Monster Cereal Snacks

If you read any of my posts from last year's Halloween Holidaze, you know how much I love the Monster Cereals.  I mean, just look and my Holidaze and Twitter logos.  I have Yummy Mummy everywhere and I'm not even old enough to have ever tried Fruity Yummy Mummy cereal.  I can't explain where my love for these creatures comes from, but I'd bet it goes back to my childhood.  Whether is was waking up and enjoying a bowl of Frankenberry before school, or staying up late doing the same with Boo, it has been a mainstay throughout my Halloween seasons.  As I've gotten older, it's become more of a tradition, but there are still memories created with this trio every year.  I may not realize the impact they have on my Holidaze until it's over, but I can always count on them to provide some type of emotion.  Can you believe cereal can do that?

Well, this year, the cereal boxes haven't changed and there isn't much I can say that hasn't already been said last year.  I would talk about box art and flavor all day if there was something new to say, but unfortunately, the cereal is exactly what it's been since they became official Halloween cereals.  In fact, if anything, the cereals have actually lost a bit of their flavor.  I think it has to do with General Mills adding less sugar than previous years.  It's clearly noticeable and it does affect the flavor.  It's not horrible, but it's different.  It used to pack more of a punch.  Now it's more like a tickle.  Either way, I love the cereals and I'll continue to buy them no matter what they taste like.

Lucky for all of us, that's not what this post is about.  No, getting to my point, we're talking about snacks!

Introducing -- Boo Berry Razzle Boo Blitz Fruit Roll-Ups!  Try saying that 5 times fast!  Now, these aren't new, but they're new to me because I've never purchased them before.  Years ago, I found Monster Cereal Fruit by the Foot, which was great, but they've apparently been replaced by the Roll-Ups.  I'm not complaining!  They're essentially the same flavor and texture, just one is more fun than the other.  I'll let you decide which one I'm talking about.

The box is nearly identical to the Boo Berry Cereal box, but Boo is clearly holding his Razzle Boo Blitz Roll-Ups in his right hand.  Of course, the real Fruit Roll-Ups don't look like that.  They're supposed to have his body and logo printed on the candy for kids to "tattoo" their tongues, but trust me, that's not as easy as you'd think.  

These things are a pain to unroll.  They stick to the plastic so well that it's almost impossible to unwrap them without smudging the printed face or logo.  Ripping the candy down the middle is another unfortunate consequence of the plastic wrapper and it really bugs me.  I remember, when I was a kid, these unrolled much easier.  The candy seemed thicker and we were able to punch out the shapes rather than stick them on your tongue.  That was so much better.  There was more detail etched into the candy.  Now, it's just a darker shade of blue printed on another type of blue.  Impressive, but not the best they can do.  Plus, look at that design.  Can you see it?  Probably not.  For some reason, the Boo Berry Fruit Roll-Up doesn't have as much printing as the following.  It's not a deal breaker, but it's curious.

Now, if you open these and don't give two ghost sheets about the way they look and feel, then you're in luck!  See, this Boo Berry Fruit Roll-Up tastes gooood!  No, it doesn't taste like Boo Berry cereal.  That would be ridiculous.  You expect it to taste like some type of rasp or wild berry and that's exactly what you get.  This product wasn't designed to be Halloween themed inside and out, this was just perfect branding.  Let's take a popular flavor and throw it in a Boo Berry costume.  Do that, and people will eat 'em up.  And ya know what, Betty?  You're absolutely right!  Had this been a boring white box with blueberries and a happy face, I would have never ever picked it up.  But, you slapped Boo on the box and you had me on the hook.  It doesn't take much, but a product that tastes good doesn't hurt either.  This does.

Growing up, eating blue food was always cooler than eating red or green food.  To be precise, I should say "candy" rather than "food."  Food would mean healthy products that taste good and are good for you.  If that's the case, it's most likely not blue.  So let's be real here, I'm not talking about healthy junk!  This is The Holidaze!  I'm talking about Blue, Red, and Green candy!

However, as I've gotten older, it's become more than just color that's important and that's why I like these Frankeberry Fruit Roll-Ups more.  The Strawberry Scream is a cool name, Frankenberry looks great and, honestly, I'm just a biased fan.  Frankenberry is my favorite of the living Cereal Monsters and I'm, more times than not, going to put him at the top of the list every time.  I'd like to be objective, but I can't be.  I mean look, I just said Strawberry Scream is a cool name.  That's not even close to Razzle Boo Blitz but I can't admit that Boo Berry has a more creative name.  My loyalties lie with Frank and even if Count Chocula is the leader, I'll always be hoping for a surprise revolt led my Frankenberry and the resurrected Yummy Mummy and Frute Brute.  Hey Paramount, I just gave you the plot for your next movie.  It will make no money.

