OHH CHEERIOS (Nestle Cheerios)

Member Name: vichar68

Product:	Nestle Cheerios
Date:	13/08/07 (139 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Kids like them

Disadvantages: They go soggy quickly and the added sugar

Every morning when I wake up the first thing I have on my mind is breakfast. Recently I have found that my 2 youngest daughters are the same. At about 7 o clock every morning there is a mad rush in to the kitchen to find what there is to eat. I am normally a toast kind of person but all my girls love their cereals. Normally we have Corn Flakes or Rice Crispies. However on a recent shopping trip my attention was drawn to the fact that Asda had a special on for Cheerios of 2 for £2 (a 375g box is normally £1.55). At first I refused to buy them as I did not think that the kids would eat them, but after half an hour of begging and pleading I gave in.

The Cheerios are in a very distinctive box. I bought a 375g box (they also have 500g boxes). The box is mainly white with the Cheerios Logo on the front written in purple. The O of the word is in red and the i is dotted with a cheerio. The box itself is full of information. The main bit of information that Nestle seem to want to get across is that the cereals are made of whole grains. This is sprawled across the top and the bottom of the box just to make sure that we get the message clearly.

The next morning I decided that as I had been pushed to buy them, that everyone would get a bowl full. I opened the packet and was very surprised to find that the smell was not very pleasant. It is hard to describe it was not a strong smell but it did not leave me feeling hungry at all. The cereals themselves were in four different shades of brown. This was supposed to be the four different whole grains. They were all a similar shape of little Os.

The box says that there are four whole grains but I found out that after reading the box that there seemed to be five. The ingredients are as follows:
Whole Grain Cereal Grains (74.3%)(Whole Grain Maize, Whole Grain Oats, Whole Grain Barley, Whole Grain Wheat, Whole Grain Rice), Sugar, Partially Inverted Brown Sugar Syrup, Wheat Starch, Rice Flour, Salt, Tripotassium Phosphate, Vegetable Oil, Colours: Caramel and Annatto, Antioxidant: Tocopherols. Here are the added Vitamins and minerals : Vitamins and Minerals: Vitamin C, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Vitamin B6, Riboflavin (B2), Thiamin (B1), Folic Acid (Folacin), Vitamin B12, Calcium Carbonate and Iron

I put some Cheerios into a bowl and put some cold semi-skimmed milk on top. I tried them at first without sugar and found that they did not need any. The first mouthful was ok and so was the second. I can’t say I was thrilled with the taste; there were very crunchy and quite sweet with a small oaty taste. The third mouthful was awful. The milk had made the Cheerios go soggy. It was like eating baby food to me. Even my kids said that they did not want any more after about four spoonfuls. Well I thought that is another cereal that has been tried and can be thrown away. However I was wrong.

Later that evening my oldest daughter decided that she was very hungry. After a visit to the kitchen she came back with the box of Cheerios. She started eating them from the box. She offered me a few and I have to admit that they were very tasty on their own without the milk. I could taste the sugar in them and the taste of the oats was a lot stronger. The next day when my little ones woke up, my oldest daughter offered them some Cheerios from the packet. They loved them. The packet lasted the weekend before the next one was being opened.

I am not so sure about my children eating these. Although there is only 110 calories in a 30g portion, there is also 6.5g of sugar. I feel this is a little high for youngsters. The box boasts that it has been approved by the Good Housekeeping Institute. This normally means that the product is of high quality. This cereal to me seems to be aimed at children from the age of about 7 to 18.Although I am not questioning the quality, I do feel that kids should take it a little easy on these. I do think that I will buy them again for the kids (not for myself, I am going back to cornflakes), but only about once a moth if that.

Cheerios also come in a Honey Nut and Oat variety.

For further information on Cheerios or Nestle here are the contact details:

Consumer Relations,
Cereal Partners UK
Freepost BBT218
Welwyn Garden City
AL7 1BR

Telephone: 0845 6017158

Website: ww.nestlecereals.co.uk

Summary: Cheerios that go soogy when added with milk