’t manage to survive the afternoon. I did manage to get a hold of a couple of individual ones, and they were quite good. I was particularly fond of the chocolate chip ones. Then again, chocolate is something I am very fond of. These tasted like animal crackers, only with a lot more flavor, almost like cookies. There were oatmeal, vanilla, snickerdoodle, and peanut butter flavors as well. I think my kids liked all of them except for vanilla.
There were some raspberry fig bars, but somehow they didn’t … uh… survive the trip out of the box. The cheese puffs were deee-lish. Poor kids only got a small handful before they vanished.
As for the cereal itself, I was glad to finally have the chance to test out Puffins. There are several varieties and I see them on my supermarket shelf all the time, but the price is a bit daunting. We were given two varieties, Multigrain, and then perhaps the holy grail of cereal, peanut butter & chocolate. Yeah, a healthy, natural cereal offering up one of the greatest flavor combinations ever.
I didn’t break out the peanut butter & chocolate cereal right away. Instead I simply offered the multigrain Puffins alongside the usual choices for breakfast. The three school-age kids each picked the Puffins to test out. That’s 4 bowls of Puffins, as I of course gave some to Xavier, who at 20 months doesn’t get much choice in his breakfast.
While the multigrain Puffins were devoured eagerly, it was obvious the cereal would not replace whatever favorite cereal the kids hold dear. August (age 8.) loves Honey Nut Cheerios. Déla (age 6) combines two cereals, often Pumpkin Granola and Frosted Mini Wheats. Ciárán (age 4) loves Oatmeal Squares.
August, however, when the peanut butter & chocolate Puffins were offered, he would ask for a second bowl. Actually, all of the kids did. And that’s the problem. There’s only so much in a box, and if the kids are hungry, one box of any of the Puffins cereal will last one morning. At $3.50 a box, that’s a lot of money for little return. Typically I purchase my cereal at Costco, where a box of cereal will last a week if not more. If Puffins were offered at Costco, I would more than likely pick up some on a regular basis. As it is, I just can’t afford it (though I did squirrel away a couple of boxes of the peanut butter & chocolate cereal.