Review and Giveaway: Chocolate Cheerios (CLOSED)

My family is definitely one that loves cereal, as I’ve mentioned here before. I think that cereal is usually the largest single line item on our grocery bill every week because it’s what my husband and kids eat for breakfast every single morning – and from time to time we’ll have a ‘breakfast for dinner’ night too (comes in handy when grocery shopping’s overdue, lol). My husband eats a bowl of cereal every night before bed – he says that it not only fills him up so that he doesn’t wake up hungry in the middle of the night, but that the milk helps settle his stomach as well. One of his favorite types of cereal – and one that I always keep in the cupboard for him, is the ‘chocolate’ kind, although he’s picky about which ones he’ll eat. I don’t let my girls eat the Cocoa whatever cereals at all usually – although I’ve given in on sugar cereals to a point, I do try to limit them wherever I can, and telling the kids that those are “Daddy’s” cereals makes it easy. But now I’m starting to re-think that stance a bit, with the introduction of General Mills’ new Chocolate Cheerios.

What they are:

Chocolate Cheerios are in fact, just that – the same Cheerios that we’ve all known and loved for so many years now available in a chocolate flavor that’s made with real cocoa. The nutrition information given on the box states that Chocolate Cheerios have 100 calories and only 9 grams of sugar per serving, contain at least 8 grams of whole grain per serving and are a good source of calcium and vitamin D. Plus, Cheerios are low in fat, saturated fat free and naturally cholesterol free – making them a good choice for a heart-healthy diet (diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease, according to General Mills).

Here are a few fun recipes using new Chocolate Cheerios:

Chocolate Cheerios® Marshmallow Hearts – Prep Time: 30 Minutes; Start to Finish: 1 Hour 45 Minutes

Crust:

• 1 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
• 1 cup Chocolate Cheerios® cereal, crushed
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cups miniature marshmallows

Topping:

• 2/3 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 bag (11.5 ounces) milk chocolate chips
• 4 cups Chocolate Cheerios® cereal
• Candy sprinkles, if desired

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line bottom and sides of 13×9-inch pan with foil. In large bowl, mix all crust ingredients except marshmallows with electric mixer on low speed until crumbly. Press firmly into bottom of pan.
2. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from oven. Immediately sprinkle with marshmallows. Return to oven; bake an additional 1 to 2 minutes or until marshmallows just begin to puff. Cool while preparing topping.
3. In large saucepan, place all topping ingredients except cereal and sprinkles. Heat over medium-low heat just until chips are melted and mixture is smooth, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in 4 cups cereal. Immediately spoon warm topping over marshmallows; spread to cover. Sprinkle with candy sprinkles. Cool completely, at least 1 hour.
4. Using foil to lift, remove mixture from pan; remove foil. With deep 2 1/2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out 18 hearts. Store loosely covered.

Chocolate Hazelnut Marshmallow Balls – Prep Time: 15 Minutes; Start to Finish: 15 Minutes; 14 servings

• 1/2 cup hazelnut spread with cocoa
• 1/4 cup milk chocolate chips
• 14 large marshmallows
• Toothpicks
• 3 cups Chocolate Cheerios® cereal
• Round wooden sticks with one pointed end or craft sticks (flat wooden sticks with round ends)

1. In medium microwavable bowl, microwave hazelnut spread and chocolate chips on high 30 seconds; stir until smooth. Place cereal in shallow dish.
2. Insert toothpick into marshmallow; dip in chocolate mixture. Roll in cereal to coat completely. Place on large plate; remove toothpick. Repeat with remaining marshmallows. If desired, insert round wooden sticks into each for pops.
3. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until chocolate is set.

Strawberry-Chocolate Cheerios® Parfaits – Prep Time: 15 Minutes; Start to Finish: 15 Minutes

• 2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
• 4 containers (6 oz each) Yoplait® Light Fat Free strawberry yogurt
• 2 cups Chocolate Cheerios® cereal

1. In 4 parfait glasses or clear drinking glasses, layer half of the strawberries, half of the yogurt and half of the cereal. Repeat layers.
2. Serve immediately

Courtesy of General Mills and MyBlogSpark, we received a Chocolate Cheerios gift pack that included a box of Chocolate Cheerios (as well as a chocolate scented spa kit and a ceramic cereal bowl) to try out and review.

Here’s my our take on them:

Although I don’t eat cereal myself on a regular basis (due to a milk allergy), I do snack on handfuls here and there, so that’s how I tried the Chocolate Cheerios. I’m generally not a fan of the ‘Cocoa’ family of cereals since they just don’t taste like ‘real’ chocolate to me and therefore, what’s the point? LOL What struck me about the Chocolate Cheerios though is that they do have more of a ‘real’ taste – specifically like ‘real’ cocoa. I can actually see myself munching on these when I’m craving chocolate – which is something I never thought I’d say about a chocolate-flavored cereal. Then again, the way my family went through this box of them, I may never get the chance!