I have no idea why I couldn't take this picture more clearly, but no matter how many times I angled the Roll-Up, it came out blurry.  Plus 1 for Boo.  But I also have to laugh at the fact that I stood in my kitchen positioning candy for 20 minutes before realizing this wasn't that serious.  I mean, don't get me wrong, it's pretty damn serious, just not THAT serious.  So, you get what you get.  You can clearly see how many logos are printed on this one strip.  We have the cereal logo, Frank's body, and Frank's head.  That's so much better than Boo's blank blue box.  I don't know if it was just the luck of the draw or if it's just the way it is, but in this case, Frankenberry wins again!  Great succes!

I can assure you that Frankenberry Fruit Roll-Ups are not orange, but this picture would indicate otherwise.  Obviously, we've learned today that Frank is not very photogenic, but he is clear this time and you're able to get a better look at the designs.  I actually just noticed the lower left graphic featuring Frankenberry and a tombstone.  That's different.  I don't think I've ever seen a tombstone association with him.  It's pretty morbid and, for Halloween, I like that!  If I was 6 years old, I'd probably stick that right on my tongue.  But, I'm 25, and did it anyway!  Unfortunately, it didn't come out at all and there's nothing to show you.  Still, I'd recommend giving it a shot yourself.  It's fun trying.

The flavor is nothing new.  If you've ever had a Strawberry Fruit Roll-Up, then you've had a Frankenberry Strawberry Scream Fruit Roll-Up.  They're exactly the same, so you know what to expect.  Again, like with Boo Berry, it's about the branding.  It's about the box and wrappers.  It's not about the flavor.  In some cases, I'll pass up on a product when they don't change the flavor, product, food, candy, etc.. But, in this case, I couldn't.  One, it's Monster Cereal! Two, they did make the effort to print their images.  That was enough to pick these up and I'm glad I did!

Now.. On to something that IS new and has made my day!!

All hail the mighty leader, Count Chocula, and his NEW Count Chocula Treats!  Wow, this was a huge surprise.  I first saw these on Instagram.  I typed in #Countchocula, looked for a few classic images, and saw this pop up.  At first, I thought it was photoshopped.  This was back in August, before the cereals were even released, so I wasn't expecting this to actually become a reality.  But, low and behold, after a good month of searching, we finally found these and I am super pumped.  

I've had the Lucky Charms Treats before and I think I developed an addiction to them for about a week or so.  I couldn't get enough of them.  They tasted exactly like Lucky Charms and I found it so much easier to eat that in the morning instead of a bowl of cereal.  It was fast, it was easy, it was good.  Now, with Count Chocula, it can only get better!

Okay, so the treats aren't as pictured on the box, but they're close enough.  No, the marshmallows aren't overly packed into these things like the box would have us believe, but you don't need them, anyway.  This is chocolatey goodness in the purest form.  From the picture above, you can see what appears to be a cookie layer laying on top of a chocolate sheet of candy.  Well, that cookie is, in fact, Count Chocula cereal chopped down to create the perfect Halloween treat.  Those pieces are surrounded by chocolate fudge, chocolate chips, and chocolate swirls.  Underneath all of that, in the middle, are the spooky marshmallows waiting to attack.  It really couldn't be put together any better than it is!

Do you love chocolate?  Have you ever tried the Coco Puffs Treats?  Then this is the snack for you!  This is just awesome.. It's so good that I'm trying to not fall into my old Lucky Charm habits by avoiding this addiction.  Look at the spooky marshmallow staring at you.  It's like a face has been created by my bite and he's luring you into his guilty pleasure.  Perhaps this has been Count Chocula's plan all along!  He's a sly one..

In all seriousness, I don't know why General Mills haven't released these sooner.  This HAS to make them big bucks this Halloween season and, if I have it my way, it will pave the way for Frank and Boo to join him as one of the "Treats" next year.  If you make them, with the white milk bottom, I'd imagine they'd taste amazing.  Obviously Count Chocula couldn't be made into a Fruit Roll-Up (Ew, but I'd try it), but Frank and Boo can certainly join Choc next year and I'd love to see it.  Go out and buy these great treats so we can get the sales up.  Even if it doesn't lead to anything new, you'll be able to say you had a Count Chocula Halloween Treat!  You won't regret it..

Now, what could be better than that?

It looks like a slug, it looks like a rope, it looks like a joint, and it reminds me of a barber shop.  But, it's none of that, it's my FrankenBooComboBerry.  It's not hard to figure out what I did here.  I simply took one of each Fruit Roll-Ups, combined them, and twisted.  Besides an awkward looking piece of candy that can be interpreted in many ways, it creates a crazy flavor that tops each of these individual monsters.  So, if you go out and buy these things, make sure you create FrankenBooCombBerry and enjoy the trip!