My husband was the first to try a bowl of the Chocolate Cheerios – they passed his discerning palate with flying colors and are now on the short list of ‘approved’ chocolate-flavored cereals that I can buy for him. Phew! I also let my oldest daughter try them one night for dinner as a ‘special treat’ and she absolutely loved them too.

So here’s my thoughts on ‘sugar’ cereal and my kids. I’ve tried cutting the sugary cereals out altogether, but when they’re the only kinds that my husband will eat (sigh), that’s a losing battle to begin with since they’re already in the house. I’ve come to the conclusion that some cereals with added sugar are allowable, but I try to steer the the girls to the healthier options whenever I can. There are a few kinds of cereal that I’ll buy once in a while as a special treat as well. I can’t speak for how other families make these decisions, but I figure that like with most other things, moderation is the key and that seems to work well for us.

Out of curiosity, I checked the sugar content of the Chocolate Cheerios against a few of the other kinds of cereals that my girls eat on a regular basis. And can you guess what I found?* One serving (3/4 cup) of Chocolate Cheerios contains 9 grams of sugar. That’s actually the same amount as the Honey Nut Cheerios that I let them eat every day, and less sugar per serving than Cinnamon Toast Crunch (10 grams), or Lucky Charms (11 grams). We buy Lucky Charms once in a while as a special treat, but they eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch all the time. And Chocolate Cheerios have less calories per serving (100) and less fat (1 gram) than Cinnamon Toast Crunch (130 calories, 3 grams of fat)! Given all of that, plus the fact that both of my older girls have tried and love the new Chocolate Cheerios (my youngest isn’t a chocolate cereal fan – strange, I know), I can’t see any real reason not to let them eat these for breakfast when they want to – within reason. I guess they’ll just have to fight over them with their father though. 

I should also mention here that I love the ceramic cereal bowl that we received as part of this gift pack – it’s a great size for my husband to use and it’s nice and sturdy. I haven’t tried any of the chocolate-scented spa products, although I am using the little bath pouf in the shower daily because it fits in my hand so much better than the larger versions. 

The bottom line:

The new Chocolate Cheerios are a delicious way to start the day off with a touch of cocoa-flavored goodness to help satisfy those chocolate cravings in a much more healthy fashion. With only 100 calories and 9 grams of sugar in every serving, they’re a better option than many other kid-oriented cereals available. And since they’re naturally cholesterol-free, they’re a good option for a heart-healthy diet as well.

Where can you find them?:

As with all Cheerios products, you can find Chocolate Cheerios in most grocery, discount or mass-merchandise stores where other cereal products are sold. Prices vary depending on the retailer and location but you can save 50 cents right now with a coupon available on the Chocolate Cheerios website. For more information about Chocolate Cheerios (and to see the nutritional information) you can visit http://www.cheerios.com.

Would you like to try them?:

I have the opportunity to give away a Chocolate Cheerios gift pack like the one that I received to a lucky reader! The gift pack includes a box of Chocolate Cheerios for you to try as well as a chocolate scented spa kit and a ceramic cereal bowl. If you’d like to see how your family likes this new version of Cheerios, here are the rules:

1. Enter by visiting the leaving a comment here to let me know what your family does to do start the day off with a smile. This is required – please don’t just say anything like ‘choose me’, or your entry will be discarded.
2. The contest will run until Saturday, February 20th at 11:59 pm EST. The winner will be selected through random drawing, contacted by e-mail, listed on this post and also submitted to PRIZEY. US entries only, please.
3. Please leave a valid e-mail address or other way to contact you! If the winner hasn’t responded within 3 days, an alternate winner will be chosen by random drawing.
4. If you’d like extra entries, you can:

• Subscribe to my RSS feed (click on the orange icon in the upper right sidebar) or subscribe via e-mail – leave me a separate comment to let me know.
• Mention this contest on your blog with a link back to this post, and leave a separate comment with the link to your post so I can find it.
• Either Twitter about, ‘Digg’ or ‘Kirtsy’ this post – leave me a separate comment with your username at whichever site(s) you chose (one extra entry per method).
• Become a ‘fan’ of this site on Facebook – there’s a link in the sidebar or you can click here.

So that’s a total of 7 comments/entries if you do all of the extra entry options.

Good luck! 

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED – the random number generator has chosen comment #73 as the winner:

Congratulations to nan lara (no blog), whose extra subscription entry has won for her! I will be e-mailing you shortly to work out the details.

This post courtesy of: General Mills and MyBlogSpark, who provided the product(s) for both review and giveaway. No payment or compensation, other than product samples as described above, was received for this post. All opinions given here are solely my own or those of my family.

*All nutritional information mentioned in this post was taken directly from the nutritional information posted on the sides of the cereal boxes mentioned, or available online.